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Younger Guns
By Jenny Cooney Carillo

ANGEL's two youngest recruits, J. AUGUST RICHARDS and newcomer VINCENT KARTHEISER, discuss the latest developments for Gunn and Connor.

dreamwatch: What's in store for you both this season?

J. August Richards: Without giving away, let's just say that things change and things are not what they seem to be, and things are not permanent.

Vincent Kartheiser: Both of these characters have a strong will to survive. With that in mind, with the things that Angel has overcome in the last 20 million years, I think there's hope that things will return to normal -- eventually!

Richards: With my character specifically, the relationship he's in [with Fred] has changed him and made him revert to who he was when we first met him. I find him extremely family-oriented, and everything that motivates him is to keep a family together. He's like the Josephine Baker of the vampire world. He'll include anybody in his family. He's become more protective, but at the same time the relationship has softened him and he's more relaxed and more open and caring, showing his vulnerability and his feelings.

Vincent, how did you get this role?

Kartheiser: I've been doing films since I was about 13. I've done a fair amount and last year, I decided that I wanted something a little more regular. The film world is great, but it's unpredictable and I am at an age where I want something a little more set. Also, when I started looking, I wanted something that wasn't a typical half-hour sitcom, so I came in and met the producers, auditioned and right away we all had a good feeling about it.

Did you both always want to be actors?

Kartheiser: I was six when I started acting, and I did it everyday. It's not so much that I aspired to be an actor, I was just one. When I was about 13, I came to L.A. as just a natural progression of the way my life was going.

Richards: I've always wanted to be an actor. There was never really any other option. My mother wanted me to be a priest or a lawyer. Funny, I know, they're pretty opposite, but it's true. When it came to applying to college, I only applied to USC in Los Angeles. Fortunately, I got in and have been here in L.A. ever since.

How have your characters developed since your introductions?

Richards: I was introduced in an episode called War Zone where I was the general of a street army that fought vampires. Over the course of my time working with the Angel gang, I saw myself as a racist against vampires and everything supernatural. Over time my character has come to understand that not everybody from that world is evil. He's grown and become more inclusive in who he considers family.

Kartheiser: My character was raised in another dimension, a demon dimension. There, it's always dark, and there are no humans because everything kills and eats them. He spent a lot of time killing demons, keeping their fingers on necklaces. Then he came to this world with the sole purpose of killing Angel as revenge for the killing of the man who raised him [Holtz]. Because of this, he feels justified on hurting Angel.

Do you feel there is still a connection to Buffy?

Richards: Because I was never a part of Buffy, it always felt [like] a separate thing to me. Apparently, a lot of people who watched both shows feel like we found our own legs this year, and partially it had to do with splitting networks, too. I think once the whole baby storyline was introduced, the mythology took on a new life.

Kartheiser: It is interesting, though, to see how fans are reluctant to leave what they've loved for so long. You've got to find a new audience and bring part of the old audience. I think that's what they've done this year. That's what is really hard, and that's why it took a couple of seasons. People want the characters to stay how they are. When we turn on a show, we want to see the same old skits, the same old banter. When it changes you need to give people time to adjust and get used to it.

Richards: Angel and Buffy were such a big love story, it's hard for people to let that relationship go.

How would you describe this show?

Richards: It's dark and passionate. That's what I like about it. The character of Angel is hundreds of years old. He has love affairs that last for centuries. It's just so epic.

Kartheiser: It's also challenging as an actor to play roles so completely different. You have to wrap your mind around living in another dimension, killing demons. You're not always successful but you have good people around to say, "No, do it again!"



Courtesy of Dreamwatch Magazine

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