Russell Edgington

Russell is the vampire king of Mississippi. A small vampire with red hair and thick southern accent. He is first introduced in third novel, Club Dead, at the vampire bar Josephine’s (known as Club Dead by the Weres). Described as the perfect southern gentleman, Russell prefers men. Talbot is his steady human companion.[5] In Dead as a Doornail, the fifth book, Sookie learns that he collects the "unusual".[6] In the seventh novel, All Together Dead he marries the King of Indiana, Bartlette Crowe, and it appears to be a love match (marriages between vampire kings and queens are usually political unions and not a union of love). Actor Denis O'Hare portrays the vampire king of Mississippi in the third season of True Blood. On the show, Russell is a 2800 year old Vampire of ancient celtic stock and may have been a Druid. He uses werewolves as his private army. He overthrows Sophie Anne and forces the Magister to marry them and then kills the Magister. He has a royal consort, a Vampire named Talbot whom he turned 700 years ago. Apparently when Eric was still human, Russell and his weres killed Eric’s family and stole his father’s crown and Eric swore revenge against Russell. To humans, he is a wealthy antiques dealer.