Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel Official Magazine, Issue 78
Cut to the Chase
Tara DiLullo
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel Official Magazine, Issue 78
Cordelia Chase. Quick-witted, razor-tongued high school queen bee or compassionate brave heroine? During her seven years on Buffy and Angel, she was both – and during that time, actress Charisma Carpenter became a firm fan favorite. We caught up with Charisma to talk exclusively about the legacy of playing Cordy, and her exciting new film and TV projects.
As the heroes of their respective series, Buffy and Angel might have been pretty badass demon fighters, but let’s face it, on both shows, no one was more frightening or brutal with a foe than Cordelia Chase was with her razor sharp insults and withering comments. A stake to the heart may be fatal, but a particularly potent Cordy zinger could sting for a lifetime. Actress Charisma Carpenter originated the role on Buffy, and after three seasons took Cordy over to Angel, where the character evolved over four years into a less sharp-tongued, but far more heroic woman that stood side-by-side with Angel in the fight against evil. While Charisma left the show as a cast member at the end of the fourth season, she thrilled fans by making one last triumphant appearance as Cordelia in the poignant 100th episode, “You’re Welcome,” saying good-bye to her character with class and grace.
In the time since her swan song on Angel, Charisma has been living life to the fullest, both personally and professionally. Recently taking a break from post-production work on her upcoming film, Voodoo Moon, the actress happily shares what’s been keeping her so busy. This year finds Charisma and her husband, Damian Hardy, celebrating their third wedding anniversary, while the other love of her life, her son, Donovan Charles Hardy, is keeping her on her toes everyday. Beaming with pride, she says, “It’s a really fun time right now. He’s 25 months and he’s just a blast! He’s talking a lot and getting snuggly. I’m watching and marveling at all of it.”
Charisma has also been working steadily with a string of recurring characters and guest appearances on TV, like the multi-episode arc she did on Charmed last year. As the sexy seer, Kira, Charisma got to play with those sister witches and her own personal friend, actress Holly Marie Combs. While her character was “vanquished” after three episodes, the actress says she had a blast on the show and would love to return. “I kept being told that [Kira] was just vanquished, and that doesn’t really mean a commitment to death,” she says hopefully. “Actually, John Kretchmer is a very prominent TV director [on Charmed] that makes his rounds on various shows I’ve worked on, and he’s shooting Veronica Mars now. He was getting ready to prep for an episode of Charmed this season and he talked to Jim Conway, who is an executive producer on Charmed. Apparently, Jim said to say ‘Hello’ to me. So then I proceeded to call Jim back and I said, ‘See what happens when you don’t offer me a recurring on your last season? You get beat out by Veronica Mars!’” she laughs. “He said, ‘I love that show’ and I said, ‘I do too, but I still want to come back and play with you guys.’ So he’s telling Brad (Kern, executive producer). It was so ironic, because that same day Holly left me a message to say hi. So maybe I’ll be back! I would like it!”
Between her Charmed shoots last year, Charisma also did an episode of the now canceled series, LAX, starring TV veteran Heather Locklear. With awe, the actress says, “That was pretty historic for me. I would only hope to have a career like her in Hollywood. She’s a totally awesome woman and so fun! She’s very young and she’s a joy. When I first went on the set, her response was, ‘Oh, my sister!’ and gave me this big hug. Never met her in my life and you don’t know what to expect, so what a welcome! Of course, if you are going to play sisters, it helps to have a connection, and she’s so gracious and welcoming. I thought she would be nice, but I didn’t expect her to be that nice.”
Settling in to talk about her own influences and evolution as an actress, Charisma says she’s finally embraced the legacy of playing Cordelia Chase. While she was originally concerned about being typecast in “bitch” roles, she’s okay with taking similar roles now, even embracing her own inner Cordy. “With seven years of Cordelia, I can’t help but think that she’s imprinted on me and that acerbic tongue is just a part of who I am now. I mean, how can it not be? I think I have been learning along the way, and it just became quite natural. You’d have to ask David Greenwalt or Joss Whedon to be sure. But either you have it or you don’t, and I must have had it to some extent,” she laughs. “Now, I have moments in my life when it’s appropriate to ‘pull a Cordelia,’ so sometimes I’m like that, for sure. I’ve learned to embrace that. To be able to say anything with just the right amount of sting and humor, so you can get away with it.”
Asked of her own female inspirations in the business, Charisma reveals, “I have somebody that inspires me, but she’s not in front of the camera – Gail Berman. I would love to just quit my job and be her assistant and follow her around to see what it takes to be her. She’s got children, a successful marriage, and she’s really climbed the ladder. When she was at Mutant Enemy, she went from working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to [head of entertainment at] 20th Century Fox, [starting] Regency Television and now she’s president of Paramount Pictures. She’s an impressive lady and really down to earth. Smart… I admire her a lot. I think there is a bit of a producer in me, in the sense that I’ve got a little bit of the Type A,” she smiles. “I don’t know how to manage or be solution oriented or get the resources, so to watch her and how she did it is an amazing thing. I’m attracted to what she has been able to do. Another woman I admire is Marti Noxon, in regards to how to break a story and follow the storyline through with humor. I don’t think I could even have a smidge of that kind of talent, but I love to be around her and work with her. I love her sense of humor and how she carries herself as a lady, and she’s a mom, too. She’s super-gifted and totally grounded. Like, hello? How do you do that?” she enthuses.
After 10 years in the business, Charisma says she is also incredibly honored that her fans have stuck by her from role to role. She got a huge dose of that loyal support this past summer when she appeared at the annual San Diego Comic Con. “It was actually the first real experience I’ve had with fan appreciation,” the actress reveals. “I was there for Voodoo Moon and Veronica Mars and the fans were so cool. They were so stoked. If you measure it by applause, they were like, ‘Yay! She’s back!’ That felt incredible. I got to have a direct response from the fans. It’s one thing to hear about the feedback, or that there’s been a surplus in hits on a website, but to actually see them and be there was something.”
At Comic Con, Charisma debuted footage from her new horror film, Voodoo Moon, in which she plays a young woman with psychic abilities fighting a demon that tried to kill her and her brother 20 years before. “I was drawn to the script. Obviously, it was text that I was familiar with,” she says coyly. “I met with Karen Bailey (producer) and director Kevin (VanHook) and I was really charmed by them. I thought they were smart people with vision, and they wanted to tell a story that I liked and so I said, ‘Okay!’ Also, Kevin directed a film called The Fallen Ones and I was blown away by the special effects. If you are a special effects person and you enjoy a good mystery and horror, it pretty much has it all. There is everything in the film that could possibly appeal to people. I’m just really impressed with how the film looks like a big budget movie, think Twister, where you wonder how they shot it.”
Continuing on about the Voodoo production, she says, “Kevin really had an ease about him that I liked very much. He impressed me with his intelligence, and his need not to show you how intelligent he is. There is pretty much no topic you can have with him and not learn something. He’s super smart and I want to be around that. He directed it and wrote it, it was his concept, and I always enjoy working with the writer as the director because you really get to hear from them what they want. I found he’s very quiet as a director. He was not as concerned with telling you how to do it. He was really good at giving you liberties. I really found myself asking, ‘Is this okay?’ He’s very even and doesn’t want to over direct you. Every single word he wrote and thought about, so if I had a question, there were always like three or four reasons behind why I say what I say. I felt safe and I was in good hands. He’s so not drama and so not ego.”
As to her own horror favorites, Charisma thinks a bit and offers with a chuckle, ” I remember being like, 15 or 16, and boys liked to take me to scary movies, so I have a strong affinity for horror. My favorite [one] growing up, but I could never watch, was The Exorcist. Poltergeist was also a favorite and Halloween with Jamie Lee Curtis. I’ll watch them before bed and my husband will say, ‘Why are you watching this?’” she laughs.
While Charisma had hopes of starring in her own UPN sitcom, Cats and Dogs, this fall, the show ultimately wasn’t picked up. But in a curious twist of fate, the actress did get picked up on another show, Veronica Mars, indirectly related to her sitcom. “Actually, the sitcom didn’t get picked up because of Veronica Mars, which is a one-hour show — so there was no spot in the schedule for [Cats and Dogs]. It’s poetic justice, then, that I’m on Veronica Mars now,” she smiles.
Charisma plays Kendall Casablancas, a spoiled, rich housewife out to cause Veronica some new trouble in the series’ sophomore season. On how she got the role, Charisma explains, “I was a big fan of Veronica Mars. [Creator] Rob (Thomas) and I didn’t know each other until we met at Piesta in Beverly Hills, which is a function that Rob’s wife (Andrea) and her best friend (Katie) do every year. They have a baking company and they started this Piesta, which is basically a big pie-fest. I met Rob there when I was doing Miss Match. I never thought of Rob like a future employer, but my relationship with Andrea and Katie grew and we became friendly. Rob had me in mind for Mars, and I heard long before he actually called me that he wanted to use me for something. I called Katie one day and asked if it was true, and she was like, ‘I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say!’ She said she would call me back, and then Rob called me back, so now I call him Mr. Thomas, my employer,” she cracks.
The actress says she’s enjoying playing Kendall already. “They had a six-episode arc in mind and [Rob] described what she was like. Of course, I feel naturally akin to her because it’s a role I’m kind of know for now, you know, old Cordelia, which is the funniest ever. I think the show is so brilliantly written and so funny. The stuff they get away with cracks me up and makes me root for them. The double entendres… it’s a very well written show.” On the flip side, the actress says she is still adjusting to what she’s been asked to do on-screen so far. “My character on Veronica Mars has more nude scenes in three episodes than I’ve done in seven years on Angel,” she blushes. “I’ve never had so many compromising positions or been so scantily clad in my entire life! That’s not easy for me, but I have gotten to a place of acceptance. I’m just so surprised, because 10 years ago nobody was asking me to take my clothes off! As you get older, that kind of work is supposed to wane and you’re considered old hat, or whatever, but it’s sort of a role reversal. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life physically. I’m in a way better, centered space with my family and my child. Work isn’t going away, which I am so grateful for so far. I guess I’m kind of flattered that people are asking me to take my clothes off, because that means I’m not old yet,” she laughs. “I’m so vain!”
Having already shot three episodes, Charisma also has high praise for the show’s cast. “Can I tell you how, on every level, [there's] nothing but class in every department. I know that’s probably the most boring thing to say, but honest to God, and these kids are young, like 23. If only I was that together at 23. Wow! I’m so impressed with the group and they are really great people. Kristen (Bell) is awesome and I’ve enjoyed working with her so much. She is such a joy and we’ve been able to bond a bit. My character is shaking things up a bit, so it’s nice to spend some time with her between takes getting to know her.”
As if Veronica Mars wasn’t enough, Charisma reveals that she also has a new movie in production. “I’m leaving to shoot a Lifetime cable movie in Montreal, so I won’t be in the next three Mars episodes. It looks like I may be in more episodes, but I’m not sure yet. As for this movie, right now it’s called White Silhouette, but it may change to Flirting with Danger. I’m basically danger, playing a femme fatale.” Sexy, ruthless and conniving, certainly a “type” Charisma has honed to perfection over the years, and regardless of what roles she continues to pursue, one thing is certain — her fans will be right there cheering her on!
