Top Gunn by Joe Nazzaro
A Season Three interview with J. August Richards about the new developments in Charles’ life, including finding love with a co-worker at Angel Investigations…

Hunting vampires isn’t such a bad job. The hours are okay (if you like the nightshift), you get to meet interesting people (as well as monsters, demons, and assorted creatures), and if your really lucky, there’s a chance for a little office romance. For streetwise Charles Gunn, that means the constant battle between good and evil sometimes has to take a back seat to his budding relationship with Fred (Amy Acker). But as this love-struck couple soon discover, the two don’t always mix…
    According to J. August Richards, who’s in the middle of a heavy-duty story arc between his character, Gunn, and Amy Acker’s Fred, things have been “really excellent.” Although the hours are long, he’s been having a lot of fun, and there are some major surprises to come by the end of the season. J. took a break from filming to talk about his current work on Angel and how his life has changed since joining the series…

Has it been fun getting to do romantic scenes for a change?
As everyone who’s been watching the show has said to me lately, it’s like a whole new side of my character, and a side they didn’t really expect to see. It’s been cool for me, because until now, we’ve only seen Gunn driven in his pursuit to rid the world of evil. This side of his character is completely new. The choice that I made is that it’s his first time in a relationship and being in love. He’s never cared this much about anybody outside of what he considers to be his family, so that’s why I think it’s exciting for him.

Can you tell us what’s in store for the two characters later this season?
There’s a key event in Gunn’s past that cones to light in Episode 18 that requires a big decision to be made and it’s a really good episode. I think everyone is really going to like it. It’s called ‘Double or Nothing’.

When did you first find out that Angel was going to be a regular gig?
It was actually at the end of the first season. I’d done the last three episodes of the season, and I remember David Greenwalt, who was directing the episode, pulling me aside on my last day. I was really nervous, but he said, “Well, everybody around here really likes you and we like your work, and everything is looking good for next season.” I’d become very cautious about what to believe in this business until it was official, which was usually in June sometime, and he told me this in maybe April, but I was elated when it finally happened.

So did you have a lot of free time during the last season?
Only if I was lucky! If your scenes are all in the same location, you’re done in a day or two. If you have a scene here or there in other locations, you’re going to do one scene a day for the whole eight days of an episode’s shooting schedule. But I don’t care – either one is fine by me. I don’t actually have a preference to be honest. I just really like working.

Will the writers give you an idea of what’s coming up?
Every now and then we see each other outside of work and get to sit down and talk and socialise, and when we do, they’ll say, “Oh, this is what’s going to happen.” And sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. I knew about the Fred thing for a while, but I’m sure they wanted to see how things were working out before they decided exactly where they were going to go with that.

How has Gunn changed since his first appearance on Angel?
It’s similar to painting, which is something I like to do. When I first started painting, I was painting in broad strokes with bright colours. That’s how I saw my character when we first met him. He was definitely younger and his attitude was more black and white in terms of “Vampires and demons are evil; they all deserve to die, and I’m going to  kill them all!” As the character has gained more maturity, he doesn’t feel like he has to be that warrior all the time. He’s not so intense about the entire thing anymore because he’s learned through Angel that there are shades of gray in this world that we fight in, and some demons are needed for certain reasons and not everyone who is a vampire necessarily deserves to get my stake.
    That’s one of the biggest things I’ve learned about the character. So in essence, he’s calmed down, and that’s how he’s been able to find love. If you remember the episode ‘First Impressions,’ he was so intense about his mission that he didn’t really see what was going on around him. But now he’s able to sit back a little and take in the things around him. That’s why he’s able to be in this relationship.

Do you think in some ways Gunn is the voice of the audience, pointing out the absurdity of a situation?
I’ll often say the most obvious thing about the situation, and yes, I need to comment on the reality of what is going on, what a real person would say. So yes, absolutely. But so many of the other characters are so funny to me that they make me laugh and sometimes it’s hard to get through a single take.

Do you have a lot of fun behind the scenes?
There’s a lot of laughter on the set of Angel; sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes it’s not. I actually had the hardest time getting through  a single take yesterday without laughing. It just got to the point where the slightest little thing would make us laugh. We had to start in a very weird place, at the end of one of David’s lines, which finished with the word ‘bus’. Then I had to say something, and the timing of it and when I would appear on camera was affected by how far into his line David got. But before we shot every scene, he would say the word ‘bus’ in such a funny way that it made me laugh every time I got n front of the camera. It was really bad, and I felt a bit unprofessional, but I had to forgive myself because everything was so funny and we had such a great time doing that.

Can you reveal anything about Gunn’s story arc at the end of this season?
The episodes near the end of the season are more about the group dynamics and how they’re affected by the events to come. I think the temperature is going to go up as far as what’s happening in the storyline, and it really affects us all individually. I wish I could say more, because so much great stuff is coming up. As far as how it affects my character, we are all committed to keeping the family together, and that’s all I can say about that.

Has starring in Angel changed your life?
In some ways, yes. Alyson Hannigan once told me that, for the first year, it was going to be, “Hey, aren’t you that guy on that show?” The second year is, “Hey, aren’t you that guy on Angel?” And the third year it’s “You’re J. August Richards!”
    I was at the Beverly Centre, shopping in West Hollywood the other day, and I was probably recognised about three times. It suddenly occurred to me that I’m recognised with far more frequency these days. It sort of snuck up on me because it happened so slowly.

How do you see your career progressing over the next couple of years?
When I first moved to Los Angeles to become an actor, I never once said, In two years, I’ve going to have a series, and in three years, I’m going to be nominated for something.” I never did that to myself and I won’t do it now. What I can say is that I know I will be a much better actor, because I’m constantly working hard at what I do and trying to learn from it and continue to watch the people around me and learn from them. I am going to continue to expand my creative abilities in other fields and other disciplines, which include writing and directing.
    I’ve always wanted to direct – that’s been a huge goal of mine. When I went to college, I applied to the film school and the theatre school, and then had to make a choice, and I chose theatre. But I’ve always wanted to direct and I want to direct in coming years. So hopefully, I’ll be working on some projects of my own. I just hope to grow as an artist and as a human being.