Buffy : Season 8

It’s been a busy year for BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER actor Anthony Stewart Head. Not only did he make a splash last fall as the creepy Repo Man in the cult horror musical REPO! A GENETIC OPERA he’s also had roles in the BBC series’ THE INVISIBLES and FREE AGENTS.

However, his latest, playing the villainous Uther Pendragon in the new BBC produced series MERLIN (which airs Sunday nights on NBC) was even more delicious for the versatile performer.

In the second part of our exclusive interview, Head talks about MERLIN’s success in England, chats about the BUFFY comics, teases about the long-talked about BUFFY spin-off RIPPER and also hints he has a second album of original music in the planning stages.

iF MAGAZINE: Doesn’t the BBC do only six episodes of their series? How were they convinced to do 13 for MERLIN?

ANTHONY STEWART HEAD: It was 13 because they had great faith in [producer] Julie Gardner. She’s responsible for a number of really interesting shows on the BBC [including LIFE ON MARS and ASHES TO ASHES]. She convinced the BBC that is had to be made as 13.

iF: Certain British shows end up on SCI FI Channel – but this is rare for a network like NBC to pick up a show like this. Is MERLIN too British for network television?

HEAD: It’s not "period" with a capital “P.” It’s not Jane Austen. It’s a little more accessible than because of the writing. It has a lightness and a deftness to it and at the same time it has a darkness to it with a point which I think it will succeed. It succeeded in England, because often you don’t get shows that are family shows you can sit down with your kids. Not because you’re kid are enjoying it, but because you enjoy it as well. A number of adults come up to me saying “I cannot thank you enough.” It comes out in England on Saturday nights, and it’s a slot which the BBC gained back from variety [shows] with DOCTOR WHO. We’re on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. when it’s usually all variety shows and it gets a huge, huge audience. It’s because, it’s a truly family show. I think NBC is hoping with Sunday nights for the same thing with the beginning of the summer season. It’s the idea, that when families are going to be around they’ll sit down and watch it.

iF: REPO was a very unique project.

HEAD: It was such a mix of stuff, I wasn’t sure. I loved [director] Darren [Lynn Bousman’s] energy and enthusiasm. I loved the production value. They played me a few songs and I said, “this might work.” I was disappointed that Lionsgate mandated that it had to be 90 minutes long, because you have to cut a whole chunk of the film out. There was this huge set piece fight that’s all gone. I got to beat a man to death with a leg. I think there must have been a little bit of an annoyance of how it was made. They didn’t even know it was a musical. The fact that it says “OPERA” in the title, it might have been a giveaway. There was a point where they went “write it off, shelve it” and Darren wouldn’t let it. A lot of stuff in the movie depends on the original context. They said “cut seven songs.” It didn’t matter which ones they were. I was on the plane yesterday and every film is two hours long. Ninety minutes is no longer the standard. I guess, the fear was, they weren’t going to take the musical at all, it didn’t matter whether it’s 90 minutes or two hours long.

iF: So in many ways, you were lucky with the BUFFY musical episode "Once More With Feeling?"

HEAD: It’s a great piece of writing on so many levels and the fact Joss [Whedon] broke three major story arcs in song — I still get goose bumps thinking about it.

iF: Do you keep up with the comic books and what’s happened with Giles?

HEAD: Not really, I’ve seen bits and pieces when I do conventions. It is available in England, but the comic book culture here, doesn’t exist in England. I’ve met so many people who’ve said “you have to check it out," so I must admit, at some point I will ask Joss if I can get them all.

iF: We’ve heard rumors of the BBC BUFFY spin-off RIPPER for years — any traction?

HEAD: A couple of years ago, I put Joss together with Julie Gardner, who is the force behind MERLIN. She’s the driving force behind BBC Worldwide. I put him together with her and they were talking about doing something on the BBC. I think the complications with [BUFFY] rights and Fox and all sorts of thing was a contributing factor of sort of “do we want to do this or not?” And of course, he had a lunch with Eliza Dushku, who said “I’m sick of playing the same thing” and they came up with DOLLHOUSE. So RIPPER kind of got put on hold. It’s probably doomed forever. Giles may be very old before they do it.

iF Where do you feel Giles is now as a character, the comic book not withsstanding.

HEAD: What we originally talked about, his stories would be ghost stories basically. I would suit the melancholy of his character – he would somehow be caught up in these. There was going to be one story, which Joss wrote, which was absolutely beautiful – gut wrenching stuff. It was beautiful stuff.

iF: Are you thinking of doing another album?

HEAD: I have been. I was going to work with a guitarist called Gus Isidor who was the original writer with Seal. He’s a lovely guy and at the time, before everything started happening, we were going to meet up. I said, “I have this mate, who has the studio in Bath, let’s just get together and go in thirds and we’ll put an album out on the Internet.” From that moment on, I got really busy. Poor Gus, we talk and I have some of his songs and I’ve put some words to it, but it’s been wild.

iF: Talk of a big screen BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER keeps popping up — would you do it if it was a continuation of the TV series and not a straight remake of the original movie?

HEAD: Who knows. If all the stars were right, I’d certainly do it.

iF: Any final words on MERLIN?

HEAD: The proof will be in the pudding. It’s one of those gigs, you go "why the hell didn’t somebody do this before." It was so simple, it was so easy. And looking at this show, it’s a spectacular, beautiful show. It’s funny, witty, dark and sinister in its moments and light enough for five and six-year-olds to get off on it. We haven’t had a good medieval romp since I can remember. We’ve had movies with knights riding around, but nothing like this on TV, usually because of the production values. But they’ve somehow managed to do it.