NOCC: BuffyFest
Company: Wizard World Product: BuffyFest
With four Q&A panels involving Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel actors spread across both days of the Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, it is no wonder the event was labeled BuffyFest. Between speakers like James Marsters (Spike), Nicholas Brendon (Xander), Kelly Donovan (Brendon's twin who worked on set and was Brendon's stunt double), Clare Kramer (Glory) and James Charles Leary (Clem the Loose Skinned Demon) and Julie Benz (Darla), there were a lot of opportunities to get insights into the Buffy-verse and ask tons of questions of many of the shows' biggest characters. James Marsters Marsters was definitely one of the show's highlights, not only because of his role in the Buffey-verse, but because he has played in a lot of roles and, quite frankly, he was a great speaker. From the moment he walked onto the podium, crawled over the table and sat atop it to talk with his audience to the time he left the room, he was both interesting to hear talk and fun to watch interact with the questioners. Surprisingly enough, his first question was not about his role as Spike. Instead, it was about reading for the Dresden Files audio books written by Jim Butcher. He explained that it is a very draining, but rewarding experience. While acting with other people ends up being a well of energy for you to draw on, recording for an audio book is the opposite. You are alone in a dark room and reading. He said the best part of the job was going home and crashing because he was so drained by the work. Marsters was also asked about his work on Caprica where he talked about the unusual manner in which the series if filmed. Instead of having one or two cameras rolling and having to do the same take multiple times in order to get different angles, Caprica will have all the angles rolling at once (which amazed Marsters), and once the take is done, all the angles are obtained. As a result, the follow-up takes would be with different emotions. In the end, how the character comes out is all about which set of takes the editor decides to use. It wasn't long though before the Spike questions started. One of the more interesting ones involved the overall evolution of Spike as a character. Marsters explained that Joss Whedon didn't want his vampires to last at all. He reported Whedon as saying "I'm not Anne Rice, I don't want anyone to understand my vampires." Much to Whedon's chagrin, he was talked into the character of Angel (David Boreanaz) as "the pretty boy vampire." While most vamps are supposed to be ugly and die quickly, Angel became a staple to the series, and this hurt what Whedon felt the theme of his show was about. Then comes Spike. Originally, Spike was supposed to die after five episodes, but once makeup and wardrobe got a hold of Marsters, Whedon once again begrudgedly realized he liked this character. The problem was, according to Marsters, Whedon didn't really know what to do with him. Season after season, Spike's story arc was only a side note and Marsters felt like the episodes really didn't need him to convey the story. When he was brought into the final season of Angel though, everything changed. Spike's role in the spin-off series was a doppelganger to Angel. This means that he was thematically the same as the main character, but viewed from a different angle. And as that last season reveals, Angel and Spike actually have a lot in common and the two characters playing off of each other like they were made Marsters feel like Spike was a truly central character. Marsters also discussed the molding of the character at the beginning. Whedon explained that he wanted Spike to be the "Sid Vicious of the vampire world" to which Marsters believed he actually wanted someone more like Johnny Rocket. As a result, Marsters played the role with his own twist instead of the mostly brain-dead rocker that Whedon originally asked for. The discussion of Spike eventually turned to the character's relationship with Buffy, and while Marsters thought it was a great idea for Spike to fall in love with her, the idea of Buffy ever noticing, much less reciprocating wasn't something he thought should have happened. He felt like the idea of Spike constantly trying to do good, but failing, and Buffy never even noticing was a concept that could have gone on for many years, and when the bathroom scene happens where Spike attempts to force himself on Buffy, he was cursing the writers. It put him in a bad place and in a mentality that he said he will have to live with and for which he hasn't yet forgiven himself. He went up to one of the writers and asked them what they were doing, since the writers just have to write the stuff, but the actors had to live it. In the end though, he believes that the actors are a vessel for getting the story out there and they had to do what they had to do.
Nicholas Brendon/Kelly Donovan I have to confess, while I'm a big Buffy fan, I didn't realize, until preparing for this convention, that Brendon had a twin brother and that Donovan had not only acted as Brendon's stunt double, played opposite his brother during the episode "The Replacement" but had also replaced Brendon altogether in one episode when he was too sick to film at all. The session was hosted by the creator of the Nicholas Brendon fan club website nickbrendon.com, and the first question was hers. She kicked off the session with the "how do you tell the twins apart" question, and what resulted was mostly jokes. Afterwards came the plugs for Brendon's appearances on Private Practice, Criminal Minds and his web comic Very Bad Koalas. As for Kelley, he said he was working on a lot more set decorating for a few shows and movies. From there, the audience participation questions started. The first question was asking for Brendon's thoughts on Xander and Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) becoming a couple in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight graphic novels. His reaction is that it feels quite odd. When Trachtenberg started with the show, she was 13 years-old, so every time Brendon thinks about the possibility of the two characters getting together, he can't help but think of Dawn as that 13 year-old girl. While Brendon had not read any of the Season Eight comics himself, he said he was very much aware of what was going on. He also said that he never really read comics or played videogames growing up. Most of his time during those ages was spent playing baseball. Brendon also talked about the changes his character went through during the show. Brendon felt like his character was underused towards the end of the series and that the writers didn't know what to do with him. Early on, his role was the show's comedic relief, but towards the end of the show when the series became much darker, Xander's character also got darker and other characters came in and did jokes that were traditionally Brendon's. He said he felt like some of the better episodes were ones like "The Zeppo," which focuses a lot on Xander and the fact that he isn't really a fighter, as well as the musical episode, "Once More With Feeling." When asked if had any really bad days on the show, Brendon said that there might have been a few bumps along the way, but he said he loved pretty much the whole experience. Brendon explained that his worst performance on Buffy would pretty much equal his best work on another project. Brendon wasn't the only one fielding questions though. Donovan was asked a few as well. When asked about working together, the twins thought about an episode when Brendon was too sick to perform and he suggested Donovan take over the episode. When it was all said and done, the crew was amazed by how closely the two looked alike and suggested Donovan become Brendon's stunt double. Later in the series, when Xander gets split into two different characters, both Brendon and Donovan were seen on camera, though most of the speaking roles were done by Brendon. Brendon said that he had to do a lot of wardrobe changes during that show because he would play both Xanders while Donovan would also switch roles and become the less prominent Xander on-screen. When asked about performing in "Once More With Feeling," Brendon said that he had never really sung or danced before so he didn't really worry about it. He felt like him doing badly wouldn't be a big deal since that isn't something he is known for. He was happy though that he was able to perform a particularly troubling timed move in the show on the first take. In the scene, Brendon was supposed to pop his head up and sing his lines and slowly sink out of frame. He said if he hadn't have gotten it on that first try, they would surely have been doing that scene for hours on end just trying to get it right. As the Q&A session wound down, Brendon was asked about one of his other roles. He was asked how he liked working on Criminal Minds. Brendon said he really enjoys the character of Lynch, Penelope Garcia's love interest. "He's a lot like Xander. He eats donuts with bacon and I love playing computer nerds even though I have no idea how to do that stuff," said Brendon. The session ended on a high note when Brendon performed the Snoopy Dance on stage, much to the amusement of the audience.
Clare Kramer/James Charles Leary As mentioned by one of the questioners, the pairing of Clare Kramer and James Charles Leary on the same panel is an interesting one since Kramer played a demon Goddess and the ruler of her very own Hell Dimension, while Leary portrayed one of the lowest level of demons and was more a lowly informant. The same fan asked the panelists what their favorite relationships were on the show. While Kramer didn't really have an answer, Leary said he thought the creators should have developed a relationship between Clem (his character) and Faith (Eliza Dushku), which of course generated a nice round of laughter in the audience. The session's moderator, Jarrett Crippin (aka The Defuser), asked what the two actors have been doing lately. Kramer explained that she had a couple of movies coming out. In Endure, she plays a kidnap victim and spends a good portion of the film tied to a tree. Her other film, The Dead Ones is a movie that comes out in the fall and takes place in a high school. Leary, on the other hand, has changed professions. He has moved from L.A. to Austin, Texas and gone into the videogame industry. He is currently working for KingsIsle, a company that makes an MMO called Wizard 101. Leary explained that he is in an entry level design position, but hopes to work his way into a writer's position because he really enjoys that side of the production. When asked to expound on his role at KingsIsle, and about getting into the industry in general, he explained that it isn't really a job you can just jump right into. In order to make it into more substantial positions in a game development company, you have to have a good understanding of the overall process and the full cycle of the game's development. He said one of the things a person wanting to get into the industry really needs to do is play around with the different tools out there. Even though a lot of companies have proprietary tools, they also use a lot of off the shelf software. Leary explained that he had recently spent several days merely putting boxes around an area to make sure the players can't go through. Leary received a bit of a shock during the session when a fan asked him what he thought of Clem being Harmony's (Mercedes McNab) side-kick on the Season Eight comic book. He was shocked to find out that Clem had been brought back. One attendee asked Kramer what it was like playing such a powerful female character at a time when there were so few strong female leads, much less villains. She explanied that she didn't know what was going to happen when she started playing Glory. She felt like it was a great opportunity and loved working with Sarah Michelle Gellar as well as the fighting and stunts. When asked if she did her own stunts on the show, Kramer explained that during a lot of the fight scenes there was a double since throwing punches at the various actors, especially Gellar, was generally a bad idea on the show. She explained that if you see Gellar throw a punch and you see the back of Kramer's head, it wasn't really Kramer, and vice versa. She did explain though that when camera tricks could be used to hide how far apart the two actresses actually were, then both Gellar and Kramer would be on the set fighting. Since Leary's character made a habit of eating cats, there were a couple of questions related to this detail. One questioner asked Leary if he was a cat or a dog person. Leary replied that he was very much a dog person and can't really stand cats. He also explained how hard it was to work with the cats. He explained that through the course of an all-day filming session, the cats would start off full of energy and wouldn't stay where they were supposed to, and towards the end of the day, they were so tired, they didn't perform appropriatly. Leary explained that at the end of one episode, Buffy was supposed to release a bunch of kittens from a basket and they were supposed to scatter. Instead, they were all asleep. This topic segued into a discussion on acting with animals. Kramer explained that she had to work alongside a moth once, and Leary relayed a Bud Light commercial he filmed once with a bird attacking him. Because animals are treated far better than the human actors, Leary explained that working with that bird was like working with a king. He was told he could not touch the bird, but it was okay if the bird touched him. He was told not to look the bird in the eyes. He said it was like working with Prince, and another bout of laughter erupted. Both actors were asked how they got a job on the show. For Kramer, it involved making sure she had a good agent who was passionate about getting her name out there. When Buffy sent out a casting call, they explained that they were merely looking for a character named Sherry and she was a strong female character. After that, her agent called the casting directors up, suggested Kramer, and a couple of auditions later, she was Glory. For Leary, he had been participating in a lot of workshops with casting directors. In these, you basically pay money to show off what you can do and a few months after one of these workshops, he got a call to come in and audition for the role of the "Loose Skinned Demon." While the character was supposed to be a single-episode throw away, he garnered enough fan hype to make a total of eight appearances in the series. When asked about the audition itself and how they selected him knowing he was going to be covered in tons of prosthetics, Leary explained that he just acted as if there wasn't going to be any makeup. He believes one of the points of Buffy is that some humans are worse than these monsters. Since he was already a fan of the show, he understood this and went in playing the role as if there wouldn't be any kind of makeup. He saw a part that was supposed to be funny, so he acted goofy; the makeup just adds to the overall effect of the role. Another attendee asked Kramer about where she gets the inspiration for playing such mean and evil characters. She explained that one of the great things about acting is that you get to do things that you normally wouldn't and without any real consequences. While there is a part of her in each of the characters she plays, the ability to act outside of the social norms and play a bad guy is very fun. Both actors were also asked what their favorite memories were while working on Buffy. Kramer explained that there was a scene where she and Gellar were dealing with snakes and one of them, a 15 foot-long snake, got out and climbed into the set walls. While the director insisted that everything was fine, neither one was willing to do anything until the snake was recaptured. Leary had two, one during an episode where he actually got to act for the full episode instead of just a single scene. This episode had many of the characters trapped inside of the house, and because of Clem's makeup, he would go in super early and leave after everyone else. As a result, no one knew what he really looked like. When he wrapped early on the last day, he got his makeup off and went to tell Alyson Hannigan (Willow) how much he enjoyed working with her and neither she nor the rest of the cast recognized him. Before she could call security, she was told that he played Clem and the tension eased. Another of Leary's memories involved a joke played by the special effects group on Hannigan. Since Alyson and Emma Caulfield, who played Anya, loved Clem's ears, they were given a Christmas present that was Clem's ear with tattered edges and lots of fake blood as if it had been torn off. After the initial shock, both actresses thought it was really cool.
Julie Benz While most of the questions for Benz were directed towards her other more recent roles like Dexter and No Ordinary Family (for more on those topics, see the link below), there was still quite a bit of Buffy and Angel questions to be answered. One question involved the character of Darla at the beginning of Buffy and Benz discussed the fact that the character was simply "Vampire Girl #1" and was meant to die off pretty quickly. Every episode though, Whedon would approach her and tell her that she would be in the next episode, but would die in the following one, so her character (and Darla's relationship with Angel) kept growing and growing. Another question involved how she felt when Darla was brought back to life. She explained that she didn't realize that Darla was resurrected as a human, and if you watched that first episode, she acted as if Darla was still a vampire. She said she always believed Darla had an extra sense, and that's the ability to smell Angel. When she thought the re-born Darla was still a vampire, she made a move that involved sniffing the air looking for his scent. Needless to say, when she found out her character had been brought back as a human, it added a new perspective on how to play Darla. Benz said that she always viewed Darla as the ex-wife that won't go away or admit things are over, and she had a lot of fun playing the character that way, but she also said one of her favorite scenes was in Angel when she and Boreanaz are together and she holds a cross to his chest, burning the symbol there and tells Angel "God doesn't want you, but I still do." She said she felt like that scene really conveyed who and what the character of Darla was. Any Buffy or Angel fan would have loved attending these Q&A sessions, and while I'm sure these speakers have told similar stories at other conventions, having them all in one place and in an almost rapid-fire succession of talks really helped to make the Wizard Wold New Orleans Comic Con feel like a true BuffyFest.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Related Links: James Marsters on IMDb.com Nicholas Brendon on IMDb.com Kelly Donovan on IMDb.com Clare Kramer on IMDb.com James Charles Leary on IMDb.com Julie Benz on IMDb.com Buffy the Vampire Slayer on IMDb.com Angel on IMDb.com WW NO: Julie Benz Q&A
NOCC: Louis Gossett, Jr. Q&A NOCC: Aaron Douglas Q&A