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Amber Benson Interview
But she not just talked about them but about her new films and her writing. |
S: You've said, and I quote, "I'm a freak who sits in front of my computer and types my name again and again into Yahoo Search." What is your reaction to all of the websites and groups and mailing lists devoted to you?
 A: Well, I have to say that I was being a little sarcastic when I said that. I only do it occasionally...you know, like once every couple of hours. You know, it's very flattering, and I'm really lucky because I have, as I like to say, the coolest fans in the biz, and they always write really nice things. They refrain from being too nasty. They're actually always very supportive, and very rarely do I get someone who's not, you know, really nice. They like to talk about how much Tara influenced them and let them know that it's okay to be gay, and all these wonderful things that people say just make me feel good. So, going and seeing all this stuff is always very flattering.
S: Yet in certain ways, it almost seems as if your private life is really everyone's business, or they assume it's their business. Does that ever turn out to be off-putting for you,or do you just kind of roll with it?
A: Ummm (pause). It's not that it's off-putting... it's just a little invasive. When you get into this industry, youknow that what becomes of your life is sort of public knowledge. Who you are, who you're sleeping with...you know, people want to know, so they start investigating, and they report what they see online. One time, I had someone tell me, "Oh, I heard you were at Ikea." I guess they had read something online that I had been at Ikea shopping for, like, door knob pulls, or something. I said, "My God, who writes this stuff?" Apparently I was at Ikea in my overalls, looking for hinges for the door. You know, it's just very odd that people are interested. 'Cause, you know, I'm not interested in me. I'm like, "I don't really care what's going on with me...but everybody else is."Not really, actually...it's just some people who get very excited...I don't know.
 The one thing that was tough was when I took over being the love interest for Willow. A lot of people had issues with that, because they loved Seth Green so much, and it was like, (employing high-pitched whine) "We don't like
that girl, bababababa!" And it wasn't that they were talking about me as Amber, they were talking about the character. But because I identified so closely with Tara, because I really liked her, I was like, "Hrumph! I don't like you guys...you're really mean!"
S: I just remember the firestorm of protest when Seth joined the show, because so many people were saying, "No, Willow has to be..."
A: ...with Xander, yes!
S: And he rode through that well, and I thought you did just as well.
A: Well, thank you. I gave Iyari [Limon, who played Willow's girlfriend Kennedy in Season 7] the same advice: "You've just got to roll with the punches. They're going to be a little bit up in arms, but eventually they'll warm up to you."
S: I think she did a good job.
A: Definitely.
S: If it had gone to an eighth season, I think she would have really won people over.
A: That's what I always said. If she had just one more season, she totally would have had everybody loving her and totally hating me.
S: Now that is a bargain! Okay...from what little we've heard, GRYPHON [for the Sci-Fi Network] sounds like a very different kind of role for you. What can you tell us about it?
A: Yeaaaaah...GRYPHON's awesome! I got to play this, like, warrior princess?.
S: This is what we hear, and we have images of Xena.
A: It's in that vein, definitely. In that vein...more clothing than the XENA crew usually had on.
S: Chris mentioned that you're in a project right now. Is that just post-production for GRYPHON, or are you doing something altogether new?
A: I've been really, really busy. I actually just finished a movie called STRICTLY SEXUAL. It's a sex farce, and I'm in lingerie the whole movie.
 S: Again, just so many people are going to have a deeply emotional response to something you've just said here.
A: I'm in my underwear the whole time. Oh, and I also wear a schoolgirl uniform.
S: Okay, I've got to stop this interview and spend some alone time with myself. Amber, it's been great talking with you.
A: Oh, maaaaaaaaaaan! And then I did another film called MOUNTAIN TIME that I'm really, really happy with. It's a lovely family film, it's just beautiful. We shot in North Carolina, and I'm really proud of it.
b>S: Ah, here we are...do you seek out a lot of the roles you've played lately, doing auditions and such, or have many of them just come to you because producers and directors know your work well enough to believe you're right for the part?
A: Most of its comes actually not because people like me and know I'm right for the part, but because I've made so many friends in the industry now, so that one person will work with me, and they'll be like, "Hey, you've got to go work with my friend!" So, it becomes this ongoing thing where the next person's like, (effects deep voice) "Hey, I'm doing this thing!" And I'm like, "But, how do you...?" And they're like, "I saw the film you did...my friend is the director, or the editor, you know." Like, the STRICTLY SEXUAL movie came directly from the film I did a year and a half ago called RACE YOU TO THE BOTTOM. The guy who directed the latest film saw it at one of the film festivals, and hit me up, and it turns out he's a friend of a friend. It's like kismet.
S: You've got a number of films slated for release in 2006. Is this the Year of Amber Benson?
A: Let's hope! You know, I've just been trying to keep busy. I've pretty much taken everything I got offered, and I was lucky that everything has been some pretty interesting stuff. I was really pleased with GRYPHON, and with the film in North Carolina, and the one I did just recently. I'm just really lucky that its all been interesting work.
S: Well, I know that a year ago at this time, there were people online fretting that you didn't seem to be doing much of anything, and they were worried you were giving up acting.
A: I was doing so much writing, I was sort of sucked in to the literary world. But I'm trying to balance those now. It sort of balances to one side, then leans back and balances to the other side.
These are just extracts from a very long interview. Click on sourcelink to read the whole interview.
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