Tension On Set of 'Buffy'

[David]

https://people.com/tv/sarah-michelle-gellar-addresses-tension-amongst-the-buffy-cast/


Sarah Michelle Gellar Addresses 'Tension' Amongst the Buffy Cast on Set:
'Everybody Had Arguments'

"I think that unfortunately the set we were on and the world we were in was
pitting us against each other," Sarah Michelle Gellar said.

By Dory Jackson
March 22, 2022

Not all was "rosy" amongst the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast.

In the newly-released book 'Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How
Buffy Staked Our Hearts', Sarah Michelle Gellar addressed rumors of tension
amongst the cast during her time filming the hit drama series.

"I think that unfortunately the set we were on and the world we were in was
pitting us against each other," said Gellar, 44, during an interview with
author Evan Ross Katz. "I think it would have been different if it was
today. It would have been a very different relationship. But we have a great
relationship now."

Gellar additionally pointed out how the "young" Buffy crew "worked really
hard hours" and had "ups and downs" because of that.

"Everybody had arguments. There were times where David could be a handful.
He never really was to me, but I'm sure [he was]," she continued. "And I'm
sure I was the same way to people also, right? It wasn't rosy. Nobody gets
along all the time. And Alyson and I had moments. There's no question. But
you're young."

When fellow series alum Amber Benson opened up about the feud rumors, she
placed the blame on series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon. "It
starts at the top — and I'm not talking about Sarah," she said. "I'm talking
about Joss. And it creates the tone of the set."

"I worked on shows where the producers are very aware of this, and they work
really hard to make everybody feel like they are important and that they
have a place in the show. And I think because this was Joss's first show,
there were things that got dropped," the actress continued. "I think
sometimes it made the set feel tense because people were like, 'I don't know
that I'm important. Like, I know Sarah is important because she's the name
of the show, but am I important?'"

Benson said the dynamic put "a lot of pressure on relationships with Sarah
and other actors and then other actors with each other."

"I think there was a lot of tension in that way," she said. "I came in in
the fourth season, so all that stuff had already been concretized. And so it
was a little bit of navigating and being aware that there were sort of
alliances and tensions and some people got on really well and other people
were okay...nobody was flat-out fighting or anything, but you could just
feel like people weren't sure of their place."

Added Benson, "I think it is the boss's job to make everybody understand
where they are in the hierarchy and how they fit in and that they are
necessary, you know? 'Cause if you make everybody feel like they're a part
of it and that they're necessary and that they're not worried about their
job, then there's this comfortability. And I think when that wasn't
happening, there was some uncomfortability on-set."

Meanwhile, James Marsters said the cast was "at war" and "the enemy was
time."

"I don't know if everyone frames it in their mind the way I do, but I
attribute some of the tension on the set by just that: that we were trying
to summit a mountain and always couldn't get to the top really," he
explained. "Although we got very high, I mean ... look, we did very well. We
did our best. But we lost it. We lost the war."

Marc Blucas was also asked to dispel speculation that he had tension with
Gellar: "There's no ill will."

"Look, I could be a basketball player and if a freshman fucked up, I would
be pissed off. Like, this is my livelihood here, you know what I mean? But
it was never taken out on me," he said. "Did it create problems for her? I
would say I caused frustrations for her and she handled it the right way.
She was patient with me."

"She would go to Joss and be like, 'Hey, we need to build in more time for
rehearsal,'" he added. "I think that she saw someone who was genuinely
trying, who was a nice guy, who was never late, who never didn't know their
line, and I think those things all help balance out the fact that I just
wasn't a refined actor yet."

Prior to the book coming out, the cast has been vocal about allegations of
misconduct and harassment from Whedon. Buffy alums Charisma Carpenter,
Michelle Trachtenberg and Benson have all accused Whedon of abusive behavior
on set.

Whedon previously addressed the allegations in profile for New York
Magazine's Vulture, admitting to not being "civilized" at that point in his
life.

"I was young," he said. "I yelled, and sometimes you had to yell. This was a
very young cast, and it was easy for everything to turn into a cocktail
party."

"If I am upsetting somebody, it will be a problem for me," he added.

Gellar later released a statement of support for her fellow cast members, "I
stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out,"
she wrote on Instagram.

'Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts' was
released on March 15.



David