The filming of the new season of HBO’s hit vampire series, True Blood, doesn’t begin until early December, but there is already tension brewing among the cast. Setsiders tell BettyConfidential that Alexander Skarsgard, who portrays vampire Eric, is looking for more airtime than his on-screen nemesis, Stephen Moyer.

When the show began two years ago, producers cast Stephen as the lead character, a vampire named Bill who romances Anna Paquin’s Sookie Stackhouse. But as fans got to see more of Swedish hunk Alexander, a number of them jumped on the Team Eric bandwagon.

Alex, who despite this rivalry gets along well with Stephen, thought his growing popularity would make him the producers’ favorite, but the insider says that’s not the case. “The execs love Stephen. He’s easy to work with, can handle any scene given to him, he rarely complains, and [SPOILER ALERT!!!!] he didn’t even blink an eye when producers told him they'd be splitting him up with [his real-life fiancé] Anna.”

Read True Blood Stars’ Wedding Plans

As fans of the Charlaine Harris books know, Sookie and Eric do get closer, and last season, Alexander was thrilled when his love scenes with Anna became the focus of the last few episodes of the show (we are choosing to ignore that weird Maryann storyline). But with so many regular cast members and so many storylines intertwined, the source adds that Alexander still felt his character got a bit sidelined and he’s determined for that not to be the case on season three!