When we threw Sarah Michelle Gellar an arsenal of our toughest questions, she stepped up to the plate and let fly on everything from how she expects to survive "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and what made her want to costar with a CGI dog in Scooby-Doo to why she believes in God (but not Method acting) and how she fell hard for fiancé Freddie Prinze Jr.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar isn't your typical young Hollywood actress. She's already been in the Industry for 21 years so she seems almost past that phase. She doesn't do any of the bad-girl things associated with Young Hollywood stars, like getting DUIs, shoplifting, doing drugs, serial dating hot-looking up-and-comers and hanging out with rock stars. But then again, Gellar, 25, has a lot to carry--she balances a grueling work week on the hit series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with an occasional feature film. She's already starred in the blockbusters I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, the romantic comedy Simply Irresistible and the smart, sultry success Cruel Intentions.
Raised by a single mother in New York City, where she attended Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School and the Professional Children's School, Gellar knew at a very young age that she wanted to work in the entertainment industry. She began doing commercials at age four, and at six made her TV film debut in An Invasion of Privacy. When she won an Emmy for playing Susan Lucci's daughter on "All My Children," prime-time casting directors became interested in her, which is how she landed the lead on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The series turned into a ratings dynamo and is currently wrapping up its sixth season. This month the indie Gellar made for director James Toback, Harvard Man, is getting a limited release. And this summer she's starring in her biggest movie to date, the film version of the popular cartoon, "Scooby-Doo." She plays Daphne to fiancé Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Fred. Plenty of Hollywood insiders are betting that she'll have a long, healthy acting career because she has a reputation for being professional, which many actresses her age simply aren't, and she has shown some fierce acting chops, most notably as a ruthless, sexually charged manipulator in Cruel Intentions and as a drug-popping college student in Harvard Man.
I'm set to meet Gellar in a Culver City studio, where's she posing for this magazine's pictures. Her mom, some of her best friends and her publicist are all there. Because of her "Buffy" schedule, they rarely get to see her so they take advantage when they can. It's Super Bowl Sunday, the game between the Patriots and the Rams has just started, and Gellar, a sports fan, is missing out on the fun. Prinze, with whom she lives, is at home with their friends watching the game. Gellar takes time to check in with him and exclaims, "You were right!" when she hears the underdog Patriots are winning. She promises to bring home food and then whispers "I love you" before hanging up. She's eager to get home, but after the shoot she has to answer my questions. Her publicist tells me she's not worried that Gellar won't be able to answer them because the actress talks fast.
When our interview finally starts I greet her with a "Hello, Buff..."--then I catch myself. Damned if I can bring up her real name. I've been watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" reruns all week.
"It's Sarah," she smiles as we shake hands. She even shakes hands fast.
LAWRENCE GROBEL: You're on the cover of the Young Hollywood issue, but you seem more mature than most young actresses.
SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Isn't that scary--all of a sudden you get to a place where you're not the youngest anymore. For so long I was the baby of everything.
Q: Do you have a fear of being stuck in Young Hollywood Hell?
A: I'm not too concerned about it. The one thing about being on a television show is it lets you age. Buffy's not still a junior in high school. Buffy's basically a mother now, she runs a household. And I've been able to be picky about my projects.
Q: Do you have a post-"Buffy" plan?
A: I need a break from television more personally than professionally. The grind of it. I need to travel, to decompress. You worry if you've done yourself a disservice. Is the work challenging enough? Are you getting lazy? That's my biggest fear. But I'd love to do a sitcom one day. I'd also love to do big feature films. I want to do period pieces, comedy, action, drama. I want to do it all. And I want to do it tomorrow!
Q: I interviewed your fiancé, Freddie Prinze Jr., a few years ago and he told me he's perfectly happy letting you do it all and he'll just be a househusband.
A: Whatever makes him happy. He is an amazing chef. I have a lot of ideas for restaurants; we'd love to open one. He also has wonderful ideas for television shows--I'd love to see him follow that. He has a lot more talent than me. I kind of do one thing, but I think I do it pretty well.
Q: If Freddie asked you to take off a year so you could just develop your relationship, would that be possible for you?
A: To take a year off? I don't know. Everything I have in my life I've worked for--my home, my car, clothing. I didn't have any of this growing up. My mom and I really scraped by. Now I'm in a great position and I'm grateful for it. I love what I do. Part of what makes me driven is that I want to accomplish so much. I can't answer where that comes from--it's something inside me.
Q: Is it possible for you to relax?
A: Yes. When I go on vacation, from the second I get off the plane I'm there. I like to go to warm places. I like to go to hotels where I don't have to leave. Just spend two weeks, walk on the beach, go to the spa, read. I'm lucky that Freddie shares that with me. We'll go on a vacation and half our suitcases are just books.
Q: Wait a minute. Freddie told me he never read books. When I went to his house, he didn't even have any books on his shelves.
A: That was before me.
Q: So what books did you get Freddie to read?
A: Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling did something only Oprah had started to do, which was to get people reading again. I'll read every book on the Oprah Book list.
Q: When did you start collecting books?
A: When I had money. I have the first editions of all four Harry Potter books. I have a complete collection of all of Arthur Rackham's first editions, including Peter Pan. My goal now is to have every first edition of Dr. Seuss.
Q: You and Freddie have something else in common: you're both starring in Scooby-Doo. Who was more excited about doing the film?
A: Both of us. Before we even read the script he'd seen every single "Scooby-Doo" episode and had them on tape. When I had to do research, I didn't have to go anywhere.
Q: What attracted you to doing a summer "event" film?
A: I love the cartoon. And I love Australia, where we shot it. I'd love to have a house there. So that was it for me: to go there and do a really big-budget feature film and to play someone as psychotic as Daphne.
Q: What's the premise?
A: Rowan Atkinson plays the villain Mondavarious. He's the owner of Spooky Island, who tries to get the gang to come together and solve the mystery on the island. Freddie and I didn't work together that much. My main storyline is with a character named Zarkos, played by Sam Grecco. That's all I can say for fear of death from Warner Bros.
Q: You received a lot of attention for kissing Selma Blair in Cruel Intentions. Has any other scene you've done won you as much attention? A:
I got a lot of attention for kissing women, not only in Cruel Intentions but also my kissing Lindsay Sloane on TV. And I kissed Velma in Scooby-Doo. I'm not sure what's going on! [Laughs]
Q: Who knew it was love first--you or Freddie?
A: You ask him, he's going to say me. It was probably me, but there's one "movie" moment that happened where we both looked at each other.
Q: Was that moment when you worked together on I Know What You Did Last Summer?
A: Oh, no. We were just friends then. We had nothing in common other than just hanging out and having fun. He was in a serious relationship then.
Q: So when did that moment occur?
A: Five years later. We lost touch when he got really busy doing She's All That and Head Over Heels. Then he broke up with his girlfriend and did that thing where you try and get back in touch with your old friends. And I called him and said I heard he was back and if he wanted to go for sushi to give me a call. I'm still learning how to talk about this because I've never had a relationship that's public before.
Q: So it's the sushi that did it?
A: I love sushi. We love to try new stuff. Where we go every week the sushi chef makes us two things that are new. One of them I'll always eat, but the second one is often not for me. Once he made us stomach, and I felt like I was on "Fear Factor." Freddie ate it and loved it.
Q: Think you could go on "Fear Factor"?
A: Oh, God, no--$25 million would not make me go on "Fear Factor." You couldn't pay me enough money to eat a pig rectum.
Q: What did Freddie have that none of your previous boyfriends had?
A: He balances me. We're both homebodies. We love to have our friends over. We love board games--we'll play them until three in the morning. I love Scattergories, Scrabble, Director's Cut, Facts in Five.
Q: How many children would you like to have?
A: No idea. If you ask Freddie, he'll say "a gaggle, a bushel."
Q: Who cries more: you or Freddie?
A: Me.
Q: Does he write you poetry?
A: Yes, he does.
Q: Freddie thinks that acting is very simple. Do you?
A: I don't understand Method actors. To me, Method seems like channeling. I don't want to be thinking about my dog dying, I want to be the character. In that sense, it's simple to me, to become that character. I get paid to act. If I have to play a homeless person, I'm bathing that morning. When I had to play Buffy crawling out of a grave, not only did I shower every morning, but sometimes I showered at lunch and reapplied all the dirt. And when I wrapped, I showered before I went home.
Q: You worked with James Toback on Harvard Man, which is based on his Harvard experiences in the '60s. Was it the script or working with Toback that attracted you?
A: Him, initially. I had seen a lot of his work, and I loved Black and White. I went to see him and he told me about his experiences with LSD and how he went to this doctor who brought him back [from a bad trip]. I told him I wanted to do that story, I wanted to do nitty-gritty moviemaking, I wanted him to challenge me.
Q: Your sex scene with Adrian Grenier has been described as kinky. How kinky was it?
A: For me, it wasn't kinky, it was awkward. Jim's movies are sexually free and I probably made him feel confined. But he never asked me to push the line. He was always incredibly respectful. I'm not in a place where I'm comfortable doing nudity. If I ever did, it would have to be a movie that by doing it, it would move the story further. What's sexy is when sex is left to the imagination. I love when it's implied. I roll my eyes and yawn at gratuitous sex.
Q: Could you ever conceivably pose nude for a magazine like Playboy if it meant boosting your career?
A: Right now I can't, but I don't believe in saying never. There might be a time when I got pregnant and felt really beautiful and wanted to have a nude picture. People gave Demi Moore so much flak [for the Vanity Fair cover on which she posed nude while pregnant], but I understand what she was doing. She was trying to show that this was where she felt the most beautiful.
Q: A critic for Daily Variety wrote that you were fun to watch in Harvard Man, "in the adorable, devious bitch mode" that you test-drove in Cruel Intentions. Are you OK with that description?
A: Sure! I made Harvard Man for personal reasons. I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to work with Jim. And I had a great time.
Q: Since the movie deals with Toback's drug experience in the '60s, how did you do your research?
A: I was able to do plenty of research by talking to Jim Toback.
Q: Both you and Freddie are anti-drugs in a town where drugs are quite prevalent. Do you leave a party if joints are being passed or cocaine sniffed, or do you just move to another side of the room?
A: I can't remember the last time I've seen people do drugs. In terms of cigarette smoking, we just do not allow it. Not only do you have to go outside our house if you want to smoke, but you have to go outside the gates of our house.
Q: Your contract with "Buffy" is up next year. Do you want to continue after that?
A: It's too early to answer that. I don't want to be that show that runs for eight years but people say of it, "It should have ended five years ago." It's important to me to go out on top.
Q: It's been pointed out that the show develops relationships between women in rich, complex ways rarely seen on TV. Do you think that's so?
A: Absolutely. The show is metaphors. Some people get them, and some don't. Some people think it's pure fluff entertainment, but when you watch it, you can see what we're really saying. There's something in the show that everyone can relate to.
Q: Do you have a favorite episode?
A: I loved the prom episode, where Buffy wants to be a normal girl and go to the prom, but she doesn't have a date and has to slay vampires. I loved the Buffy and Faith body switch. I loved the one where Buffy had to kill Angel, because she had to save the world by sacrificing the man she loved. We're doing a cool episode now where Buffy winds up in a mental institution.
Q: Did the ratings go up for the silent and musical episodes?
A: We have this running joke that we could do an all-naked Buffy and the ratings would still be the same.
Q: What do you think accounts for your popularity among prison inmates?
A: Hot chicks doing battle. It's like acceptable porn.
Q: Is a woman kicking ass sexy?
A: Incredibly sexy. The time when men wanted a mousy woman who stayed at home is gone. Men are turned on by a powerful woman, especially a physically powerful woman. I'm a little person, and to see this five-foot-two, 100-pound blonde girl kicking ass is exciting.
Q: How upset were you when your head started appearing on someone else's nude "body on the Internet?
A: It's hard. It hurts me. I don't understand why there are no laws against that.
Q: You don't talk about your father, who walked out of your life when you were a child. Would talking about him upset your mother?
A: He's not a part of my life. My mom always told me I'm a person first and an actor second. I've been good about keeping my private life private. Every journalist wants to be the one who gets the story. If I tell them it's not a subject I want to talk about, they'll press me. I expect it. When I say, "I've said all I can say"--they keep pressing. So you say one thing a little more, and it becomes the hook on the story. That's hard. I'm lucky that Freddie is in the public spotlight, so he's used to it. But my mother, this is not the life she chose, so it's got to be hard for her.
Q: You were pretty harsh when you said: "Just because you donate sperm does not make you a father. I don't have a father. I would never give him the credit to acknowledge him as my father."
A: It spurred interest, yeah!
Q: Let's move on to your mother. How much did she sacrifice on your behalf?
A: Everything. She was a nursery school teacher, but you can't have a steady job when your child has to travel. Everything she did was to get me to this place. She gave me more than 10 parents could ever give me. I can't stress enough what a gift she has been to my life.
Q: Why was Heathers your favorite movie as a teenager?
A: At that time movies for teenagers were silly, and Heathers was smart. Poor Shannen Doherty--she's one of my best friends. I just torture her all the time reciting lines from Heathers. I was 13 when that came out. I was an esoteric child--I loved everything from The Princess Bride to Dangerous Liaisons.
Q: Earlier you said you wanted to get into the nitty-gritty with James Toback. Are there any other directors who might help bring out your nitty-gritty?
A: I'd love to work with Baz Lurhmann one day. I've loved him ever since Strictly Ballroom.
Q: Any actors you particularly would like to work with?
A: I want to work with Bruce Willis in a shoot-'em-up Die Hard movie.
Q: Is there anyone in your profession who would cause you a momentary lapse into silence?
A: Not with actors, but I'm a big Knicks basketball fan. I was tongue-tied when I met some of the Knicks--Ewing at the time, Camby, Houston.
Q: What about Jackie Onassis? Would she have tied your tongue in knots if you would have had the chance to meet her?
A: My mother used to teach at the parish where Jackie Onassis worshipped. Every year on the anniversary of Jack's death, Jackie, John and Caroline Kennedy would go. I would take the day off from school to go on my own, just to see her. Talk about presence--Jackie Onassis was royalty in every sense that I imagine royalty to be.
Q: Who are your idols in your own profession?
A: Jodie Foster. Annette Bening. I love Alan Rickman. I met Olivia Newton-John last year--she came to my birthday party in Australia. Talk about idols from childhood! I worked with Valerie Harper when I was young and she remains incredibly strong in my mind. And Stockard Channing--I was 12 when I did [the Neil Simon play] Jake's Women with her. Nicole Kidman is someone I worship on every level. And for years I've loved Julianne Moore. At the Knicks playoff game, she had the seats next to us and I told her, "I can't think of anybody better to replace Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling in Hannibal than you." It was cool.
Q: How long do you think it will take before you start getting those kinds of offers yourself?
A: To replace Jodie Foster? Oh, goodness, I have a long way to go.
Q: What feature of yours would you change if you could?
A: My knees and my elbows. And my bladder. I know it's not a feature, but I'd really like a different bladder. For every bottle of water, I have to pee three times.
Q: Tell me about your tattoos.
A: I have a Chinese character on my ankle that is a knife dangling over a heart. I have the symbol for sincerity on my left side. And I have a new one--two purple dragonflies on my lower back.
Q: How hip are tattoos?
A: I don't get them because they're hip. There's very little we do in life that is permanent, but when you put something on your body, like a tattoo, that's with you. The first one was when I started doing interviews--so I put on the symbol for sincerity, which reminds me to mean what I say and say what I mean. The heart and the knife was at another point to remind me to walk my own path to be rewarded for it in the end. And the dragonflies are something Freddie and I share, our love of dragons and dragonflies.
Q: Do you consider yourself a religious person?
A: I consider myself a spiritual person. I find religions on the whole very interesting. I've been to every kind of denomination: Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist. I've never been to Mormon--that's definitely not my thing. But I've taken bits and pieces from everything. Religion is about where you find your strength. Some people need a structured, organized, community-type feeling. I'm not that person.
Q: Do you believe in God?
A: You just jump right in. Yeah, I believe in an idea of God. It's my own personal ideal.
Q: Do you pray?
A: I actually do, usually every night before I go to sleep. Sometimes it's, "I hope I sleep eight hours straight," and sometimes it's, "I hope the world finds peace." Depends on the day you catch me.
Q: If you could ask God a question, what would it be?
A: Oh, my goodness. I want to understand sickness, what we take from it, what we're supposed to learn from it; why people have to leave us because of illness. And why people feel the need to kill and murder, because there's a reason it's here.
Q: What are your fears?
A: Flying. Breaking glass. Crowds.
Q: What's the best advice you've ever received?
A: On a personal level, my mom telling me to be the person I want to be. And to do anything I set my mind to. On a professional level, one of the old directors we had on "Buffy" told me to watch everything because I could learn so much on the show. I've done every single job on the set. I've held the boom for a scene. I've pulled focus. I love cameras.
Q: You know you're at the age now where you could consider doing a remake of Breakfast at Tiffany's, playing Audrey Hepburn's part, Holly Golightly.
A: That would be an honor.
Q: You probably only have a few years left to do that.
A: You're Mr. Backhanded Compliment Man! Next time I do "Saturday Night Live," I'm going to do a sketch called that and it's going to be you! You're going to watch and say, "Oh, my God, I inspired Sarah to do a skit."
Q: The words one magazine used to describe you were: professional, together, focused and nurturing. What four different words would you use?
A: Content. Really happy-- that's one word. Creative.
Q: How about hot?
A: I'm not going to describe myself that way, no way!
Q: How about cold?
A: How about nice? I know that's a boring word, but it's something that's really simple, and I pride myself on being a nice person. And a good person.
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Lawrence Grobel interviewed Halle Berry for the Dec./Jan. issue of Movieline.