Tyche this is the interview. I got the mag yesterday so took the liberty of typing it up. Nothing very revelatory but there you go...
Willow the Wisp - Alyson Hannigan reveals why playing Willow can be emotionally draining and the audience reaction to her character's `coming out'.
What are your thoughts on being one of the founding cast members on this show?Well, I'm thrilled. Obviously it gives me a lot to do and a lot to play with. It's awesome. I can't complain.
After 100 episodes it was time to make sure that it was still exciting and fresh. Whatever they did upstairs, they did it right. This year has been very cool.
The greatest part is that the show really dealt with the consequences of her addiction and the power being the most important thing in her life.
Obviously the consequences are severe, almost killing Dawn and losing Tara - two very big problems that she had to cope with, deal with and try to recover from. I like that they didn't brush over that at the end of the episode.
What was the audience reaction to Willow's 'coming out' in the show?It's very supportive. People have been so sweet about it. It's really affected people in a positive way. People that were in the same sort of situation, it showed them that they weren't alone. Kids especially that were fighting with whether or not they could come out, they of felt like they aren't the only people in the world going through this, which is great.
Why does the series have such a lasting impact?The writing on the show is just stellar. Even our not-so-great episodes are just really good. It's far better than a lot of stuff that I've done in the past. That's where it starts, and then you can just go down the line. We've got great actors, an incredible crew and we're just really lucky.
It's like a family in a sense.It's my family, that's for sure. The crew, the cast, we're like brothers and sisters. It's really cool, just the evolution of knowing each other for so long. Now Nick is married, and it's interesting.
What was the musical like? Were you dreading it?I was dreading it. It was definitely fun. It was a ton of work - it was the most work we've ever done for one episode. It was great, and everybody was on board. Now that I see what kind of magic they can do inside the studio, I was like, `I could have a little more confidence going in and I probably didn't need to beg Joss not to let me sing.'
I was like, `I don't want to sing! I don't want to sing!', so he gave me as little as possible. But now I know the little secrets, so if he does it again perhaps I can squeak up a little more.
You had weird outfits, like corsets and stuff.I wasn't in a corset. I was in a really comfortable dress.
How do you find the costumes on the show?That Willow wears? No, well, the musical, I loved that dress. It was super comfortable. But after you wear it for, I think we shot 15 days of that episode - which is twice as many as we ever do - you sort of get tired of it. Luckily mine was really comfortable.
Growing up in Atlanta, who did you admire as a role model?I had people on my walls, but they weren't exactly. I had a crush on Ricky Schroder and Michael Jackson, I think. As far as a role model, I don't know. I don't really remember. I liked John Lennon and stuff like that.
Do you see yourself as a role model?I don't know. I guess somebody could say that, but I don't know.
Do you feel a responsibility to your fans?I think my responsibility is not to be a jerk to them when I meet them. That's as far as I can go. It's a personal thing. As far as the roles I choose and what my character does, that's an evolution that is my career. I can't look outside of what I want to do or what I think I should do. If I try to choose for people that I don't even know, I'm obviously always going to disappoint somebody. I think my responsibility to them is to be grateful and to be appreciative of them, and when they're complimenting me, to not take that for granted and not be a bitch.
Do you have any projects other than the show?Well, it's still a little early for summer stuff. I'm just now starting to go in for meetings and read scripts. I don't have anything as of yet.
About Atlanta. You've been working very hard these couple of years. Does it seem furher because of that, or does it seem close to you?Atlanta? Well, I moved out here when I was 11 or 12, so that really has always seemed like my past. California is really my home, and I went to junior high school and high school out here. That's where I formed friendships. My best friends and I have known each other since we were in seventh or eigth grade. So we were 12 years old. I have a lot of family in Atlanta, but I don't think of it as my home. It's a completely different city than when I lived there. The Olympics have been there and it's just enormous now. I just remember it as this sweet little town.
How aware are you of the cultural impact this series has made, and how does that affect you?It's a little strange. My boyfriend and I walked into Toys `R' Us the other night and there was a game of Buffy, and we were both like, `Wow!'
You just don't even realise that there's merchandise. We don't see it all. It's strange. We come here every day and this just doesn;t have ant of that in it. It's definitely a part of the show. I just feel pretty removed from that.
How would you sum up the lasting legacy of the series?Wow! I don't know. I have no idea. I just hope people think that it was a good show.
Do you get a lot of feedback from your fans?Oh, definitely. It's awesome.
Male or female?Kind of 50/50. There's definitely strong male contingents. Yeah, it's equal. They're very sweet, and now they're from all over the world, which is awesome. It's so cool looking at all the postmarks.
Do you get sent weird stuff in the mail?No. I thought I would, but I really don't. Occasionally somebody will send some candles or something, but nothing totally out of the ordinary.
Do you take requests?No. I think that a lot of people have, including the writers, comments like `That spell was incorrect! If you actually looked up what that meant.' I mean, that's probably a small handful of people.
What about doing other projects, like movies?Right. It's difficult. Basically, we wait until the hiatus, which starts in April.
Do you get sent scripts that are similar to your character in Buffy?No. I would say mainly I get stuff similar to American Pie.
How entwined are you with Willow now?I would say that I can turn it on and turn it off on set, I'm pretty easily into it. I mean, obviously if she's doing something emotionally draining, that sort of lingers. Those really, really tough emotional days, and you just go home and sleep it off.
I lik Willow. She's awesome. She's definitely a friend I would have.
If you cast a spell in real life what would it be?Well, probably I'd ask for - I don't know if this spell could ever exist - a spell to be able to write and speak every language ever. I would love to be able to do that, to have that. That would just be very useful, especially when I have to do those damn spells - i don't understand what I'm saying. I'd love that.
Do you have any fears?The only thing that's close to that is sort of reading a script and saying `Wow! This is really good. I hope I don't mess it up.' Just when the writing is so stellar, you think , `Oh man, if this isn't good it's all because of me,' because the scripts are great. That's the only fear I think of.
Do you have a favourite episode?I guess maybe the musical. It was fun. It was very sweet and it was so nice to see everybody put such hard work into it. Every single crew member, every cast member, everyone. It was a really nice change of pace. It was just something that, obviously, I'd never done a musical, and the majority of people hadn't experienced. It was really fun and it was a good bonding experience.
- Em
"They were fluffy indigenous kittens. Until ME came along." - What Willow meant to say in Pangs.
by tyche » Fri Jun 07, 2002 9:13 am 
at: 6/7/02 7:07:00 pm