Dollhouse, Firefly, Angel, Buffy : news, photos & videos

James Marsters - November 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-11-16T20:57:46Z

Do you consider yourself a feminist ?

I consider myself a humanist.

I hate screen cliches such as someone someone reaching for another person in bed as they wake up, but that person isn't there, or someone running but always falling. What movie or tv cliches bug you ?

Cowboy six-shooters with 24 bullets. Everyone wakes up looking gorgeous. And everyone dries off from a rainstorm in seconds.

If you could be a part of President Obama's cabinet, what would you like to do ? What do you think you would be good at ?

I used to think I'd make a great press secretary until all the teabagging started and I realized I don't have the patience. I would have lost it a long time ago. I would have said “shut up you fools, he's trying to help you” but that wouldn't help the boss.

Do you prefer playing live or recording in a studio ?

I prefer playing live. It's more dangerous.

In Moonshot there were some sequences that appeared to be in a weighless environment. Were they filmed on one of the trainers used to simulate a weightless environment ? If so, did you enjoy being weightless ?

Ha, ha, ha, fooled you ! Those were all poor-boy shots on earth. Credit good mime training.

What process or thought does it take to cry on cue ? I've heard it's one of the hardest emotions for some actors.

Mmmm, mmmm... (silence) Crying on cue is hard. The best thing to do is to think of the saddest thing in your life and then try NOT to cry. But surprisingly, laughing with sincerity is harder – especially on take seven.

Do you ever play any low-tech sort of games, like board games or card games ? If so, which ones ?

Risk and, following the President's lead, poker.

Either/Or

Neat or messy ? Neat... I lie - messy, with very short periods of neat.

Presents on Christmas eve or Christmas morning ? Both.

Spend six months traveling in Europe or six minutes on the moon ? On the moon, baby !

James Marsters - October 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-11-15T20:52:06Z

What goals do you feel you haven't accomplished yet in your music, either in your lyrics and melody, or in your guitar playing ? What are you still striving for ?

Writing a good bridge.

Do you doodle while you're on the phone and what is your doodle of choice ?

Yes, arrows piercing flesh.

There has been a recent resurgence of questions regarding Shakespeare's identity by groups which include notable actors like Derek Jacobi. What is your opinion of the controversy regarding Shakespeare's authorship ?

Every author has a different flavor and style, they taste different - each of them. To me all of the Shakespeare that I've done, including staged reading, auditions and plays, all of it tastes the same.

Do you like your driver's license photo ?

Yes ! I actually do ! And so much so that I really don't want to get a new license because I know I'm gonna be older now. I'm two months away from getting a new passport photo and the new one is gonna be like (scrunches up face). Laughs.

What was one of your "least favorite reads" (i.e. assigned or forced on you by a teacher - a topic you didn't like, or a theme that didn't fit with your life at the time) that turned out to provide insight, motivation or opportunity for you later in life ?

My teachers were cool and gave me good stuff to read ; but I did get stuck with Alan Greenspan's latest book on CD during a 5 hour road trip where he bragged about his finesse of the economy. Obviously written before the economy tanked ! Too sad to be funny.

Favorites :

City in the world and why : San Francisco, which is a frontier Paris, but doesn't pride itself yet and has found the wisdom to be tolerant - which is why United Federation of Planets chose it to be its capital.

Sandwich : Just a good hoagie on a warm day.

James Marsters - September 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-09-15T18:37:37Z

How do you entertain yourself on an airplane ?

Books, Vanity Fair, science magazines, sleep and giving myself foot rubs.

Who were the first and last bands you saw in concert ?

First band was the Clash in 1979 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and the last one was Arcade Fire at Hollywood Bowl in LA.

As a parent and an artist what do you think of the schools cutting back on art programs ?

It is one of many important things being cut right now like security, class size, and new books...and it's been proven that music programs increase math test results. But so many essential things are being cut right now.

Which do you find easier to portray, characters that are close to your real life personality or those that are wildly different ?

I always use my personality traits, the things that are true about me in all roles whether or not I think I am close to them.

Finish the sentence : New Year's resolutions make me…

Barf.

Yes or No :

Did you have braces when you were a kid ? No.

Do you still paint ? No, I wish I did.

Do you need reading glasses when you read books ? (laughs) Yes, but I always lie about that – don't tell anyone.

James Marsters - About Technology - Guardian.co.uk Interview

Webmaster — 2009-09-12T12:29:11Z

What's your favourite piece of technology, and how has it improved your life ?

First of all, in general I am not a fan of technology – for one thing, I have found the telephone to be an imposition. However, Pro Tools has let garage bands record their music to a professional level, and that's been a great thing. I also love iMovie on the Mac.

When was the last time you used it, and what for ?

With iMovies, I make little movies with my son, either gag commercials or a little character called the Maestro, that we created ourselves.

What additional features would you add if you could ?

I don't know that I know enough about what's in Pro Tools to know that – I'm still learning about what's in there.

Do you think it will be obsolete in 10 years' time ?

No, I think it will be easier to use – and will hopefully have prettier colours on the screen.

What always frustrates you about technology in general ?

That you can't smell it – that the textures in the experience are always smooth and hard. And we need to find a way to lower the power usage of computers – the energy usage is a lot bigger than we thought.

Is there any particular piece of technology that you have owned and hated ?

For a while I hated my cellphone – sometimes in Hollywood, the cellphone seems like a leash. Often I would lose it on purpose – but I'm better now, I've grown up.

If you had one tip about getting the best out of new technology, what would it be ?

Read the documentation – new technology is always so pretty and gleaming, but a lot of people skip reading how to work it.

Do you consider yourself to be a luddite or a nerd ?

I guess I'm a bit of both. I used to go to Star Trek conventions with pointed ears, so I'm defintiely a nerd.

What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned ?

Apart from my car – a Honda Accord, I'm going to drive it till it dies – I guess it would be my Apple computer, my iBook.

Mac or PC, and why ?

Mac, Mac, Mac – because it works. It seems to just be more liquid, and friendlier.

Do you still buy physical media such as CDs and DVDs, or do you download ?

I'm still buying discs, but not as many as I used to. Now I try to get those movies I'll be seeing more than one time.

Robot butlers – a good idea or not ?

Well, it seems like it was going to be a good idea, but now they are experimenting with giving machines emotions.

What piece of technology would you most like to own ?

Pro Tools – I want to really get my head around that. I'd also like to be a wizard on an iPhone.

• James Marsters is best known for his role as the vampire Spike on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He has also appeared in the BBC's Torchwood. His most recent film, Dragonball Evolution, is out now on DVD and Blu-ray

James Marsters - August 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-08-15T19:12:59Z

August 2009

Is there a movie that makes you cry everytime you see it ?

“W” by Oliver Stone. (laughs)

Have you had a role that really changed your life and the way you see things ?

Hmmm, (pause). Yes, I have many times. I was very lucky in early adulthood to do many classic plays and I feel half-raised by the great authors. Plays like “Dollhouse” by Ibsen, ‘Measure for Measure”, “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Macbeth” by Shakespeare, “The Red Coat” by David Mamet - these were the teachers at my finishing school.

What did Spike's vampire face feel like ?

Like nothing at all ! The foam was very light and moved with your face with no effort. The teeth sucked – they forced you to mumble and slur when you were trying to be inhumanly cool.

Have you considered the possibility of one day starting up another theater company ? If you did, is there anything that you know that you would do right off to make it work best ?

If I met the right five people who are in on the thing, I could be talked into it, but it is second only to child rearing in its difficulty. The one thing I'd do first is to get a business manager. Doing good plays that are well-received is not guaranteed without that.

Could you say a few words about Andy Hallett ? It broke my heart when he died and I'd love to hear someone who knew him say a few words about him.

Andy was a real man - you can tell an adult by how they deal with pain or adversity. Andy's eyeballs gave him searing pain all day every day because of the contacts they used. He was every moment a gentlemen ; laughing and joking, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Obsession - unhealthy or motivating and why ?

Unhealthy. You gotta be careful not to want something that you can't figure out how to get.

I've noticed that many fans sing along with you at concerts. What goes through your mind when you look out at an audience and find them singing the songs that you wrote along with you ?

I hope we all keep the same time (laughs).

Favorites :

Batman : There's no other Batman, but the current Batman, Christian Bale. George Clooney ? Come on, man. There's nobody else with the balls of Christian Bale.

Outdoor activities : Hiking, biking and frisbee.

CD you always reach for to play when you're driving : Nick Drake.

James Marsters - July 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-07-17T12:31:36Z

How good are you at spotting liars/phonies ?

Too good. Too good.

Have you read Kurt Cobain's journals that were published a few years ago ? If so, what was your opinion on such a personal thing being made public ?

I think Kurt Cobain was a wonderful musician. I don't think I would have wanted to have dinner with him. I think he was very confused - but I loved him.

What impact does shooting a script out of sequence have for a method actor ? How do you compensate for the lack of emotional continuity ?

No impact at all. Meryl Streep says she forgets on purpose where the scenes fall in the script. You just play one day, one situation at a time, but you do not tell the story.

I appreciate varied constructs of songs and noticed quite a few of your songs don't have bridges ; Finer Than Gold, This Town... Was that a conscious decision or just simply the way they came out ?

It's simply because I'm not that great with bridges ! (giggles)

How cool was it to be in Superman's Ice Fortress ?

I know it's an illusion, but are you ever able to forget the cameras and crew and just be within the magic ?

No, because it was 115 degrees on that set and I was too busy dying. (laughs) And there was particulate in the air that you just knew was gonna give you cancer, so it was horrible. And poor Tom. He can't sweat ; he's all about getting it right and Superman doesn't sweat, so he really suffered.

Favorites :

Period in history ?

The development of agriculture, townships and the three desert religiions (Christianity, Judiasm and Islam) all of which happened back to back.

Ice cream ?

Don't get to eat ice cream anymore, but in an ideal world ? Chocolate. Wait, No. Fake ice cream. My favorite sugarless ice cream, diabetic ice cream, is Cookies and Cream. It's really good, but it has this really weird aftertaste. You can't stop eating it ! Like don't stop eating it because then you'll realize it tastes horrible. ( Laughs)

James Marsters - "Moonshot" Tv Movie - Nzherald.co.nz Interview

Webmaster — 2009-07-16T15:21:19Z

As a lad, glued to the TV coverage of the Moon landing with 600 million others around the world, actor James Marsters was a little put out by how fuzzy the picture was.

"I was allowed to stay up late, and I was never allowed to stay up late," he remembers.

"I'd been told that this was very important. It seemed very cool at the time, but I couldn't understand why the picture was so bad. In my mind I thought it was going to look spectacular but it was all grainy. And then I got sleepy and got taken to bed," he laughs.

Back in July 1969, while the world was trumpeting the achievements of Neil Armstrong, it was Buzz Aldrin who 7-year-old Marsters was a fan of.

"The next day everybody was talking about Neil Armstrong and for some reason I thought Buzz was the cool guy. I never liked to go with what everyone else was doing. So I think just because everyone was talking about Neil I just naturally went with Buzz - it's a lot cooler name anyway."

Forty years on, Marsters finds himself playing his childhood hero in new television movie Moonshot : The Flight of Apollo 11 (July 26, 8.30pm, Prime), directed by Richard Dale, the man behind factual films like 2007's 9/11 The Twin Towers and the excellent documentary about the Apollo space missions, In the Shadow of the Moon.

Moonshot is a docu-drama containing never-seen-before archive footage and special effects that recount the lead-up to the Moon mission, the landing on July 20, and the return to Earth. It also reveals the intense competition that developed between Armstrong and Aldrin over who would be the first man to walk on the Moon.

Rather than being epic and grand, like many past space movies, the 90-minute tele movie is snappy and to the point with Armstrong's famous line, "One small step ...", almost glossed over in favour of the astronaut's descriptions of the Moon's surface.

"You could easily make it into a soap opera because there was such huge competiton," says Marsters. "They were all alpha dogs, and there was definitely a soap opera happening with them but we were just trying to tell the story as it happened and not trying to pump it up.

"These guys were not just the heroes we painted them as being, but in fact they were human beings," says the actor who's probably best known as Spike from TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Marsters prefers not to talk about Buffy, not that he's ashamed of it, it's just that he rates Moonshot as the most challenging and rewarding project he's done. So there's a lot to talk about, especially considering he got the chance to be Buzz Aldrin.

"He's like the coolest guy on Earth. He did something cooler than go to the Moon, he became a really cool person. And he saved himself," he says in reference to Aldrin's battle with alcoholism and depression.

He jokes that Aldrin's recent collaboration with rapper Snoop Dogg on the song Rocket Experience is further proof of the 79-year-old's enduring coolness.

It was because of Aldrin's highly strung personality that he was not given the nod ahead of the more cool, calm and collected - if a little boring - Armstrong to be the first man to walk on the Moon.

"I think Buzz should have got out first though, man," offers Marsters. "You know, the commander of the mission always stayed behind, every time, up until this one. I understand that Armstrong was probably more stable and he would probably handle the worldwide fame better, and as it turns out Armstrong has pretty much clammed up, and I don't blame him, but at the same time if they'd have chosen Buzz there'd be a more talkative first man to the Moon."

While Aldrin is the most competitive of the three Apollo 11 astronauts he's also the biggest team player.

"He just wanted to be the best astronaut ever because he thought - and I guess I'm speaking for someone who is still alive, which is a bit dicey - but to my understanding, he thought his father would finally tell him, 'Good job, son,' which he never said. That sort of thing will drive you to excel."

Moonshot manages to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, much like you'd imagine life in the crammed capsule to be like. Dale and his film crew used small cameras that, for the first time in the making of a movie of this type, enabled filming to be done using sets that were the actual size of the Apollo 11 capsule.

"Up until now they have always had to shoot with cameras that were very large, even the capsule in [the 1995 Tom Hanks movie] Apollo 13, which is a great film, was three times as big as it really was, so it kind of looks comfortable. It almost looks like it was a cakewalk to go to the Moon," says Marsters.

Which it wasn't, of course. And as farfetched as it sounds, by playing the part of Aldrin, he says he can appreciate what the astronauts went through to get to the Moon.

"They thought they only really had a 50/50 chance of living, and I don't know if they were afraid, they might have been resigned to their fate, but it was definitely not a cake walk.

"It's akin to going up Everest. It's really uncomfortable and it's not even that healthy. It's just one stinking miasma the whole time but you're doing something you really want to do so you put up with it. So what was out the window was definitely worth it but good God, what you have to go through inside that capsule."

What : Moonshot : The Flight of Apollo 11, about the journey to the Moon and back

When : Prime, July 26, 8.30pm

Who : James Marsters, as astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Marsters is best known as Spike the Vampire in Buffy The Vampire Slayer

James Marsters - June 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-06-15T19:33:20Z

What Shakespearean villian(s) would you love to portray ? I ask, because I think you'd make a great Iago !

Exactly - so that would be the one !

Do you use funny voices when you read to your kids at bedtime ?

Uhm, my kids are too old, they don't want me to read to them anymore. But when I did, the voices I used were (adopts exaggerated proper diction and posture) appropriate and not funny at all, which led to the drama of the book. (laughs loudly) But no really, they weren't funny voices but they were right for the story - so yes, I would use different voices, but in a way that the kids didn't even process that the voice changes - it was just integrated as part of the story.

Technically speaking, which singer has the skills you'd most love to emulate ?

Bruce Springsteen – he has the most honest voice out there right now. I would love to get a little tiny John Lennon, who was, afterall, the original Kurt Cobain, in me as well.

What is the origin of the name Piccolo ?

Online I'm told it was from the musical instrument but I don't know if that's true or not.

What prompted you to start a You Tube page with your son Sullivan ?

I wanted to introduce Sullivan to fame. I was counting on somebody being rude in the talkbacks, but the comments were all so nice that I don't think I got the lesson I was looking for for my son, which is that fame is a double-edged sword. Right now it just totally looks cool to him and I wish people weren't quite so polite. (laughs)

Either/Or

Star Trek or Star Wars

Wow. Uhm, both. Star Trek came first of course and Star Trek gives me hope for the future. Star Wars rekindled a deep mythology - Star Wars is basically a thousand year old story. It's amazing that it made so much money because we've been told that story a thousand times - but it's just such a good story. So, yeah. both. I'm not gonna choose.

Ginger, Mary Ann or Mrs. Howell ?

Oh !! Totally NOT Ginger ! Mary Ann. Totally Mary Ann. Because Ginger would never be true to you. I live in Hollywood. I know ! (laughs)

Finish this sentence :

At home my favorite item is ... Keys to let me in the door. Home is a good place.

I tend to be emotional when... I breathe.

James Marsters - May 2009 - Jamesmarsters.com Q&A

Webmaster — 2009-05-16T16:48:40Z

How do you handle hecklers in the theater who refuse to shut up, even when you ignore them ?

Luckily in theater we don't have hecklers. I've always felt for comedians because of that. But you cannot stand up and shout Shakespeare sucks because he doesn't ! I usually find myself frustrated by people rustling.

'"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Do you believe this to be true ?

Absolutely. Love is what makes life worthwhile in its many forms. Tennesse Williams said something about this in “Camino Real” - he said “Make voyages ! - Attempt them ! - there's nothing else.”

What don't you understand about the opposite sex ?

My problem is that I think understand too much about the opposite sex - but I may be wrong.

What are your biggest hopes of the Obama administration ? What are your biggest fears ?

My biggest hope is that Congress will give him every program that we the people mandated. My biggest fear is that the people will not pay attention and we will forget what we asked him to do.

Which of your songs effortlessly wrote themselves and which did you have to wrestle out of hiding ?

Wow...95% of my songs come very fast. I tend to wait a long time until a song writes itself in my head. If it doesn't come fast, I usually bog down and it never gets done. My latest song “Moonshot” came out of its own will.

Finish this sentence : Clowns make me…

Think.

Yes or No -

Did you have braces when you were a kid ?

No.

Would you eat a tarantula for $1,000 ?

Hell yeah – let him be scared for once !

James Marsters - "Angel : After The Fall" Comic Book - Mtv.com Interview

Webmaster — 2009-04-21T18:28:59Z

Though its been off the airwaves for years (and this is back when TV had airwaves), the Buffyverse lives on today in comic book form. James Marsters, the “Dragonball Evolution” actor who played vampire villain-turned-hero Spike in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” recently shared some thoughts with with MTV News about his experience working with “Buffy” comics and how he tries to keep up with his vampiric alter ego.

“I like what I see,” Marsters told MTV News of IDW's “Angel” series.

With ongoing “Buffy” and “Angel” comics currently published by two separate companies (Dark Horse and IDW, respectively), the character of Spike is, at the moment, making all his appearances in the latter. But when both series were still on the air, Dark Horse controlled the complete Buffyverse and actually hired Marsters to pen his own comic book minseries, “Spike and Dru,” an experience that the actor confessed wasn't one of his favorite memories.

“I thought that if I wrote a comic, I'd have ultimate power over everything,” said Marsters. “It was a rude awakening to find out how little power writers have.”

The real bone of contention was with Dark Horse's choice of artist Keith Barnett, who drew everything in a dark, gothic style that, while he liked the art, Marsters insists just wasn't right for his story.

“[He] drew it in a real Goth style that made [Spike and Dru] both look feral and ugly,” explained Marsters. “I thought that was kind of cool for me, but Juliette Landau didn't write this and didn't want her character drawn like a hideous beast… This is a twisted romance. This is not a gothic thing. And in romance, the leads have to be romantic. They have to be characters that the audience wants to kiss.”

Though he complained to Dark Horse, it was too late to make any changes and Marsters was left with a comic that he's not entirely proud of. On the flipside, though, he takes some glee in the fact that, afterwards, all of Dark Horse's Spike appearances were, in his mind, overly handsome.

“Every time they do a comic,” he laughs, “they're probably worried, ‘That James Marsters, he's going to give us a call.'”

What do you think of the current “Buffy” and “Angel” series ? Should Marsters reconsider and try his hand at writing again ? Share your thoughts below !