James, the role of the actor, will be recast.
Luke Grimes
Luke Grimes has unexpectedly left HBO’s True Blood. The role of brooding vampire James, the one that Grimes played in the series, will be recast. This information was first learnt by TVLine, which contacted an HBO spokesperson who confirmed Grimes’ exit by saying, “The role of James is being recast due to the creative direction of the character.”
Ever since production on Fifty Shades Of Grey was pushed by a month to December 2, there had been concern whether Grimes — who was cast as Christian Grey’s brother Eliott in the movie — would be able to do True Blood, which starts production on its seventh and final season in January.
Grimes was introduced in season 6 as a vampire whom Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) met while she was locked up at Governor Burrell’s camp. The actor was promoted to regular heading into season 7. A source close to the Brothers & Sisters alum has told TVLine that the actor asked to be let out of his contract after he learned what producers had in store for James in seventh season.
“He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with Deborah Ann Woll,” said the insider to TVLine. “But when he started reading the scripts for season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James.”