Thanks for posting! I saw this on my newstand here in LA the other day and came home to look for it online...but the Backstage site was down. Great interview...he always comes off so smart and practical.

DearBoy | April 11, 15:02 CET

That was fantastic. I would love to sit down and have a conversation as Seth.

It's unfortunate that he didn't think he was being useful as a character on Buffy; Oz was always one of my favorites.

UnpluggedCrazy | April 11, 15:04 CET

UNRELATED RUMOR:

On the morning show on radio station DC101, a lady called in saying she "hooked up" with Seth in his pre-Buffy days.

He ALLEGEDLY stole a bunch of CDs, a kitchen knife, and more from her. He acted goofy/charming about it and promised to replace them/pay for them, but never did. He was also reportedly adept at the sexual act he performed.

For those of you reading whose lives I have just enriched, YOU'RE WELCOME.

Chirp | April 11, 15:14 CET

That was a pretty good interview. He comes of confident which is a nice change from some actors/actresses.

chirp I had no idea I had someone that lived to close to me here at Whedonesque.

war_machine | April 11, 15:22 CET

war_machine: Frederick, Murrland, right here. You? I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of other East coast bio/tech corridor dorks like me frequent Whedonesque.

Chirp | April 11, 15:28 CET

Chirp, is that rumour thing a joke?

gossi | April 11, 15:52 CET

I loved his "Be excellent" remark. Also was dismayed to find out that he was unfulfilled at Buffy. I hope he's since discovered the impact he made on so many of us with Oz. Though I understand why he had to leave, Oz will always be a pivotal character for me, and I hope he's up for future 'verse endeavors.

He actually seems something like Joss himself, to me. Intellectual, funny, and possessing a work ethic that won't let him stay still for more than half an hour.

Boy sure knows the business, too, doesn't he?

Willowy | April 11, 15:57 CET

My admiration and love of Seth Green just keeps on growing. Funny, smart, and focused without coming off as arrogant, selfish or condescending.

I must also agree with his analysis of BtVS Season Three and his diminished role, oftimes, as merely a voice in the chorus. Still, he had great swan-songs in Wild At Heart and New Moon Rising. And I'm currently loving Robot Chicken (although I probably shouldn't have let my five year old boy watch some of the episodes. Bad bad daddy).

SoddingNancyTribe | April 11, 16:07 CET

That is what every interview aspires towards. There were moments of humor, loads of intelligence and insight... Seth Green was amazing. I want him to be my new best friend!

Sania Delian | April 11, 16:10 CET

Funny, smart, and focused without coming off as arrogant, selfish or condescending.

I thought that, too, until I saw him on Bill Maher's Real Time. I was truly disappointed. But perhaps that was just a bad day. And everyone's entitled to one.

palehorse | April 11, 19:17 CET

I adore this man more and more when I read interviews with him. I would love to sit down and talk about anything and everything.

Too bad he didn't get that creative inspiration off Buffy though I understand at the same time. He's one of my favorites but the amount of 'oomph' episodes he got weren't a lot.

LmR | April 11, 19:25 CET

Agreed, palehorse. As we mentioned on the flickr, that was pretty bad. Maybe he was just over-extended or nervous. Though I can't imagine a seasoned pro like Seth would be intimidated by the likes of Bill Maher (even though I love his show, he can come off misogynistic and abrasive quite often, qualities that I've noticed are absent in Seth).

Willowy | April 11, 19:26 CET

Hmm, just read your reports on flickr. Didn't see the show so I'm going to keep giving him the benefit of the doubt. Seth does have a slight "partying it up in Hollywood" side to him sometimes - but fair play, everyone's gotta have an outlet, right?

SoddingNancyTribe | April 11, 19:41 CET

Absolutely, bad daddy. ;)

One misstep isn't going to un-fan me. He's still one to watch in my book.

Willowy | April 11, 19:43 CET

gossi, no! I mean I was joking in my tone, but that's exactly what the lady (1st hand report)on the radio.

It's totally doubtable, but still. The host, Elliot Gould, used to date SMG apparently.

HE interviews FPJ twice a year, and it's always weird.

Chirp | April 11, 20:39 CET

He's still one to watch in my book.

Agreed.

palehorse | April 11, 21:03 CET

After Buffy and Robot Chicken I definitely consider myself a fan of Seth Green. And he gives a fantastic interview, definitely not one of those conceited actors. He sounds rather approachable, intellectual, and witty - what I love about most people involved in the Whedonverse.

BTW - More Marylanders? I just had to chime in... I'm from the area too and I go to Hood College in Frederick! We must shindig sometime.

AnotherFireflyfan | April 11, 21:50 CET

I saw Seth on Real Time, too. He didn't shine, but I got the impression that he was just not comfortable jumping in to this forum, since it wasn't total comedy improv and it wasn't total let's-talk-politics-in-our-living-room. It didn't dim my admiration of him, and this article reinforced my respect for him, too -- he's a mogul, dude! ;-)

billz | April 11, 22:15 CET

I've said it before I'll say it again. During Buffy's first-run, in the early seasons, the only thing that made me tune in at all was whether or not the show had anything to do with Oz. If I saw a commercial or happened to tune in while channel hopping, and Seth Green was on the screen, I'd happen to be drawn in. And how he was so rarely used, I'd get pulled into that particular episode waiting to see the character again. If the storyline faded him out, I'd lose interest and change the channel. I didn't really know what was going on but when Green was there, it simply became more interesting to watch.

In the first four or five seasons, I wasn't an avid fan. The idea of a teenage werewolf was for some reason amusing and intriguing. Didn't understand why the stories revolved around these other characters. They weren't as fun on first glance. I don't recall being a big fan at all back then. I didn't connect with Buffy, and didn't know enough about the other characters. Oz though was cool. He said a lot by saying very little. I wasn't even a big fan of Seth Green really. I don't recall going out of my way to be involved in BtVS, and had a generally bad opinion of it those first five years. If Oz wasn't there, I'd tune out.

It wasn't until season six that something about the series clicked, and I went back with the help of a friend who had all the shows on videotape, and seeing all the shows relatively together, in order, that made me realize what was really going on plotwise. The overall character arcs are deep and intricate, and I am ashamed now of my dismissive approach to the series in its early years. As irony would have it, by the time I became obsessed with the series others felt it was on its decline. I had similar experiences with music groups like Oingo Boingo and Devo. When they were popular I scoffed at them. By the time the rest of the world had turned their backs, I was an avid listener and fan.

Seth Green has that rare and precious talent as an actor to be capable of doing so much with so little. He's excellent at lending focus. He's powerful at improving an ensemble by his mere presence. His comic timing is impeccable. The only other actor that comes to mind among Whedon's past ensembles with similar capacities that are of equal calibre is Alan Tudyk. When next you pull out your Buffy or Firefly dvds, watch these two men carefully. Especially in those scenes when they don't have lines. Watch how they use their silence to build tension, or release it. Watch where Tudyk's eyes go when its someone else's moment. Watch what Green does when conveys the equivalent of a soliloquy in a line that consists of five or less words. Watch how they make this look so easy. It's not.

Then look again at the scenes where they do take center stage. War Stories when Tudyk says Niska ain't gonna get days. Watch when Green tells Willow he's going through changes. Then watch when Buffy tells Green maybe this is a good time for his patented stoicism. These two men are giants among mortals in the acting world. There's a handful of other actors in the history of filmmaking that are this good or better at making everyone around them look great. Sidney Portier. Ernest Borgnine. Dan Acrkoyd. Clu Gulager. Maureen Stapleton. These are people who can be plugged into any ensemble and make others look good while maintaining a sliver of limelight for themselves. Okay. Sometimes Borgnine pours it on a little thick, but he had his moments. At least he's not Mickey Rooney.

Most actors try to shine like comets. Alan Tudyk and Seth Green can be the metaphorical equivalent of nightlights or daystars, and know instinctively what is needed in any given scene. Most actors operate like an on/off switch. David Duchovny comes to mind. He's either on or off in a scene. Depends on whether or not he's got a line. Sometimes even then he's off.

These guys, Green and Tudyk, they got dimmers built into them. Hollywood is all the brighter with these talents, and should use them more often.

ZachsMind | April 11, 22:42 CET

Dude, did you just mention Oingo Boingo!?! You're my new best friend ;-) I am a Boingoloid Browncoat.

AnotherFireflyfan | April 12, 05:09 CET

Is WHEDONesque now being sponsored by the National Enquirer?

Surely you mean Elliot Segal, although Gellar did appear in the film 'Under The Brooklyn Bridge' with Elliott Gould. She was only about six-years-old at the time, but kids start dating so young these days!

alien lanes | April 12, 05:13 CET

What kind of dimmers? Are they the kind with the twisty knob or the kind with the slider? I prefer the twisty knob myself.



That'd be sad on so many levels. I think dashboard is right though, I'm pretty sure it's Segal. Or at least that sounds familiar.

I'm in Lexington Park the southern part of maryland near the naval base.

war_machine | April 12, 08:08 CET

man! Dontcha just love Seth!! I was really sad to see him leave buffy because I really enjoyed his "trademark Stoicism" but I get it now, I just hope he never stops working in showbiz 'cuz he's one of my favorites!

Lizz2727 | April 12, 09:46 CET

I could see Elliot Gould and SMG doing a really weird, Harold & Maud-esque remake of "The Owl and the Pussycat"....

bobster | April 12, 14:29 CET

Even as a typo, the thought of Elliott Gould and SMG dating is --

*looks for way to rip image of Elliott Gould poolside in Oceans 11 out of brain*

-- disturbing! ;-)

billz | April 12, 17:51 CET

Completely self-centered digression, but I attended a small dinner party a year ago at which Elliott Gould was another guest. Nice man, but one of relatively few words. Amusingly enough (in retrospect) I asked where in Canada he was from. He replied, somewhat coolly, that I was mistaking him for "the other one - Donald Sutherland." So there's your Buffy connection right there.

Him and SMG? Erm, not so much. I remember SMG mentioning the Elliott Segal relationship in her radio interview with Howard S.

SoddingNancyTribe | April 12, 18:29 CET

OOh, am I allowed another Gould digression? Many many years ago, Gould was in Toronto making a movie, The Silent Partner. My boyfriend, Vince, and I were extras and for some reason, he and Gould really hit it off. A week later, we are back for another day of shooting and while we are all waiting about for the actors to arrive, a friend of Vince's wanders through and wants to know what is going on.(we were in a mall). Vince says with some pride, what it is we are doing and that he and Gould are close buds. There is a vast amount of scepticism from the friend. Just at that moment, Gould comes out for the first time that day, looks around, sees my boyfriend and calls out "Vince! how're ya doing?" One of the perfect moments in my life.

Lioness | April 12, 18:56 CET

Great story, Lioness!

Here is the only Elliott Gould trivia I know: when he was very young, he was married to Barbra Streisand. I don't remember where I first heard that, but it's true!

(We're starting to turn him into Chuck Norris, aren't we?) ;-)

billz | April 12, 19:42 CET