Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Actress Giselle Loren is enjoying life. And why shouldn’t she? She’s been cast as the lead in a pilot which will hopefully result in our favorite Slayer coming back to our living rooms on a regular basis.

"I’m an actress. I studied [Gellar], I learned how and where to place my voice to match hers..." "I play a blonde and kick some baddies’ asses while wielding pointy objects," she says. "Life is good."

Speaking in her first interview via email, exclusively with MSX, Loren confirms reports that she provided the voice of Buffy in Joss Whedon’s pilot episode for his planned BUFFY THE ANIMATED SERIES.

"Working with Joss and the other producers for the pilot was fantastic," she says. "They know this world so well obviously that the direction is clean and clear. They know exactly what they want which makes my job easy."

Joined by original BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER cast members Alyson Hannigan (Willow), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), and Nicholas Brendon (Xander), Loren actually says she completed the voice tracks for the pilot a few months ago. Of the three BUFFY veterans onboard for the new animated pilot, Loren says she only got a chance to work directly with Brendon. She enjoyed working with him immensely, however. "He’s a nice guy and does a great job," she says.

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s apparent decision not to reprise Buffy in this new incarnation of the series apparently provided an opening for Loren, who has already voiced the role in the videogames based on the TV show. Unfortunately, Loren says she can’t provide any answers to the burning casting questions that recent reports on BUFFY THE ANIMATED SERIES have left open, such as who will be portraying Buffy’s beau-with-a-bicentennial, Angel, or her kid sister, Dawn. Asked about gaps in the cast, Loren demurs, "As for other cast news, I have no idea."

"Here’s how I got the role initially for the video games: I auditioned," explains Loren, whose other credits include appearances on GENERAL HOSPITAL and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. "I’m an actress. I studied [Gellar], I learned how and where to place my voice to match hers and then I watched specific seasons of the show to understand her mannerisms, her physicality, her inflections. Finally, I created my version of Buffy as she seems on the page. Joss has created an amazing world and [Gellar] has a very specific style. I just got lucky enough to be able to do it."

Loren says she feels that both her similarities to Gellar, as well as her own style, will be important contributions she makes to the role. Asked where the similarities to Gellar end, and her own contributions begin, Loren replies simply, "I have no idea, except that she’s shorter than I am."

"I play a blonde and kick some baddies’ asses while wielding pointy objects..." Despite the excitement around bringing Buffy back to continue to save the world a lot, Loren cautions that Joss & Co. still have to fight their own good fight just to bring this new series to television.

"The series, however, has not been bought," she says. "The animation needs to be completed; the producers have to pitch the pilot; and someone has to buy it."

Even her own continued involvement in the show, should it move forward, is unclear.

"Whether or not I’ll be Buffy in the series is up to Joss and his crew," Loren says. "Of course, I’d love to have the role as I absolutely love the character."

Asked what she brings to the role of the Chosen One, Loren answers, "Well, I channel Buffy. It just happens after all the homework’s been done. ... I have no idea what the future holds, so I won’t even hazard a guess. But, if I do play Buffy in the series, I’ll bring my own style and energy to it as I did in the games."

The difference between playing Buffy in the videogames and voicing the character in the pilot, Loren explains, was taking direction from Whedon.

A BUFFY fan even before she signed on to the videogames, Loren also mentions she’s eager to see how the fact the new series will be animated, rather than live-action, could enhance the show.

"I’m excited to see what they come up with for the series without the constraints of ‘reality,’" she says.

A news editor and columnist for MediaSharx, Scott Nance also is a member of the USS Chesapeake, an active, independent sci-fi and Star Trek club in the Washington, DC area.