Aol.com Titel: AOL Chat Datum: 25.04.2000 TV Guide Online: Tonight we are chatting with James Marsters from the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Hi, James! Thanks for coming! James Marsters: Hello to everybody out there. Glad to finally get back online. :) Question: Do you feel there are similarities between you and Spike? James Marsters: We're both very playful. However, when I get mean and do bad things, I don't have a sense of humor about it. That's definitely Joss. We both like to have fun... I just don't kill people to have fun. :) Question: Is your accent real? James Marsters: The accent is completely fake. I've been doing English accents since I was a kid, from watching. I was doing a play called "The Tempest," and the guy playing Caliban was from North London and he had a good tough guy accent. So I pulled him aside after a performance and had him read the lines. He wanted to know what the audition was for, and I told him to screw off.... After all, he might have gotten the role. :) He was very good. Question: James, a recent interview in Seventeen magazine said that you quit smoking. Congratulations! :) What prompted you to make this decision? James Marsters: It sucks for your health. Makes you fell woozy and nauseous. I've never met a smoker who didn't want to quit. Question: What is your favorite episode of "Buffy"? James Marsters: Up until this season, I would have said anyone where I get to kick her butt. :) So I might have said "School Hard," or the one where I came in this season called "Harsh Light of Day." But then I got to kiss Sarah.... So, as much fun as it is to hit her, to kiss her is something else. :) So now it would be "Something Blue." Question: You're known to have a lot of tolerance with fans. Have any ever crossed the line, going too far to get your attention? What's the craziest thing a fan's ever done to get your attention? James Marsters: Nothing. Just scream real loud.... I have to say that the fans are really cool, so there hasn't been a problem. There was the time on Halloween with a guy who dressed exactly like me. We had to wait for his friend who was dressed exactly like Darth Maul. Darth had the camera. :) Question: Mr. Marsters, I read somewhere that your first love is the stage. Do you plan on ever going back there? James Marsters: When I came to LA, I promised myself that I would concentrate on film. So I'd love to go back to the stage -- just not right now. I am directing a one-act this summer for Young Playwrights Festival. Well, actually, I have to say that I hope to direct -- nothing's been set in stone yet. Question: Hi, James, thanks for taking the time to chat with us tonight! Do you know if Joss has any plans on showing us more of Spike's past? Also, has there been any word whether or not Miramax will be picking up your movie? You're the best! James Marsters: My movie? Someone tell me about that. :) I'm still just one in ten thousand actors looking for a job this summer. I don't have a MY movie yet. NEXT summer. :) By the way, Joss told me cool secrets he's going to do with Spike next season. You couldn't get it out of me with pliers -- but it's the best thing I could ever think of. Hold onto your hats. Also, I don't know about Spike's past, and Joss hasn't talked to me about that. I just don't want to have to wear muttonchops like David Boreanaz. Question: Why did you want to start acting? James Marsters: That is the central most important question for an actor to answer... and the hardest. Principally, because it was just fun. And you could create a world where you decided what it could be. The magic trick aspect of it is what I love. Question: Who's your favorite actor and actress? James Marsters: Wow... Ralph Fiennes, Lawrence Fishburne, Michael Caine. Oh, there are so many... Natalie Portman is good, Cate Blanchett rocks, Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire... I could go on forever. Question: Do you have time to do other things? If so, what? James Marsters: Hanging around the beautiful city of Santa Monica... nurse my cat, who the doctors say that has cancer, but I don't believe them... Playstation, Blockbuster... living the high life! LOL. Question: What was it like working on the TV show "Millennium"? James Marsters: Loved it! Thomas Wright, who directed that episode and half the episodes of "Millennium" and who directed a number of episodes of "X-Files" this season, is going to be working on "Angel" this season. I only wish we could have him on "Buffy." He was one of the cameramen on "Apocalypse Now," my favorite movie. He's a nice guy you don't want to screw with... LOL. Question: Of all the different projects you have worked on in your career, which is the one you are most proud of? James Marsters: "MacBeth" for Seattle Shakespeare Festival... directing "Life Is a Dream" in Seattle... and playing the lead in a play called "Incorruptible," a six-hour original play about the French Revolution, at the Bailiwick Theater in Chicago. I was onstage the whole time yammering, and we didn't get the script for the second half of the play until two weeks before opening night. So I had three hours of yammering to get, quick! Question: I've heard you like comics. Whose work have you been following, if anybody's? James Marsters: Frank Miller. His style is the best example of the harsh-lined, graphic new style. His use of light is extraordinary. And almost everyone gets beat up, which is COOL! Question: What is one question that you would love to be asked, but haven't? James Marsters: Cup size. LOL. Question: Am I right that you attended Julliard? Are you a triple threat (singing and dancing, as well as acting)? James Marsters: Hell, no! Just acting. I sing and play guitar, and I have since I was eight. People tell me I should get into a band, but the thought of singing in front of people makes me nervous. But I can't guarantee that you'd be happy to pay money to hear me sing. Question: What kind of music do you like? James Marsters: Charlie Bird Parker, Miles Davis... Macy Gray, Morphine, Beck, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Morcheeba, Roy Orbison... that's good. Question: Who would you say your biggest inspiration was? James Marsters: For life, Ghandi and Dr. King. They both knew what they believed and stood up for it and got chewed by dogs. And they didn't back down. For acting, Michael Winters, who I grew up watching ACT in San Francisco, and who is the best stage actor I've ever seen. Question: Are you a natural blond? James Marsters: Yes. With a straight face... oh, yes. LOL. No. Seriously, I'm really a brunette who's recently discovered that it is true that blondes have more fun. It is no lie. Question: Do you have an address or e-mail address where we can reach you? James Marsters: I'm told there are like 500 Spike web sites. But I don't surf. I'm getting a computer this summer, and I'm going to start. But, go Spike sites! You're doing God's work. :) TV Guide Online: Thanks, James! We had a great time and hope you can come back very soon! James Marsters: I would love to. You can get randier online than for print. :) Credits: TV Guide, Inc.; licensed to America Online, Inc.