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Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar Open To Angel Gig

Wednesday 3 March 2004, by Webmaster

09:00am ET, 03-March-04

Gellar Open To Angel Gig

Sarah Michelle Gellar, former star of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told SCI FI Wire the reasons she reluctantly pulled out of appearing in the Buffy spinoff Angel earlier this season and left open the possibility that she might still make an appearance, if asked, before Angel winds up its fifth and final season this year on The WB. Gellar, speaking for the first time about the issue, said in an interview that she had to bow out of a planned guest appearance on Angel when her aunt died late last year. Gellar spoke to SCI FI Wire during a break in the filming of her new project, the supernatural horror film The Grudge, in Tokyo.

Her Angel decision was "a really common misconception that people have written a lot about," Gellar said. "They had asked me to do Angel, and it was a very bad time in my personal life. There was a lot going on in my family. And I had to back out. And you sort of never hear the second side of the story. You never hear why I didn’t do it. And then all of a sudden, people get really angry, and nobody asks why it didn’t work for you." At the time, reports suggested that Gellar had pulled out because she wanted to distance herself from the Buffy franchise.

As for whether she will guest star in Angel’s season-ending episodes, much as Angel star David Boreanaz did on Buffy when it wrapped its seven-year run last spring, Gellar said it hinges in part on her schedule. She’s finishing the final weeks of 42 days of shooting on The Grudge, with at least nine more shooting days to go. The final Angel episodes are in production now.

"A lot has been written about recently, ’Oh, is she going to do it? Is she not going to do it?’" Gellar said. "Well, to be truthful, I don’t know if I’m even going to make it home before they finish. But no one’s contacted me. I’ll be totally honest. And it depends. I think. I go back and forth on the idea, especially because Angel had such a hard time, in my opinion, always getting out from Buffy’s shadow. And it never got to stand on its own. And I would hate for it to go out being about Buffy. It’ll all depend on if I’m home in time and what the ideas are."

Buffy and Angel creator Joss Whedon has said he’d welcome an appearance by Gellar. For her part, she said she’s open to it, explaining, "If everything falls into place, and it feels like the right thing at the time for the right people." Angel airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.


5 Forum messages

  • > Sarah Michelle Gellar Open To Angel Gig

    4 March 2004 00:42, by Mairie Riley

    I’m sorry for any losses that Ms. Gellar’s family have suffered.

    However, I am not buying the timing of this article. There is no reason that she could not have informed the primary parties involved of her reasons for her decision not to appear at the time of her non-appearance. And why is she telling the public now?

    There is no danger of her over-powering Angel, the show or the character, it has done wonderfully without her. There are fans who did want her on the show. However, there are many more who did not, and I can hardly believe that she does not know this. So her "back and forth," comments are a bit disingenious.

    Her need to have control comes up in a couple of places. She wants the right things for the right people and the right script. I think at this point, what Angel fans want is for Mr. Whedon to concentrate on the characters that are there (including Spike, but without Buffy) and to bring things to a good conclusion for them. We would rather see Darla come back, or even Cordelia. I am among those who would beg Mr. Whedon to contact her to be polite, but to explain that his priorities, please, are the characters we have been watching.

    Maire Riley

  • > Sarah Michelle Gellar Open To Angel Gig

    4 March 2004 09:57, by Jack Western
    Here’s hoping this puts the quiet smackdown on the haters. The girl has a point. I’d love to see Buffy one last time, but if it doesn’t work out, I ain’t mad at SMG or anyone else. Angel should end on it’s own terms and if Buffy fits in, that’s great. Let’s just hope for a good ending - it’s all we’ve got, unfortunately.

  • > Sarah Michelle Gellar Open To Angel Gig

    4 March 2004 13:11, by slain

    I don’t understand the implication that "we" the fans or Joss Whedon himself don’t want Sarah Michelle Gellar to come back. Quite clearly Joss Whedon wants her to return as much as many fans do. I think most would agree that Angel’s return to Buffy put a good end to the series, and was necessary if only to show how much the characters have diverged. Maybe an appearance from Buffy would finish this series too, if it is really going to end for good. I think it does require the right situation and the right script. Sarah portrayed the character for seven years and never threatened to back out if the storyline didn’t go her way. We should give her more credit than this.

    But, unlike others, Sarah has a career outside the show, and she has other responsibilities. While she certainly could fit an appearance on the show into her schedule, she clearly understands it wouldn’t do her present career well to be thought of as someone who has to fly back to play Buffy in the middle of another shoot. It might be better if she would be more upfront about this; but I think she doesn’t want to disappoint the fans, who might well infer she’s devaluing her character by not reprising the role. Quite rightly, few criticised Charisma Carpenter for leaving the show - given the amount of Sarah’s life (Christ, seven years of her life!), I think we should give her as much respect.

  • > Sarah Michelle Gellar Open To Angel Gig

    4 March 2004 15:16, by norman
    i think buffy is a big part of the story no matter what. there is to much between her and angel and spike for that matter. i think having her back would be great and would give a good ending. i hope she does it

  • > Sarah Michelle Gellar Open To Angel Gig

    5 March 2004 04:37, by Angelique Duprey
    I think Buffy and Angel should get their dream life they talked about. It would make the fans happy and it would still leave open a door for them to do more together.