Posted in: Current News, CW, Hulu, TV | Tagged: buffy, faith

Buffy: Sarah Michelle Gellar Has Nothing But Love for Eliza Dushku

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar discussed what Eliza Dushku brought to the series and enjoying the Buffy/Faith body-swap.

While we await word on where things stand with EP Sarah Michelle Gellar, Showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman, director and executive producer Chloé Zhao, and EP Gail Berman's Gellar and Ryan K. Armstrong-starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale pilot for Hulu, we've been getting some great insights from Gellar on the series, courtesy of BTVS Scholar Evan Ross Katz and Katz's Shut Up Evan podcast. For this go-around, Gellar shares what it was like working with "Buffyverse" icon Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Bring It On), who played big-bad-turned-hero Faith.

Dushku would decide to walk away from the Hollywood grind in 2017, bringing to a close a 25-year acting career. From there, Dushku would go on to graduate from Lesley University with a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling with a focus on addiction, recovery, and trauma (as well as receiving a certification in psychedelic-assisted therapy through a California university, a certification not yet legal in Massachusetts). Interestingly enough, it would be Dushku's personal and professional passion that would lead her back to Hollywood, serving as an executive producer on the Netflix documentary, In Waves and War.

During the podcast (beginning at around the 12:50 mark in the video above), Katz discusses the various pairings that Gellar's Buffy Summers had over the seasons, adding that the Buffy/Faith dynamic was his favorite. He then asks Gellar what it was like having Dushku join the series and how the Dushku/Faith dynamic impacted the series.

"Well, Eliza's a force. You know, Eliza, I had known Eliza for… God, I mean, since we were young," Gellar shared, adding that she, Dushku, and Armstrong have all shared the same manager. "And so, I'd known Eliza a really long time. And, you know, I ask a lot of scene partners. And so when they were casting Faith, and they brought up Eliza's name, I was really excited because I knew that she would bring energy and performance, and you know, it can be a lot to come into an existing show in a role like that. And you need someone that has Eliza's confidence to be able to do it. And she's like a pro. And you know, I knew that she would really challenge me, and that was exciting to me."

When Katz mentioned that Faith's return in Season 4 was his "favorite episode of the series, Geller shared what it was like working with Dushku to prepare for S04E15: "This Year's Girl" and S04E16: "Who Are You?" the two-episode body-swapping mini-epic. "Oh, we switched bodies. That was so much fun. Like we spent some time together… that was a blast. That was one of the most… like, I have a couple, for me, that were like the most fun and challenging – and challenging in a good way. Like, I was excited to tackle that challenge and really spent time studying Eliza and what are the movements I could do and what are the things I could do to be her."

Along with Gellar and Armstrong, the pilot also includes Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned) as Hugo, Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU) as Larkin, Sarah Bock (Severance) as Gracie, Daniel di Tomasso (Witches of East End) as Abe, Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) as Mr. Burke, Kingston Vernes (The Survivor) as Carson, Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio) as Shirley, Merrin Dungey (The Lincoln Lawyer) as Ms. LaDuca, Audrey Hsieh (Found) as Keiko, and Audrey Grace Marshall (The Flight Attendant) as Jessica.

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