Newsgroup: it.fan.tv.buffy
Titolo: James Marsters Talks

Non mi pare ci siano spoiler di nessun tipo.
http://www.sequentialtart.com/cv_0901_3.shtml
Chillin' with Spike
by Wolfen Moondaughter
On August 5th, at the Gen-Con 2001 in Milwaukee, this fan was lucky to
attend a Question and Answer session with the charismatic James Marsters! He
put everyone at ease, giving the whole room an intimate feel like we were
all friends discussing life and philosophy. He was also boisterous and
energetic, never sitting still, but rather interacting with the crowd. He
did his best to answer everyone and divide his attention fairly with the
whole room. I found him to be a thoughtful, well-spoken, fascinating man,
very funny, and very modest - all around a true pleasure to watch.
We often hear stories of how celebrities turn out to not be so wonderful
when you meet them, but he exceeded my every expectation. Case in point: a
bit into the discussion, he pointed to a person in the audience and said
"YOU! I was rude to you by the elevator this morning, wasn't I? I'm sorry -
I hadn't had my morning coffee yet!" But the person said they didn't think
he was rude at all.
Someone brought a guitar to the session, and we were treated by one of Mr.
Marsters lesser-known talents. He played a Tom Waits song, and later one
that he wrote himself. Marsters sang in Waits' style for the first song,
sounding very sultry. And the song that he wrote himself was catchy, too
(but hey, I could be biased...) He told us that he got to meet Roger Daltry
to work with him on an episode of Strange Frequencies. Daltry gave him a
signed guitar, and Marsters told him, "You know I'm gonna use this, right?
So don't get offended if your name gets scratched out after a while..." I
was so glad someone brought the guitar for him to play! I had always wanted
to hear him. I still hope to go to LA to hear him play at the club 14 Below
someday...
He's looking forward to the musical episode of Buffy. He says Joss Whedon is
a great songwriter, and can really play the piano well, and cursed the man
for being able to do it by ear, while Whedon himself apparently doesn't
think he really can! They actually went dancing together in a club in
London, and Whedon told him about the song, shouting about it over the music
(Marsters acted the scene out, to our amusement).
I had already read of some of his stories, but it was nice to hear them from
him, with embellishments. Things like how he was an outcast growing up, and
that doing the Buffy EP Fool For Love was painful for him, and that the
character of William is Marsters. When Doug Petrie wrote Fool for Love,
Marsters pepped the man up on Red Bull and got him addicted. William's hair
was the only wig in Hollywood that would fit his big head, he says. And, to
continue speaking of his "nerdish" past, he says he is inept at sports! (Ah,
a man after my own heart - one who wouldn't bore me to tears with sports
talk...) He also used to role-play as a boy, and has a lot of respect for
it, saying it's a type of acting.
He doesn't find out about upcoming stories - he likes to stay surprised, so
he doesn't ask. He doesn't know much more than we do. And so far there will
be no crossovers with Angel. He might be on Ripper.
As for the possibility of becoming a full-time character on Andromeda, he
has a contract with Buffy for the long haul. He wouldn't trade to Andromeda,
but the shooting schedules are different, so he might be able to do a bit of
both.
He thinks doing the animated Buffy might be hard for non-voice actors, so he
doesn't believe he'll be doing Spike in it. He has a big new trailer at UPN,
in which he finds the parquet floor intimidating. The cigarettes he smokes
on the show are herbal - he had quit before the show, started smoking again
during the second season, stopped again, started again for the fourth
season, and quit again. Poor guy, but I admire him greatly for the effort!
He does a lot of his own stunts, so long as his feet aren't off the ground.
Like Sarah Michelle Gellar (for whom he seems to have oodles of respect), he
has studied martial arts. He told us a story about his stunt double where
the guy split his head open in a stunt, superglued the cut shut (he informed
us that that was what superglue was originally developed for: first aid -
such a knowledgeable guy!), and went at it again a few more times! He
reminded us that there are a whole bunch of people that make Spike Spike,
not just him. He doesn't try to influence the writers either - he says it's
not his place, and it's disrespectful. He's not paid to write.
He can write, as many fans know from the Spike and Dru comic issue he
co-wrote with Christopher Golden, but he had some problems with the
publisher, Dark Horse, over the art (he knows it sucked), and doesn't trust
them enough to work with them again. He did the story back when he thought
Spike and Dru were gone for good and wasn't satisfied with their ending. He
wanted them to get back together and have a happy ending, and he could only
see that happening if Dru had to save his butt.
He informed us that, when he was first offered the role of Spike, he turned
it down flat. The name threw him. "Buffy the What?" But his agent talked him
into watching an episode, and he was totally blown away. He told us the
story of how he got a fellow cast member on the production he was working on
at the time to help him with the lines. He wouldn't tell the guy what they
were for because he was afraid the guy might go for the part. He was sure
the guy would get it, because the guy actually was from North London! And on
that note, Marsters apparently has a whole repertoire of generic accents he
uses for auditions, any of which he can change as necessary to a specific
one with practice, if the director will give him a chance.
He was very involved theatre before he got into TV, and started the Mercury
Theatre Company (which he informed us was originally called "Genesis") in
Chicago. He would love to work in Chicago again, having great respect for
the theatre community there, although his troupe was totally trashed by the
critics. He said that many of critics who were kind to him as an actor were
not so kind about his status as producer at Mercury, but the audiences
seemed to love it. He apparently was not all that fond of his days in
Seattle, where they didn't seem too keen on anything that was a bit off the
wall. And when asked if there was anything he would not do as an actor, he
told us of first role, where he was spread eagled and naked on stage! He
says there isn't anything that he won't do after that! And while he's mainly
a stage actor, he has none of the theatre's superstitions - he feels that
there are a lot of great mysteries to the universe and nothing man knows can
forestall or change the inevitable.
He said that he had to get used to "not acting" in TV - the way you approach
a scene is much different because on TV, the camera comes to you. He said
that he looked like an idiot in his first scene because he handled it like a
stage entrance - stand in door, say a few words in a loud voice, walk
"upstage" (he explained that, when a major player comes on they go upstage,
past the other actors, and that's where we get the term "getting upstaged"
from), and then finish the line. He said it didn't really occur to him that
he didn't need to shout or move in to the camera because the camera brought
the close-up to him and there was no audience to project to.
The man loves the play Macbeth. He insists that Lady Macbeth should not be
played as a bitch, because she's not, she's a strong woman. He also said
that, when she emasculates Macbeth about his second thoughts over killing
the king, he sees the two of them as being more like a pair of criminals,
one getting freaked by the other getting cold feet while they are already in
the middle of the deed.
He said he was tired of the demand for realism in stories today, that he had
had enough of reality as it was. He said he pretty much like any genre that
was Unrealistic. He gave an example of what he liked - a movie where a
building blew up for no apparent reason but it just fit the scene. No one
questioned it; it just fit the moment.
Marsters says he doesn't watch much TV, he hasn't even figured out how to
use his cable box, even though he's usually pretty good with VCRs and TVs
and such... Instead he watches movies and plays video games (fighting games
and "shoot 'em in the head" games.)
When he called on me, I first told him that I had a friend whose acting
teacher cited him as an example of exemplary acting. Happily, he seemed a
bit floored by that. (Speaking with others online after the event, they told
me they thought the same thing, and that I wasn't imagining it.) The crowd
started to cheer. Then I asked him if it was true that he draws; being an
artist, I was more than curious if that particular rumor was true. He said
yes, that he painted actually. To which I replied "Then put it on your web
site so we can see it!" He told us that he painted so that he could get a
better sense of his surroundings, how the light reflects off water and such,
that it was more therapeutic than an actual talent. He said that he really
isn't any good at all, and it's just a personal thing. I wish he would
change his mind - I would love to see how he sees things!
Going to see him, I thought that I would find him to be a jerk or something
and lose interest. As I mentioned at the start, such often seems to happen
when you meet an idol - you find they aren't at all whom you thought. But
everything he said just had me more and more intrigued, and deepened my
respect for him. Nothing he said pissed me off or upset me in the slightest.
Although the boy does have a bit of a potty-mouth... but that didn't bother
me either! It was a special treat to see the little-known things about him
(like how he calls his girlfriend "Pidge", from Lady and the Tramp!) So
thank you James, for sharing a bit of your inner self with a room full of
strangers! He says he doesn't do cons much because they conflict with the
shooting schedules of the show - so I feel especially lucky that he came to
this one, and that I was able to meet him! And I am especially grateful that
I was able to share the experience with such cool people!
James Marsters and his fans rule!

James Marsters and his fans rule!
^________________________________^
verra' mai in italia? MAGARI!!!
-- 
K'Ehleyr
"All I really wanted was a spectacular death. A good quip and a chance to kick butt." 

 Daltry gave him a signed guitar,
sigh...il segno delle generazioni che passano e' quando non si sa
neppure piu' scrivere bene Roger DaltrEy
:-)))))))
**
Vampi