Clare
Kramer grew up in Midwest America and studied acting at NYU.
She started out with small roles in commercials, TV shows,
and films until her first big break in the cheerleading teen
movie Bring It On. Kramer is best known to Buffy
the Vampire Slayer fans for her role as the slightly unhinged
god Glory. She is also well known for her roles in both The
Mallory Effect and The Rules of Attraction. We caught up with her as the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer was about to be launched on DVD...
Darren
Rea: How did you get involved with Buffy? And were
you a fan of the show before you went for the part?
Clare
Kramer: I'd seen a couple of episodes but I wasn't an avid
watcher. They sent me a breakdown of the character and it
looked interesting. It was a great chance to play someone
who was just so wild. And she was such a fantastic fantasy
character that you would never get the chance to play if it
wasn't in the sci-fi world. So I went in and auditioned and
they must have liked what I did because they hired me.
DR:
If you are playing a convict, a police officer or a role grounded
in reality you can do a bit of background research. How do
you go about researching for a character like Glory?
CK:
You don't [laughs]. And the beauty of the role was that nobody
really knew anything about the character so she was something
I was able to create by working with the writers and the creators
of the show. Basically what they would do is create what they
wanted in the form of a script and then I would take what
they had written and add my twist to it. It was definitely
a unique character and provided a unique experience for me
- one which I am really grateful I had.
DR:
When you agreed to play Glory did you know how long the character
would stick around for?
CK:
No. I didn't know whether it was going to be two episodes
or a whole season. I sort of knew that it would probably just
be exclusive to season five, just because she was villain
and there was going to be a beginning, a middle and an end
to the storyline. But I didn't know how much or what my involvement
of the show was likely to be.
DR:
Before you accepted the role was there any point where you
were worried that you might become pigeon holed as 'that evil
god from Buffy'? And that this label would follow you
around for the rest of your career?
CK:
No, not at all. I was very interested by the character and
very interested in the role in general. It never crossed my
mind.
DR:
Did you find it hard to fit in with a cast that had been working
together for four years?
CK:
It was a little like your first day at a new school. I was
a little shy when I first arrived and I tended to keep myself
to myself. They were all very welcoming and showed me the
ropes. Which was great. You hear horror stories of other shows
where you can't fit in unless you have been there for years,
but I was very lucky with the Buffy cast.
DR:
You had to deal with a number of computer effects while making
Buffy. What do you think to the increasing use of computer
effects in TV shows and movies?
CK:
Well, it's almost not that different from filming a traditional
movie. That is simply because when you are in a character
and you are in the moment and you are working towards the
ultimate goal, which is the final version of the film or the
product, you are not concerned with the product - it's all
about the process. And I think it's the same when you tackle
a scene that is mainly computer generated. If you focussed
- on any sort of project - on the completion and what everything
was going to look like then I think you would loose the moment.
And that is what acting is all about - being in the moment.
er... I don't know if that answers your question or not [laughs].
DR:
Do you ever look back at your work and think; 'I could have
done that better'?
CK:
I don't watch my stuff [laughs].
DR:
Not at all?
CK:
Nope [laughs] So that's the easiest way not to have to go
through the feelings of 'what was I doing?' [laughs].
DR:
Your over in the UK now to take part in a convention. Is this
something which you plan to do more of in the future?
CK:
Well I've only worked with the same people who are doing this
convention twice before. Although I really enjoy doing them,
I would be very reluctant to do a convention with someone
I didn't know. They are quite hard and there is a lot of work
involved and these guys are very organised. The
fans are wonderful and I find conventions are a great way
to meet everybody who supports the show and are excited about
it.
DR:
I understand that a lot of fans bring you gifts when they
come to conventions. What's the strangest thing you've been
given?
CK:
Yes they do. I haven't been given anything really strange,
but there are some great people out there that give me the
nicest things. One lady gave me a pair of earrings that she
had taken the time and effort to make,
and other people will have read somewhere that I like this
or that, so they will bring something that I can add to my
collections or have in my home. The gifts are usually very
nice and the fact that a lot of fans bother to research what
I like is also very thoughtful.
DR:
Do you collect anything? Be careful what you say because at
the next convention you will probably get hundreds of whatever
you say you collect here.
CK:
[laughs] I have a lot of different collection. But basically
I am very grateful whatever gifts I get.
DR:
What are you up to at the moment? What's the next think we
can expect to see you in?
CK:
There are three movies coming out over the next year which
I have been involved with. And I am currently getting ready
to film a comedy in Montreal this Summer which is kind of
like a Ferris Bueller's Day Off - but at college
instead of high school. The three films coming out over the
next year are LA DJ, Skulls 3 and Mummy An' the
Armadillo.
LA
DJ is a film written and directed by my friend Thomas
Ian Nicholas with his brother. It is a very funny movie about
two Midwestern boys who come to LA to DJ. I was also involved
with Skulls 3 which is the next instalment of the movies
about a secret society at Yale. This story has a girl, me,
join the secret society only to realise it's corrupt and she
has to get out. And the other movie, which I have just finished
working on, is called Mummy An' the Armadillo. This
is a drama which takes place in one location over a period
of six hours. It's a very intense character dissection of
a family's intricacies and their relationships and what not.
DR:
Looking to the future there must be a role that you are dying
to play. If you could create your own character what would
it be?
CK:
Ah. There are always roles like that [laughs]. And you don't
necessarily know what sort of character is perfect for you
until you read a script and then you might say 'that touches
me in a certain way'. I think that, for me, I am pretty open
to all roles. I read pretty much everything that comes to
me and I consider everything that is put in front of me. The
only thing that I'd say about that is that I want to continue
to play characters that I am passionate about. I've always
played characters that I am very passionate about, characters
that are very different from one another and I'd like to just
keep doing that.
DR:
Thank you for your time.
With
thanks to Paula Cope at DSA
Season
six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is out to buy on DVD
from the 12 May from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
For
a list of other relevant sites click here.
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