FilmForce | 10 Questions: Anthony Stewart Head - 1/12/02
Nov 9, 2013 20:53:54 GMT
Draco Fidus and slayer94 like this
Post by Biba on Nov 9, 2013 20:53:54 GMT
While most TV fans know Anthony Stewart Head as the sometimes stuffy, though eminently cool, Rupert Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he also has quite a varied career in theater (ranging from "Godspell" to playing Frank-n-Furter in "Rocky Horror") and TV (the Taster's Choice ads and VR.5).
As a prelude to our weeklong Buffy features – to celebrate the release of the complete first season on DVD from Fox Home Entertainment on the 15th – here's our own patented (still pending) 10 questions with Tony Head...
1. What is your favorite piece of music?
It's always been "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber – except when bloody Oliver Stone used it for Platoon. He just, excuse the expression, f***ed it for everybody. Whenever any of those pieces of music become a classic, they get used for commercials and things, and suddenly; it changes its status. My favorite rock and roll song would be "Willin'," by Lowell George.
2. What is your favorite film?
Being There.
3. What is your favorite TV program, past or current?
It was, for years, a thing that we have here called Seven Up. It was a documentary starting in the '60s that regularly followed, every seven years, seven kids. So you saw them at 7, then 14, then 21 – it followed them. It's a fascinating way of watching people's real lives changing.
4. What do you feel has been your most important professional accomplishment to date?
There have been so many big changes and so many exciting things. I think (the play) "Rope," for me, felt pivotal in terms of the changes I was going through as an actor, kind-of finding their way onto the stage at the same time as just my being ready for it. The character I played in "Rope" sort-of led to Giles – not the same, but areas that pulled stuff together.
5. Which project do you feel didn't live up to what you envisioned?
I was disappointed that VR.5 didn't go further. It was an extremely plausible show, and extremely interesting, with very clever scripts and a fairly interesting idea. It actually should have had more investment in it – I think Fox should have given it another season... but then, if they had, I wouldn't have been around for Buffy. I think (the play) "Yonadab" had enormous potential, and somehow it wasn't realized.
6. What is your favorite book?
It's very odd... I was talking to my youngest daughter in almost glowing terms about Pride & Prejudice, oddly. She shouldn't have been watching, but she watched Bridget Jones's Diary – which is loosely based on Pride & Prejudice – and I suddenly found myself talking about Jane Austen fondly. I think she was a very interesting writer. I was also recently talking about Ray Bradbury and Fahrenheit 451, and Golden Apples of the Sun – which is a collection of short stories.
7. If you could change one thing about Hollywood, what would it be?
Its changeability... It changes on a dime – its trends. I find it extraordinary that one movie does a subject, and suddenly there are five! There are an awful lot of stories out there, and we really don't have to do the same story over and over and over again. There is an awful lot of talent that can be better used. But it's not just Hollywood – the same could be said for England. England is stultifying. In fact, there is a lot of new stuff out there at the moment which is very interesting, and it's very enjoyable to be part of two series that both can be lumped into that category of something new and exciting. But people tend to get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking, "Oh yeah, we're doing good stuff, so let's just go on doing it" – but it doesn't always work that way.
8. If you could change one public perception of yourself, what would it be?
In those terms, I'm not sure what the public perception of me is. At one point, I would have said that one of the reasons I chose to do Giles – apart from it being an astonishing script and wanting to do it – but it was a character. It wasn't leading man. It wasn't leading young man for sure. It was a character part, and I had a feeling that after the (Taster's Choice) commercial, people tended to view me as a lightweight. I wanted them to see that I had range. To be honest, I think Buffy has done that – more than my wildest dreams – so at the moment, I can't say that that's in a state of flux, because I've done the necessary correction. From here on in, it's kind of more falling into place, in terms of where I want it to go. I do want to do more movies, and that is presenting itself, so the next step has already been mooted. So there's nothing that I can think of that isn't already underway or in hand.
9. What is your next project?
Manchild, premiering Feb 20th on BBC2.
10. What is the one project that you've always wanted to do, but have yet to be able to?
It's only come out recently, while working in acting class, I've sort-of hit on this Richard III character which came out of something my teacher said. He said he'd like to see a sexy Richard III, so I provided him one. It actually was more successful than I had dreamed. It was extremely fun to do. It was just great, and wicked. I did it twice – possibly three times – in class in various scenes from it, and I read it at Joss'. We read the whole play, and I played Richard. It's something that I would like to do at some point, somewhere. But it would be a little irreverent. On stage, I used lots of music and songs and different references, and basically threw stuff at the wall and saw what stuck. It was cool.
ARCHIVE LINK
As a prelude to our weeklong Buffy features – to celebrate the release of the complete first season on DVD from Fox Home Entertainment on the 15th – here's our own patented (still pending) 10 questions with Tony Head...
1. What is your favorite piece of music?
It's always been "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber – except when bloody Oliver Stone used it for Platoon. He just, excuse the expression, f***ed it for everybody. Whenever any of those pieces of music become a classic, they get used for commercials and things, and suddenly; it changes its status. My favorite rock and roll song would be "Willin'," by Lowell George.
2. What is your favorite film?
Being There.
3. What is your favorite TV program, past or current?
It was, for years, a thing that we have here called Seven Up. It was a documentary starting in the '60s that regularly followed, every seven years, seven kids. So you saw them at 7, then 14, then 21 – it followed them. It's a fascinating way of watching people's real lives changing.
4. What do you feel has been your most important professional accomplishment to date?
There have been so many big changes and so many exciting things. I think (the play) "Rope," for me, felt pivotal in terms of the changes I was going through as an actor, kind-of finding their way onto the stage at the same time as just my being ready for it. The character I played in "Rope" sort-of led to Giles – not the same, but areas that pulled stuff together.
5. Which project do you feel didn't live up to what you envisioned?
I was disappointed that VR.5 didn't go further. It was an extremely plausible show, and extremely interesting, with very clever scripts and a fairly interesting idea. It actually should have had more investment in it – I think Fox should have given it another season... but then, if they had, I wouldn't have been around for Buffy. I think (the play) "Yonadab" had enormous potential, and somehow it wasn't realized.
6. What is your favorite book?
It's very odd... I was talking to my youngest daughter in almost glowing terms about Pride & Prejudice, oddly. She shouldn't have been watching, but she watched Bridget Jones's Diary – which is loosely based on Pride & Prejudice – and I suddenly found myself talking about Jane Austen fondly. I think she was a very interesting writer. I was also recently talking about Ray Bradbury and Fahrenheit 451, and Golden Apples of the Sun – which is a collection of short stories.
7. If you could change one thing about Hollywood, what would it be?
Its changeability... It changes on a dime – its trends. I find it extraordinary that one movie does a subject, and suddenly there are five! There are an awful lot of stories out there, and we really don't have to do the same story over and over and over again. There is an awful lot of talent that can be better used. But it's not just Hollywood – the same could be said for England. England is stultifying. In fact, there is a lot of new stuff out there at the moment which is very interesting, and it's very enjoyable to be part of two series that both can be lumped into that category of something new and exciting. But people tend to get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking, "Oh yeah, we're doing good stuff, so let's just go on doing it" – but it doesn't always work that way.
8. If you could change one public perception of yourself, what would it be?
In those terms, I'm not sure what the public perception of me is. At one point, I would have said that one of the reasons I chose to do Giles – apart from it being an astonishing script and wanting to do it – but it was a character. It wasn't leading man. It wasn't leading young man for sure. It was a character part, and I had a feeling that after the (Taster's Choice) commercial, people tended to view me as a lightweight. I wanted them to see that I had range. To be honest, I think Buffy has done that – more than my wildest dreams – so at the moment, I can't say that that's in a state of flux, because I've done the necessary correction. From here on in, it's kind of more falling into place, in terms of where I want it to go. I do want to do more movies, and that is presenting itself, so the next step has already been mooted. So there's nothing that I can think of that isn't already underway or in hand.
9. What is your next project?
Manchild, premiering Feb 20th on BBC2.
10. What is the one project that you've always wanted to do, but have yet to be able to?
It's only come out recently, while working in acting class, I've sort-of hit on this Richard III character which came out of something my teacher said. He said he'd like to see a sexy Richard III, so I provided him one. It actually was more successful than I had dreamed. It was extremely fun to do. It was just great, and wicked. I did it twice – possibly three times – in class in various scenes from it, and I read it at Joss'. We read the whole play, and I played Richard. It's something that I would like to do at some point, somewhere. But it would be a little irreverent. On stage, I used lots of music and songs and different references, and basically threw stuff at the wall and saw what stuck. It was cool.
ARCHIVE LINK