ver the summer CityofAngel had the opportunity to interview the man behind the Groosalugg, Mark Lutz. Back then it was unsure if Groo would ever make a reappearance on Angel. Now that he is back in action we were lucky enough to interview him in person at the Buffy Posting Board Party 2002 in Los Angeles. After working on Angel last season Mark has kept himself busy with numerous projects, "I've been super busy since then. I did an episode of Mutant X, I did the Facts of Life Reunion Movie, and I did an episode of Doc, which is the No. 1 show on the PAX Network with Billy Ray Cyrus, who's a super nice guy; an amazing guy. I did ER two weeks ago, I did Friends, so it's been super busy," he explained. Mark's appearances on Friends and ER will air on Mar. 7th and Mar. 28th, respectively.

When Season 2 ended Mark himself wasn't sure if he would be back on Angel, but there was a definite possibility. "Well, to be honest, when I first auditioned for the roll, the break down service-that's what the agents get from the casting directors-it describes the character; 'Groosalugg, male', and then they give the character description. It said that he was (a possible recurring character), and we knew it was going to be two episodes but maybe more, so you just sort of cross your fingers and hope for the best." It was not until earlier this year that Mark found out the Groosalugg would be back in action. "I was told around October of last year, the executives on Angel phoned my agents and they said that, 'We'd like to put him on hold for December.' So I knew I was shooting in December." While he was working on many other projects at the time, it became blatant that Groo was returning, "I was up in Canada shooting the Facts of Life Reunion Movie, where I married Natalie [Mindy Cohn], yeah that was fun, so that was good. And doing a bunch of other stuff so I had a pretty good idea then that I was obviously coming back."

As many people involved with Angel have said, being back on the set is always a pleasure. Mark's experience was no exception. He was delighted to return and see all his friends again, especially Andy Hallett, with whom he formed a strong friendship. "I didn't know him before the show, I just met him on show and since then we've become really good friends, we hang out all the time and Alexis, J., David, Charisma, Amy, they're all really genuine people. Yeah, it's great. I've made a lot of great friends on the set. I met Andy like the second day I was working on the first episode [Through the Looking Glass] and we've become like fast friends since then because originally moving from Toronto to L.A., he was the first real friend I made in L.A," he continued.

Returning to Angel has allowed Mark and Charisma to further develop the connection their characters began to explore in Pylea last season. As they continued to work together it became apparent that there was an innate connection between Cordelia and Groo, "It's great; we have an amazing chemistry. We were just talking the other day, when we got back together. It had been at least six months since we had shot the other episode. The first scene we shot together was the one that's coming up on Monday night which takes place in her apartment and afterward she just looked at me and she goes, 'We do have good chemistry.' And I went, 'Yeah, we do!'" While he couldn't comment on the likelihood of any com-shucking between their characters, Mark had nothing but praise for Charisma, "Ah ha! I can't comment on that but yeah, Charisma and I get along great and she's an awesome, awesome girl!" Mark was just as tight-lipped when asked if Groo was still planning on taking Cordy's visions, "Ah maybe? I know the answer to that but I can't answer. Joss keeps me on a pretty tight leash," he said with a laugh. Even if they don't "seal" their relationship, Mark hinted that perhaps they could, "Com without Shukking; that would be great, you know."

Now that the Groosalugg is in L.A. there is an exorbitant amount of tension between both himself and other characters, and the strange world he has to adjust to. Mark will have many aspects of his character to explore and adjust, such as his unique dialect. Just as Alexis toned down Wesley's English accent, as he became more incorporated into society, Mark may explore the same technique, "He plays with that. Obviously, he's in a new world and the good thing about Groosalugg is that a lot of people view the character as kind of dumb, but to be a champion pit fighter in Pylea, obviously he's got a lot going on." While Groo may appear to be merely a fighter on the surface, there is much more that Mark is going to explore, "It's funny, in the episode that airs Monday [Couplet], during a couple of the fights sequences that we worked out with the stunt coordinator, Mike [Massa], who's a great, great guy, he's like, 'No, this guy's an experienced fighter, he sees this and he sees that, and he makes decisions.' So the Groosalugg's a smart guy underneath it all; you can't be undefeated champion without having some smarts behind you."

Mark predicts the outcome of this tension will be on the comedic side rather than conflict. "I don't necessarily think conflict but I think there's a lot of comedy there. It's completely 'fish out of water' stuff and some of the stuff I've read is fantastic. I have a scene on Tuesday that I'm shooting with Andy that the first time I read it in the script, I laughed out loud. The writers on the show are so great." Whether or not Angel and Groo are going to come to blows over Cordy is beyond Mark's knowledge at this point. He just places his trust in the amazing and talented writers. "I have no idea what is going to transpire but I put my trust in those guys-they're frickin' fantastic writers. I mean, the first script I read for the first episode I auditioned for, the writing was so good. I love Tim Minear to death. The best episodes of Angel that I've seen have been the ones he wrote. They're completely awesome." Still, not all of the fans are rooting for Groo this time around. Now that Angel has been exploring his feelings for Cordelia, the fans seem to be split on the subject. "Yeah, I've heard that, there's a faction on the web that want Cordelia and Angel to get together. So some people are a little bit pissed, some people are a little bit happy, so-Hey! I think that's great," Mark said. Yet it is this sort of tension that the writers take advantage of and build excellent story lines off of, "I love the way that Joss, Tim, David [Greenwalt], and everyone write those episodes. [They] pull the rug from under people; like take them one direction and then take them in another, it's great."

Mark is back in the spotlight now that Groo is once again mingling with the members of Angel Investigations. Between the great actors and amazing writers, Mark is delighted to be a part of the scene again. While we couldn't get any future information from him, Mark assured us that the stuff coming up is going to be out of control. So for more on Mark and Groo we'll all have to stay tuned and see what happens. Finally, here's a little message from Mark to all the fans with a laugh, "How's everyone doing? Watch Angel - Monday nights at nine."

Written by CoA Staff Writer, Jeff Ritchie

CityofAngel.com would like to thank Mark Lutz for taking time during the PBP2002 to sit down with us for this interview.

A special thanks to Jamie Boatner for keeping things in motion.

Visit Mark's official website at: MarkLutz.com

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