Anna Paquin is trouble with New Zealand accent

Anna Paquin has problems stopping her New Zealand accent "bubbling" to the surface.

The actress plays Sookie Stackhouse in American vampire show True Blood, which has been a huge hit across the globe. The role requires Anna to put on a US accent, and she has been praised for her believable speaking voice.

However, recently she has found traces of her true accent have been creeping into takes. The problem has got so bad Anna has stopped phoning her friends and family at home before she's due on set as she thinks chatting to them is part of the problem.

"It still comes up now and again. It's especially bad after I've been on the phone to my mum or my sister," she laughed. "But I have been away from home for such a long time on the whole I don't tend to have that accent. It's still there though - bubbling underneath."

Anna is married to her True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer, who is from the UK. He finds putting on a special voice for his role as vampire Bill Compton easy, and says visiting different areas in the US inspired him to make sure he gets it just right.

"It's never been a struggle," he has explained. "To be honest with you I've always felt very, very comfortable with it. I love the accent, I think it's a beautiful accent, it's really fun to do."