Buffy The Vampire Slayer Interview

thanks to Essence Of Amber for the interview

On June 2nd, 2001, Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart Head appeared on Live and Kicking on BBC1 and had a live online chat with fans. The transcript is below; the screencaps are here.

Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart Head, aka Tara and Rupert Giles from the cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer joined L&K for a live chat on Saturday 2nd June.

Amber and Anthony spilt the beans on what it's like to work on Buffy, to find out more check out the transcript below!

Dan: Are you anything like your characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
Anthony: No! The simple answer. When I read the script I was attracted to the character. I normally do romantic heros and this was different.
Amber: I guess there's definitely a shy part of me, but she's her own entity.

Chick2K: Amber, were you nervous coming into one of the worlds most successful shows and being the 'new kid'?
Amber: Definitely. It's a scary prospect to come into a show that's been on the air so long. Everyone has amazing relationships already. Alyson told the cast she would beat them up if they didn't like me!

Angel: Is there going to be a convention in England where the fans can meet the cast?
Anthony: Yes, but it's sold out. The Nocturnal Convention at Heathrow. But they are happening more and more and there may be a big one next year in London that's just a Buffy one.

Hannah: What was it like for both of you working in the 100th episode?
Anthony: Cool. Very cool. Every now and then we get a treat. Joss did this episode and it felt special from the beginning. It felt like we were coming of age, growing up somehow.
Amber: It was a tough season in general because of the subject matter. It was coming to a head, like a closure. Which was really nice, it was a beautiful episode.

James: Tony, is it really your voice we hear when you've been singing on the show?
Anthony: Yes it is. It is me lip synching really badly. Joss couldn't decide which song he wanted so I had to learn two. He made up his mind 5 mins before filming. Then we did the second song later and I thought I'd do it live, but I had to lip synch again! But yes, I do sing!

Hannah: Amber, did you watch Buffy before you joined the cast and what's it like to work closely with such a cool actress as Alyson Hannigan?
Amber: I knew Alyson before she started Buffy so I watched to see how she was doing. When I got the part I was so excited to be working with her!

Ann: I've read in several places that Joss Whedon is thinking of doing a musical episode in Season Six. Is this true and if so, you both have really good voices - will you be singing?
Anthony: Maybe . . . Joss has talked about doing it since we did the pilot. He's always wanted to do it and so do I. He's waiting for the right moment. He didn't want it to look like they were running out of ideas. It's a guaranteed maybe.
Amber: If it happens, I just wanna sing!
Anthony: Joss has written about 4 or 5 songs already.

Britannia: In the beginning of Buffy, Giles was a stuffy, tweed wearing, tea drinking Englishman. How did you feel about playing up to the stereotypical Englishman?
Anthony: The way it was written, it wasn't so stereotyped. The way Joss wrote it - he went to school in England for some time - so he's good at it. I've seen some LA scripts that make the English look like idiots and I've avoided them!

Charlie Angel: If you could play any other character on the show who would it be and why?
Amber: Actually I wanna be on Angel and I wanna be The Host - the karaoke singing demon.
Anthony: I always wanted to be Cordelia!
Amber: He likes her clothes.
Anthony: No, her lines.

Williams: Amber, when are we likely to see your movie "Chance" here in the UK?
Amber: We're in the middle of editing and we'll take it to some festivals and see what happens.

Katy: Do you prefer working in television or theatre? Do you have any plans to return to the theatre in the near future?
Anthony: I fancy theatre, I haven't done any for a while. I do an acting class in LA every month or so. I haven't been starved of theatre. I don't prefer one or the other. I've always been lucky to have the opportunity to do both. But I won't commit to something that takes me away from my family for too long.

Ally: Do you hang out with the Buffy cast away from the set?
Anthony: Yes. Quite a lot of time together. We used to hang out at Joss's every Sunday and do Shakespeare readings! Alyson, Alexis and I go to see gigs and I hang out with Nickie. They're a friendly bunch.
Amber: It's like family and we're very supportive of each other. We eat a lot too!
Anthony: It can be a boisterous evening round the piano and Joss has bought drums!

Rebecca: Do you believe in vampires?
Anthony: Of course!
Amber: I am a vampire - I'm just back from Transylvania!

Littlemisselle: What were you scared of when you were a kid?
Anthony: Quite a lot. My uncle and aunt used to do puppet theatre and they were scary puppets. On my 6th birthday they did something for my birthday and I was terrified.
Amber: The dark. And about something salivating under the bed and waiting to get me!

Victoria: How long does it take to film one episode of Buffy?
Anthony: Eight days and some change. As they've got more ambitious, we find ourselves doing some splinter unit work.

AMW: What three things would you take with you to a desert island?
Anthony: Lavatory paper, my family, and our dog.
Amber: A mall with everything in it! and my computer with Internet access - and I think that's enough!

Missy: What's the best thing about being in Buffy?
Anthony: It's cool, it' s very intelligently written and it's an awful lot of fun.
Amber: Working with this amazing group of people.

Sarah: What is your favourite episode that you have appeared in?
Amber: Restless.
Anthony: Hush.

Michaela: What was the most challenging scene you have done on Buffy?
Amber: In one episode I had some brain suckage happening and they had to stick the other actor's hands into a blue screen of me and we had to match it up. It was so difficult and it took like an hour.
Anthony: The demon episode was cool, when I got to be a demon. It wasn't so much challenging. I wore high heels - to make me taller. But because I've done Rocky Horror I'm used to heels!
Amber: He looks better than me in heels!

Matthew: What would you be doing if you weren't acting?
Anthony: Singing or writing or carpentry!
Amber: I would definitely be a sanitation worker! I would do road kill!

Cat: Having seen the last in the series of Buffy last night, I have one question: Is this the end to Buffy?
Anthony: No!
Amber: It's the end of the cheese man!

A final word from Amber and Anthony...
Anthony: I might be doing a movie so look out for it. A musical fairytale. We have a very small low budget CD which I did with some friends from the show and it might make it's way onto MP3.
Amber: Thank you for your support because without the fans we would be sad actors standing out on the sidewalks with our hats out, begging!