Q & A Collectormania - Sunday, 6 May 2007
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© Copyright James Marsters Live
JM = James Marsters
SH = Steve Himber
Q = Question from audience
SH: Thank you. We're going to do something a little bit different, I'm going to take about the first five minutes and I'm going to ask James the questions I've always wanted the answers to. Okay? so, can you all hear very well right in the back? I want to clarify that. You're good? Okay great. So, give a warm welcome to Mr James Marsters.
JM: Thank you, hello, yeah! So, before we begin, how many people got kids in the house? Okay if we don't keep it too clean, just remind us. I think we can do that.
SH: Okay.
JM: We have a question, well he has a question.
SH: I wrote down my question for Mr Marsters. Alright, let's start with me. I've often heard you refer to me as your pimp.
JM: Yeah.
SH: So could you tell me exactly what you mean by that?
JM: Yeah. One time- I've known Steve seven years right. One time I asked him to help me meet a girl. Once! I really was interested in this girl and I wouldn't have asked and he goes 'Yeah James, sure, I'll get right on it. I'm your pimp.' And you just left. And I never asked him again and ever since- I've never asked you again but ever since then you're my pimp.
SH: I know, I take it affectionately.
JM: My useless pimp.
SH: So, you know, in keeping with the theme then, so you're surrounded by... me. But everyone else that helps me are women.
JM: Yeah.
SH: So I- I've heard rumours that these women are just whoring you out. I just hear these things [yell of "not enough" from crowd] Oh no 'not enough' we hear, so I mean, are we whoring you out?
JM: [laughing] No. They won't share me, it's just them them all the time. No, no, erm no. I am with a good group of people that actually have better things to do, they don't want me to talk about them actually, but one of them is the Secretary to the Minister of Defence. Don't mess with her, one is in charge of informing everybody about sexually transmitted diseases in Britain, she's the head of that. She's got like 150 people working for her. I don't mess with her either. And I still don't know why they're still helping me meet you guys. We've been together for four years. But no, when I first came here I was with the band and we were all like, I didn't have a girlfriend at the time and we were all like trying to outdo each other about meeting chicks and stuff and they, they- you wouldn't let me have sex Steve! you remember that...one girl in Wales, I met one girl in Wales I was just makin' out with her for God's sake.
SH: Alright well let's-
JM: And that was it guys just no-
SH: I interrupt I, have to-
JM: I have to be like a cleric.
SH: I'm going to interrupt and go straight to the heart of the matter here.
JM: Okay.
SH: Is it true, that you and I are lovers?
JM: Indeed you are a handsome man. And if I ever needed that kind of solace I would come to your door.
SH: Let me down easy. Okay.
JM: No but I, I have not needed that yet and- uh, I don't know if you'd have me.
SH: I just heard the rumour and I thought I was missing something so I don't know.
JM: No I love you, man- I do love you, man.
SH: It's all good. Alright, let's see, rumours, rumours, rumours- do you perform drunk?
JM: Good! Yeah, I have in the past man. Yeah, I used to think I had no right charging money, yeah. And I was either so nervous that I probably appeared drunk or, I think there have been three performances that I really thought I was drunk, and had to apologise to the band about it, yeah. But I wasn't the only one, Steve had to apologise a couple of times.
SH: Not me Steve.
JM: No. Steve Sellers, he had to apologise quite a bit, but no- frankly I like... I do like to have a couple of beers when I'm here.
SH: Okay.
JM: I've had two beers tonight. Yeah.
SH: So is it true that those of us who are around you we ply you with liquor?
JM: Well you gave me the two beers [laughs].
SH: And would you say you have a drinking problem?
JM: YES!! I never get to drink. I'm a parent, so the only time I ever get to have two beers is like right now.
SH: Because this is the holidays.
JM: This is my entire social life, guys.
SH: Okay.
JM: Thank you.
SH: Alright, let's see. What other nitty gritty? How do you feel about wandering hands in the photo sessions.
JM: Man, I don't like 'em. No, and hey! No problems today, or yesterday, thank you! Because I like to be friendly and I like to give you guys a hug man, it's nice! But then if the hands go somewhere that they don't wanna go then I get all defensive and scared and then twenty people after that don't really get a good experience. [crowd " you're not a toy, James"] Yeah thank you. I am a human.
SH: What do you, do you, like a lot of these fans have been fantastic and they come again and again and again. So do you actually remember the fans that you see over and over?
JM: Yes I do! Yes I do. I don't remember names, I don't remember that for- I didn't even remember your name for a little while, you gave me a card, man... um but faces I remember, I remember faces really well actually so yes I remember you guys. Yeah.
SH: Cool. And what about, you know, fans are always incredibly generous and you receive a lot of nice things. You get letters and gifts and all of that stuff do you...
JM: Do you really wanna know this? or are you like- you're talking to the fans!
SH: Do you know what? I need to clear up some of this stuff I get emails, you don't even own a computer so I get to deal with this crap.
JM: Alright. Yeah. What was the question? It has to do with presents.
SH : Do you actually receive them? Do you look at them?JM: Yeah!
SH: How do you handle gifts?
JM: I eat them if they're edible. I read them. I check them all out.
SH: Great.
JM: Yeah.
SH: It's okay.
JM: Cool part of going home.
SH: Okay this is sarcastic but why don't you come play in everyone's home town? each individual one. Why not?
JM: Because I'm a parent! And if I wasn't a parent would have tried to get signed by now and someone would have signed me with a label before now and they would immediately have demanded that I go to every town and play. I'd be on the road, that would be normal. But I'm not and that's why I haven't signed. I'm a parent. But I would love to! Yeah.
SH: Okay, and one last question. This is your big rock and roll week. You get away, you have no responsibilities, there's no kids, you got to have two beers-
JM: Yeah!!
SH: What did you do last night after everything was over?
JM: I had one and a half beers! ah.. and I watched Doctor Who. The Who it's rockin man!! They spend like two million dollars an episode on that! And the plot! I thought that the plot was over and I thought "wow! that was so incredible it doesn't seem like very much time has passed" but it was like nineteen minutes into the episode and there was a lot of plot left and it was like three episodes of American television.
SH: No really, you're excited by that, but what did you do last night?
JM: I went to bed! And yeah that's what I did!
SH: Alright, I'm bored! I'm gonna turn it over to you guys. It is what it is! Enjoy.
JM: Alright, you were trying to embarrass me. It didn't work.
JM: So we've got kids in the house, you guys want to try to embarrass me within the confines of that reality, I'm into it. Yeah what's up.
Q: Hey man.
JM: Man I can't see your face but I know you bro, how you doin'?
Q: Okay I want to ask two questions, I don't think anyone here is saw Medicine Ball or Moloney so I figured I'd cover everything.
JM: I don't think your mike is on man so I think we've gotta get, we've gotta liven up that mike.
Q: Is it on now?
JM: Yeah! Right from the top man, they wanna hear you.
Q: Yeah okay.
JM: Okay.
Q: I don't think anyone here-- well, I became a fan of yours because of Billy O'Hara in Moloney.
JM: Hah.
Q: Which puts me into a different category-- so okay no one here saw Medicine Ball-
JM: I was starving to death when I shot that by the way. I really was I was ripping off the unemployment of the United States Government cos I had to feed my baby. Yeah, you know desperate, yeah, yeah.
Q: That was a good episode though.
JM: Right on.
Q: And your part was great, the other parts blerrgh.
JM: Man, Peter Strauss was in that! He's pretty good!
Q: Yeah but his story line wasn't really that interesting, I mean him lying flat on his back and whatever that's not very good television to watch. But anyway, since no-one here saw it. What did your character do in Medicine Ball? What did your character do in Moloney? And what were those two experiences like for you?
JM: Medicine Ball was weird because I was doin' this John Pielmeier play, a play in Seattle where I played a guy who was passing himself off as a guy with extreme mental problems, and was letting the guy, um this guy would just like hit him all across the stage-
Q: I think that was Killers?
JM: Huh?
Q: That was called Killers wasn't it?
JM: No, that was called Voices In The Dark, but that was later and then later he calls the heroine who has been figuring out the crime cos there's been brutal murders and this guy calls her and he goes [deep scary voice] "Hello darlin' how are you doin'" [stil in character] and I sound like this the whole time. And then, I come out in the third act and I rip off my shirt and I got all these muscles so I pumped up for eight months cos John Pielmeier won the Tony for it for Equus, he wrote Equus .. erm no.. Agnes of God and erm so 'I'm working with John Pielmeier so I'm like I've got breasts so I was HUGE I was two hundred pounds of muscle, man and I was like- I was an ape! When the woman who I was working with in Voices In The Dark, when she saw me 'cause we had like all this stunt work and she had like you know finally throw me off the top floor of the set into a hot tub and I was electrocuted... but I had to drag her across [girly scream voice] "arrrrrrgghhh man he's gonna kill me!". So I was huge and hey the guy took a look at me and hey I was a heroin addict in Medicine Ball and they cast me because they'd had nobody and they saw me and they and the director saw me and he was like "what the F...??? you know and uh "what are you giving me?" And he just tore the casting director up it's like "It's a heroin addict this guy, what have we got arrgh?" and then and yeah so that was my second experience on television and I was just like [anguished voice] "I'm unworthy" but yeah I played a heroin addict who was umm [thinks] abusing his girlfriend of course I think and was trying to get her to meet a record producer who turned out to be a cop, I don't remember.. I think I killed somebody. I don't really remember. And then what was the other show?
Q: Moloney.
JM: Moloney did I kill anybody? [crowd laughs]
Q: You almost did.
JM: Did I ? yeah.
Q: Yeah.
JM: I think I was a bad guy, yeah I was a bad guy that you wanted to like.
Q: Well you were one of the good guys at the beginning and then all of a sudden you found out your girlfriend was cheating on you and with your partner and then you went all schizoid.
JM: Awesome! right on yeah ! Yeah I don't really remember, I only really remember the paycheque, I remember really needing the money.
Q: Okay.
JM: Thank you.. Right on.
Q: [long question about a scene in Buffy]
JM: No, I laughed twice , we got it on the third take because it's such a good line- but yeah because Tony and I we just love each other because we were two older actors ah who had been through a couple of cycles of fame and money admittedly smaller than we were on on Buffy but we'd seen it before a little bit so we were really excited about the scripts and we were always excited to be shooting and we kind of bonded so we kind of Tony and I really-- I felt like he was my age and he helped me with the Spike accent right away and he was so giving so we really like each other Tony and I , really we're friends but we knew that in the script we're supposed to hate each other so that we had such licence to hate each other on film because we knew that we really really liked each other so we were trying to find new ways to hate each other all the time and that line was just brilliant and I got him.
Q: Thanks very much James.
JM: Yeah.
Q: : Just a little harder question. In your opinion how has The Method changed or damaged your psyche?
JM: The Method, how has it changed or damaged my [giggles] yeah, yeah The Method Um basically The Method in acting is to build an imaginary world in your head that you can escape to in your imagination and if you make it a highly detailed world you come to a place, erm Sean Penn calls it The Cage Meryl Streep calls it the [pause] ahh what does she call it? The Garden.
Q: The Sandbox?
JM: No, that's me, I call it The Sandbox I figure it's all, it's like once you know where that little town is and you populate it with a little Spike and a little Buffy and then it's real to you then at some point you don't, you can't make a mistake, and you're just improvising within the constraints of those .. you know where the walls are you know where you can't go basically so if you know where you can't go you can go anywhere else you want um [sighs]. So it's very helpful on film because basically film will catch you acting, if you have an intelligent choice that you had on your pillow the night before you might think it's really wonderful but when you see it on the film it looks like a choice, it looks like an intelligent choice, and it doesn't look real. So The Method is really the only acting technique that we've come up with so far that fits film frankly. I think... but you really you really start to feel like a character. And with me when you play a vampire who really doesn't care about anybody and is willing to kill anybody um that gets to be a pretty dark place .. and I let it.. and like I tried to get thin like from the moment I got signed I was always trying to get thinner and thinner and thinner and it was, it finally got to a point I think in season six where I was a wraith and I finally woke up to the fact that I got got just act it man because I can't do this Method, 'cause The Method was designed by theatre people who were thinking about film, and film doesn't go seven years. You don't ask anybody to hold character like that for seven years. But I was .. I did it for six and you know once you've lived there long enough they say "action" and you're basically back there again anyway. But yeah in my mind there really was a little town and a little Buffy and a little Spike who loved Buffy and it was kind of cute when it was small.
Q: Thank you.
JM: A pleasure.
Q: Hello James.
JM: Hello.
Q: What do you feel when you look in the mirror and can you say "I love you" to your reflection?
JM: Yes I can [crowd cheers] Yeah definitely. That's real progress isn't it? Yeah, I went through therapy to get that one. Yeah the show put me into therapy but my therapist said if you can do that then you probably are okay.
Q: What do you see what do you see, how are you?
JM: Uh I see a good guy. I like him! [crowd agrees loudly] I see a guy who's trying yeah but that's good.
Q: Hi James.
JM: Hello love.
Q: I'm scared.
JM: [gently] Awww so am I.
Q: Is there anything in your career that you still haven't done yet that you'd like to do? And the second question is do you believe in love at first sight?
JM: I do believe in love at first sight. I think that when you see somebody on a very instinctual level in the same way that, um let's not digress .. I think that you realise more than you know that you realise when you see somebody. I think that your instincts are very powerful when your powers of perception aren't really being routed through your intellect which is not most of your brain anyway and I think that the year and a half that you have with a person after that point. When you figure out, cos you know relationships are going to last if they go beyond a year and a half or two years you know. That's the point if you find out if your instincts were right or not. But I do believe in love at first sight. Yeah. And what was the first question?
Q: Is there anything in your career that you still haven't done yet that you want to do?
JM: Oh God yeah! Cut a decent album for one thing! Yeah I would like to cut an album that I'm really happy with all the way through. I think I'm gonna do that this time [ mutters God dammit] and uh yeah, cut a decent album yeah. Maybe you can have it for Christmas I definitely wanna do it. I would like to produce film I really enjoyed producing theatre I got good at it and I'm really proud of that. Probably too proud. But I'm so proud because I ate beans the whole time for weeks for months or cream of wheat. I had no money. I was making good money in theatre, maybe like a thousand dollars a week but I would put it all into my theatre and I slept in the back on rags and yeah I was cold, I was cold and we had a drug clinic downstairs they don't do, drug addicts don't let you sleep, yeah I had crack addicts blowing each other's brains out on the doorstep yeah it was hard but I got it done and yeah I'm proud of that. So yeah producing was, um I almost got an ulcer but I'm still wanting to produce again and I'd like to produce film but it just cost so much Fmumble money. It's much I mean I was doing shows for like seven thousand dollars a show. you can do that but you know I need five million probably to do a decent film.
Q: Thank You
JM: Yeah, you're welcome.
Q: Hello Hun.
JM: Hello.
Q: I was thinking of some wild and naughty questions to ask you but I'm just flunking out no spine here but I wanted but I wonder who-
JM: Come on man!
Q: No 'cause there's a whole load of us here that are just using me as a mouthpiece to ask you wild and naughty questions on their part you know what I'm saying man?
JM: Oh, Okay.
Q: Okay so I'll ask you sensible questions we've been listening to your music which is just really fantastic okay babes? we just really enjoyed it [crowd goes "yeah"] thank you, thank you babe.
JM: Oh.
Q: But to sing a song like Civilised Man and Smile and the huge, vast canyon that's between those two songs, hun it's just stunning! Do you feel as you get more mellow or as you change in life that you're able to express yourself .. like you said you know, that you're angry with that guy like in Civilised Man you were so mad at him! Do you find it was easier to express yourself through song or do you find it easier now just to cope with it in a "oh, look that guy's an arse .. bye, moving on" or do you feel that you still need that artistic opening? Do you know what I mean? To handle life's stuff. We all get different ways of handling stuff it's just--
JM: I would never wanna- I don't know I mean maybe not yet mature enough just to say " oh he's an asshole" and not let it affect me. That's probably a mark of immaturity frankly.. But I can't imagine dumping the songwriting.
Q: Don't.
JM: Because... sometimes I have a deep reaction and when I write a song I have to be well rested and something has to really affect me and then I'll write a song about it. But it doesn't always have to be anger.
Q: No?
JM: For a while it was, it was all "she hurt me"
Q: Anger at what?
JM: [hurt voice] "he hurt me!"
Q: Thanks a lot babe.
JM: Yeah.
Q: Hello.
JM: Hello love.
Q: If you can remember how could you show us a little bit of the dance you did in Teechers? Last year on the QM? when there's a teacher who was the DJ.
JM: Yeah Ohhh my God.
Q: It was a daft dance.
JM: Yeah I know..what did I ?.... I think I Like "Hey Guys!" The teacher was just trying to be progressive he really thought he's like studied he'd watched Saturday Night Fever or something I've got it now - Like that?
Q: Yeah.
Q: Hiya.
JM: Hello Love.
Q: What's your fantasy place to play like? And would you ever consider doing an outdoor festival?
JM: Hmmmmm. Outdoor is tough. Sound likes walls, sound men like walls to bounce off, it's tough, I gotta say, you've gotta be so loud so loud, and then you get monitor problems, outside it's really just hell. I don't wanna play outside. Ask The Beatles. But indoors- man I don't know. Where was that place we were at on Friday night? That was the best I ever played [crowd cheers] You liked that? The sound was just it went up there and I wrapped around and it came back down and it had all the reverb like of a cathedral but none of the mushiness, none of the distortion of the voices. It was just fabulous to play in. Yeah I'll go there again.
Q: Hello.
JM: Aww sweet, you guys are so mysterious man, I get lips and cheeks and that's it.
Q: Um actually my question is If you had to play a serious role, romantic role against another male actor who is your romantic lead, who would you pick and why?
JM: King Leonidas, he was so hot.
Q: I was actually talking actors.
JM: I think Gerry Butler. I shot with Gerry, he's in P.S. I Love You he's a good guy. And because of that I think I could do that with him. Yeah it would have to be somebody that you really trust as a person, so it couldn't be some dick [whispers in sexy voice] "just another one". Um yeah I dunno man, any actor who knew what it ... you have to have someone who understands what it's like to be an acting partner. Which is to say that it's your job to protect the-- your partner. And if you're both doing that then you have- you can go places both physically as far as stunts or emotionally and you can go where you need to go But it would have to be that. Yeah and like a really tight--.
Q: Hi.
JM: Hey.
Q: It's been reported that you did the voice of Lex Luthor in the Superman dies, direct to DVD cartoon. I wonder if you could tell us anything about that 'cause we really haven't heard anything.
JM: [Lex Luthor Voice] I tried to make my voice as low as I could, and remember that I was bald.
JM: No it was brilliant. I love it doing voice over stuff you can be anybody that you wanna be, anybody that you wanna be. I always play the jerk [laughs] but that's more fun yeah. Lex was fun.
Q: Hi James.
JM: Hello.
Q: On the CD you use a different production approach on every number, every number has got a different sort of backing track. I wondered what lessons had you learned from that and how may you apply it to the new CD.
JM: Thank you yeah, I learned that if you add strings you've gotta pay for them and that when a producer gets excited by your stuff and he starts to have his own dreams based on your dreams just shut him up! And if it derails the record it might be the best thing. And I learned to hold on to my own sound. I have in my head when I hear my songs I hear more simple sounds, I just hear guitars pianos, light drum kit, stand up bass more often than not. And I'm gonna fight for that. I'm just, I'm gonna produce in that finite pocket and I'm not gonna let people get so excited. I had a big fight with the last producer he was almost in tears he was like "I believe in your stuff, they're speaking to me James" and I was like "write your own songs" [giggles] So yes fight for your own dream is like I guess if you see it the only way that it ever worked in the world is when you saw it that way. So fight for it!
Q: I think we prefer to hear you as you perform, rather than classical trumpets and whatever.
JM: Yeah, thank you.
Q: Hey man.
JM: Hey.
Q: I'm trying to be clearer it's better but it's kind of like difficult right now. A couple of years ago you told someone that if acting gives you something that you can't get anywhere else keep going with it no matter what people say. So I've been wondering what it's given to you that you can't get anywhere else. That keeps you going.
JM: [pause] ... see that's a really good question.
Q: Thank you.
JM: Okay well, let's just say it man. I got into acting to be part of a group that would .. that was functioning harmoniously 'cause I came from a very weird family [laughs] and I was always "I gotta go to dinner guys, you work it out" and it saved me really. And I got in it for that. And the applause part of it was kind of delicious but only in that you could go backstage and go [laughing] "oh my God they're buying the bullshit" you know with your friends. But I also in some way wanted to be the boy that could fly. I always wanted to be the special one who could just go [child voice] "Hi! I'm different". And when I was, you know, in high school I had big hair and Chinese Exercise slippers and wore a Communist star. Anything to be different. 'cause I grew very- it was very- it was a very uh conservative place to grow up. But then you know I got to go to L.A and things got so weird that I finally went into therapy and I figured out that I was looking for love that I wasn't giving myself. And that what I needed to do was start learning to love myself and that would make me a more comfortable person to hang around. Which I think is true. And I did that. At which point acting becomes less delicious on one level. But on the same level I think you can do it better because you stop having to need attention and you can relax. And I noticed that my- I thought that my acting work was much better on Buffy after I went through therapy. I started just to allow the camera to watch me and think that that's enough and not have to do anything special. [long pause, sighs] So I have been trying to make sure I- that I keep something clear about what acting is giving me. It's just fun. Basically I've been doing it twenty five years, I come down to this. I've been doing this twenty five years so I'm pretty good at it... and when you're good at something you don't have to worry if it's not going to work you can just kinda have fun. And I think at the end of the day it's just fun to make stuff. It's fun! You meet people you've never met before and they're gonna be cool, they're not gonna blow your stuff, they're gonna help you.. and then you're gonna do the thing and you make something kind of pretty and then you might never see 'em again.. and you meet new people you've never met before but they're still gonna be cool. It's kind of a good world. And I'm happy.
Q: Thank you.
JM: : Oh I'm gettin' long winded Hi.
Q: Hiya , how's it going?
JM: It's going well but I'm too talkative. That was a really, really good question! That's the question I've been asking myself.
Q: I'm wanting to know, what does it feel like to have your character be in a comic book now? And also when you're writing your songs they seem very you know your experiences, your emotions, what you're personally going through. So do you think you'd ever be able to write a song say if your best mate told you something happened? Do you'd be able to write a song that would give that justice or does that inspire you or is it solely all from you know your own experiences?
JM: No- I'm I've wanted to start branching out and do songs that are basically story songs where I make up characters and tell their story, Like A Waterfall was like that 'cause I didn't really beat the guy up and I'm not going to Mexico [laughs] she's not pregnant and yeah so but so, that's that part, and I'm sorry folks, don't be mad but I keep forgetting your first parts
Q: The first question was what's it like to have your character in a comic book?
JM: Oh that part's good! yeah, they make me all pretty! Yeah I love it.
Q: Great, thank you very much.
JM: Right on.
JM: Except you know uh I- I've noticed this in Dark Horse books- in Dark Horse comics, when the action starts and they draw Spike they start drawing Steve Tartarglia (sp?) which is fabulous! it's like Steve that's you!
Q: Hi James.
JM: Hi.
Q: Can you give us a Spike line in the Spike accent?
JM: [in Spike accent] No, I don't remember any of that love.
Q: Thank you.
JM: Oh man, that's true. Hello.
Q: Hello, sorry for my rather awkward English, I've come here all the way from Russia and--
JM: Right on.
Q: And you're having a very huge fab club in Russia The Ukraine and Belorussia, and all the Buffaholics get together every year on the twentieth of August and you are really welcome there.
JM: Right on!
Q: We hope to see you there one day.
JM: That's hot. I would like to come. 'cause you guys got good rock and roll in Russia. Yeah, I used to say it was just America, UK and parts of Australia who could pay rock and roll and really mean it and everyone else was still trying, sorry to offend anybody but I've heard some stuff I've liked from Russia man. You've got some serious angst in Russia and you're not afraid of playing with it, it's good. I bet they're believing when they play. I hope to come to Russia I would love that, it would be great.
Q: And you can't believe how we hope for it! so my question is actually it's a two part question. Firstly have you fulfilled any of your childhood dreams? And the second is where do you see yourself in ten years?
JM: I have fulfilled all of my childhood dreams yes. Hopefully in ten years I'll have new dreams. I'm a little stuck for a bit 'cause I could answer that yeah, I would tend to think more of the same, but I hope it's better than that. Oh hey start producing. I'll probably start producing theatre again 'cause it's cheap five million dollars hah! One story! Hell we used to do one story every month man! Every four weeks we'd do a new story a new set a new story. And it takes you three years as a producer with one movie yeah but probably hopefully producing or directing again. I do like to direct.
Q: Okay good luck to you.
JM: Thank You.
Q: Hiya.
JM: Hello love.
Q: It's a bit of a morbid question really. Buffy's epitaph read "she saved the world a lot" what would you as James like your epitaph to read on your gravestone and, on a lighter note what would be the three songs that you would like to be played at your funeral? A really cheery question I know.
JM: God Save The Queen by the Pistols, North Country Fair by Dylan and Beethoven's Pastoral just to keep everybody around for a long time cryin' over me. Ok what was the other question? I nodded off.
Q: What would you like your epitaph to be? Written on your gravestone.
JM: "He tried"
Q: Hi.
JM: Hello. Feels good to have a mic though doesn't it, it's power [deep voice] you will listen to me now.
Q: How would you describe yourself in a personal ad?
JM: Don't bother, man [laughs]. [thinks] Finally starting to realise he's not nearly as mature as he thought he was. [thinks] Oh my God- you have to sell yourself, what am I gonna say? Oh man- oh no, uh, cooks well, knows his way around a... knows his way around a house. Passionate. Neat enough. Yeah. That was a good one.
Q: Last time you were with us in MK I asked you what it was like picking knickers up of the stage with Ghost Of The Robot. Having seen you on Friday you're still picking knickers up off the stage, this time I'd like to know what you do with them after the show.
JM: Sometimes I examine my trophies, I- yeah. But there's kids in the house. Lets leave it at that. I love music.
Q: At the end of Buffy, when you was reading the script, because they'd built you up so high, what was it like to be taken down in that kind of way.
JM: Yeah um Basically ever since I got taken on the show, as regular when Spike came back in season four and he was starting to get chained up- from that moment on it was about taking that character down off the pedestal because for the writers of Buffy? Someone who's cool and hurts people is not cool. So if you get set up as that kind of cool guy, smoking the cigarettes and hitting people and stuff, you know you're going to get taken down bigtime. And they wanted to kill me off, when they wrote the character- beore we started filming the character, it was designed to be killed off fast. And the only reason that they built Spike up to be so cool like that was 'cause they planned to kill him off. And then they decided that they didn't want to kill him off but they didn't..and then like now what do we do with this guy,it's like we told everyone he was the coolest guy, and so the whole time was just cutting me down off the pedastal. Yeah. And that was frustrating. Let me kill somebody! Yeah. At some point I thought 'what character do I have left? I don't have fun any more' Spike was about having fun you know. I'm not beating anyone up, who am I any more. But it was very challenging because the writers were writing very close to their own thoughts and feelings and it was very dangerous for them to write what they wrote, so he became- in a different way very dangerous, yeah. But I was used to it by then basically- basically. Joss was like 'dude, this year you get to save the world'. My immediate reaction was like 'yeah, right, no way dude' and then I found out what he was doing and I was like 'yeah, guinea pig'. But it was a great job, it's much more interesting to write characters in the way he does, that they that did, than just to be Mr cool guy all the time, that's kind of boring.
Q: When Spike had the chip, was that really annoying.
JM: Yeah, I don't like that whole chip. I didn't like that at all. I thought that it would be more interesting to watch Spike decide to try to be good rather than be forced to be good, I thought it would make a- more interesting to see him try and fail to be good. It was my idea that Spike would fall in love with Buffy. Buffy would never reciprocate, never, but he would, in trying to get her favour, try to be good. And then fail all the time and then that would play out forever. So I was really frustrated with the chip( this is a good story,) so I knew that Joss did not really want to get ideas from actors, right, but I'm older than him. And I've worked with writers before that don't want to share ideas And what you do with those kind of writers is that you plant seeds. Just give them - tell them something and then they'll think of the idea themselves. So my idea was that Spike would fall in love with Buffy. So I just told Joss... we were watching Sarah, she was doing a voiceover right before I was, and she was big on the screen, and so I was 'God, she's just so beautiful, no wonder that most guys in America, in the world have a thing for her- heck even I have a little thing for her'. Joss was 'What!' and I was 'yeah, I have a little thing for her' and he kind of went Hmm... and I was like seed planted, seed planted. And I thought that my cunning little ploy worked,but then he told Sarah. Sarah comes up to me I'm like fazed hell, "[Sarah voice] I know your secret, Joss told me, you're in love with me huh?" And I was caught, I was totally caught, because if I told her that it was a lie and that I was planting a seed with Joss, my seed would ultimately never find any soil. Cos the whole point was tomake that Joss's idea that he knew this thing but if I had to say that it was a lie they would all go away! And you don't tell the leading lady that you don't have a crush on her but you don't say "No I don't really find you that attractive". So I just went [giggles] and I just tried to ride it out, you know, stare her down and she finally hopped off. But I had to go through the whole experience of her thinking I had a crush on her. And when I told Joss later on that I knew this thing, that he told her that he goes "Huh, I don't remember saying that, I don't remember saying that".
Q: Thanks.
JM:You're welcome.
Q: We've heard a rumour that you're going to be in Supernatural, is that true?
JM: No. I don't think so. No, it's a really good show man, I checked it out, I like it a lot. And the creators have said that they love the character of Spike and they'd love to work with me but I haven't heard that they have anything in mind. They know my number.
Q: And how did it feel to work with JDM?
JM: The thing is I didn't really shoot with Jeff. Jeff was in a different part of the film I saw him on the set and I saw him backstage once but I didn't shoot with him. That often happens in film. I was really happy doing that movie. I was reminded that when you're on the top of your game oftentimes you're nice. Good people are good, like Kathy Bates. she's just like one of the absolute best in the whole wide world, such a professional, such a kind person - we were like eleven o'clock at night right, and it's me, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates and Gina Gershon and we'd been on set all day filming and the camera's been behind us filming and they haven't gotten our reverse and half of us are sick- Kathy is really sick and it's been eleven hours or maybe twelve and they finally reversed on us at the very end of the night? For our close-ups? which is kind of messed up. And Kathy goes, she opens the door and she goes 'okay guys, you ready? this is gonna separate the men from the boys, ready? men from the boys!' and I just fell in love with Kathy Bates! That's what I said all the time on Buffy! Whenever the young ones started to whine. Men from the boys, man. That was a good- really good movie, guys. yeah.
Q: In the season six commentary you said Sarah was mostly dressed in your sex scenes and you had your little sock, and then you quickly said big sock, so which is it?
JM: I am told, and I'm starting to accept, that it's a nice healthy bigger than medium sock. You did it, good for you.
Q: Hi James, I wish I'd thought of that question-
JM: And sweaty.
Q: How do you follow that. I was lucky enough to be in Islington and I was just wondering when your next album might be out, you sort of answered that. I teach horse riding, can you ride a horse?
JM: Nope. Nope. Couldn't even ride a motorcycle before I got Spike, thank god that thing didn't go past 25 miles an hour [laughs].
Q: Well if ever you're in England I've got a nice safe horse you can learn on.
JM: I'd need one. I tried it when I was a kid I was like [falling off horse]. As soon as I get cast in a role that needs to ride a horse I'll be able to ride a horse. They'll call me and ask me and it'll be magic, yes! I can do that.
Q: What's the worst thing you ate in England?
JM: There was one sandwich that was particularly saltless, that was turkey and no salt and lettuce and no mayonnaise, that was bad. I eat sandwiches of some sort, I really don't know- they always throw a sandwich at me. 'Here!' and I'm like [pathetic] thank you. No I went to the Ivy - you guys have great food, yeah.
Q: I was going to lower the tone but I won't this time, if in your next film role you could choose your own leading lady, would you choose an established actress or somebody completely unknown. And was it really emotionally dificult for you to do the season six scene in Buffy where you attacked her in the bathroom.
JM: Yeaaah, that was the hardest day of my professional life I went in there and Steve DeKnight wrote that and he was sitting in a chair at the old village and I went and I said you know sometimes you guys write that stuf and you don't know what it costs to film it, you just don't know. Unfortunately- and the thing is I can't watch any of that kind of stuff, if I see it in a movie I'll walk out, if I hear it's in a movie I'm not going to watch it, if it's on television I've even, I've destroyed my television because of that,
Q: It was really powerful when it came across to us
JM: Yeah, I'll bet it was. I was basic- I was almost sucidal doing that thing, I remember being on my knees and thinking if I drive my head through the floor, I can just fly away. I think that they should have probably talked to me before they had me shoot that, unfortunately- understandably they were very concerned with how Sarah felt about it. You know. I don't think either one of us really wanted to film that scene. But in the writers defense, the thing that that was a very brave scene that was written because in reality it was written by a woman, who once had a lover that she loved and was breaking up with and felt that if they only made love one more time they really would be back together, and forced herself on him. And so that was really brave to write about and I really respected it, but when you make it a man it's a whole different thing. And when I had to do- yeah, it was just terrible, it was just horrible. As respect to a leading lady it depends on the role. If I was casting Macbeth I would hold an open call, I would want to see established actresses definitely, but I'd also hold open calls too. It's always very specific to that film frankly.
Q: [little girl] what did you feel when you were actually the vampire and when you had all the make up on.
JM: You know the make up was really comfortable. Because it was made out of this new foam, that was very much like flesh so that the seams which were glued down didn't pull on my skin- like the old stuff? the old days the seams would really hurt and you'd get rashes because this was less pliable than your flesh and so there would be that friction but they solved that with new foam so I would forget that I had it on. Frankly [laughs] and I thought when I first got the makeup job that I looked cooler with it on than off, and when my girlfriend came to the set and wouldn't kiss me it was devastating, I thought I'd never looked better. In my defense that make up was kind of harsh when I had to do fight scenes, because Steve, he got to fight with no contacts and no dentures. I had to fight with these razor sharp dentures and these contacts that you couldn't really see,it destroys your periphary vision and everything's kind of hazy. And I always used to joke to him man, try that with contacts man.
Q: I take it that you're a single parent [the balance of home and work] How do you manage the balance.
JM: There's a concept, my kids, my niece- never mind, I shouldn't say that. There's a concept I was introduced to called presence of mind, which is ways to let your kids know that you're thinking of them even when you're not there. Which would be daily phone calls and little gifts and notes that can be delivered to them when you're gone. And this lets them know that they're still held in your mind, that you haven't forgotten about them because distance is different for them and they- it's more important for them. And also if they see that if you have spare time that you give it to them. So that you never, never rest [laughs].
Q: Aside from Supernatural are there any other TV shows on TV right now that you'd like to be a part of.
JM: I'm kicking myself because there was a show called Saving Grace starring Holly Hunter and I went in to read for one role and they didn't want me or that one and they wanted me to read for another regular role but one that was like half the money that I was trying for in the season? And so we said no, and then I got on the set and they were all like we've been watching you for years, you were amazing for that role and I played the killer of the week, and all the cast were fabulous. I mean just fabulous. I'm kicking myself, yeah. the artist in me was just like [frustrated]. So there's that. And I'd like to narrate the Discovery Channel.
Q: [being on stage in front of a big crowd]
JM: Yes, OK this is the skinny of it. There's a totally natural voice in the human- like in the natural world the only time animals stare at each other is when they're about to eat each other. So there's a very real and honest and true voice in a person when they stand up in front of a crowd that says 'RUN!' or 'fight!' and you can't do either and that's the trick- in college I had a really good acting teacher that said acting is being private in public. And it's very simple but well nigh impossible to really do, 'cause you get scared or you want to run so you at least, you cover up with something, and to fight that the more I've been on stage or in front of a camera the more I realise that every human being is beautiful enough and interesting enough to be stared at for long periods of time, it's just simply true. And if you watch documentaries you run into this it's just right up in your face. It's just that it's hard to really be yourself in front of a crowd so there's only a select number of people who are desperate enough, to be brave enough to be private in public. So yeah, it's a totally natural response but the career of acting is finding a way to overcome it.
Q: If you could jump in the Tardis and go back in time twice, whose song would you steal and whose acting part would you bump off for.
JM: Oh that's terrible. I couldn't steal a song man, that'd be like stealing someone's baby you can't do that.
Q: There's not one that you would've wshed you could've written.
JM: Oh yeah! Everything that Kurt Cobain ever wrote. Even half songs man, yeah. Bob Dylan, Neil Young. Ry Cooder, [whispers] Robert Johnson. Yeah but you can't take those things. Whose role would I bump- who, who messed up a good role? What was a perfectly good role that was just messed up? I'd take that one. Yeah, but you wouldn't take On The Waterfront from Brando or anything because then you'd watch the movie and be like 'I'm not Brando.
Q: I was wondering if you could sing the first two lines of Let Me Rest In Peace.
JM: I don't really remember it. I didn't write that one so I don't really remember it. [hums a bit] let me find my love and bury it in a hole... I don't remember it, sorry. [crowd shouts it] Oh! ah, [sings weakly] I died, many years ago, she can make me feel, like I'm five years old, if I had to make a choice I'd be a lot more bold oh yeah... [crowd cheers].
Q: Spike had some really embarrassing nicknames, I was wondering if you had any.
JM: Monkey.
Q: Can I ask how you got that nickname.
JM: Because I had a coat that was red and had a hood that was right around here with a short amount of fur on it. And I also probably behaved like a monkey. I had a lot of energy when I was a kid, I was Tigger for sure.
Q: [apologises for her English]
JM: Nothing to be sorry about. It's better than my French.
Q: What kind of script would you like to receive?
JM: I've read so many fair scripts, just one that works- one that works on the page and doesn't have to be added to. I like movies that combine action and character, frankly. I like both of those together. oh man I dunno, oh God- one with not too many kissy parts. Just a lot of hitting people, blowing up. Good monologues. James Cameron, something like The Abyss.
Q: If you ever got the chance to be the 11th Doctor would you take it, in Dr Who.
JM: The next Doctor? Probably. After watching that, yeah. But that dude's great though, he's not going to be going anywhere.
Q: From Buffy and Angel do you keep in contact with any of the old cast.
JM: Not so much. I keep uo with Tony but now he's across the pond. And the truth about Los Angeles is that all of us actors are so addicted to our ambition, that we're running around constantly trying to get work or better work, or get publicity for the work we have and we- very few of us have good friends. so we lose- it's true, it's true in theater as well you're so close with people during the show and then the show breaks up and you don't see them again. And you kind of feel like what you had with them was false but then you realise that no, it's because people who didn't know each other and canme together as a group and did a beautiful thing. But in all honesty not that much- although I like 'em all. If I saw anybody it'd be like 'Heey!'.
Q: If you could be any other character in Buffy and Angel, who would it be and why.
JM: Why?? No. I wouldn't be. I really- I could be forced to be, I guess, but I wouldn't- no way. Maybe Faith.
Q: Thanks for whoever that lovely lady was who let the videos out for PSILY. Thank you so much. I was wondering I assume you still make the long drive up North to see your son on the weekends, I was wondering what you listen to and also I was wondering about your farm, I was wondering if it was a working farm.
JM: It is a working farm I go there every eleven days, spend three, that's my two week period. And I still drive it, oh yeah and I listen to books on tape about George Bush. --"Without a Conscience", and everything and I can't wait to get back home and get to that George Tennant book. Yeah, I've been waiting for years for this to come out, yeah.
Q: What's the most naughtiest thing you've ever done in your life. and, is there anything that you wish you could do that's naughty.
JM: I can't- I have done things that are so naughty that I probably shouldn't talk about them right here. [thinks] Oh man There's kids here man, there's kids here. I'v gone through periods of naughty where I've gone too far and had to save myself. Frankly. I mean people who get that naughty- uh, not that naughty is bad, it's really good like everything in moderation but you can go too far with anything and it can burn you.and I had to get away from a girlfriend frankly, 'cause she was too naughty. [laughs] we got kicked out once from New Zealand because of her. She was nice, she was a good person, but yeah. Sorry, I've got to be a little more subtle than that, I can't tell you specifics.
Q: Is there anything naughty you want to do now.
JM: [evil laugh] Yeah, always. But I'm in love, so. yeah I'm in love yeah so.
Q: In OMWF, about Allyson not singing.
JM: Yeah! Frankly my respect for the cast of Buffy went up a mile during the musical episode because everybody was scared to death. Except for Tony and I. We were always singers so it was easy for us we were like right on,man, cool. But everyone else they were not singers and they didn't sign on to be singers and they were going to be made to sing in front of millions of people and they thought their career was over. And they thought- Joss had never written any songs, I mean they had no reason to trust him. It sounds silly now but they had good reason to be really terrified. But they all stepped up, and they all did it. Sarah got singing lessons and worked her butt off. And everyone had to do it and no-one could get out of it except Allyson Hannigan. she was on the poster man, everyone was on their knees 'Joss! Please'.
Q: How did you find the transition from Buffy to Angel.
JM: That one was easy man, because I'd already shot with David a lot, I'd already worked with- we were doing Shakespeare readings so I already had been reading with the cast of Angel, I had been doing Shakespeare with them. So I knew them I'd acted with them already and many of the crew were the same, all the directors were the same, many of the writers were the same, so frankly it wasn't really a transisition at all. A new day at work, man 'Hi David, how you goin' where's the coffee'.
Q: Is there any actress like Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe that's no longer alive but you'd like to work with.
JM: Wow. Good one. Lillian Gish. She was a silent film actor. Lillian Gish, yeah. And Bette Davies.
Q: Also what is your greatest life acheivement.
JM: My kids. Yeah.
Q: What were your first thoughts when you were cast as Spike.
JM: Thank God we're not gonna starve! Honey, buy milk for the baby! [laughs] yeah. And basically, also the script came an hour after they told me I had the role and it was a much bigger role than I thought- I thought that I had the whole role for the audition which was only two scenes, and then I read the script I'm like 'my GOD' so yeah I was beyond over the moon, just right off the moon. So happy, yeah.
Q: Would you ever consider doing a comedy or a sitcom or something like that.
JM: Oh totally, totally, Comedy is the- there's something really cool about comedy actually. 'cause I was reading the biography of Mark Twain, and how much he wanted not to just be a humourist but be taken seriously- especially his family wanted that more than him. And it struck me that that was not really seeing the point because when a philosopher says something and everyone laughs, nobody can claim that it's not true. And so in that way when you're funny, you're saying something really true, so comedy has a way just to go right past everyone's lies that not even drama can do. And so comedy is very powerful for me but comedians don't get any respect. That's the problem but yeah I'd like to do a comedy sure, I'd do a sitcom, yeah. You get a live audience, man.
Q: [about the contact lenses on BtVS]
JM: They were round and they encompassed about not quite half of my eyeball.
Q: Were they hard.
JM: Yeah, they hurt, oh yeah. 'cause you'd be rolling around in the dust doing fights and dirt would get in there.That was the thing that would hurt
Q: You were very brave.
JM: I was very lucky, my eyes got used to them and uness they got dirty I was fine, like Andy Hallett just suffered, his eyes would like [pain]
Q: I could get them in but I could never get them out again.
JM: I didn't mind, I did not mind 'cause I just wanted them out so bad. They would stick their salty fingers in my eye.
Q: I was wondering if there was anyone in the Buffy cast who you didn't get on with and was there any friction.
JM: Oh, there was a lot of friction. There was a lot of friction! But no, nono they were all cool. And frankly I used to say that on Buffy we were at war, and the enemy was time. I mean I wasn't really a soldier and I wasn't really getting shot at but I always felt that the enemy was time and it always won. It always took something away from the day cos There was always something we wanted to get done and couldn't get done becaus of time. And so and we were just tired, to the bones, all the time. I thought I knew what tired was but man I did not know what tired was and in those circumstances and when the pressure is as high as it is- I mean when the pressure is to be really pretty and you're being worked fifteen to seventeen hours a day, it's almost impossible and you know that and it- that one right there will drive you crazy So yes, people got on my nerves and I'm sure I got on people's nerves because I took my role so seriously. I was Mr Serious Method Actor, I'm sure I was really annoying, you know To my credit I was mostly silent all the time I didn't want to talk to people because I didnt' want to be that guy, that method actor who was a jerk so 'oh, James is coming' So I love all those people in the same way that you love your family, which is that you can't afford to hate your family you don't have a choice,man you're with them, you're in the same house so to speak. So that was where I was with them, so I was brought to a point of wisdom, like parents have for children, which is to understand that they're humans and they're faulted and they make mistakes but they're really good people underneath.
SH: Okay, we went way over the hour and thank you for great questions but I just want to clarify some things, because I want to put out a transcript and I took some notes from what you said-
JM: Oh no
SH: I just wanted to make sure I have the right statements here, lets see I wrote down... small sock, short amount of fur around it, planted his seed with Joss, on your knees- everyone was on their knees, likes a man with a tight butt, and wouldn't kiss me. Did I get that right?
JM: No, yes no no yes and not yet.
SH: Thank you very much.
JM: Thanks guys, you were great see you tomorrow.
