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Interviews
"I'm Sarah, not Buffy!"
TV HITS MAGAZINE AUGUST 2000 Issue #144
Boobs, boys and Buff stuff - we get personal with Sarah Michelle Gellar!
Congratulations, Sarah - Buffy's been given another 22 episodes!
"Yeah, it's great, thanks!"
Why do you think it's such a legend show?
"Well, the characters' problems and personalities look real. OK, we deal with supernatural creatures and situations but we have the same problems and questions as all teenagers. Buffy's not the smartest, best-looking girl at school and she feels rejected because she's different - but she deals with it. Being a teenager is such a difficult time because you don't know where you belong -
especially if you're not part of the 'in' crowd and you're shut out. That's bad."
Were you picked on at school?
"When I was 13 I experiences loneliness so complete I came very close to having a nervous breakdown. Children and teens can be very cruel.. but all in all my growing up was OK."
What school did you go to?
"I was at the Professional's Children School in New York. All the students were either musicians, actors or athletes and couldn't go to school regularly. Nobody got bullied or rejected over silly things like not having the right clothes. Most of the students were rich kids and I was seen as some kind of freak - (laughs) a nice freak, because I worked to pay for my education and was given a grant."
Guys and girls love Buffy - are you chuffed about that?
"Yeah. Girls love Buffy because she's strong and we girls badly need models to look up to. When I was growing up, actresses were too girly or too intelligent but always sterotyped either way. Guys like Buffy 'cause she kicks ass but she never loses her feminity and has a sense of
humour, too."
Do you act like Buffy at home?
"Buffy's a huge part of my life but I manage to draw a line between my private and professional lives. You have to, not to go mad! Most fans see me only as
Buffy, so I like to play very different parts in movies. I am Sarah, not
Buffy."
Do your friends reckon fame has changed you?
"Yes they do, but all my long-standing friends say it's for the better as I'm more 'normal' than I used to be! When Buffy became such a huge hit I really flipped out because I couldn't stand to be followed and mobbed whenever I went out in the streets. It's very hard to deal with success when you've been anonymous for years."
Did you get mobbed then?
"I spent a really awful year when I only left home to go to work. Then I learnt to deal with it and it's not that bad. Now nothing stops me from going out with my friends and when I'm asked for an autograph, I smile and comply."
What does it feel like being a role model?
" In the beginning I barely believed it. Then I realised it was true that young people did look up to Buffy and therefore to me. That's why I've always been very respectful and tried to be well balanced. I'm totally against drugs and I'm proud to show people you don't have to be a rebel to be cool."
Will you do any more movies?
"I'm playing a philosophy teacher in The Harvard Man (Sarah falls for a basketball player. Leo Di Caprio was up for the role, but at $20 million he was too expensive!) I might be playing in The It Girl as well."
There's always gossip about you - do you listen to all the goss about other stars?
"I do, it's my little guilty pleasure! But I only share my privacy with my closest friends. Some stars love magazines to talk about their off-screen life but I hate it. To me, a little mystery can do wonders. I don't need people knowing if I'm having an affair or not."
OK, but you're not going 'til you tell us about you and David B!
(laughs) "We were never an item. David is a good friend but that's the end of the story. Newspapers and gossip columns are desperate to put celebrities together. If an actor or actresses speaks to anyone they're lovers! Sometimes it's funny but it can ruin a relationship. It sucks!"
Buffy bits!
BORN She's 24 on April 24!
FAMILY Mum Rosellen divorced her dad in '84 and Sarah's an only child.
DID YOU KNOW? In '93 Sarah won an Emmy for her role as a villain in All My Children. She seduced her stepfather, broke up her mum's marriage, shot people, attempted suicide and fell into a coma. Phew!
BOY TROUBLE! Now she's with Freddie Prinze Jr, ex-boyf Jerry O'Connell says, "I was an idiot. Now I'm working on communication issues and my attention span."
D'oh!
MAIL c/o Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Warner Bros TV Network, 4000
Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91522 USA
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