Stars Shunning Their Past?

[Buffyverse Fan]

Now I'm the first to defend the Buffyverse leads who don't like talking about their work on the series. Like I said in another thread, James Spader, who is one of the finest actors around, says that he doesn't remember or care about almost all of his past work after it's finished. I don't mind it from him one bit, because I love him in everything--with the possible exception of The Office...

That being said, you've got a far more accomplished actor than Gellar or Boreanaz in Patrick Stewart. I never got into his Star Trek show, but whenever I see him on an interview show, his giddiness for the fandom and series at large is infectious!--even to someone like me, who has no idea what he's talking about!

Then you have fellow teen-stars like Mark-Paul Gosselaar of Saved By the Bell fame, now starring in fourth season hit series Franklin & Bash, top-billed actor in both, and he seems to have an encyclopedic memory of his work on his old show.

Why do you think Gellar & Boreanaz differ so much from folks like them?

 

[emptyvessels]

Hmm. I don't actually know about David Boreanaz, because I have not followed his career or anything as much. SMG, on the other hand, doesn't seem as excited about BtVS as, say, Nathan Fillion still seems about Firefly BUT I do get the impression that she is proud of the show and the work that she did on it.

I do think that a lot of the supporting actors from the show seem a lot more "giddy," as you put it, about the show than Gellar and Boreanaz do, though. Even the ones that went on to even more success, like Alyson Hannigan; I always get the impression from interviews and also Twitter that she is still much more tied to her Buffy roots than SMG seems. But that's just me!

 

[NY State of Mind]

For some people it gets kind of tiring when people just keep asking for the same act...I try to think of it as a comedian. A comedian will do new material and theres always that person or people saying "hey do such and such joke"...its just the way the entertainment business is and maybe somebody whos happy with everything they done in their career could jump for joy while another that maybe wants to acheive more or still wishes for more is like c'mon already can i get a break and a chance to move forward

 

[LindsayH]

From what I have heard and read, they seem to all acknowledge and give credit to their past careers as much as they have time for, which I feel for the most part, is quite a bit.

Ultimately, we have to realize that they all have families, children, and current careers that they are focusing on, and they can't always be talking about Buffy and/or Angel.

Also, I think a lot of credit needs to be given to the actors who still manage to do the occasional reunion. That alone speaks volumes about their appreciation to the show and where it got them in their career, just because they are still willing to give time to the show and it's fans, even all of these years later.

 

[nightshade]

I don't think either David or Sarah really shuns the past, I know David had done conventions after the series ended and does still talk about Angel in interviews, it's not off limits to him. Sarah has always been more of a private person not really doing many interviews that weren't promotional so it's not a surprise that she doesn't still talk about Buffy much this far after it ended.

This might be slightly off topic but say an actor didn't want their episode shown anymore, would that be possible for them to get that no longer shown?

 

[Ethan Reigns]

This might be slightly off topic but say an actor didn't want their episode shown anymore, would that be possible for them to get that no longer shown?

Only if they own the show and all the rights to it - and the producer owns the show and can sell it into any market without any concern for anyone else's opinion. Actors are rarely in that position and it would be even more rare for an actor to not want his episode to be shown.

 

[brinkster130]

In general I think its odd when an actor shuns their previous work if it was quality work.

I think both SMG and DB are/were wary of becoming typecast with Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel and because of that at times it seemed like they had a lack of appreciation for the fans/show. We also know that both wanted to move on into other areas of acting, so I think that desire to move on also made them seem less appreciative than they actually are.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I can understand the problem a lead actor has coming off a successful series.

There is always the question of whether you are considered to be an actor who can play any part or limited to the character you are most famous for. For example, William Shatner starred as James T. Kirk, captain of the Enterprise, but however well regarded Star Trek was, he was only in the last 78 of the 79 episodes that aired from 1966 to 1969. This was far fewer episodes than either BtVS or Ats. And he will always be remembered as James Kirk no matter what else he does. So here are the questions that few people ever have to face as lead actors coming off a successful series:

1. Where is the next job coming from?

2. How long will it be before people can accept me in a completely different role?

3. Am I finished in this business?

4. After making more money in seven years than most people make in a lifetime, do I have the right to keep up my drain on the economy?

5. What did I do to deserve the fame I got in the first place?

Successful actors may be among the most insecure people in the world, because they know they didn't do anything to deserve being many orders of magnitude wealthier than other people. Add to that the fact that Americans love to typecast the actors they know. This is the opposite of the European attitude where an actor isn't accepted as great until he proves himself in a variety of roles. Could you imagine American studio heads saying, "John Wayne did a great job as a sheriff in the last western. Next movie, he's going to be the train robber. (Or in an even greater contrast, he's going to be the villain in a sci-fi flick.)" Europeans expect what Americans would never accept.

When Charlize Theron accepted the role as Aileen Wuornos in "Monster", she was being true to the European system. Americans were aghast at the choice, but for someone coming up through the European system, this was a worthwhile career move.

Going back in time, when Richard Chamberlain played Dr. Kildare (on Dr. Kildare, a series that ran from 1961 to 1966), he was bombarded by people writing to him about the medical ailments they had and many simply did not believe he was an actor who knew little about medicine (although subdural hematomas came up in about half of the episodes, so maybe he ended up knowing something about them). Americans really believe actors are typecast and what a person plays is what he is. BTW, the part of Dr. Carl Noyes on the show was played by William Shatner. In a career spanning 1951 to the present, most people only know William Shatner as Captain Kirk.

So Sarah being both proud of her work on BtVS and willing to distance herself from it is perfectly logical from the perspective very few people have ever had - lead actor on a successful series.

 

[KendraTheSlayer]

I'm appreciative of SMG staying on the show as long as she did. Granted I've been an SMG fan before I was a Buffy fan, but now that I'm into Buffy, its my favorite work SMG ever did. But to be honest, she was hot back in the late 90's and probably could have taken bigger movie roles if not for the constant scheduling and shooting of Buffy episodes. When she finally left Buffy in 03, her star wasn't as big as it was in 98 or 99, so I have a ton of respect for her for sticking with Buffy as long as she did. I think she knows that is the best body of work from her career, but she's such a good actress in other stuff too. The Air I Breathe was an amazing film and a large part of it was because of her.

 

[BuffyElevated]

In general I think its odd when an actor shuns their previous work if it was quality work.

I think both SMG and DB are/were wary of becoming typecast with Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel and because of that at times it seemed like they had a lack of appreciation for the fans/show. We also know that both wanted to move on into other areas of acting, so I think that desire to move on also made them seem less appreciative than they actually are.

I definitely agree. Their attitudes about their roles in the Whedonverse has bugged me a lot, because I feel that they should be more appreciative, or show more appreciation to the fans that made them household names. However, I can understand not wanting to be typecast and wanting to try new things, as well.
I think it's a fine line for actors to walk. They want to be taken seriously about their work, but they also don't need to act like they don't appreciate their fans or the shows that got them where they are today.