m e d i a

Interviews

"I love Australia!" Big Hit Magazine August 2002 Issue #41

While she was in Greece for the Scooby-Doo press junket, big hit's very own Michele Manelis scored some major one-on-one time with Sarah Michelle Gellar to talk about her favourite things in the world: Australia, Kylie Minogue, Freddie and big hit magazine's readers ... that's YOU!

As you know, big hit magazine's readers named you their Babe of the Year last issue!
(Laughs) Well, they obviously don't know me! They obviously haven't seen what I look like this morning!

Come on, you could be known for worse things.
Yeah (laughs) Well, it's flattering.

Who's your Babe of the Year?
Freddie!

What personal message do you have for the readers of big hit in Australia and New Zealand who voted for you?
(laughs) just to thank everybody for their hospitality. I had a wonderful time in Australia and people were really wonderful to us and it certainly stands out as one of my absolute favourite places that I've spent time in and I thank for being a great culture and great people.

What are your stand out memories of filming there?
Goodness, there are so many. I love the food, I love the people, I love the shopping! (laughs). When we were filming it was the time that Australia was becoming so big everywhere - Moulin Rouge and Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue. It was kind of like Australia's coming-out party. We seemed to have been there during all of that. I had a great time - and the weather! I'm a real warm weather person. I am not into cold weather so even when we were there in winter, it wasn't that bad.

Apparently you've been obsessed with Kylie Minogue - have you ever met her?
I went to her concert and we had a great time. I was supposed to go backstage and meet her but it was way passed my bedtime and I had to go home. Then I heard she came out and said, "Where's Sarah?" And they were like, "Oh, she was so tired."

What's your favourite Kylie song?
(pause) I don't think I could narrow it down that way. I like the last album before this one ["Light Years"]. I like that one. That's my favourite album.

Did you play any part in getting the awesome Kylie song "Whenever You Feel Like Iy" on the Scooby-Doo soundtrack?
I don't know. I certainly wouldn't take the credit for it. I think that people on the crew, specifically the producer, started to hear about it from me, especially with my whining to get off so I could go to her concert but I doubt that. I don't know, actually. Maybe ...

You've also been looking at real estate in Australia since the shoot?
No. I mean, we liked certain areas and we would drive around, but no, I'm not moving any time soon.

Did you get hassled very much while you were there?
(pauses) Depends on your definition of hassled.

By fans of the media?
Um ... people coming up to me on the street were lovely and were big fans. I mean, you have your hard days with the other [media] and there were times when our privacy was somewhat compromised out there. Sometimes more on the Gold Coast than Sydney necessarily where it's easier to blend in. Part of the job. (shrugs shoulders)

You're also known for being a fashion diva - how did you feel about the purple clothes you had to wear as Daphne in Scooby-Doo?
They were a little short for me. A little short a little low cut for my taste. I'm much more longer skirt, maybe sweatpants and sweater kind of girl. In the beginning it was summer and it was really nice but then it moved into winter on Tangalooma [Wild Dolphin Resort on Moreton Island in Queensland]. It was a little chilly.

Were you a Scooby-Doo fan?
Absolutely. Specifically in America, it's constant. It's everywhere. It's on five times a day on seven different channels. Yeah, I love it.

You mentioned in a magazine that you didn't grow up with a gang of girlfriends - has that changed?
Absolutely. I have the most amazing group of girlfriends that I could possibly ever hope for and it's pretty special and sometimes as an adult those relationships mean even more.

How was it for you to have Freddie be a blonde?
I loved it! I loved that he had to sit and get his hair coloured very eight days and I could be like, "I'm going out to Starbucks now! I'm going to hit the mall!" I think it's great that he now understands what I have to go through.

How was it working with him?
It was great. It was not our first time working together. Our friendship was based on the fact that we enjoy working together and we were friends and we had a great time on our first movie so it was a joy. It was a pleasure. When you work with someone, when you act with someone you have to put your trust in them, you have to be completely at ease with them so it made it that much easier for me to focus on my work.

But this was your first time working as a couple?
Yes.

Did you learn anything about him you didn't know previously?
I know everything about him. It wasn't about that - it wasn't a learning experience in that sense.

You'll be married soon - are kids a long way off for you or is it something you want to do soon?
I don't know. It's something that both definitely want but I'm only 25 so I have some time.

Freddie was saying on Jay Leno that he assaulted you in his sleep and gave you a black eye!
(sighs) I can't believe he told that story!

That must be terrible for you to be sleeping with someone so dangerous!
Well, no, it only happened once and it was funny because he knocked me in his sleep and I bruise so easily, you just have to touch me and I bruise. My legs from the bugs on this island alone - oh that reminds me I have to put more stuff on them - but if you touch me I bruise so when you hit a little bit harder, you get a shiner on your face! (laughs)

Does he do anything else usual in his sleep? Talking? Walking?
No. No. (laughs)

You're one of the few positive examples of 'Young Hollywood', does it annoy you that actors your age get a bad reputation?
You know, unfortunately we look for those people to write about because I'm not fun to gossip about. There's nothing fun to write about me. I'm not an E! True Hollywood Story and won't be one any time soon. So, we have a tendency to nit-pick and put the failures in the spotlight but they don't talk about the ones who have had so much success. I think the ratio is actually greater success than failure but we don't choose to highlight the other actors.

How do you think you've avoided the self-destructive path that many actors have taken?
Upbringing. I think my mom's influence on me was so great that I would never want to - also my personality - it's not in me. And I think growing up in New York as well. I wasn't surrounded full-time by acting. It certainly didn't encompass my being as a child.

Did you miss out on anything being a child actor?
No, I only gained. My life was enriched by acting. 

How do you feel about the constant discussion of actresses being too thin?
It's so rough. People pick on me all the time and people don't realise that I'm 5 ft 2" (158cms). OK! I'm really little and have small bones. I also work out a lot, whether it's Pilates or kick boxing or swimming or walking and I'm always on the move. It's really hard and it's that same thing - maybe there's one or two people who are preternaturally thin and do odd things but again, they highlight ... it's that same feeling of being picked on. And yet if I gained weight they'd pick on me too. I'm sure they would - look at the pictures they try to get and what they say. It's a no-win situation.

Are you on any special diet? I don't mean to stay thin, but to be healthy?
Foods like sushi. I'm not like, chocolate is not my thing. A bowl of pasta would be pigging out for me.

What do you and Freddie do in your spare time?
Oh everything. We love to be outdoors - that's very important to us. Even just walking with our dogs. We love to play board games with our friends. I love to read. That's one of my favourite things to do - just sit with a book outside. We like to spemnd time with our friends and family. We like to have big dinners and play board games and sit all night without turning the television on and talk.

What's the last book you read?
I just finished [Spin City's] Michael J. Fox's biography. It's amazing. It's such a beautiful story and there's so much about him that I didn't know about about Parkinson's and it was really moving and really brave of him to do - to be out there and say, "This is me and this is my story." God knows, I could never do it.

Freddie is famous for his pranks - were you the victim of any on the Scooby shoot?
No. He knows that if he ever did anything ... oh, but last night I was kind of pissed [off] last night. He kept telling me there was a bug on my back and I was freaking out but there wasn't anything there.

Has he taught you how to do any pranks?
No! I would never!

What music do you like listening to?
I like music in general. I'll listen to anything.

What's something you're really good at that would surprise your fans?
I can juggle!

Where did you learn that?
Boredom from hanging out on sets as a child (laughs). I just picked it up.

When did your dragonfly obsession come about?
Dragonflies (Sarah is wearing a dragonfly necklace and also has a new tattoo of two dragonflies). I don't know how it came about. I just think they're really beautiful and mysterious creatures.

What's something Freddie's good at that no one knows?
He's an amazing chef. He's five star quality.

How was it working with Matthew Lilliard?
This is my first time but Freddie has worked with him five times. Freddie has known him for a really long time. Matthew is great. He's like a little boy. He gets so excited. He gets an idea and then he wants to do it and watching him as Shaggy - Matthew is so darned cute. When you watch the movie you just want to (pinches her cheeks) and ask him, "Will you be my best friend?" And working with someone like Matthew - Freddie and I were at his wedding, he's a close friend so I made it a real familial experience. It was really nice.

What would you be doing if your acting career hadn't taken off?
Probably a photojournalist. Don't know. I honestly don't know - I probably would have been in a lot of trouble!