Behind the Scenes

Buried, Burned and Beaten ~

One of the appealing elements about the producers of Angel is that they allow the actors to be affected by the story, for instance last season when she was brought back from the dead as a human and this season being with 'spawn in the oven'. Not exactly a glamorous gig at times, having been set on fire, drowned like a rat, and buried in dirt, most actresses wouldn't hear of that but Julie confesses, "You know it's funny, because you read the scripts and it reads really cool, and you forget that it's actually you that has to do it until you're actually doing it and going, 'Oh God! I have to do that?' " she says with a look of shock. "But it's always been a very safe environment to work on, they're definitely into actor safety and they would never do anything that would put you in harm's way. When I was buried under that dirt - it was actually topsoil so it was very light - and even though I took into account that I am claustrophobic and that I was a little freaked out, they made it so that I only had to do a couple of takes where I was actually buried." Julie assured us that they are very concerned about the comfort and safety level of their actors as in a scene she recalls from Darla when, "I had to ride on a horse through fire. I ride horses recreationally, I wouldn't say I'm an accomplished rider; I'm a very basic rider. I feel somewhat comfortable on a horse and I felt very comfortable on that horse, but I did not feel comfortable with the fire. They have an amazing stunt double for me who does everything, Lisa Hoyle, and she's always there during those scenes, and when I don't feel comfortable doing something she does it. She's an exact double of me, looks exactly like me. All of our doubles are amazing!" It's interesting to note that Lisa also worked stunts on the recent film Pearl Harbor in which Mike Massa (Angel stunt coordinator and double for David Boreanaz) also doubled for Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett.

Julie's eyes light up with a wicked gleam, "You know, David's double is just as gorgeous as David!" Julie is grinning as her last line sinks in having the desired effect of sending us into hysterics! This is Girl's Talk in action, we collectively go into our own little private worlds imagining a place where we have two gorgeous men looking out for us - it's definitely a world where I know I personally could quite happily set up camp and a tent with a mini-bar!

Buried but not forgotten!

Kristy gives credit where credit is due, "Mike Massa." Julie's got the proverbial bit between her teeth knowing she's onto something only us four girls can appreciate, and enthuses, "He's a hunk isn't he? He's gorgeous! I'm like, 'Oh my God. He's just as gorgeous as David!" Julie is on a roll now, the interview has completely fallen apart, she's laughing hard at the consternation she's causing so carries on by mercilessly telling us, "There was this one scene [in Darla] where we're up a tree and [Angel] grabbed me. I was on this lift to make that effect work and it was Mike Massa who dropped down. Well at one point, we got all tangled up and my head was right in his crouch and I just got the giggles! He was like, 'Oh my God!' he got so embarrassed and everyone was laughing, it was the middle of the night, like three in the morning. And I was like, 'Wha . . .' " Julie's in so much helpless mirth recalling this tale she can't even finish her sentence, we can't help her out, we're holding onto our sides in an effort to stop them bursting at the seams! ". . . can we do this one again?' I mean it's like between David and Mike you're just like, 'Okay! Come here, beat me up, go for it.' "

While we're doubled up, trying to regain our composure Julie R. comes up with the ultimate vote of mock-sympathy: "I don't know how you cope, I really don't." Somehow we've got to calm this lot down! Normality makes a return and Julie's just about recovered now as she goes on to tell us, "When they get such great doubles for us it takes the pressure off you as an actor. But you know, being buried alive -- they did say that if I wasn't comfortable that Lisa could do it -- but I was like, 'No, I think I'll be okay.' Especially knowing that David was the one that was going to come in and clear my face and he's been put through the wringer on the show and knows how it can be difficult. He's the first one to be concerned about fellow actor safety as well, to make sure that you're okay with it and it's going to be done properly. Although the big joke was . . ." Julie says in a small, scared voice, " . . . 'Don't leave me when you all go to lunch. Don't forget about me! Please!' " Poor Julie, fancy having to go thru all that muck only to be rescued by David. Sorry Julie, you lost the sympathy vote there girl!

Beauty and the Beastie ~

Angelus and Darla party likes it's 1699

The series has also been very daring with Darla's make up and CoA recently spoke to Dayne Johnson (Makeup Supervisor) and he had this to say, "Julie is a pleasure to work with and work on. She can pull off any makeup that we put on her. From Beauty to Period to Vamp makeup, she looks great. It also helps to have a very talented actress to help our makeup look good." Julie is thrilled, "Aw!" but still says jokingly "I should have been nicer to him! I always give Dayne a hard time, but in a funny way!" She humbly accepts the compliment and continues to return the favor, "That's so sweet! I always say that the makeup does 90% of the job. When I was first hired to play Darla I had no idea how I was going to play her. When they did the makeup test on me and they put the vampire face on; I went to my trailer, I looked in the mirror and I smiled and I realized that, a) that's pretty creepy, and b) I didn't really have to do much. Playing scary or evil, or any of that - even with the period stuff - the makeup and hair does 90% of the job and the costumes! They give you the sense that you're in that time period. I mean it is up to you as an actor to fill it and to move a certain way and to speak a certain way. You can't just stand and go like, 'bleh'," as she plops into her seat for emphasis. "The wardrobe doesn't allow you because you're in that 18th Century corset and you can't breathe anyway, let alone slouch, or walk!" she explains laughing. "Most of the job's already done for you, it's just your job to allow it to affect you and to realize the work that it's actually doing and not to fight against it."

We're all fascinated by this as Kristy asks Julie if she considers this daring, as a beautiful woman, to do and goes on to explain, "Because you're giving these scenes, lately in the last season where you have to look plain, you have to look haggard, and there's no makeup per se. Actresses just don't go there." Julie nods and agrees, "Some don't. It's always important to me that I don't allow my vanity to get in the way of the character and if I ever feel that's happening it's important to remind myself that; it's not just about 'pretty Julie', it's about Darla, or it's about the character that I am playing. I have to step aside from myself; I have to say, 'Uh uh,' like in this season of Angel, I don't wear any makeup at all. There's no correction, there's no making me look worse, that's just how I look without makeup on and that was my choice. And a lot of people were surprised by it, but I talked to Greeny about where Darla was at emotionally and this just felt like the right thing to do." She follows with a mock-shudder, "Some of my friends go, 'Oh! Aren't you a little scared about being on camera without makeup?' I said, 'Yeah, it's a little scary!' but it actually makes me feel a little more vulnerable which helps play the character a little bit more vulnerable. And when I'm wearing a lot of makeup and have to do hugely emotional scenes, sometimes I feel really ridiculous." She gives a little laugh, "It's hard, so for me knowing that when I have to play her in a very vulnerable 'place', it's actually almost a little easier. Especially when you're looking at Charisma [Carpenter] who is just drop dead gorgeous, and you're in a scene with her and there you are with a pregnancy pad on and no makeup and you're just like..." She says with a little pretend sigh, " 'I am a complete dog!' " And then laughs, "You know it helps!

"This is what happens when you have unprotected sex!"

"But in the episode Darla where we show her dying in the Virginia colony in 1607, they had done very white, kind of pale makeup on me and I remember I ran out on set and I grabbed Tim Minear and I said, 'Tim, Tim! Can I have a herpes sore on my mouth?' and he went, 'Okay.' " Julie mimics Tim's expression at this obvious lapse of sanity. "Everyone was looking at me really funny and I'm like, 'Cool!' I ran back to hair and makeup and I went to David DeLeon - who I always used to call 'Big Daddy' - and I'm like, 'Big Daddy! Give me a herpes sore!' " Everyone is in hysterics, again, as Julie goes from manic child-like glee to the cold light-of-day, exasperated realization that David has an evil sense of humor somewhere up his sleeve. "And he gave me two!" She groans, "I remember looking in the mirror going, 'Oh God! I forgot how good they are here.' They were really real looking! And then it's like, 'Okay, did I make the right choice?' Once again your vanity steps in the way and you're like, 'Oh god, what was I thinking?' But then you think, 'You know, Michelle Pfeiffer did it in Witches of Eastwick and if she can do it I can do it in Angel." But the humor doesn't end there as Julie recalls, "The big joke all last season was they called me 'Syphilis whore'. Oh dear, once more Julie has succeeded in reducing both herself and the CoA crew to yet another bout helpless mirth! "I would walk around with the herpes sore on my mouth going, 'This is what happens when you have unprotected sex.' Issuing little PSA's about it. It's part of the fun of being an actor, to be able to die of syphilis one minute and then to be dressed completely regal in 17th Century Ireland. It's just part of the joy of being an actor and to be able to go to these places that you don't normally live in or to act with a certain energy that you don't normally live with. I like looking bad; it's a lot of fun! Takes the pressure off!"

Speaking of pressure, another threat of working on Angel is Caritas! But Julie pulled off her singing début, Ill Wind (You're Blowing Me No Good) amazingly well. The Blues is not an easy thing to tackle! Julie visibly cringes in agony as she recalls having to sing, "Oh God!" Now we've got the reigns, so we continue with the torture; is she sorry she missed out the Buffy Musical Extravaganza? She makes a very quick reply with a very firm, "No! I thought it was brilliantly done but I am not a singer. I very rarely sing, I sing in my car when no one's around at the top of my lungs and no one can hear me. It's the one thing that is very nerve-wracking for me and when they called, Greeny's like, 'Oh! You know we're thinking of having you sing in next week's episode, can you sing?' He told me it's the song Ill Wind, and I'd never heard it before so I was like, 'Well, I don't know but you know what? I'll try! I'm not going to say I can't.' " She enlightens us to the fact that there was a contingency plan if it turned out to be too painful. "The back-up plan was that if they didn't like it, they would have somebody come in and dub it and I agreed to it because I thought, 'I really don't know if I can do it.' I was so terrified, I would practice at home and my husband would have to stand downstairs and around the corner -- I couldn't even see him -- so he could listen because he sings, he's an amazing singer and so he helped me with it but he couldn't be in the same room!" Julie confesses, "I mean, he'd have to be standing in the closet or downstairs around the corner and I had to have my eyes closed and really feel like I was alone!"

Julie chuckles, amused at her own admission of self-consciousness in regards to her vocal talents. Why she worries, we have no idea - as is evident in the end result, she has a fine voice! "When I went into the sound studio to record it they had to turn off the lights and stick me in the corner away from the window and I had to close my eyes. The first couple of takes are terrible, absolutely terrible because you could really hear how nervous I am and I'm petrified! Skip Schoolnik, the Supervising Producer, had to really baby me through it and keep complimenting me to give me confidence!" She laughs at the memory, "Finally we got it and then when we shot the scene and they did playback on it I forgot there were going to be extras in the scene. I'm sitting there with like all these extras and I told each and every one, 'I'm not a singer! I'm not a singer!' They were so supportive and so wonderful." Julie humorously admits that she had originally requested that it be a 'cleared set' the day of the shoot with nobody there, "Not even the crew! Just with the camera and me, I'll just do it like that because I'm so close to the crew and you really worry about embarrassing yourself! And then they actually had me sing it live too! I was so nervous; I mean the microphone kept slipping from my hands because my hands were so sweaty. But I couldn't have David there, David wasn't allowed to be there!" she professes. We all know David's unique sense of fun, so we can really see why she'd have him chased off the set rather than suffer the horrors of singing with him standing to one side! Poor woman! What? Would he make you laugh? We oh-so-innocently ask. "That, and I've known him for so long that it would have just been too embarrassing to sing in front of him. But Andy [Hallett] was there and he was such a great support. He was there encouraging me on, he was trying to sing with me and to help me feel more comfortable but we got through it!" Julie's final word on the subject, "I was terrified!"

I think poor Julie has now suffered enough telling us about the trials and tribulations of working with gorgeous men, having to wear fantastic costumes, falling out of trees and singing to cast and crew, so we sadly turn to the last of our questions. The irony has not slipped us by, Darla the Vampire is married to the Tales of the Crypt, Crypt Keeper, so of course we wondered if they have any plans to work together? This idea tickles Julie, "We would love to! As of right now we don't have anything definite but we're always pitching ideas to each other, 'Oh, wouldn't it be funny if we did this and this!' We just haven't really had the time to get into it yet but that's one of our dreams, is to work together, to be on a show together would be the next best thing to heaven." With only the tip of the iceberg reflecting where Julie's career is headed, we could only imagine where we would find her in ten years time, and in typical Julie fashion we got the serious and humorous response, "I hope to have a family at that point -- in ten years! I better have a child at some point, definitely in the next ten years. My husband and I always joke around about how we just want to make as much money as possible and then retire and then do one of those Where Are They Now? shows. We're living on some farm, without shoes and have horses!"

She chuckles at the thought of leading the stereotypical retired actress' life but is quick to admit, "I think that's every actor's dream, is to kind of drop out of the rat race but I hope to still be working, still growing as an actor, hopefully my work will be ten years better than it is now. And maybe An Angel Reunion!" She's highly amused by this idea, "I can just imagine when we're sixty-five and going to these conventions you know?" Julie's hugely entertained by this notion of still doing conventions later on in life, though if I think about it, worryingly, we'll probably be there too! Julie replies in mock-dismay, "Yeah, and it'll be like, 'God! Darla really aged.' " A pause as we gather ourselves again. "I think if they ever did do a Buffy/Angel reunion twenty years down the line; it's okay for all the human characters to come as themselves but they would definitely have to recast Darla because she doesn't age." Good point! What with her being a vampire and all!

Now that Darla has been dusted, once again, she may be gone for a while from Angel but certainly not from her fans, coming up this year, Julie stars as Kate Keys in the TV mini-series Taken. And with that, the interview is over! Julie Benz is such a lovely, warm person, fun to talk to, and a total professional! We were having such a great chat that we accidentally overran our original 15 minute interview by half an hour, but she didn't seem to mind a bit. Later on in the autograph session, she signed our photos and staff passes with such things as 'Great Interview!', which pleased this writer more than I can say! So, we shake hands and turn to leave, still talking about Retail Therapy while Kristy picks John's brain about Architecture. Even though we must have spent a good chunk of the interview in stitches! Only one more question remains: next time you're in town, can we all go on a shopping trip? Please?

CityofAngel.com would like to Graciously Thank Julie Benz for her wonderful enthusiasm, general hilarity and for sharing her time with us.

Special Thanks to Jodie at Sharp & Associates for all her wonderful assistant.

Additional Thanks to Titan Magazines for allowing us to borrow Ms. Benz during their Con.

If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Spotlight' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com


Four Women, Half an Hour and Not a Single Shop in Sight an Exclusive Spotlight on Julie Benz