Buffy the Vampire Slayer Round Table
Dreamwatch
March 2001
Emma Caulfield, Nick Brendon and Marc Blucas spar with each other on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayers in the company of Dreamwatch's Jenny Carrillo
It is early October and I am sitting on the college cafeteria set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In a dark corner of a Santa Monica sound stage they call home, three key cast members of the series' fifth season prove that life in the potentially dark world of Buffy is really full of laughs: Nicholas Brendon, who portrays the sardonic Xander and is one of the original stars of the show; Emma Caulfield, who first guest-starred as the demon Anyanka -- until the character lost her powers and she became a series regular as Anya, a 1,120-year-old mortal teenager; and Marc Blucas, who plays Buffy's newest beau, Riley Finn.
NB.com note: The following are excerpts from the article that include Nicholas:
Dreamwatch: Marc, how have the fans accepted the new man in Buffy's life?
Marc Blucas (MB): Weird. Early on it was very difficult. The show has a protective audience, rightfully so, and my character's relationship with Buffy is very passionate. The fans pay really close attention to our relationship. Many are so emotionally invested in the show that it is hard for them to have one guy leave and a new guy join the show, so it's been an uphill battle.
Nick Brendon (NB): We are using the term 'guy' loosely.
MB: Thanks! But my gradual acceptance is really a credit to three things. First and foremost is the writing of the show. I was put into some intense situations: I saved Buffy from death; I punched out the guy she was sleeping with... I was put into these positions by the writers, but Sarah [Michelle Gellar] has been great in helping make the transition, too. The whole group has been really open in allowing Riley to kind of join the group. Again, this is all a function of the writing, but the acceptance of the character by the others has allowed the audience to accept me, too.
Did you have people come up to you on the street and tell you that Angel should be with her instead of you?
MB: Not on the street, really, but the Internet was different. I never really got warned not to go online, and I did at first. Before my first show even aired there was a picture of me on a site with the comment, 'Who is this guy, he's an ape -- if she's not going to be with Angel she shouldn't be with anyone' next to it. I don't know where they get these things. And while I certainly don't deny the primate comparison, I was a little shocked! But I saw another one -- I think of Nick Brendon in a gay bathhouse -- too.
NB: No, that wasn't me -- that was another Nick Brendon!
Are you guys on the Internet often?
MB: I was early on. I have since learned not to. But in the beginning I went to the posting boards where people discuss plots and characters. Our show is very Internet-friendly so it's a good place to get a sense of how you are being received. In some sense it is comparable to an accident on the road: you have to look at it, even if you know you may not like what you see.
NB: I never go on. I do not like it at all. I've got my God to answer to, that's it. To be honest I don't even know how to turn on a computer!
MB: The button says on and off.
NB: But I cannot read, I act phonetically. [laughs] Seriously, I do not go online. Ever.
Emma Caulfield (EC): I go on sometimes. I tend not to anymore, though, because the reactions you get are so extreme. I don't think it's a fair assessment of what the average person thinks of you or the show. I get either, 'I love you' or 'I hope she dies.'
NB: I don't get that. What's your problem?
Are we talking character or real person here?
EC: The character. Actually I don't get the 'I hope she dies' thing very often, but when my character started she was a villain, so I understand where some of that came from.
How tough is a show like this on your personal lives?
NB: Oh, it's tough. The days you work, you work long hours. Now on the show we have a lot of cast members so we get some days off so we can check in with our families and our loved ones, which is really nice. The first season was hellacious. We worked every day for fourteen hours straight. There was the group of four, then David came in. It was a little more regular after season one. For me it was good seeing as this was my first experience on television, I needed the long hours to learn what I needed to. Before I started I didn't know what a mark was, what lights were, where to stand or when to jump lines and go off camera. I learned fast because I had to, but now that I have it down it's nice when I get time off and can relax.
Do you get feedback from fans in other countries?
NB: Not much at all. I mean, I get some fan letters. I think it would be different if I were online more. Last year I went with my girlfriend to a place in Palm Springs in August, which I do not recommend doing...
MB: It's freezing there!
NB: I had to wear my parka! Anyway, we were swimming in the pool and there were a bunch of people from Morocco and France -- there must have been at least twenty of them -- and they were looking at me and then these two girls came up and said, 'Alexander, Alexander?' So they all knew who I was and I signed a bunch of autographs.
If you were not acting, what would you be doing?
NB: I cook, I would be a chef.
What is your favorite food?
NB: That's a tough question. I want to open up a Japanese theme restaurant -- fish, tempura, eclectic food. I love to cook for my friends and family. I have all sorts of recipes. I have a great dressing, which is dill and some yogurt. It's awesome.
MB: I make a sensational bread pudding.
NB: Do you really?
MB: No, but it sounds good!
Nick, didn't you want to play professional baseball?
NB: Yeah, but the last year I played I was doing a lot of soul-searching and realized that I just wasn't good enough when it came down to it and I got hurt a lot, and then I was just kind of a lonely kid looking for something to do. I played periodically with the California Angels.
And is it true that you have an identical twin brother?
NB: Yeah, his name is Kelly. He actually starred in the third episode of [the fifth] season with me.
Did he play you?
NB: No, my character kind of played more than one character, without giving too much away.
How tough is it for him to pursue an acting career with your face already established in the industry?
NB: I kind of got stressed out about that for a while, and about a week ago I just realized that I can't stress out about it. Whatever happens is supposed to happen and I wish him the best. He just went through a breakup and he's staying with me for about a month, so I love the bastard!
Do each of you know much about your ancestors and your family background?
NB: I have a bunch of lines in me. Mary Queen of Scots is one of my great-great-great aunts. Thomas Jefferson is in my lineage, too, on my mother's side. My father had a Native American in his ancestry, so I am German, Irish, Scottish, American Indian and then a bunch of mutt!
Are there downsides to being on a regular series?
NB: Nine months of the year we are working on the show. I am in a contract for seven years. They [Blucas and Caulfield] came on later so I think it was different. For me it's awesome -- it's a blessing to be on this show, especially, which is written so well. At the same time I am out of commission for nine months and I work really hard, then I have three months off where I can do another project, refuel my tank so to speak. I think it has provided me with some great training and tools.
I don't really see a downside. I mean, I don't consider myself a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination. However, it can be difficult to go out in public or have a private life. I am kind of at the fun point where some people recognize me and they come up and make my day. Then there are some that can be a little much, but you learn to deal with that as a part of the job. I do not look at the negative, so where I am in my career is where I want to be and I feel lucky, like Emma said, to be where I am and doing what I love.