Charisma Carpenter

We’ve Got Charisma - Charisma Carpenter

And you can, too! Hollywood’s on-screen bad girl, Charisma Carpenter, steps in front of the camera for some, um, true exposure. And we were there for the whole thing.

That’s a pretty interesting way of introducing Charisma Carpenter. Well, that’s certainly how the Web sees the scantily clad Kendall Casablancas, the sexy trophy wive and “bitch in the bikini” character that Carpenter essays so damn well in the UPN series Veronica Mars. Charisma Carpenter

Is she mislabeled? Consider this: She was kind of a nasty-mouthed, attitude-laden vixen in Malibu Shores. And she played the cool, hard Cordelia Chase opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and opposite David Boreanaz in Angel, acting more vamp than vampire, two times over. Yet, for all the rude bad-girl stuff she does on screen, we can assure you that Carpenter - wife, mother and former high school cheerleader in Las Vegas - is the super-nicest woman we’ve talked to since yakking to the cast of Little House on the Prairie. Now, that’s nice.

Sure, she’s posed for 10 pages in Playboy (photos she’ll never sign for her multitude of fans - sorry, boys). And she has some wack tattoos. But Carpenter is simply this down-to-Earth, dark-haired beauty who’s also managed a slate of TV movies like Lifetime’s Flirting with Danger and the romantic laugh-fest See Jane Date. No one on the ABC Family channel can be too mean, right?

We caught up with the Los-Angeles-based Carpenter while running red lights for the 2007 season of pilot series auditions. And if that doesn’t make a bitch out of even the nicest lady, well ...

MEN’S EDGE: I used to act - badly, which is why I write. It’s even more taxing than I remember it.

CHARISMA CARPENTER: It’s a double-edged sword. It can be a beautiful opportunity to do great work, to change your life, to get job security. Hopefully. I had that happen with Buffy and Angel. Or you get a series - and then it doesn’t get picked up, which is what happened to me last time (Like Cats & Dogs). And then you’re fucked (laughs). But on the other hand, to get up every morning and do it again and again, and get dressed and make the drive and be on; the whole thing ... it’s all very humbling (laughs).

ME: This is fascinating backstage stuff. So what are the stories being told in 2007? What are you looking to do?

CC: This is not the time to be selective (laughs). If I don’t respond to a character, I won’t go in. But I think my niche is half-hour. Comedy. And I get the best response from that. But I’d love to do one-hours. I want to work - the artistry, the collaboration. House Divided sounds like good show coming up. Heroes. Watch for these. (Yawning) Sorry. I’m just waking up.

ME: Now, I feel weird asking you about Veronica Mars - the show you’re on now. You make it sound ... not so ... secure.

CC: Don’t. I love that show. I’m grateful to be on it. I hope I stay on. It’s weird, bizarre poetic justice. When I booked Cats & Dogs with Warren Littlefield and Tyler Labine, who’s on the show that takes place in the Keys with the aliens ...

ME: You mean Invasion?

CC:Yeah. UPN was either picking up Cats or this new show, Veronica Mars. So I wound up on the second - for 10 episodes a pop. As for secure - it’s not. It’s not yet a job. They haven’t asked yet for me to be part of the third season. I don’t think they know what’s up for the third season, what with the UPN and WB merging. But they did tell me that character’s IQ is going to go up about 50 points - likening her to Annette Bening’s role in The Grifter. So that’s great. The show is excellent. The creator (Rob Thomas) is smart and nice. I adore the writing. The kids are remarkably well put together. And the executive producer - Joel Silver - that’s not a bad name to work for. Charisma Carpenter

ME: You’ve been the bitch before. Why do they keep picking you to be a bitch when you seem so sweet? And what does it mean to be the wiser older bitch?

CC:Probably because they know I can do it. That’s my reputation. The biggest difference between this character and “Cordelia” is that she started off ditzy, horny and mean. But there’s an element of ignorance in her. With “Kendall,” I don’t know how much of the character is playing dumb or being dumb. That’s what we’ll find out. I do know that as the older woman, she’s honed her manipulations to a science. She knows what her assets are and how to get what she wants. Right now, that’s her only trading card. But, there’s some indication - hotel keys, bag exchanges - that there’s something afoot.

ME: What does it mean to be birthed and raised in Vegas? You were born and raised in the Vegas of the 1970s: disco schmaltz, Shecky Greene, shrimp cocktail for a dime.

CC: It definitely catches people’s attention. Entertainment got built into my life very early. My dad worked at the Dunes Hotel as a craps dealer. He was even in a few movies. My folks were just big TV people - and guys like James Garner were always in the casinos. There was always a sense of glamour to it. But - and people have had a time with this - my life was pretty normal: school, dance, doing March of Dimes stuff with my mom.

ME: So where do you start performing?

CC:Through the Dimes, I got into this group called The Young Entertainers that played all the old-age homes and travel lodges; dancing and singing (laughs). It was hilarious. My whole life was dance. And beauty pageants. And cheerleading. "I was the last of my friends to lose their virginity."

ME: Were you a particularly bad kid - not necessarily sleazy - I mean wild?

CC:No. I was pretty sheltered. I was the last of my group of friends to lose their virginity - I know, what an inappropriate thing to say - and I always got caught whenever I did try to do something dicey. I didn’t have time to be bad.

ME: Buffy and Angel had a real rough physicality about them; the martial-arts duels, the swords. Did that come from the dancing?

CC: I was so well-possessed and endowed through dancing - I didn’t mean the double entendre - running, jumping and kicking. But where dancing is very up - arms up to the sky - martial-arts fighting is low to the ground. So when I did sword fighting, it was a lot to learn - a completely different use of the body. But I used that awkwardness within the character. No matter what, when it came time to fight the undead with your undead body, you better look like you know how to fight demons.

ME: Are you happy to be not battling monsters anymore?

CC: No. I loved it and miss it terribly. Seven years is a long time to be with people. The writing and the play of it all. “Cordelia” got very humanized by the end of the show. You saw her feelings. Those were very ambitious shows - the mythology, the drama, the comedy, the action and special effects. And I’ve been running into Joss Whedon (creator), who’s getting ready to do Wonder Woman, as well as a lot of the former cast on the lot where I do Veronica Mars, so ...

ME: Are you happy to not be pigeonholed as a teen horror honey like Sarah Michelle Gellar, whose Buffy role you lost out on?

CC: Truthfully - I never regret or even think about those sort of things. Besides, it’s hard to argue with films that open at $40 million. And she’s super sharp, smart and talented. We don’t really talk. Charisma Carpenter

ME: So have no worry about Sarah’s career.

CC: I’ve been doing this for 10 years. It’s like, (sighs) where do you go from here? Obviously some of us have made transitions quite nicely. For me, I struggle. It’s not as easy for me.

ME: Why?

CC: I don’t know why. It’s the way the universe is worked it out. I simply have to earn everything. Nothing comes to me that simply. I try not to feel sorry for myself (laughs).

ME: Are you over television yet? Or do you think you’re going to be like Mary Tyler Moore, Heather Locklear or Pamela Anderson - these great television icons who find different ways to stretch in this medium?

CC: I’d love to be the next Mary Tyler Moore. My ideal world would be to get a regular television series - this comedy that I’m up for - and still do lots of episodes of Veronica Mars and film Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman movie in the summer. I love that character and I know I’d be great for it. If he’s writing it, it’ll have that nasty wit to it - “Joss-speak.” It’ll be awesome.

ME: Between Baywatch and Malibu Shores, and posing for a big spread in Playboy and walking around in a bikini in Veronica Mars, I’d have to guess you were comfortable in your skin. Are you?

CC:I have my good days and bad. Right now, I’m a little on the heavy side. Is that what you mean?

ME: Well, literally and figuratively?

CC: It’s a hard business to be comfortable in your skin. (laughs) I work very hard at it. Lately, because I’ve been sick, I haven’t been able to work out as much as I usually do. But I enjoy working out. So I got a little heavier, which means I’m not supposed to eat that bowl of Frosted Flakes before I go to bed. But I really want it and am not willing to not have it, so I have it - even if I do have trouble buttoning up my pants. I’m going through a lot.

ME: Which is, in its own fucked up way, a brave thought, seeing how Hollywood is so consumed with sinister discipline.

CC: It’s a very fucked-up deal around here. It’s an ugly reality - weight. I guess when my last pair of pants stop fitting (laughs), I’ll stop eating. But right now - Frosted Flakes.

ME: What did your father and husband think of the Playboy thing?

CC:My husband’s not an idiot. He knew how great of an opportunity it was. My dad - he saw the cover. Not the contents.

ME: So when you did Playboy, what was the motivation?

CC:Having my son. After him, I really worked out and was totally proud. I was comfortable being naked and totally proud of my body. And I felt so beautiful - despite the sort of carpet I had on my head as a hairdo - especially that day. You know what - after being pregnant and bloating to 170 pounds, having my joints ache - finally feeling beautiful was an achievement. And you know - I did get work out of it. That’s how Joel Silver found and chose me. That Playboy shoot was his deciding factor. And you know, it’s not about numbers. It’s about inches.

MEN’S EDGE: So, when you retire do you want to just get fat and eat everything in sight?

CHARISMA CARPENTER: Oh my God no. I’m just not one of those people who deprive themselves. I would never really let my body go to hell. I’m not going to wind up crying over a box of Bon Bons nightly (laughs).