What struck me about that is how controlled she is. I mean, her pride in BtVS is apparent in her words -- and her swift defense of the show -- and yet she just keeps her emotions under wraps. Even when talking about Robot Chicken, which she obviously adores doing, her expression barely changes. I wonder if this hasn't misled people in the past.

Also:

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much fun is Robot Chicken?
A. 22.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | July 14, 18:16 CET

SMG is very "controlled" in interviews, and that's a good. She wants to present herself a certain way, as being a responsible, intelligent actress who's very hirable, and I think she comes across as that. She's a smart cookie.

As for SMG returning to Buffyverse, I'm not holding my breath. If Buffyverse returns to TV or movies, maybe other characters should be explored. Heck, SMG might be happy to just show up in a cameo or guest-star capacity.

quantumac | July 14, 18:54 CET

Yeah, that's actually one of the things i've always liked about her. She keeps part of herself back but she doesn't fake not doing so (if that makes sense ;). To me it's a totally understandable approach from someone that's been a professional actor since they were about 5.

Saje | July 14, 18:56 CET

"She keeps part of herself back but she doesn't fake not doing so (if that makes sense ;)."

Funny you should say it in that way, Saje. I've said the same thing about her before, more or less.

I watched an interview with Sarah (I think from This Morning, although it would have been a while back regardless) with my then girlfriend. The ex in question said something along the lines of Sarah appearing to be quite guarded in how she responded, not letting herself go or relax to the point of almost seeming uncomfortable even being there. I hadn't noticed anything of the sort and so I watch the interview a second time to see what she meant and for the first time it struck me that there was a guarded nature to how she responded in interviews. However it also occured to me that it was a much more natural approach than most actors would give.

You sometimes get the impression that many celebs, particularly actors, create a character for themselves to play during interviews and public appearances. It allows them to appear open and friendly but is actually all about hiding who they really are. That's not a bad thing, of course. They have no more reason to want to be entirely truthful about who they are then any of us do. We all have a "social self" and a "private self". For a celeb it's obviously even more important to do so.

Yet with Sarah I rarely get the feeling I'm seeing her "social self" when she is interviewed. It's more that we are getting the true Sarah Michelle Gellar, but only up to the point she chooses to allow us to see it, if you see what I mean? No false overly friendly personality to hide her privacy. Just privacy. It's probably one of the reasons that she often get's misquoted or, more accurately, quoted and misunderstood. Rather than prepare a false answer that covers her ass in all eventualities she just says what she thinks about a given subject, up to the point that she wants to discuss it. Beyond that she doesn't seem to feel the need to say a lot of additional words to cover the fact she would actually be saying nothing.

Very refreshing to see a 21st century celeb with that kind of thinking.

Bored Now | July 14, 19:25 CET

Yeah exactly, we see "her but guarded" rather than "fake her" (or maybe it's just "really good fake her" ;).

She's always quite clever in what she says though I think so in that sense we may not always get the complete truth but I do think by and large we get nothing but the truth (for instance, most of her answers to the interminable "Would you play Buffy again ?" question may be how she actually feels about it BUT are also hedged quite spectacularly ;).

Course, with some (rare) celebrities WYSIWYG and that's admirable too in its way (even if I personally don't understand being that open with millions of total strangers myself).

Saje | July 14, 19:57 CET

I get the sense that she knows who she is more than many people in her profession, and that she trusts herself and her intelligence. So that what you see and hear is actually quite candid, compared to most celebs interviewed, to the extent that she's willing to discuss a topic.
Which is really the same things you guys said. But I think that's why she can do it. If you see what I mean.

toast | July 14, 20:37 CET

I don't think she's all that comfortable in things like interviews or talk shows (except for Conan O'Brien, who seemed to able to put her at ease.) She's an actress, but not so much an entertainer, so to speak.

witchlover | July 14, 20:44 CET

I'd say she's businesslike, and she shows respect for her audience.

TwelveDozen | July 14, 21:01 CET

Highlander said:



Very, very well-put. That's exactly how I feel watching her in interviews, and that, every bit as much as her considerable talent, makes me respect her.

[ edited by Lirazel on 2008-07-14 18:17 ]

Lirazel | July 14, 21:17 CET

I had certainly never seen this interview, which was obviously done at the beginning of the year, thank you for posting it, alien lanes! I think Sarah would never have to worry about being type cast in the 'Adam West effect' way because unlike the TV Batman, Buffy was a three dimensional layered character which actually showcased how beautifully she could handle comedy, drama, action, and even do a very decent job singing! I'm glad to hear that she is so proud of the work she did, because she should be proud of it!

embers | July 14, 21:58 CET

She is so eloquent and professional. I love how this is uncut too. They didn't need to edit for effect or to clean something up. She was perfect!

platinumtlc | July 14, 23:14 CET

*snicker* I just had a thought of how Sarah could lend James some of her "composure" and James can lend her some of his "laid-back-ness".

In a perfect world, ne? ;)

Mirage | July 14, 23:50 CET

This was a really good interview, it made me smile to see how proud she obviously still is of BtVS and the work she did on it. I've never gotten why some people try to claim otherwise. She obviously wants to move on with her career but at the same time remaining proud of her past accomplishments.

SteveJ2008 | July 15, 00:43 CET

I loved her immediate answer to the Robot Chicken scale of fun. I think she is absolutely professional and totally genuine. Thanks so much for a video that personifies that.

[ edited by Tonya J on 2008-07-14 21:57 ]

Tonya J | July 15, 00:57 CET