Angel

What are you looking forward to next season on Angel?

They’re showing more sides to Lilah now, so I get to play more interesting things. In a couple of episodes, they’ve talked about my mother’s in a home where she’s taken care of and a little bit out of her mind. She doesn’t always know who I am and I take care of her, so there was a threat from my boss that if something went wrong, they’d have to take my mother out of the home. Then you see these different sides to Lilah as to maybe why she’s in the job she’s in and you get a little bit better idea of where she’s coming from. They’ve got some plans up their sleeve as to a story line that I find intriguing which I won’t speak of now but I look forward to all of it.

How will the relationship with Wesley continue?

I don’t know because I haven’t seen any of the scripts. They don’t really show us anything beforehand. They just say, "We’ve got some things planned," but I have no idea what that might be. I would love to see it continue in a kind of twisted psychological profile but then ending up to maybe show Lilah in a way or make her have to cross a road so to speak in her own emotional journey as a bad guy. I think as a bad guy, if you get involved with someone and you have to open up in another way, it adds to your personality repertoire so to speak.

Any chance she might turn good?

I doubt it. I don’t see that happening, but you just never know. I’ve never thought of her as completely bad, just doing her job. The people she works for demand certain things and she just steps up to the plate.

Where would you hope the character does not go?

I hope she doesn’t turn nice like Lindsay.

Why?

They’ve got enough nice people on the show, got enough good guys. You need a good bad guy and I think she’s a good one because she’s a mix. She’s sexy and she can be compelling, but she’s dangerous.

Will Lilah be involved with pulling Angel out of the ocean?

That’s a really good question. That would be interesting, wouldn’t it? I loved the episode, the Billy episode, where in the end she kills him and she’s the hero for once, so it would be cool to see her do something heroic again.

Were you a fan of Buffy and Angel before joining the cast?

I’d seen Angel once and then the next day I got a call saying I had an interview for it. So, I’d only seen it once. I hadn’t seen it prior to doing the show.

What does a show like this allow you to do as an actor?

Work. And be bad. What’s fun about it is that it walks the line of camp and reality. So, it’s fun because you’re playing a lawyer and you’re dealing with people. However, it’s in an alternate reality than what we know, so it allows you a certain freedom with a character where you can go a little over the top. In something like Law and Order, you play it real. I like having the extra challenge of camping it up a bit and making it funny, but still putting some reality in it. That’s a lot of fun. The humor of it is what keeps me going.

Did you ever research lawyers?

Yeah, I’ve dated them. Does that count?

I’d say so. What did you learn about lawyers that applied to acting?

Nothing. Because you never see me in court. You never see me going over depositions or any of that stuff, so as far as practical law, you really don’t see it on the show. Lilah seems to be more, from what we see, not an instigator but she’s always plotting.

Are there ever lines about magic or demons that you just can’t understand?

Well, there’s demon names that they come up with that sometimes can be a bit of a tongue twister, but magic, I’ve researched a lot on different occults and Wicca, those type of things prior to ever being on the show. I read a lot of books on vampires, all the Anne Rice stuff and the classical Dracula book, so I’d actually done a lot of reading on those types of things prior to ever doing the show.

It seems like it could be like Star Trek dialogue. I think Star Trek dialogue is worse. They have whole languages whereas perhaps they have some on this show, but it’s never me who has to say it.

What interaction have you had with fans?

The fans have been great. I’ve done some signings up in Santa Barbara and I did a convention in London this year. They’re all great. They’re really nice and dedicated to the show. Some of them are a bit nervous to meet me at first because I’m so evil on the show. But they’re all very relieved once they meet me and talk to me. It’s fun. It’s fun knowing the people who watch the show because you work so hard on something and you’re in an isolated environment. When you get to go and see the fans and hear how much time is dedicated to this show on their parts, it’s exciting.