Julie Benz

On the new season of Dexter, pretty much anything could happen to Rita, Dexter’s trusting girlfriend. It’s that kind of show.

DexterBut Julie Benz is used to surprising series — she played vampire Darla on Buffy, then reprised the role on Angel. (One of my all-time favorite episodes was the one where she ... well, I hope you’ve seen it, too.)

Dexter’s second season arrives on DVD today, so you have time to catch up before the third season debuts on Showtime Sept. 28. Last week, Julie called me to chat about the new episodes and answer some Pop Candy readers’ questions.

I’ve included a portion of that Q&A below. You can hear the entire thing in this week’s podcast; more details follow.

I’d be really interested to know how different it is for Julie to play a vulnerable character in Rita, vs. a strong one like Darla — Devindra

Benz: I think Rita and Darla are very similar at their core. They’re both very damaged women by men: Rita at the hands of Paul, and the damage that she suffered from that. Darla, obviously, before she was made a vampire, was very damaged. She was a prostitute and had bad relationships and all of that. So, what’s interesting is, at their core they’re similar, it’s just one chooses to turn left and the other chooses to turn right. Darla was a very vulnerable woman, she just masked it very well.

I’d like to ask her about doing two action pics (Rambo and Punisher) back to back. What’s the attraction — is it the scripts or the buff leading men? — RandomTroy

Ooh. For me, I was an athlete growing up, and I love being challenged physically. ... It’s exciting to try to do your own stunts and to see if you can face your fears. When I did Rambo, I had to run through a ball of fire. And I was like, "OK, I’ll try it once." (Laughs)

Is it true that Sylvester Stallone is a huge Dexter fan, and that’s how you got the role in Rambo? — BIG BUSINESS

Yes, that is the truth. He was a big fan of Dexter, and I got the call that he was interested in me taking on the female lead. And I was like, "Seriously? Wow." I mean, that’s one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me.

Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if you were cast as Buffy? — Melanism

No. I mean, I made the mistake years ago of mentioning that in an interview, that I auditioned for the role of Buffy. But so did 2,000 other women. And I wasn’t right for the role, and it was obvious that I wasn’t right for the role. I think Sarah’s brilliant in the part. But that’s how I met Joss (Whedon), was through that audition, and he liked my choices, I just wasn’t right for the character. And that’s how I got the role of Darla.

But I never wonder, because I believe everybody’s path is different, and I love the path that my career’s taken. So I’m very content, very happy.

Me: Do you still keep in touch with any cast members from Buffy?

I do. I talk to Charisma (Carpenter) almost daily. Jenny Mollen, I was in her wedding. Clare Kramer is a very, very dear friend — I talk to her every day. Same with Robia LaMorte. Juliet Landau I speak with, J. August Richards ... all of them. We all kind of grew up together. And there’s a connection there. It was all during our formative years in many ways, it was going from kid to adult, really.

Listen to the rest of the interview :

http://wm.usatoday-na-central.edgestreams.net