Dollhouse

Eliza Dushku told us so much about Dollhouse when we interviewed her for Nobel Son, there might not be much more to ask until the show comes on. Still, Dushku’s able to gab away about all the awesome stunts and dramatic moments she’s getting to play on the show. Each assignment implants her with a new personality, and she is wiped totally blank in between jobs.

Crave Online: If something happens to Echo in her base state, in between personality implants, is that always part of her experience or is that wiped each time too?

Eliza Dushku: It’s back to square one each time. That’s why they focused a lot on, when we’re in the Dollhouse, are we grouping? Are we starting to sit together? Are we starting to become self-aware? Are we starting to develop human instincts that will make us recognize one another? Ultimately, no we’re not supposed to. We’re supposed to be wiped completely clean. But, Echo is the glitcher. She’s unlike the other dolls. She’s evolving. She’s powering through her wipes a little bit.

Crave Online: Will there be a glitch every week, like when she collapses from asthma in the pilot? Eliza Dushku: Well, Echo has glitches and flaws. I’m going to answer and say, "Yes," because we’re now in Episode 11, and I’ve had many flaws and many glitches, and I think that’s sort of where the show takes off. I mean, the Dollhouse has obviously been established, and we’re focusing on Echo’s character. She’s absolutely glitching and starting to become self-aware, and the memory wipes are not entirely working. So things can set them off and throw them off.

Crave Online: Could you address the changes and what it’s like when you sign on for a show and you do a pilot and then you have to do a new pilot and then it gets to be the fall and you guys have to take several weeks off to find it? What’s the leap of faith that you guys have to take to know that everything is going to be all right?

Eliza Dushku: We follow that man, [Joss Whedon.] What he says goes because I’m going out on a limb, but I think he’s pretty good. I’ve followed him other places at other times in my life and my career, and he makes it right. He’s like the captain of the ship and I think we all have just a fundamental, full-force sense of trust with where he’s taking us and the decisions he’s making.

Crave Online: Is this an actor’s dream role to play so many different characters in the same series?

Eliza Dushku: It’s Eliza’s dream role for sure. Joss and I have known each other for ten years since the Buffy days, and since we met when he wrote Faith and picked me, which thanks again

for that, I loved that part. So it’s a dream role because I’m constantly changing and I’m constantly on the move and, you know, I’ve said it before. I’m a little ADD so the idea of being in the same costumes every day is a little conventional for me. When Joss and I sat down to talk about what we could do, we just thought let’s do everything. At the end of the show, you have the clip of me saying, "I want to travel around the world on a plane that I pilot and design and do everything. Is that too much to ask?" And that’s kind of a little bit me.

Crave Online: Are you Amish in one episode? What could possibly be going down in Amish country?

Eliza Dushku: We were shooting an episode where Echo is sent into a cult compound, and we were shooting up in Piru, which I don’t know if anyone knows, but it’s sort of up near Santa Clarita. We were on this cult compound, and we were all dressed very Amish or something. It was this interesting wardrobe, and we were all gathered around this little television with like crank knobs, sitting on a stool out in the middle of nowhere [on election night] watching Obama take it. We will all remember that for sure.

Crave Online: The show opens with this little love connection that is then wiped. Will you have more love interests in the series?

Eliza Dushku: We had a really good time. He might call up and ask for a second date. I don’t know. It’s possible. I mean, absolutely there are people, as we’re going along that call back and request the same active or sometimes the same active but they may want to switch a thing or two about a thing or two, and I think that’s, again, some of the very cool elements of the whole plan.