Jason Stackhouse

"That boy is sex on a stick."

- Lafayette Reynolds

Jason Stackhouse is a character who appears in the "Southern Vampire Mysteries" series of novels written by Charlaine Harris. Her books, as well as most of her provincial characters, have been adapted into the HBO television series True Blood. Jason Stackhouse is played by Australian actor Ryan Kwanten and is one of the primary characters from the series. He is the older brother of Sookie Stackhouse and works as a foreman for the Renard Parish Public Works division. Jason is often portrayed as a well-meaning, but often acerbic young man of limited intellect whose main focus in life is drinking beer and bedding women. Initially, Jason maintained a very negative view of vampires and those who associated with them, but he soon found his world view challenged when he met an introverted vampire named Eddie. Jason's character continued to evolve through the series, and he revisited his anti-vampire sentiments when he briefly joined a non-denominational religious group called the Fellowship of the Sun.

Early Years
Jason Stackhouse is the oldest child of Michelle and Corbett Stackhouse. When Jason was still very young, his parents were killed in a flash flood and his sister Sookie and he were sent to live with their grandmother, Adele Stackhouse. One of Sookie's kindergarten friends, Tara Thornton, would often come over to the house, sometimes sleeping over or spending whole weekends there. One day, Tara's alcoholic mother, Lettie Mae, chased Tara to the Stackhouse farm with the intention of beating on her. Jason protected Tara and locked Lettie Mae out of the house. From that moment on, Tara developed a huge crush on Jason, one that she maintains to this to this day.

When Jason came of age, he moved out of his grandmother's farmhouse and took up residence in his parents' old family home. Sookie however, remained at the farmhouse. Jason attended college, but dropped out after two years. He eventually began working as a road crew foreman for the Renard Parish Public Works Department. There, he befriended several of his co-workers who later became drinking buddies including Hoyt Fortenberry, Lafayette Reynolds and Rene Lenier.

Although Jason had a short fuse and could often seem acerbic, he was for the most part a good-natured, handsome man who enjoyed sports, drinking and women -- especially women. Nearly every available woman in Bon Temps dreamed of one day bedding Jason Stackhouse - a desire that Jason had no reservation about fulfilling. He maintained a sporadic relationship with a waitress from Merlotte's named Dawn Green. The two enjoyed each other's company, but they kept their relationship very loose and they were free to see other people.

Framed for Murder
In the Spring of 2008, Jason had an affair with a woman named Maudette Pickens. During their time together, Jason learned that Maudette had recently accepted money to have sex with a vampire. Jason was both repulsed and enamored with the prospect. Maudette was into voyeurism and bondage and she showed him a videotape she had made of herself with a vampire named Liam. Watching the video aroused Jason, but the imagery of the macabre vampire face haunted him for days. Jason and Maudette reenacted the scene from the videotape, and Jason pantomimed the actions of the vampire, which included erotic asphyxiation. After being choked by Jason for several seconds, Maudette slumped over unmoving. Jason panicked, picked up his clothes and ran out of the house. Maudette "came to", began laughing and shut off the video recorder. Later that evening, somebody broke into Maudette's apartment and actually strangled her to death.

Jason was terrified that he had actually killed Maudette. The following day, Sheriff Bud Dearborne and Deputy Andy Bellefleur came to Jason's job site to ask him some questions. Jason was scared and evasive, which only served to make him look guilty. They took him back to the sheriff's station for questioning.