Alyson Wonderland by Martin Eden
Editor Martin Eden pulled out all the stops with this one as he sat down with the ever-fantastic Alyson Hannigan to discuss all things Willow! Interview written during production of late Season 4.

Alyson Hannigan, it seems, learned the hard way that being famous enough to merit your own action figure, doesn’t mean you can get your hands on one. “There’s this four-pack I’m desperate to find,” she says. “I begged and pleaded and couldn’t get one. I saw it in Joss’s office and said, ‘You don’t need that, do you?” He was like, ‘There’s no way you’re stealing it!’”
    Hannigan’s had much more success in navigating her growing television and film career than she’s had in nabbing that rare Buffy action figure box set – though if she’s still after one, she’s welcome to negotiate for the one that proudly decorates the Buffy magazine offices. She’s seen Willow through her darker days as one of Sunnydale High’s least popular students and into a more challenging and accepting college lifestyle. College also brought with it some romantic changes – from a werewolf to a witch, and from Oz to Tara.
    After the fracture of the Scooby Gang and her break-up with Oz, it seems as though Willow has finally found some sense of peace in her life, just as Hannigan has found a burgeoning film career waiting for her while on hiatus from Buffy. With memorable supporting turns in 1999’s American Pie and last summer’s Boys and Girls, it looks as though the journey down Hollywood’s rabbit hole is just beginning for Willow’s alter ego.
    During a visit to the UK this summer, Hannigan took some time to chat with us, before visiting a London shop for a mobbed autograph session to promote the latest set of Buffy videos. Then it was off to visit Anthony Stewart Head before returning to the States. For anyone else, an amazing summer vacation – but for Hannigan, just another trip through the looking glass.

Let’s start by talking about Buffy season four. It seems as though Willow had a lot of character development. Are you pleased with how everything turned out?
Definitely. I think Willow probably got the best arcs of the season. Just by chance, too, with Seth leaving the show.

So that wasn’t planned from the start of the season?
No, he was going to go away for probably six episodes to do a film. It was undecided whether or not he was going to come back, and I don’t know what happened, but he chose not to. It’s disappointing.

Were the final episodes with him difficult to film?
They were, because I was dealing with the loss of Seth. I think that he and I had some really good scenes together, and we enjoy working with each other so much. We hadn’t determined whether or not he was coming back at that point. We had hoped, but it’s sort of like abandonment. “No, don’t leave us! Come on!”

It must have been nice to have him back for an episode later in the season.
It was, but I knew that it was just the one, so it was a weird roller-coaster of emotions for me. On the one hand, I really loved working with him, but then it was also like a slap in the face, because we both know how well we work together. It was like, “Why do you want to leave? Couldn’t you just stay for a few more years?”

After Oz though, Willow found Tara. How have fans reacted to that storyline?
It’s been mixed. A lot of people completely support it, and are very into the way the show has handled it. I think the people who have a problem with it haven’t even grasped what it is. They’re still in the denial stage of ‘Hey, wait, what’s going on, how can you… You guys are always doing those spells.’ It’s kind of weird, but the people who really understand the show completely get it and have seen the progression of the relationship. I don’t personally think it matters that it’s two girls at all. I think it’s just two characters that are fond of each other who have fallen in love, and I think the writers are handling it so well. They’re not trying to make a hoopla of ‘We have two girls together on our show!’ It’s like any other relationship on our show. It just happens they’re both female.

It seems like the coming-out scene to Buffy might have been an intense one to film. Did that go smoothly?
No, it didn’t at all. They didn’t seem happy with it, and it was just one of those things that we had to get through. It was taking forever, and it was one of those long days.

It’s definitely a scene that anyone who is in a similar situation to Willow’s could relate to.
Yeah, I know. I had hoped it would be. On the page, it was great, but then doing it was like, “We’re running behind, this set-up’s taking too long.” And Joss was down there. He doesn’t come down as much anymore because he’s so busy, but this was an important scene and he didn’t seem happy. When the boss doesn’t seem happy, you just feel like ‘I’m really disappointed.’ But on the page it was lovely.

Did they have the Tara and Willow relationship in mind when the season began?
I don’t know if they had any idea that they were going to develop the relationship the way they did. They were very hands-on with the Willow and Tara scenes, so we got a clue about where it was headed. But then we started reading the stuff and it’s like ‘Okay, this is clearly going beyond subtext here.”

Is it fun to work with Amber Benson?
She’s wonderful. She’s so sweet, and I’ve known her for a long time. I’ve never worked with her before, but I knew her through mutual people in the business. She’s very down to Earth.

Do you have any clues yet about where season five is headed?
I have absolutely no clue. I tried to pick the writer’s brains but they keep stuff from us because we’re blabbermouths. Occasionally we’ll hear big things.

It was kind of a shock to see the brief return of ‘nerdy’ Willow in ‘Restless.’
I thought Xander’s dream was so cool, and Giles had such a great dream, but my dream was bunk. I don’t think I did very well, because it was confusing filming. You didn’t exactly know what was going on. I don’t think there was enough tension.

Maybe that’s a good thing, because it seemed so surreal.
That’s what I was trying to do. I was trying to do the whole dream thing, and I don’t know if it came across. But I thought it was a brilliant episode if you tuned in ten minutes into it, after my dream.

Did you get hurt at all when the ancient Slayer was trying to kill you?
No, just dirt in the eyes and a couple of scratches. Nothing major. Our stunt people though, are incredible.

Was Evil Willow fun to play in ‘The Wish’ and ‘Doppelgangland’?
It was good for a little change of pace.

Was it already planned to bring her back a second time, or was that done as a result of the tremendous fan reaction?
I think that while we were filming it, they were having more fun with that side of things, so there was always that idea.

It must have been fun to kill Cordelia.
I remember that. That was fun.

How are things with the new cast members?
Emma’s the best. She’s so cool. She and I have been hanging out a lot. We play Scrabble all the time. Marc Blucas is just like a big old jock and he picks on me.

What about James Marsters? Is he beloved by the ladies on set?
James is so sweet. He’s just heaven. He’s so happy to be there. He and I had that scene in season four where he’s trying to bite me, and we just walked into that like ‘This is the best scene, let’s not screw it up.’ And we were so nervous, because when you read it, you’re laughing out loud.

Do you miss working with Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz? Do you see them very often?
David and I didn’t have that many scenes together, so I probably see him more now than I did then. And he always made me laugh, which is not good when we’re shooting, because he does this little smirk thing when we’re off camera. You think he’s just about to bust up, so of course you bust up, then he plays it off like, “I wasn’t smirking.” And I never see Charisma anymore because she’s so busy.

Do you enjoy watching Angel as well?
Yes, especially the latter half of the season, because I’m particularly fond of Wesley and he’s a series regular now. Good for Alexis!

Are you two an item now?
[coyly] Why do you ask? Oh, it’s out. He’s the best.

How did you find yourself cast on Buffy?
Just through auditioning and auditioning, and I finally got it. It’s never easy. It’s nothing like, “Oh yeah, I was walking my dog and somebody said I should try out for this,” like David. His story is much better than mine. Mine’s just the same old process. You audition and you either get it or you don’t. Luckily, I did.

Are you happy with all the Buffy merchandise you’ve seen?
It took forever for anything to come out, and now it’s like we’re seeing more things. Nobody tells us what’s coming out. My cousin in Atlanta sent me a lollipop and I was like, ‘Oh my God, we have lollipops?’ We’re on soda cans! There are going to be video games. But I want a pinball machine. There was a rumour that there’s going to be a pinball machine for the show. That would be the one thing I would keep in my house.

Even though it’s your job, it seems like it must be a really fun set to spend time on. What’s it like working with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Nicholas Brendon?
She’s a good laugh. Nick is funny; he’s a funny guy. He cracks me up. He has the most sarcastic sense of humour and he’s just so witty.

Now, finally, a tough question: has your mother seen American Pie yet?
Yes. I warned her beforehand: “Ma, you might not be happy about this!”