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THE
WB LETS HOT NEW STARS SHINE BRIGHT
By
Mike McDaniel, Houston Chronicle TV editor:
Pasadena,
Calif. - When the WB throws a party, all of southern California
knows it. Or so it seems.
Photographers
claims their spots along 100 yards of red carpet. Fans,
six and seven deep, pile up behind them.
Limousines
stop curbside, and from them emerge talent who seem too young
to deserve this much attention.
But
who are we kidding? This is the WB, the network that builds
and thrives on young stars. And it helps that all these
stars act like stars.
"One
more, one more," the photographers shout to Mr. or Miss
New Young Thing. He or she obliges with a fresh smile
and new pose before sauntering down the red carpet another few
feet, where the process is repeated by and for new photographers.
Inside
the restaurant, the crowd is so thick that you wonder what kid
of fire laws are being broken. It's such a mass of people
that it's impossible, if you get a chance to move, not to bump
into someone famously familiar.
Such
was the case with Marc Blucas, who plays Riley Finn, Buffy's
boyfriend on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. We also
had another lucky run-in with Jason Behr, Max on Roswell.
Marc
Blucas
D.O.B.
: 1-11-72 in Girard, Pa.
Dossier:
Played high school basketball, winning two 2A championships
with an average 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
That was enough to win him a scholarship to Wake Forest.
He played ball there while majoring in business. He also
played pro basketball for a team in England for one year.
His
break in acting came in 1995 when his fresh face and basketball
talent caught the attention of the producers of the movie Eddie,
starring Whoopi Goldberg. Basketball also produced jobs
for him on the 1998 movie Pleasantville and the TV movie
The Jim Valvano Story. He's also been in the MTV
series Undressed, HBO's Arli$$ and the NBC miniseries
The '60s.
Q:
So what's up with Buffy this fall?
A:
I was going to ask you the same question. We started filming
last week and all has been good. In the first episode,
Riley gets to do a little fighting, so we're picking up right
where we left off last year. Who could ask for more?
Q:
Buffy's supposed to get a "little sister" this season.
What's up with that?
A:
I don't have any idea. I have this sneaking suspicion
I'm going to be stuck baby-sitting in a few episodes.
Joss (Whedon, executive producer) has a way of making opposites
come together. Unless Spike winds up baby-sitting her,
which I don't think will happen, it will probably be me.
Q:
How does it feel being a regular on a popular series coming
back for your second season?
A:
There's a comfort level that comes with it. Also with
knowing the character, having a season under my belt, knowing
where he's been. Because when you start off, you really
don't know those things. There were so many questions
left for me to answer just because of the nature of the show.
Q:
What else about the first episode can you tell us?
A:
I know what you know, that Buffy gets a little sister and that's
pretty much it. And in the first episode we do get the
opportunity to meet a celebrity.
Q:
A celebrity cameo?
A:
I'm just going to say that we meet a celebrity. For our
world, this is as big as it gets.
Q:
You're tall and Sarah Michelle Gellar's not. But you don't
sense that watching you on TV. How come?
A:
It's a combination of a few things. One, Sarah's used
to it, because David Boreanaz (Angel) and I are about the same
size. And two, I slouch well and she stretches well, so
we know how to cheat it. The time we have a problem is
when we're outdoors doing walk-and-talks, when all of a sudden
she's in a little dip in the grass and I'm on a little mound.
Next thing you know, she's talking to my knee. We just
laugh and go, 'Let's start this again.' BACK
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