Dark Side of a Good Friend
By Virginia Rohan
Once in a while, it's fun to be a bad girl. Just ask Alyson Hannigan, who ventures to the dark side on tonight's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Hannigan's shy, wallflower character,Willow Rosenberg, isabout the most loyal, sensitive, andintelligent friend, confidante, and computer whiz that Buffy, or anyother harried high-schooler, could everwant. So imagine the shock inSunnydale when a spell unleashes a second Willow-- an evil, blood-sucking doppelganger.
"Obviously, Buffy and the whole gang has to figure out what to do about this new evil Willow wreaking havoc on the town," Hannigan says.
Making the episode was a "blast," though difficult, she says, because she had to interact with herself. Thanks to special effects, the two Willows at times appear to be facing off.
"I spent a whole day, just me acting by myselfin front of a green screen," she says. "I would do both sides of the scene -- the good Willow first, then goswitch into the bad Willow -- and they had a stand-in, who would be there for over-the-shoulder shots."
Naturally, the evil Willow bares her fangs a few times.
"The makeup was actually pretty much the key to the character," Hannigan says. "I always had to check the lipstick and nail polish to remember who I was playing.
"It was difficult to memorize the whole scene. But once I actually went through the transformation with the makeup and wardrobe, I said, 'Oh, yeah, I remember evil Willow.'"
As Hannigan well knows from her fan mail, Willow's great appeal is her good, old-fashioned Everygirl quality.
"She's just a character that everybody knows or knew. People can relate to her," Hannigan says."If they aren't very Willow themselves, then their best friend is, or they knew somebody growing up who was like her.
"You've always got the [gorgeous, popular] Cordelia in school, and I think, to a degree, everybody would love to be a Buffy, with superhero powers," she says. "Willow is the only reality-based character. She really is what a lot of high-schoolers are like, with that awkwardness and shyness, and all those adolescent feelings."
Hannigan, 24, didn't particularly enjoy that period of her own life -- at North Hollywood High School.
"It was not the safest school, with gang violence, and all that goes along with today'sschool, and I never felt safe," she says.
Then, there were the confusing signals from her parents and teachers.
"High school is all about, 'OK, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?'" Hannigan says.
"You are very much in an adult world. Basically, I had everybody telling me I had to become an adult,and I had this huge sense of being a kid inside me that I thought had to die. I liked to watch cartoons and play with toys. I was trying to quelch that, and I couldn't.
"I hated high school, but now, I get to relive it in a fun way."
Hannigan is not quite sure what "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon has in mind for Willow and the significant males in her life -- the cherished Xander (Nicholas Brendon)-- whom Willow, in one episode, finally kissed (the repercussions continue) -- and her boyfriend Oz (SethGreen), who has one majordrawback: He turns into a werewolf every full moon.
"To a degree, Willow's always going to love Xander. She grew up always loving Xander," Hannigan says. "But they did their little smoochfest, and figured out that that wasn't where they should be. And Oz was the first person to actually take interest in her. You gotta give him credit for that."
So why has Oz been absent from recent "Buffy" episodes?
"No underlying dark forces are keeping Oz away," Hannigan says, with a laugh. "Seth was shooting 'Austin Powers 2.'"
Hannigan and Green both appeared in the 1988 film "My Stepmother Is an Alien," in which she played Dan Aykroyd's misunderstood daughter. Like Green, Hannigan also worked on a movie whilemaking "Buffy" this season: "American Pie," which is due out Memorial Day weekend.
"Basically, it's a teenage sex comedy, and it's hilarious," Hannigan says. "My character is the super band geek. All she does is talk about bands."
This season, "Buffy" made the year-end best lists of many critics, who praise the show's writing, acting, style, and symbolism. As many see it, the vampire battles represent the struggle of angst-ridden adolescents with inner demons.
But the show's appeal goes well beyond high school -- as Hannigan can attest.
"I get little kids coming up to me, and I also get older couples that I would have no idea would tune into anything on theWB, let alone 'Buffy theVampire Slayer,'" she says.
Hannigan believes that, like the show, Willow has a bright future ahead.
"She's gonna shine way after high school, later in life," Hannigan says. "Luckily, she's got Buffy now. She's shining more than she would have if Buffy hadn't come to Sunnydale."
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