Angel

DESTINY’S CHILDREN: Q&A with the Oracles

Randall Slavin and Carey Cannon played the brother and sister team that connected Angel to the mysterious Powers That Be. By Matt Springer

Angel Fan Club: How did you become the Oracles? Carey Cannon: I was thrilled about it. I actually had met casting director Amy Britt when I auditioned for another role on Buffy, so when this role on Angel came around, they thought of me. Randall Slavin: I had read for Angel and Buffy so many times in the past for various parts on Buffy - and for Spike. I’d gone in for so many parts that when this came up, I knew the casting director. I just auditioned like any other sort of thing. It must have been my sixth or seventh audition for that show.

AFC: Did you know you’d be omniscient beings?

CC: I knew I was going to be an Oracle. After looking it up in the dictionary, I had a pretty good sense of what I was going in for. My background is in stage, and I’ve played one or two goddesses and the queen of the fairies before, so I figured I had some insight into playing an omniscient character.

AFC: How did you approach something so otherworldly?

RS: It’s not too hard when you have god-like dialogue to take on an air of entitlement.

CC: Anything is allowed. The great thing about both of those shows is that anything is possible. There are no rules. You can basically play anything you like because you’re a god - or a vampire, or a demon. There’s no blueprint for that kind of stuff in real life.

AFC: Were you really encouraged by the producers to take the role and run with it?

CC: They had a pretty clear idea of how they wanted these beings to behave. When I saw the costume and the makeup ideas they had, and the set, which was so Grecian-temple looking, I could tell that their sense for the characters was that they were somewhat regal. There were guidelines and the directions were very clear about what they were looking for, too.

RS: I think the best thing about the show is they never (took) anything too seriously. You have these Oracles, but they’re also childlike. It has a real sense of humor to it, very tongue-in-cheek, which I think is why the shows (were) so popular. It was fun to play a snotty god.

Next issue: More snotty, god-like banter with the Oracles!