IN THE CITY
SPOTLIGHT

Talking Flight
an Exclusive Spotlight on Juliet Landau

There's plenty of interesting things to see at comic-book/science-fiction conventions... Klingons, Imperial Stormtroopers, Jedi Knights, Rocky Horror transvestites, vampires, even Aquaman and a short and rotund Darth Vader (yes, such a thing is possible). And, or course, there's celebrities. Lots and lots of celebrities. Juliet Landau, best known as the demented vampire Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, was one of the more prominent media giests at the Motor City Comic Con in Novi, Michigan in mid-May in a list that included Avery Brooks of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame and current Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight comic book artist Georges Jeanty. "Hi, I'm Juliet. Thanks for waiting," the Los Angeles-born actress greeted her fans warmly, speaking in a soft, melodious tone accented with just the barest hint of an English lilt that makes her voice sound exotic. Despite a cancelled flight, she didn't appear to be hurried. As a matter of fact, she was more than happy to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and answer questions about the wonderful world Joss Whedon created or about her upcoming work. Her only concern was the long wait fans had to see her, as the biggest line at the con snaked around the corner, In the end, many fans agreed: She was definately worth the wait.

A LOVE OF WORK

Prior to her appearnace in Michigan - her first trip to the Great Lakes State - Juliet took the time our of her busy schedule to talk about her career, Drusilla, and what's next for the daughter of award-winning thespians Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Juliet has acted alongside her parents; she appeared in 1994's Ed Wood with her father - who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, the Hungarian-born actor who made Dracula famous - and appeared onstage with her mother several years ago in the play, Failure of Nerve.

CityofAngel.com: How much of an influence did your parents have on your chosen profession?
Juliet Landau: I grew up in a very artistic household, so they were definitely supportive. I was a ballerina prior to becoming an actress. Growing up in an atmpsophere of creativity is a component of what I do.

CoA: What kind of advice did they give you?
JL: Basically, what I have garnered from them is really just a love of the work. There's so much involved on the business end. You have to stay connected to that passion and get up in the morning and do what you love to do. They imparted that to me.

CoA: Did you have any formal training to become an actress?
JL: I studied for a number of years before starting to work. I studied with Avery Schreiber of Burns and Schreiber. He was very funny and a terrific actor. I also studied with Susan Peretz. She was a phenomenal actress and an unbelievable inspiration. We worked extensively together; she was a true mentor and friend. When I was in between projects, she always welcomed me back to her class, so I could stretch my horizons and try other things. It was an incredible environment, where it was safe to fall on my face. She really gave us room to explore.

CoA: Why did you leave ballet dancing for acting?
JL: I started to find the dance world sort of insular. I started acting classes and I really loved the fact of verbal exchange. I've supported myself as an actress for 12 years. There are worse things than sitting around and reading Chekhov.

CoA: Speaking of Chekhovw, you're reading the play, Three Sisters for Al Pachino>
JL: We read Act 1 and 2 the night before you and I spoke, and we are reading Act 3 and 4 for him at the end of May. The cast consists of 12 actors. Many are Actor Studio members, like me. I am reading Natasha. I love the role. It has a lot of range. Al was extremely lovely and complimentary to us.

CoA: How do you choose a role?
JL: It's a combination of a lot of elements. I look for something I haven't played before. I love playing a diverse range of roles. Tackling and delving into a new character is like putting on a different skin. The emotional range of a character is so important.

CoA: Juliet played Loretta King in Tim Burton's Ed Wood, which strarred frequent Burton collaborater/Oscar nominee Johnny Depp and her father. The elder and younger Landau shared a few scenes, most prominently where he was portraying Bela Lugosi in Wood's Bride of the Monster, putting Loretta - in a wedding dress, no less - in a trance.
JL: I loved working with Tim Burton. He is trult creative. He has an ebullient spirit. He creates the best kind of working environment. The movie is really a sweet love story between Johnn's character, Ed, and Bela Lugosi.

CoA: What attracted you to Buffy?
JL: I loved the whole concept of "high school as a nightmare," dark forces pulling that metaphor to extremes.

CoA: Did you audition for the role of Drusilla?
JL: No. I had a creative meeting with Joss Whedon, (Angel co-creator) David Greenwalt, (former President of Entertainment of Fox Broadcasting Company) Gail Berman, and (Buffy casting director) Marcia Shulman. The script pages U had read said, "Actress can be British or American." I thought, "Oh, no, she should really have a Cockney accent," especially since Spike and Dru were supposed to be (the undead version of) Sid and Nancy (referring to Sid Vicious of the Punk band The Sex Pistols and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen). I did a bit of Drusilla in the room. I remember that I wafted up to the ceiling with my eyes, much like I did in my first episode when I discussed daisies with the Anointed One. I recall thinking in that moment, "This part would be a blast!" I actually borrowed the wafty thing from a man I had witnessed on the street the night before!

CoA: What happened next?
JL: I got offered the part and they asked me to meet with the three final choices for Spike. That's when I met James Marsters. He originally played it with a Southern Accent and they said, "Can you do an English accent?" He immediately switched and it went from there. It took off in that moment. We worked off each other so well instantly. He was auditioning with the scene in our into episode (Buffy, episode School Hard) with the Anointed One. We sort of got transfixed and ignored the Anointed One, leaning towards each other as if to kiss. Our heads came together. Eventually we turned out to look at him. They ended up using that on the commercial. (Juliet's voice inflects as she mimics the male voiceover heard on the episode's promotional spot, particularly this scene), "Evil has a few new faces... Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

CoA: What was it like working with James Marsters?
JL: Wonderful. James and I would get together every time we got a script and we'd rehearse. He's really an actor's actor in the best sense of the world. It was a tennis match: I'm doing this, he's doing that; it was a fluid dance between us. We;re supposed to have been together for 200 years, and you can't be shy with someone after 200-years. The characters had great chemistry; that was a huge ingredient. Their love story was so interesting because it'd gone on for centuries, balancing out their evilnatures. They had a tender side; it was a bit kinky, but it was fun. Drusilla was childlike and sensual, she was sweet but diabolical, she was delicate but powerful. It was kind of an actor's dream. It was almost obscenely fun to go to work - the fluidity and creativity was just awesome.

CoA: What was it like working with Julie Benz who played Angel's first love Darla?
JL: It was great. She and I worked really well together and we became really good friends.

ALL THINGS DRUSILLA

CityofAngel.com: What was it like working with the man himself Joss Whedon?
JL: Joss is amazing. He's very creative an had such a vision for these characters. He said that he'd had Spike and Drusilla running around in his head for over a decade.

CoA: Was it difficult playing Drusilla, given how insane she is?
JL: While I was on the show I thought, "She's not crazy; she;s just a little touched." I somehow got into the logic or her illogic. Now that I am no longer playing her, I see that she was out there! When in the moment as an actor, you embrace the elements of the character.

CoA: Did you ad-lib some of your lines?
JL: The writing was brilliant. All of the stuff was scripted except Dru's cry and laugh. (Juliet demonstrated both). The physicality, rolling on the floor, dancing on the table, licking Spike's cheek etc., etc; that was the stuff they let me go to town on. That was what made it so fun as an actress. There was a lot of freedom. I was very collaborative.

CoA: Who's Crazier: Drusilla, Hannial Lechtor, or the Joker?
JL: Wow, what a bunch! It would be interesting to see these three together! Maybe we'd have to call in a qualified expert to determing that.

CoA: One thins I'd like to have seen is Dru vs. Faith.
JL: It would've been coll, but Eliza [Dushku] and I never got a chance to work together. I met her recently on the writers strike line.

CoA: The Immortal was mentioned but never seen in the Angel episode, "The Girl in Questin." Secondhand reports state that he's extremely handsome and intelligent, especially the way he kept outsmarting Angel and Spike. In the flashback portion of the episode the Immortal had a threesome with Drusilla and Darla. This episode also marked Juliet's last appearance as Drusilla.)
JL: (laughter) The Immortal was funny because when Julie and I got the script and learned we had a threesome with him, we were like, "Who's this Immortal?" David [Boreanaz] and James said, "What's so special about the Immortal?" We were surpirsed that we had had this threesome in our history and found out about it at such a late date.

CoA: Some of the dialogue between Drusilla and Darla implied that they may have once had a sexual relationship.
JL: I never though so, but Julie did. There's this scene where I'm hugging her and it looks like my hand is on her butt. Julie points and shouts, "See!" (laughter). It wouldb't be so surprising [if Drusilla slept with Darla]; she is a very sexual being.

CoA: When we last saw Drusilla in present continuity (Juliet subsequently reprised her role as Drusilla in flashbacks and whne the First Evil assumed Dru's appearance in the final season of Buffy), she was seen leaving Spike at the end of the Buffy episode, "The Crush". What do you think happened to her?
JL: I think Drusilla traveled the world. I always hold out hope in my heart that Drusilla and Spike will one day reunite.

CoA: Even though he now has a soul?
JL: Yes. There's so many possibilities that we didn't get to.

CoA: Chaging gears, what are you working on now?
JL: I've been working on this real exciting project. I directed a documntary called Take Flight; it's about and for Gary Oldman. He was directing a music video called "Red Rover" for a Jewish Hip Hop band called Chutzpah. He shot the entire video on Nokia cell phones. He asked me to direct the "making of". What started out solely as a behind-the-scenes "making of" bloomed into a documentary about his creative process, Gary loves the film. It shows him in a different light. It shows a side of him that's gentle, playful, childlike, and free. It's a fluid exploration of him; it's really a lot of fun. He operated one of the "cell-cams" so we get inside his POV [Point of View], seeing the genesis of his ideas and how he carries them through. The outside world is represnted with the music of Chutzpah.

For Gart's internal world, I've used clasical pieces. I've selected them and worked very hard with my friend Pembroke Andrews (two time Emmy award-winning sound editor on the TV series 24). I had 50-hours of footage that I had to condense into a 25-minute movie. My editor Ingela Ogard and I worked painstakingly side-by-side for months. She is an incredible talent! All I have to finish is the color correction and the final sound mix. So, it's back to work and Pembroke. He calls me "Kubrick" (referring to the late director Stanley Kubrick, who was known for being very meticulous about his work) because I'm such a perfectionist! Also, I am raising money on my Web-site for a short film I wrote called It's Raining Cats and Cats and a short I adapted from a play called Cissy. I am following the same model [Buffy alumna] Amber Benson did in selling merchandise on the Internet to make her two feature films. The official site is JulietLandau.com. I'm also about to star in a feature as well.

CoA: How has the support been for your films?
JL: The support's been unbelievable, really wonderful. I've had a plethora of people contribute. It's really exciting. It has been going very well!

CoA: Back to Drusilla, do you mind being remembered as her?
JL: I don't mind at all because I loved therole and people responded so positively to the character - it's wonderful.

CoA: Would you play Drusilla again if given the chance?
JL: I would definitely. Why not? It's fun.

CoA: What's the best part about attending conventions?
JL: Meeting people who have been moved, inspiored and enjoyed the work that I've done. I've met a wide spectrum of all different ages from different parts of the world. It's amazing. The fact that Buffy and Angel has such a potent life is really incredible.

Written by CoA Writer, Kurt Anthony Krug.