Hal Hath No Fury by Tara Dilullo
The BuffyVerse had a habit of throwing out tantalising and confusing hints about the pasts of characters, but none more so than Cecily Addams. Or should that be Halfrek? Buffy Magazine investigates, with help from Kali Rocha, the actress behind Anya’s demon companion.

Fans of the BuffyVerse have become accustomed to the peculiar ability of characters to return from the dead, or disappear only to return again suddenly years later. One of the biggest enigmas that fans are still puzzling over is the curious case of Cecily and Halfrek. The former was the object of pre-vampire William’s affections in the 1800s, while the latter was the vengeance demon buddy of Anya. Fans with a keen eye immediately saw the physical resemblance between the two women, but an actual connection was left to speculation until a cryptic encounter between Spike and Halfrek in ‘Older and Far Away’ seemed to cement their link. But alas, a definitive explanation was never provided, and the audience was left wondering… until now. Actress Kali Richa, who played both Cecily and Halfrek, is happy to admit the two women are indeed one and the same.
    Kali, a native of Providence, Rhode Island and a Broadway theatre veteran, got her first Los Angeles television gig playing Cecily Addams on Buffy back in 2000. “I knew the show and I knew it had a great following,” she reflects. “I went in for Cecily and I just loved the character. It was supposed to be a British woman in the 1800s, which seemed like an interesting hybrid between my theatrical training and television, which I was trying to cross over into. I felt very lucky that part happened.”
    Cecily appeared briefly in flashback during the episode ‘Fool for Love’, which detailed the history of Spike both prior to and after his turning. Her cruel rejection broke William’s heart and sent him into the arms of Drusilla, sealing his undead fate. For Kali, the brief one-day gig was a dream. “I really did enjoy Cecily. She was so heartfelt, but arch, and that was so interesting to me. I like period pieces and I also knew she was an integral part of Spike’s story. And then James Marsters is such an incredible person, artist and a gentleman. Even though I was just showing up to do this one thing, he was so generous as an actor. I knew if everyone was like him, then Buffy was an amazing show and a place I’d like to come back to, but it didn’t occur to me because at that point there was no reason for Cecily to resurface. She was a function to show how Spike became a vampire.”
    Kali left Buffy with fond memories and appeared on the television series Will and Grace, along with memorable roles in films like Meet the Parents and Gods and Generals. In 2002, the Buffy crew looked her up again. “It was a call out of the blue,” she explains. “I was in New York City doing a play and I got a call asking if  wanted to come back and do some Buffy episodes. I asked ‘As Cecily?’ and they said it was as a vengeance demon named Halfrek.
    “At first, it was supposed to maybe be two episodes as Anya’s confidante in demon face all the time, but fortunately the make-up fell by the wayside and she became more integral to Anya’s story. It was a cool evolution I hadn’t expected, but was very grateful for.”

Halfrek appeared in seven episodes over two seasons, with Kali giving a spirited performance as the demon with more sass than menace. The character ended up one that the actress identified with a lot. “As written, it was obvious this woman was very loyal and maternal to Anya. She is thoughtful and concerned about Xander, and as to whether she should insert herself in Anya’s process of deciding to get married. But by the same token,” she laughs, “I think Halfrek is extremely passive-aggressive and extremely controlling. If I possess both of those characteristics, then I have to cop to them. Yeah, I probably am like her in many ways, but she is more extreme than I am. hopefully. As the episodes went on, I could see they were writing her more for my sensibility and I understood Halfrek more and more. I think as time went along we fused a lot more.”
    Appearing in the detailed vengeance demon make-up was another big plus for the actress. “I enjoyed it! I was excited to do the make-up because it was so completely aberrational from what I do normally. I also know how respected Buffy is and how the characters are so well rounded, so make-up isn’t just for the sake of having make-up. I knew that if I was asked to be in make-up it would be fun and interesting and deep. The make-up could be painful, but I was pleased with the experience of the plaster mould and I loved my make-up artists. In school, we studied mask work and this was the ultimate mask work. You can’t fight the mask, but you give over to it and then step into the characterisation.”
    Unlike her appearance as Cecily, Kali was able to interact with the full cast as Halfrek, which turned out even better than she anticipated. “Bravo to the cast because they were so much fun. I was struck by their level of security as artists that they didn’t feel insecure about new people coming on. Tom Lenk is a great friend of mine and so is Danny Strong. We all talked about how welcome we felt. We felt afforded room to be the actors we are on that set.
    “I clicked with everyone,” she continues. “I really, really like Emma Caulfield. Again, I was instantly struck by James and how generous he is as an actor and so smart. He also has a lot of classical training so we had a connection on that level. And I really liked working with Michelle Trachtenberg.”

Kali also appreciated the freedom she was allowed in bringing Halfrek to life. “I just enjoyed how quirky I could be They let me do goofy things like trying to make a failed exit in ‘Older and Far Away’ with my arms swirling about,” she chuckles. “I also really enjoyed coming to see Anya for the first time in ‘Doublemeat Palace’ and how they gave me a grand entrance and then it so quickly became valley girls sitting down for a chat. I loved those switches and from that an interesting character just evolved.”
    As for the great mystery of Cecily and Halfrek, Kali laughs. “I didn’t even know the two were connected when they brought me back! The conversation between Spike and Halfrek in ‘Older and Far Away’ was deliberate and it was a treat for James and I, because it harkened back to ‘Fool for Love’. We didn’t know, when we did the scene, if it was going to have legs afterwards and that was part of the fun. It may have been a Whedon impish check to see how fans would react and if they would want to see more about their connection. I do know the next day on the Internet fans were screaming, ‘Halfrek is Cecily!’ But nothing ever came of it and it may have just been a spark to see what would happen to give us a chance to have fun, too.”
    After her four episodes in Season Six, Kali was brought back for two final appearances in Season Seven, for ‘Lessons’ and ‘Selfless’. “I was in New York doing a Broadway play, and they called and said they were going to fly me back to shoot two episodes during my one day off. I left on a Sunday night and came back on a Tuesday morning. We shot the Russian Revolution scenes, my conversation with Anya, and my death.”
    Speaking of her death, Kali had no idea that was coming up until she got the final script for ‘Selfless’. “I’m glad I didn’t know I was going to die because that is like life,” she reflects. “I was really moved by how well they handled my death. Joss created this person that wasn’t a threat to anyone and wasn’t part of anyone’s ultimatum. Innocently, I appear and suddenly you just see it unfold and to prove his point, D’Hoffryn has me killed and it’s devastating. And that was a really powerful episode to me, independent of my role in it. I thought Emma did such beautiful work in it. She was as tortured and distraught as I feel the fans probably were watching it.”
    Since her last appearance in the show, Kali has done more stage work and is writing a new show with some friends for the cable channel Comedy Central, called Space Station 76. She loves the recognition she still gets for both her Buffy roles and appears at conventions. “Buffy worked on so many levels, so almost no matter who was watching it, they’d get a level. I call it a seven-layer cake. The bottom layer is delicious and sugary, but there are six layers above that, which are really reaching people.
    “I think it’s a really cool show with a lot of integrity, and I’m glad I was a part of it.”