James Marsters News + Live Journal

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this very last Q&A from April 2011 (And Happy New Year!!):

April 2011

What’s your opinion of Lady Gaga?
I think she’s very brave.  I think she’s got a lot of good ideas. I think that I’m happy that she has the pop culture attention right now.  I think that she’s very interesting, very intelligent.  I don’t know that her musical style is exactly what I would tend to listen to, uh, it’s more dance stuff. But I do respect her ethos,  I do respect her point of view, I just don’t listen to that, I don’t listen to her music.  But every time I see her in an interview I think, “man, she’s a lot better than Christina Aguilera.”  Nothing against Christina Aguilera, but she wasn’t quite so intellectual when she had the spotlight.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had and was it self-inflicted?
Yeah, I’ll show you!  (pulls up pants leg showing a very large horizontal scar circling around his leg just under the kneecap)  This was when I was in fifth grade and I was playing “hotbox” which is a version of baseball where the runner is caught between two bases and the two basemen try to throw the ball in between to throw them out and – it’s also called “pickle” sometimes – and I was playing it on a hill and I was sliding to be safe downhill and I caught a stand-still sprinkler head that was in the ground and it ripped my leg two-thirds of the way around – all the flesh, the fat, everything down to the bone two-thirds of the way around, so I was only left with “that much” to hang on to (shows the size with his fingers).  Basically, my calf slid down the bone like a sock and just hung open like that (shows with hands).  I’ll never get the image out of my head.

How old were you?
Uh, well, fifth grade….10 or 11.

How did you get from the place of injury home or to a place with a medical center?

They called an ambulance.  I was in Oakland and they called an ambulance and I spent a month in the hospital in Oakland and then I was released home, but then got an infection…no, then they thought it would heal, tried to have it heal and that took about another year, but it didn’t heal so I needed a skin graft and during the skin graft it got an infection, a staph infection.  So I was off my foot, my leg for a full year and a lot of people said I wouldn’t walk anymore and I always said my brain said, “yeah right” I always knew I was going to walk again.

If someone’s underwear was showing would you tell them?
(giggles) No.  It’s kinda sexy when someone’s under… wait, male or female?  With a female, uh, no, I don’t think so because half the time I think it’s intentional – with guys too.

Are the beds on TV as comfortable as they look?
Yeah.  You don’t have to actually sleep in them so I guess it’s hard to really know.  But they tend to be some cheap mattress that they have in a closet somewhere and with either a nice sheet or not a nice sheet.  Yeah, basically when you’re filming it’s like factory work so you’re standing on concrete and there’s dust everywhere so when there’s a nice clean bed with fresh sheets it is pretty nice.

Favorites:
Black and white movie? My very favorite?  I want to pick The Maltese Falcon, but I also want to pick….my God there’s so many.  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, of course, Casablanca, of course Citizen Kane.  Um, there’s so many – I can’t pick one.  But I do like black and white – I do think that we should shoot more movies in black and white.  I do think that it’s a more beautiful medium than color film.

Breakfast?   A BLT

Emotion?  Exaltation.  By the way, when a group of small birds take off in flight at the same time, that is called an exaltation of birds.  I think it’s a good description of what the heart does at that point.

Fruit?  Steve Himber.

And that's all she wrote! I hope you've enjoyed this wander down memory lane with me! If you've missed any, or get hit in the nostalgia & wanna revisit any, hit the above link & take another wander. They'll all remain there for your perusal, anytime you want.

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! This is the penultimate Q&A; only 1 left! Enjoy this week's Q&A from February 2011:

February 2011

What are your idiosyncrasies, quirks? We all have them…
I’m a weirdo, I’m a definite weirdo in general. But I can’t think of anything specific that would make me so. I’m not really obsessive compulsive about anything – I’m just glad to get through the day, man. Yeah…

You have told your fans to be kind to one another, that we are all human beings, and we all want to feel connected. What makes you feel connected to humanity, besides acting and what motivates you to be kind to others?
Political rallies and any art. I think the function of art, more than any other, is to remind us that we are not alone. The artist creates a work that is a very personal expression of his or her own experience. And if the artist is successful they tap into something other people feel as well. So when the public responds positively to the art, the artist doesn’t feel alone anymore, and the audience, noticing the other audience members reacting similarly to this piece of art, doesn’t feel alone anymore. So when a really wonderful piece of art that everyone else is gasping about, I feel very much in a group. We’re the only animal that knows we’re going to die, but we’re also the only animal that makes art, which means we can all be a part of something that continues, as David Mamet said. The cave paintings are still with us and whoever that painter was he is still having an effect on the human journey.

Are there any jobs you never wanted to end?
Every single one. I don’t think that it’s worth it to do a job that you want to end. If you’re doing a job and you hope it’s going to end? Quit.

What is your actual memorization process? Big chunks at a time? Someone reads the lines with you? Does it get easier with time or is it always a struggle for you?
My favorite part of acting for television is the memorization of the lines. That is when I am alone in bed and the whole universe is mine to invent. I get to decide how my character feels about the moments and my imagination can just run riot. Because when you get to a set, it all mostly revolves around a prop, or getting the gem to sparkle on your finger just right and it all just becomes a very technical process. But when I’m alone in my room, studying my lines, I feel like a real artist. And that process, because I enjoy it, is a very long one. I’ll take hours and hours. It’s not that I need the time to memorize the lines, but because I’m having fun.

What was the worst movie you ever watched?
I’m lucky. I forget the things that are horrible. I’ve seen enough though, my God. (laughs)

What is the most embarrassing thing you ever had to play, whether it was in TV, a movie or back when you did theater?
The thing is, the things that I was embarrassed about are the things I’m most proud of. I have found that artistically, the best place to be is when you’re highly embarrassed or terrified. If you’re not one of those things, you’re probably not hitting the mark. One, of course, if when I had my professional acting debut at the Goodman Theater and Bob Falls, one of the best directors in America, comes up to me and says “we’re gonna have you buck naked for your entrance.” You could hear a hundred opera glasses click, click, clicking open as I rolled out on stage tied to a large wooden wheel like DaVinci’s Man. It was hilarious.

Favorites:
Motorbike and where would you ride it if you had the time, money and freedom to do so? Harley Davidson. All over the world.
Song on your CD “Civilized Man” and why? Civilized Man had too much synthesized sound and no drummer and that was a huge mistake. It’s hard to listen to any song on that album without some embarrassment. I love playing them live though. Oh man, don’t make me pick a favorite. (laughs)

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Only a couple if these babies left to post! Enjoy this week's Q&A from January 2011:

January 2011

If you were forced to, who would you want to trade places with for 24 hours?
(Laughs.) Nobody, nobody. I wouldn’t trade places with one human being for one second.

Having run your own theater, you’ve come up against the conflict of arts promotion vs financial viability. Having had to promote both agendas at once, which do you feel drives the creative spirit at the end of the day?
They must be the same. Moliere and Shakespeare realized this. You have to grab the audience by the throat and if you have something important to say, once you have them by the throat they’ll listen. But they have to be your slaves – there should be zero difference between a theme that is important and true and that which is commercially viable. One should lead to the other. A great artist can take a great theme, whether it’s pain or wisdom or whatever and they make it so exciting to watch, that is art. I remember trying to sell “Life is a Dream” a 500 year old play in verse from Spain and nobody knew it, but it’s better than Hamlet. And I sold it as a sex romp. I got full houses on a 500 year old play.

Was there a teacher or teachers that made a difference in your life?
Mrs. Barr. She was my senior English teacher in high school and she was BRUTAL about teaching us the language. She made us learn words and to this day I have a good command of the language because of all the words that she taught me. There was an 8th grade math teacher who was a total hippie. He had long hair and a beard and I thought he was the coolest guy on earth. I was not good in math but he made it fun. My high school chemistry teacher was the first person I’d met who was part of the actor’s union and he took pity on me. By that time I was getting known as an interesting young actor and he forgave me my weakness in science and sheperded me through chemistry. Mr. Stewart was his name.

What talent do you wish you had?
Wow…uhm. Fencing! (laughs) I don’t know. I have all the talents I want. I’m blessed.

If Capt. John Hart and Spike ever crossed paths, what do you think the outcome would be?
Wild homosexual sex! Because Spike hasn’t had homosexual sex in like 100 years, and Captain John is so sexy, you know?

In P.S. I Love You, where she’s contemplating on what kind of career she should go into, one of her choices was being a ‘Vampire Slayer’, was that added in there because you were on Buffy or did it have nothing to do with you being on the show?
(Laughs) It had zero to do with my being there. I was just along for the ride on that one. I was just taking notes.

Favorites:

Star Trek character? Spock! I told Joss when I got on Buffy that I wanted to be the Spock of Buffy. There’s only one letter of difference, man! I wanted to be the side character that is interesting, and takes the theme and turns it on its head so you can re-examine it from a different angle.

Album from your youth? Hmmm…Tom Petty – Damn the Torpedoes.

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this week's Q&A from December 2010:

December 2010

What do you wish you were better as saying “no” to?

I’m good at “no” actually.

Is justice or forgiveness more important?

Forgiveness.  Jesus was right.  The word justice is like the word perfection – it’s a human idea.  It doesn’t really exist in the world. There’s nothing 100% perfectly salt or sugar.  Nothing in this world is perfectly pure and nothing in this world is just – it’s just something we try to attain and never get.

Do you prefer Stanislavski techniques or more Brechtian and Epic theatre techniques?

It depends on the play.  If you’re doing a play with a fourth wall, which is to say the invisible wall between you and the audience, then Stanislavski is the only one to listen to.  If you’re doing one in which we admit that we’re all in the same room together, then Brecht comes into play, Shakespeare comes into play, and frankly I prefer that.  I want to stare my audience in the eyeball one at a time and say, ‘hey baby, we’re both in the same room together. Let’s be dangerous.”  I don’t like the fourth wall.

While in England have you ever pulled out an English accent just for kicks?

Once, but it wasn’t in England.  My girlfriend at the time and I were in Canada and we decided just for kicks to adopt an English accent as we walked through a mall to see what happened. We got invited to five parties. Everyone who met us thought we were the coolest people.  But we didn’t go to any of them because we couldn’t keep the lie up. (giggles)

Is there anything in your house that has sentimental value? (no cheating and saying your kids!)

(thinks a minute)  No.  No, material things are replaceable, even my guitars.  If there was a house fire, and I got my kids out, but the guitars burn?  That’s okay. The closest thing I can think of is my guitars, but if I really think about it?  Ehh, I could get another guitar.

I know that you must be extremely proud of your songs but I just wondered if you had ever thought, “Damn I wish I’d thought of that.”

No.  I can only think of the things that I think of.  I can’t be jealous of other people’s lives.  I am blessed with my life and I have to write about that one,  I don’t envy Jimi Hendrix, or Tom Waits. I’m very happy to be me and how to express how it feels to be me.

Are you a pillow flipper? (prefer the cooler side) 

No.

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this week's Q&A from November 2010:

November 2010

What was the first song you ever remember playing really well on the guitar?
“Fire and Rain” by James Taylor. From early on I was a James Taylor addict and I sounded a lot like him. I never found my real voice until I started writing my own songs and I didn’t have to sound like anybody else anymore.

Why do you think Angel ended that way it did?
Because I think Joss wanted to make all those characters heroic, but it’s not in his mindset to do that overtly. He couldn’t show onscreen the characters becoming the heroes that they were. He had to allude to it, he had to let your imagination fill those blanks in. But – the unqualified assumption when we filmed that scene was that we all died and anything I said to Angel in that last scene were based on, “hey man, welcome, I know I’m gonna die with you tonight.”

Does working with a green screen sharpen your skills or make you lazier as an actor?
I’ve never had a problem with green screen because when you’re on stage, you have to do that all the time. You have to look out into the audience and see, you know, a sunset. On stage, you don’t always get all the sets – sometimes it’s just a spotlight and you have to create the world in your mind. So I’m glad I was on stage because it made me very comfortable with that situation. Some actors freak out.

What is the hardest lesson you’ve ever learned?
That I’m not as smart as I think I am, that I am just a fool like every other human being, making it up as I go along, and it doesn’t matter how high my IQ is, I still keep tripping over my own feet.

There can be no art without suffering. True or false?
True. Art is taking pain and transmuting it to beauty. No human being born upon this earth is without suffering. We’re all artists.

Are you disappointed in the Obama presidency?
Not at all. I am inspired by the Obama presidency. He has a Congress that is made up of Republican disloyal Americans who are willing to flush America down the toilet just so they can get back in office. They’ve done everything they can to keep the Obama administration from saving us from the next depression. It is basically destroy Obama and if they take down America with them, then fine.

Either/Or
Rain or sun? Sun. I’m a Leo!
Sexier on a woman: jeans and white t-shirt or a slinky cocktail dress? If you’ve got the body for it, jeans and a t-shirt, But you gotta have the body for it because jeans and a t-shirt don’t hide anything! Cocktail dresses don’t either, but I like things a little bit more down to earth.

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! (And just a heads up, I'll be skipping the next 2 weeks as I'll be working extra shifts.) Enjoy this week's Q&A from October 2010:

October 2010

I have never…
Thought about absolutes, stopped breathing, hoping, complaining – it’s an endless list!

What do you wish you were better at saying “yes” to?
The world. I think you should say yes to everything you can. Yes to political action. I wish that I could say yes, that I was politically involved right now.

Can you ride a horse?
No! Horses hate me! When I filmed High Plains Invaders, my character was supposed to ride a horse because I was a cowboy, but the thing was, being a method actor, I was dealing with a high level of fear and panic – the whole movie was about dealing with panic. So being method, I was actually sweating, I smelled of fear and the horses just bolted on me. Laughs.

If you could sit down with Meryl Streep, what would you ask her?
Oh man… “pass the salt.” I wouldn’t dare to ask her anything! I would be so afraid that she would think of me as an imposition, so I would just simply say, you know, pass the salt or something. Laughs.

In the song Louise you sing about her driving “down a one-way street backward”. I’ve been wondering, did you mean she went the opposite way down a one-way street, or if she went the right way, but in reverse? Silly I know, but which one is it?
Full forward, third gear, down a one-way street the wrong way.

Have you ever thought about teaching a workshop to help acting students in subjects like Shakespeare or acting for the camera?
Very much. But they don’t pay any money to teach. That’s the problem. As soon as my kids turn 18 and I can work for free again, then yeah, maybe I’ll teach.

Favorites:
Animal – Orangutan
Beatles song – I’m a Loser by John Lennon

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this week's Q&A from September 2010:

September 2010

You’ve mentioned Tom Petty as an artist you’d love to play with. What is your favorite album and song of his?
(sings) “Even the losers get lucky sometimes”
“Even The Losers” is my favorite. That’s off Damn the Torpedoes.

Finish the sentence: I’m a bit of a …
Romantic.

When you find yourself in situations where you aren’t an alpha male, do you find yourself slowly trying to take control or are you cool with not being in command, either at work or in your life in general?
If I am paying people I like to be in command, yes. If people are paying me I am also very malleable so long as the checks don’t bounce.

How hot and spicy can you go with food?
Not at all.

Who was your favorite Beatle and why?
John Lennon, my GOD. He was a revolutionary. Every time he opened his mouth was a small revolution. He was the first one to say “Look man, you think I’m a star? You think I have a perfect life? I’m a LOSER.” He was the first one to be honest about that and he opened up popular music to pain. Nothing against Paul. Paul’s cool. If I met him, I’d bow down. But John John John John John.

When were you asked for your first autograph and how did you feel about it?
I don’t remember who first asked me for my autograph, but I’m sure I was fairly uncomfortable with it.

Yes or No
Did you pass your driver’s test the first time? Yes I did.
Do you consider yourself a well-read person? Yes.

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this week's Q&A from August 2010:

August 2010

Was there a big epiphany when you turned 40?
No epiphany but gradually my crotch let go of my brain which was liberating.

Can you remember your first line ever?
Hell no! I don’t remember what my line was yesterday. It was Eeyore complaining about something, that much I know. (Laughs)

Do you think it’s more enjoyable to lose yourself in the world of “soft sci-fi” like Star Wars and Star Trek or to “ruin the fun” by watching documentaries on what technology in those universes is feasible and what is not?
I like to ruin the fun. But frankly, what particle physics is telling us at this point is that nothing is impossible.

How are your improv skills? Not within the structure of a scene you’ve memorized for a shoot, but more like from the acting exercise days…like, you and another actor are told: “you are a married couple stuck in an elevator in a hotel fire. Action!”
I’m not a genius but good enough to explore the scene. I’m a really good straight man. But if you want it to be funny, that’s not me.

Do you prefer lace or leather on a woman?
Skin. Get all the leather off, get all the lace off – take it off. Skin is the softest thing you’ve ever touched in your life.

What do you wish you had more time to do, besides sleep?
I wish I had more time with my kids. They’re really becoming interesting people now and they’re beginning to do things now that I can’t do, so I want to go learn from them.

Did you and Alex O’Loughlin share vampire stories on the Hawaii Five-0 set?
No. What we shared was stunts. Alex is a certified stunt man in Australia. I’m certified for stage. So, what we shared was, “I can’t wait to get to set so these stunt men learn who we are!” (Big laugh) He and I committed robbery that day. We made the stunt guys sit down and relax, which is almost impossible. Alex is the man. He is a mountain of muscle and I’m working out like crazy because the next time I fight that guy, he’s gonna kick my ass again. Last time I fought him, I couldn’t move my arms for two days.

Either/Or
Which is more difficult – to act like you are breaking someone’s neck, or to act like your neck is being broken by someone else?
It’s much harder to get beaten up than it is to beat someone up. You always have to fall down when you’re getting beaten up and that’s problematic for me. (laughs)

Real or fake Christmas trees?
I hate to say it but fake. They have all these lights in them now and they sparkle and dance. They’re beautiful!

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week (missed the last couple weeks cos I was working extra shifts) for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this week's Q&A from July 2010:

July 2010

You’ve spoken in the past about Edmund Kean, an theater actor from that past century you admire. If you could spend a day with him, what would you want to know?
I would probably hate Edmund Kean. If I ever met him, I would probably punch him. He sounds like a really ridiculous asshole. But he was a genius. I think I would much rather be in the audience and watch him than have dinner with him.

I just finished watching Lie to Me and was wondering what your motivation was when you opened the door at the end? You had this happy smile on your face…
Oh yeah! My wife had just told me we were going to have sex. Well, you have to have a secret! And I decided that I was a guy with a large family, we had five kids, we were always tired. But that one day, my wife was cooking and she comes up and says, “hey baby, just wait til the kids go to bed tonight!” and then – I opened the door. You should come from a mountain top right before you get killed, you know?

What is the TV show you miss from childhood?
Hawaii Five-0. But oh, that’s RIGHT! We’re making a fresh one! I don’t have to miss it anymore. (Laughs)

What is your honest opinion of your face?
Uhhhh. I think I’m like a 6 1/2. I think I’m good looking enough for television, but the reason I keep getting work is because I care.

How does one know when it’s really love?
If after 18 months when you’re starting to really know the person, you find out if your initial attraction was real or just you being too hopeful.

What kind of music would you never listen to under any circumstance?
Music of the hair bands – Bon Jovi back in the day. Any band where the band wears more makeup then Elvira.

Do you think in our day and time everyone should carry some sort of weapon with them?
No!!! My God, no! Ask me again in 15 years, but not now.

Either/Or:
Sweet or salty food? Salty.
Synthesizer Rock Band: Steve Miller or (The Original) Styx? Miller, Miller Miller! Styx sucks. Sorry, but they just do.

Back in the day, James Marsters' old official websites used to post a monthly Q&A session with James, & I'm reposting those Q&As every week for a bit of fun (& nostalgia)! Enjoy this week's Q&A from June 2010:

June 2010

What’s one thing from the past that humanity should bring back? (Object and/or social practice)
Uniforms in schools. That way the poor kids don’t have to bow their heads in front of the rich kids.

In the movie ‘Stand by Me,’ the narrator says “I never had any friends later on in life like the ones I had when I was 12.” Do you think that’s true?
Yeah. It’s true for me.

“Winding Roads” was a movie about three women, three men and their relationships, with the focus primarily on telling the women’s stories. But what about the men? In your opinion, what were we supposed to think and feel about your character, Billy Johnson?
He was a good regular guy. He just wasn’t interesting enough for her, but he was a decent man.

What would Spike say to Edward Cullen from “Twilight”?
Let’s party, man!

Do you ever prefer the cover of a song (such as The Clash’s “I Fought the Law”) over the original artist’s version?
Hmmmm… Generally no, but the Clash did rock – that might be my exception.

You have said how your stage experience affected your screen performance when you first started on Buffy and how you adjusted. I was wondering, now that you have gone back and done a couple stage pieces, how do you find your screen work has affected your stage performance?
Good question. It has made my stage performance more honest and more improvisational.

Yes/No
Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No.
If you were in an emergency situation and you had to deliver a baby, could you? Absolutely!