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

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