SPOILER
ALERT: This interview contains information on critical plot
developments on the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Daniel
'Danny' Strong grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, where
he attended Mira Costa High School. He performed with the
USC Rep. Company at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he
starred in the world premiere of Ray Bradbury's Something
Wicked This Way Comes and You're a Good Man, Charlie
Brown (as Snoopy). His early TV roles include Boy Meets
World, Saved by the Bell - The New Class and the unaired
pilot version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Danny has
also appeared in Seinfeld, Third Rock from the
Sun and as a recurring character in The TV series Clueless.
But, it is his role as Jonathan in Buffy the Vampire
Slayer that he is most well known. Keri
Allan caught up with him as the final volume of Buffy
the Vampire Slayer
was about to be released on video...
Keri Allan: What
has been like for you to see your role of Jonathan evolve
over the show?
Danny
Strong: Oh well its really been wonderful and gratifying you
know, seeing it just increase, increase, increase. It was
one of the first jobs I got after I graduated from theatre
school, and I had one line on the pilot presentation, and
you never think its gonna turn into anything, and you know
it just keeps going and going and going. It has become the
most helpful credit of my career so far. It's been great.
KA:
How did you feel about the total character arc of Jonathan
then?
DS:
I thought it was a really well thought out arc, really. It
completely came full circle and this character, this scared
young teenager eventually growing into a man, and finally
coming to peace with himself, and then he dies!
KA: I can imagine that it was quite
gutting when you found out you died in the end, did you think
you'd reach the end of the show?
DS:
Yeah, yeah. Well you know you just never know. I was off it
for an entire season at one point and so there was never a
point where I expected anything, it would have been nice to
get through to the end, but its not the way the cookie crumbles
as they say.
KA:
What's you're fondest memory of the show?
DS: I would say the fondest memory was working with Adam [Busch]
and Tom [Lenk] , I had a great time with them, they were great
fun. Well Adam was, not so much Tom - I'm just kidding Tommy!
I really enjoyed working with them.
KA:
Did you take anything from the set with you when you were
last there?
DS:
Not on my final time, but when I did the episode Superstar,
I stole all the props that are like Jonathan's propaganda.
So I've got a lot of those in my closet, and have given some
to my mum.
KA:
You should sell them on ebay, become a millionaire.
D:
Yeah maybe! I have the Jonathan swimsuit calendar, I'm curious
what that would go for...
KA:
What was Superstar like to do? How did you feel when you found
out you were going to be the star of that episode?
DS:
I couldn't believe it, I was so flattered that they had the
confidence in me to give me such a great role. But then when
we shot it I was really sick which was a real drag, it's your
big episode and you're sick all the time.
KA:
How do you think overall that Buffy changed your life?
Where are you going from here?
DS:
Life is what happens when you're busy making plans as the
good old John Lennon said. So I'll keep rolling with the punches,
keep doing what I do, keep doing them the best I can, and
maybe someone will hire me, and maybe they won't! I write
so I keep myself busy, I'm always working on something, so
it's almost the focus of my attention these days.
KA:
Thank you for your time.
Buffy:
The Vampire Slayer season 7.2 is available to buy on video
from 20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment from 08 September 2003
You
can buy this video now by clicking here.
You pay £25.99 (RRP: £34.99)
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