Random Buffy email not sure what to do with...

[shadowkat]

Been a long while since I've gotten any emails associated with that website containing those(cough) Buffy
essays, but here it is. From same person who contacted me last year with a query about which sites to visit that had good essays.

"Hi, I hope you're well and have had a good
thanksgiving. My name's _________ and I wrote
you a few months ago when researching the Buffy series
for school. With so much on offer, I've come back to
look at the series, as I was always intending to do
and would be once again extremely grateful for your
assistance, if possible.

With Buffy fandom having quietened down and getting
smaller, I'd be greatly honored and very grateful once
again to have your response to this new survey
question (below) I need to ask of preferably only
highly advanced fans of the series.

As usual, if you either know and / or can recommend
any other very eloquent, articulate Buffy and / or
Angel fans or fanfic writers (compared to most
people), please let me know.
Thanks so much for your time and have a good and merry
Xmas also. I hope to hear from you very soon.

QUESTION : What most admired 3 or 4 actors from
BTVS's excellent 7 seasons do you think were and still
are, the 'best' (whatever your own definition of that
is) actors that this superb series brought to
people's attention and please give some valid reason/s
why, for each actor/s named. They can be actors who
played major characters and / or any actor’s who
played recurring character/s who appeared a few times."


If you want to respond to this woman, let me know - I'll give you her email address.

Personally? Not sure what my answers would be at this stage.
Off-hand?

James Marsters (who keeps getting crappy roles) - but was the best actor on both series
Anthony Stewart Head (ditto as above)
Amber Benson (not many roles elsewhere)- took a small role gave it depth and nuance
Seth Green - OZ, took a small role and provided depth and perfect comic timing with nuance
Alexis Denisof - for his turn as Wes

Angel:
Alexis Denisof
Lilah
Laurel Holloman - Justine
Vincent Kortheiser


Reasons? sigh. They took a character who was introduced as one thing and provided that character with depth and personality, more so than was written. Two of those actors actually took a role that was intended to be short term and made it long term - Marsters and Denisof, creating two of the best character arcs in the history of any televison series. Neither arc was originally planned by the writers. Head took the cliche English Prof and give him a sexy underlining edge - one not many people can pull off well.

Comments

Kartheiser

[masqthephlsphr.livejournal.com]

I got that exact same email! I almost posted the question on the board, but I just couldn't find it in myself to care enough about what anyone thinks of the actors. And the idea of the ATPoers all writing "eloquent, intelligent" posts on the subject made me giggle.

I suppose that makes me a snob's snob, but I disliked being flattered by all that initial stuff only to be asked about the *actors*, something I never talked about once on the ATPo site.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

The essay by Ian Shuttleworth in both editions of Kaveney's Reading the Vampire Slayer has a lengthy discussion of the actors in BtVS.