By Natalie Abrams

Sookie Stackhouse has dated vampires and werewolves, and a shifter even harbored a crush on her, but the True Blood heroine will literally meet her match this Sunday when she stumbles across a fellow faerie played by new castmember Rob Kazinsky.

Though Sookie (Anna Paquin) will be put off by the new guy at first, the two may find more common ground than Sookie has experienced with past love interests — which is why Kazinsky begs Team Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and Team Bill (Stephen Moyer) fans to give Ben a chance. TVGuide.com caught up with Kazinsky to get the scoop on his new character and find out why True Blood fans should even trust Ben:

Tell us about Ben, your new True Blood character.

Rob Kazinsky: Ben is the male equivalent of Sookie. He is a faerie hybrid, but unlike her, he doesn’t have a family. He’s ostracized from his own people — from fae and humans. He’s never felt like he’s had a home. He’s been a wanderer for a long time; as lost as you can possibly be. He’s as scared, wary and worried about everything as she is. Everywhere he goes, vampires are trying to eat him. It’s the first character that Sookie has met that is traveling in her wake, rather than her traveling in their wake. She’s not a victim this time. She actually understands that he needs her help. That leads to a new side of Sookie, I think.

What kind of pressure did you feel when you learned you’d be playing one of Sookie’s love interests?

Rob Kazinsky: I knew there would be a certain backlash from corners of the audience. The Bill, Eric and Alcide (Joe Manganiello) camps certainly wouldn’t appreciate having another love interest in town. In terms of pressure, though, that’s the whole point. I want to upset those camps. [Laughs] Ben is the first character that has been on this show as a love interest for her that is actually a good guy, that could actually be a life for her. They’re both as lost and lonely as each other. They’re the same species; both faerie hybrids. So they’re more like kin than perhaps she’s found before.

Read More True Blood Scoop: Meet Sookie’s Sexy New Love Interest Rob Kazinsky – Today’s News: Our Take | TVGuide.com.