Vogue Demon Hunter by Matt Springer
A lengthy interview, and the magazine’s first of many, with Alexis Denisof. In this chat he talks about his role on Buffy, his arrival on Angel and what it’s like to go from guest star to leading character on the spin-off.

It’s not a good time to be a British actor in Hollywood. Either you’re expected to ditch the accent and portray Americans, or you’re having English parts swept out from under you by American actors. This anti-Brit bias is especially true in the world of Buffy. Of the many British characters who’ve passed through Sunnydale in the series’ history, most of them have been portrayed by Americans, including both Spike and his former lover Drusilla, played by California natives James Marsters and Juliet Landau, respectively.
    Now it looks as though the Brits have lost another prime role. Alexis Denisof, who has returned to the BuffyVerse on Angel as drifting Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, is really as American as Big Macs and boy bands. It’s not as rough a cut as you might think, though – Denisof was born in Maryland and grew up in Seattle, but has lived and worked half his life in Britain. And although he seems to be back in LA to stay with his supporting role on Angel, he remains hard-pressed to declare a permanent allegiance to either side of the pond.
    “I think the trick for anybody who has homes in different places is to enjoy the things that are different, and find the things that you like about each place,” says Denisof. “There’s good and bad everywhere. I loved being here in LA, but I also love it when I go to London. There are all sorts of obvious things that I like about living in LA, but there are subtle things about each place that I enjoy.”
    His extensive stay in England has provided unique insights into bringing Wesley to life, first as a Watcher-out-of-water in Sunnydale and now as a reformed ‘rogue demon hunter” in Los Angeles. Initially slotted to appear in just two episodes of Buffy, Wesley managed to survive by becoming such a funny character that the writers were reluctant to kill him off. Now following Doyle’s departure, Wesley once again returns to the fold – and Denisof can count on spending many more months back in his native homeland.

So how were you approached to return to the world of Buffy and Angel?
Well, I had gone away for the summer, and the character had been left open-ended from Buffy. When he began, he was really intended to just be around for one or two episodes, and irritate Giles and Buffy, and then have a terrible death, as only these shows can conceive. But then they found that Wesley had a peculiar humour that was his own, so they slowly became reluctant to kill him off. Suddenly, nine episodes or whatever had gone by, and they’d grown fond of him. There was a big dilemma over whether to include him in the big season finale death toll or not. Luckily for me, he survived.
    We weren’t really sure how he was going to fit into the story – it wasn’t really clear how he was going to come back to Buffy or Angel necessarily. But when they all got back from summer break, they called one day and said there could be a storyline for Wesley in Angel, and of course I jumped at it. I think they conceived of a retooled Wesley that would add a lighter comic element to the show, and that was a part of it.

How do you think being a rogue demon hunter has changed Wesley?
It’s given him a little shake, given him a taste of the real world. I think when he arrived in Sunnydale, he was straight out of the Watcher Grad School; he lacked a little bit of practical experience. He was living in the ideal of the perfect way to execute his duties. I think that losing his job and going out alone roughened him up a little and lopped off some of the sharper corners. It made him more approachable and a little more personable, less sure of himself all the time. That in itself can be funny. I think it’s given him a little more of a taste of life in the gritty fast lane. Or he’s trying. It’s unclear right now exactly how much success he’s had, but at least he’s given it a shot.

What do you think Wesley brings to the Angel dynamic as opposed to what Doyle brought to the show?
I think Wesley is a clearer counterpart to Angel whereas Doyle had more street cred and had been around. Although he was struggling with his demon nature, he had seen a lot more of the world in the same way that Angel had. Wesley’s much further across the scales from Angel than Doyle is. He’s probably just a stronger contrast to Angel’s character. That’s a hard question to answer, because in all honesty, it’s difficult for me to weigh Wesley as opposed to Doyle. They are both characters in their own rights, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges. They’re simply different people. but I do feel that Wesley brings something to Angel and Cordelia’s life. Whether it’s something they want all the time, I don’t know.

What about your colleague from the Council? Did Anthony Stewart Head have any advice when you started on how to play a Watcher?
He said, “Don’t let them stick you in that small trailer.”

And I’m sure that guidance has served you very well.
Yeah. [laughs] Anthony Head is a wonderful person. I have nothing but affection and good things to say about him. He’s one of the foundations that Buffy is built on, so he was very helpful and gave me lots of great ideas. He was generous and thoughtful; he gave me and Wesley the time and the space to have fun with the character. I loved our stuff together, and I really hope they find a way to put Wesley and Giles back together again. It always tickled me when the two of them were together.

You’ve worked together with Anthony Head in the past. In a stage production of Rope?
That’s right. That was a couple of years ago. That was terrific. Tony’s a great actor, so it was pleasure to do that production. It was sort of a dark suspense piece and we both enjoyed it hugely.

How do you find working on the Angel set as opposed to the Buffy set? Is it a similar atmosphere?
It’s a wonderful atmosphere. They’re both warm, fun places to work. I guess the main difference is a practical one, which is that Angel is at the Paramount lot at the moment, a huge studio, and Buffy is over on its own lot. You have a smaller, more family feeling down there, whereas at the Paramount lot we make a little family and we’re a corner of this huge studio. That feels a little different. But it’s exciting.

What about the night shoots? That must be a huge change of pace for you.
That’s true. We have more locations, and obviously, with Angel being a vampire, we shoot a lot at night in downtown LA. They’re cool locations, but they’re not always so cool at four in the morning when you’d rather be home in bed.

It must be hard to catch up on your sleep.
It takes a little getting used to.  I actually have a Polaroid taken by David Boreanaz on my mirror at work. It’s a picture of me in my chair with my head resting on my hand, sound asleep. David wrote underneath it, “3:54am, day one, Angel.” [laughs] I love working with him and Charisma and David Greenwalt; they’ve really welcomed me and made me feel like part of the team. I have nothing but admiration and respect for everyone on that show. We’re really, really going to have fun. There are great shows coming.