Transcript (by Miriam Rocke):
[Miriam's disclaimer: These are the Q-and-A's from tonight's talkcity chat with Tony. When I get it formatted, I'll do a "best-of-chat" quote list from the non-Tony stuff. There's some entertaining material. *grin* That won't be tonight though. And GASPers seemed to hog the questions. Wonder why. *innocent smile* Typos aren't mine. This is a straight log, unedited. It's in standard IRC format; if I ever post it to a web page, it'll be formatted better; but I think you can get what's going on. My comments are in [brackets]. You may forward this anywhere as long as you attach my name and this disclaimer.]

[Speaker] Talk City Presents(tm), in association with iXl Live(tm) welcomes you to a conversation with our special guest Anthony Stewart Head.

[Questions] grinccc says: Welcome to Talk City, Anthony! What do you find most surprising about the tremendous success of 'Buffy'?

[Tony Head] Hmm.. that's a stumper! Well, that it took so long for the network to know what they had on their hands. We were a mid-season replacement, and they weren't sure about it at all. :-)

[Questions] elainemc says: It's obvious you're fond of your fellow cast and crew; do you find that it helps your characterisation-- since Buffy & Co. are, also, close...?

[Tony Head] Well, I'm an actor. One isn't always going to get on with one's compadres. There have been things that I've done in the past which have been difficult, but I'm a fairly easy-going-person. I'm not a patsy; I'll stand up for myself, but I'll use whatever is thrown at me in my acting. Art immitates life. And in the past if there are problems on a set, I've been able to use whatever anxiety or trouble I've felt in the scene. However, when you all get on, it makes life a lot easier, and it makes life more fun. I makes the show more fun to do!

[Questions] willow778 says: Do you want Giles to get a new romantic interest?

[Tony Head] Oh, I'm still hurting from Miss Calendar's death.

[...awww...but she's not dead...!]

[Tony Head] But I'm sure if one is appropriate, they'll give me one. I am definitely spinning in some different ways for Giles to approach life, as the result of the traumas of last year, and I know they have things planned for him. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[Questions] sachieljgm says: What is the best part about working on BtVS?

[Tony Head] You get to do really silly things, and get paid for it! :-) And people take you seriously! Now that I'm in my 40s, people misguidedly took me more seriously. When I was in my 30s, people took me more seriously than they did in my 20s. It's all relative, and eventually they'll realize their dreadful mistake!

[Questions] gyst says: In my opinion, Giles is the best character on the series. I think that's what truly makes the series great, the character of the characters. I would like to know if there are any plans for Giles and Buffy's mom? Better yet, if Joss will somehow bring back Miss Calendar? Jenny and Giles were an awesome combo. I'd like to see it again, and not just as a one-shot.

[Tony Head] We love you, gyst. Anyone who thinks Giles is the best character is alright in our book! As far as me and Joyce, we'll have to wait and see. It would definitely throw some conflict into the arena, and conflict makes for a good show. But whether we can cope with that much conflict! I liked the romance with Miss Calendar, but a) she's dead.. and short of taking her body to Lourdes, I don't know that she's going to resurrected. And again, it's good conflict. All of it is very carefully, cleverly thought-out, and the conflicts between me and Buffy, and all of us, come from Joss's inate sense of what makes people tick. When my English agent first saw the show she said it was great, but where can it go? And the answer is that it's gone way beyond where it started. It couldn't remain just me the stuffy Englishman and the angst-ridden teenager. It had to go beyond that. I don't really know where they're going to lead me, but I have implicit faith in Joss's sensibilities and intuition.

[Questions] ethancrayne says: What are the chances of getting a VR.5 movie to tie up at least some of the loose ends left from Reunion?

[Tony Head] LOL! Well... Remote. FOX were very interested in one point in doing a couple of movies of the week, but I think basically trying to get the cast together was impossible. No one was available at the time. Michael and I were embarking on a series; Lori was working on a film. It started to get complicated, and it was abandoned. Enough people write in and there could be some interest. It wasn't taken as far as it could have been, and it was definitely ahead of its time. Tell the TV executives!

[Questions] sandyh says: I love learning about Giles wild, youthful past. Will we get to see more of Ripper and perhaps Ethan Rayne this season?

[Tony Head] No idea! I'm sure that we'll find out more about Giles as we find out more about everybody. Joss has played it very close to his chest. I think we will possibly see a youthful side of Giles at some point, but as I say I don't really know where the plotlines are going, and I kinda like it that way. Unless there's stuff I have to play towards, so there are no extrordinary leaps within the character, unless I have one of those (as I was glad to know about the Dark Age because I was able to work something two or three episodes before it), I just kind of like not knowing where the character is going. It's like life that way. We don't know where things are going next week, and we have to react accordingly.

[Questions] wavbec says: I loved VR.5, do you think Alex and Oliver were secretly married?

[Tony Head] LOL LOL! I think you're taking it way too seriously. ;-)

[*snerk* It's called obession, Tony dear... ...not just a perfume...]

[Tony Head] You've seen it more than I have! Well, maybe. If you want. ;-)

[Questions] gylzgirl says: Will they be bringing Ethan back? And if so, will we see any of the Ethan/Giles dynamic from the past?

[Tony Head] Suggest it to Joss, and you'll never know! I thought Ethan Rayne was a great character; he and I got on very well together.

[Questions] gylzgirl says: With as popular a character as Giles is, why is he always slighted in the merchandising?

[Tony Head] Please refer that to the WB network. It's not something I can answer. :-) Interesting question. blinding! One of the things that impressed me first about the success of the show was the internet - it was just alive with it! I knew that we'd moved into 'A New Age of Technology'. There had never been the opportunity before for people with a mutual interest in a show to talk about it. You could at school, but outside of school we don't chat about what we saw on TV

[Questions] sonjarose says: Can you tell us what it's like to perform in the Rocky Horror Show? Are there any other musical roles you aspire to?

[Tony Head] I played Frank N Furter - there is no other role to play. ;-) I was amused to see someone on a website who had only just discovered that I did Frank N Furter. He thought I would have been better cast as Brad, or a Charles Gray-style narrator. You had to be there. It was wonderful. It was a blast. One of the best things was getting people's reactions when they came around backstage. People who'd known me for a long time. A nurse friend, a woman of the world, couldn't talk to me until I took the makeup off! Apparently when I first came on side she couldn't believe it - that I was such a "nice" guy! As for other roles, that's why I wrote a musical. I haven't seen Rent, and I was asked if I wanted to play the lawyer in Chicago in London, but there aren't a lot of parts I want to play. In Beggar's Opera I'd like to play the highwayman - that's a fabulous part I'd love to play. I saw a great production at the National Theatre years ago. I'd quite like to play Nathan Detroit now, in Guys & Dolls. It would have been Sky Masterton (I'd still like to play that role), but now it would be Nathan Detroit. In terms of rock and roll, there isn't really anything out there that I hanker after.

[Questions] kjmt says: What's the most embarrassing or difficult moment you had as an actor - excluding anything from Rocky Horror?

[Tony Head] My idea of what's embarrassing is probably different from yours...

[Uh-huh...riiiight...]

[Tony Head] I guess early on, when I was at drama school, we did some scenes in a joint production with a design school. They designed the costumes and we did the scenes. We did some scenes from Restoration comedies and tragedies. I played a character called Don Dovo, a servant basically. We were on a very small stage, and the costume had a very large-nosed mask, and a posing pouch. I was acutely embarrassed! I don't know about the audience. Since then I've grown used to my body, but then I was a student, and you don't want to be thrusting your bottom in people's faces. Now I can't wait. ;-)

[Questions] elainemc says: After a long day of getting beaten up by bad guys [and Buffy!], how do you relax?

[Tony Head] I love movies. I really like the lavender bath or ylang-ylang. I must admit that aromatherapy is a great thing. Quite often I'll go out and have a drink with people from the show. Hangin', really. find it's difficult. At home I have a family and a family life, and here I don't. I'm sometimes a bit lost. Because I'm not a bachelor. :-) But as I say, hanging with friends, going to a bar maybe. Margaritas are a wonderful invention. We don't have them in England, they're all out of a bottle, and they're horrible! I've learned to make them, and I make a good Margarita now, I'm told. I'll see anything and everything in movies. I have fairly ecclectic taste. One of the movies last year I was most surprised at was The Man Who Knew Too Little. When I saw the trailer I thought they were trying too hard, but it was just blinding. Bill Murray was on very good form, and kept me laughing. There's a piece in the trailer when he dressed up in a Cossack dress and I thought it would be dreadful, but it kept me laughing for 20 minutes! favourite film last year was Good Will Hunting, and I was very pleased to see it get the Oscar, 'cause I loved it. I wanted it to get everything.

[Questions] sonjarose says: Is it true that you're trying to become a more "American" actor? If so, how and why?

[Tony Head] No, I'm not trying to become a more American actor, but I'm trying to open myself more to an American way of acting, and to increase my range. In film, I think that the 'American Way' is desirable. There's a subtlety, and a lack of stress, that I really like. As I've said before, my favourite actors are the most subtle for their age - for the era in which they were acting. Sometimes one makes the mistake of wanting to show everything and tell everything, but the bottom line is you just have to think it. Since I got here, three or four years ago, I've learned an enormous amount. I don't think any actor should sit back and think they know how to do it. You should be constantly evolving and seeking ways to make the communication more powerfully Like anything in life, you have to put energy out there for energy to come back!

[Questions] kjmt says: Who has influenced you the most in your life?

[Tony Head] My girlfriend, Sarah. Without any doubt. An extraordinary and wonderful person. I've learned an enormous amount from her, and never cease to be amazed at her.

[Questions] gylzgirl says: I just love hearing you sing. Do you think you might record an album sometime?

[Tony Head] If someone asks, yes!

[...we're asking, we're asking!]

[Tony Head] The only thing that puts me off... it's different here, but in England I don't want to be one of those actors who suddenly decides to release an album of 'my favourite songs', and when I see them advertised I curl up inside and wish they'd stick to what they know. But I do love music, and I have favourite old standards that I love to do. In America they sit up and are surprised to know that I can sing. I did a charitable thing last year, and Joss and other friends said they were prepared to be embarrassed for me, and were pleasantly surprised. It's a matter of finding the right opportunity, and the right moment. Financially someone would have to put the money into an album, but if the moment arose, I'd jump on it, sure. :-)

[Questions] isabeau says: What music do you listen to for relaxation?

[Tony Head] Oh, all sorts! Check out the Goo Goo Dolls. I like Alanis Morrissette. I turned Nicki on to Little Feat, and now he's a hardened Lionel George fan. I tried to turn David onto Rye Cooter, and he admitted the other night that he had just listened to it, and liked it. I have pretty wide-ranging tastes. I think I like American music more than English stuff, although I do like Oasis and Blur, but I like the girls that around at the moment. I think they're very talented. We were listening to an album we bought last year, an Enigma album, and found that I was really enjoying it.

[Questions] elainemc says: Having done both musical and non-musical stage, which do you find more difficult, and why?

[Tony Head] In its purest form, musical is more difficult, because if you forget the words, it doesn't stop for you to catch up, so if you do forget the words, you can't adlib. You just have to dig yourself further into a hole until there's a blinding flash two phrases later when you suddenly remember what it was you were supposed to be singing. There's a dreadful moment looking down into the orchestra, and your musical director looking at your with a "what are you doing!!??" expression, and a 40-piece orchestra sailing along regardless. I'm glad that I was never stereotyped as a 'straight' actor, and to have done anything and everything over the course of my 'rich and varied' career. I love doing plays, and musicals, comedies and dramas. And each has its perks. The great buzz of doing live shows is riding the audience as it were, working with them and feeling how it's going on. It's fun. Especially when you get to mess with their heads. ;-)

[Questions] wavbec says: After his rebellious time in London, did Giles go back to Oxford and finish his education? (Please say yes)

[Tony Head] If you like. :-)

[...it's not just a perfume...]

[Questions] spiderman9 says: will there be anymore taster's choice commercials?

[Tony Head] I think it's extremely unlikely. And if there are, they'll probably have to pay us an enormous amount of money. Ask them. :-) I was told by a close friend who's a psychic medium, that they are going to repeat the old English ones, but I don't know. Because they're not current, people come up to me and say "You're the Folger's guy", fortunately much less often than they used to! Now they say "You're Giles". I don't know what their follow-up campaign is; I haven't seen anything. We were under contract until the end of '96, but the actual commercial itself was seen in spring '96. There were supposed to be three more to round the thing off, but I don't know. :-)

[Questions] asanti says: Mr. Head, What is the name of the spirit that inhabits your home in England and are your children at ease with it/her/him?

[Tony Head] I have no idea what the name is. It's a little girl, and we've seen a picture of the house in the 1930s, with a little girl and her nanny outside, and we think it might be her. She's been very quiet for some time. She was a little disturbed by it when we were doing quite a bit of , but she's backed off. The girls have only had to deal with her a couple of times. Daisy said that someone said "hello", but she couldn't say hello back, because she was gone. She is lovely, and gives the home a benevolant, warm feeling. Don't believe everything you see on TV! I had to point out on the ghost episode that there were some anomalies in the script, and we worked to get it right - not wanting to get it wrong!

[Questions] furies- says: why do you think the show has become so popular?

[Tony Head] Because it's good. And there ain't nothing like it on TV. It's not about space, hospitals or cops. Or any combination of the above. :-) funny, and it's really, really, really well written!

[Questions] wizard117 says: Is it true that Nicholas(Xander) threw a whipped cream pie at your face right before an audition?

[Tony Head] LOL LOL! It wasn't right before it. I had to cross town first. :-) was on my last day of filming. I think they still had a day to go, and it was supposed to be done on camera. They had started to break the camera down for the next shot, and yes he did put a cream pie in my face. I got most of it off, and then I did go to an audition. It was a very successful audition, in fact, although I did say to the director at one point that I had the smell of cream up my nose, and it was disconcerting. He thought I was strange.

[...uh-huh...]

[Tony Head] (I'm watching a squirrel off my balcony. Very chubby guy, but with a very skinny tail). Sorry, I digress. ;-)

[Questions] sandyh says: You've used the word pillock in two different episodes. What exactly is a pillock?

[Tony Head] You're going to have to find out! It's an English term of endearment. :-)

[Questions] jeanned says: Is there any significance to the pinky ring you wear as Giles and also as most of the other characters you've played?

[Tony Head] I was given it by wardrobe, and didn't question it. I have always worn a pinky ring, but not that one. There isn't any significance as yet, but there may be!

[Questions] everdawn says: What is the most important thing we don't yet know about Giles?

[Tony Head] Oh, well I'm bound to reveal that! LOL! Stuff comes as it comes. And I'm finding out stuff about myself now, at 44, that I didn't know about myself. So it's equally relevant that until you start looking, and it finds its way out there, that there are things you find out about your character that change your perception. This year, the way Giles is deceived will change, because he found himself very vulnerable at the end of last year, and will have adjusted a little accordingly; cut himself off a little. It's a great thing about life. There are no ground rules, and no pre-conceptions. It's all learning.

[Questions] grinccc says: Anthony, you've been a fascinating guest - thank you for being with us in Talk City. Is there anything you'd like to mention that we didn't have a chance to ask tonight?

[Tony Head] It's been fun! Thank you!

[Speaker] As the spotlight dims, tonight's show comes to an end. We thank you, our great audience, and a very special Thank You to our guest ....... Anthony Stewart Head .......... We look forward to seeing you again soon. Talk City Presents is produced in conjunction with iXl Live(tm) & Talk City(tm), a production of LiveWorld Productions Inc. Copyright 1998

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Page created August 1998; last updated January 1999. Original material © Betsy Vera (bentley@umich.edu). This website is for information and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to infringe on copyrights held by others.

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