| James Marsters is seated on the sun-dappled patio of a
health-food restaurant in Los Angeles--not exactly the kind of place you'd expect Spike,
the blood-sucking demon he plays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to hang out. "My
girlfriend introduced me to this place," says Marsters, who has been dating actress
Liz Stauber ("Three Kings") for the past three years. "She's a vegan." But
don't be fooled. Marsters, 28, has plenty in common with his TV alter ego, including a
penchant for danger ("I'm a guy--we like to hit stuff and get scraped up and say,
'Honey, look at this big scratch I got'") and women's necks. "There's a line
that goes down the side of a woman's neck that I just love," he says. "And I
love the hair on the nape of the neck, where the tender part meets the very hard part of
the skull." Gulp.
While it's true that Marsters has a bad-boy bent, he also has a gentle side. The
son of a Methodist minister and a social worker, Marsters grew up in Modesto, California
(he has two older siblings, Paul and Susan). He landed his first acting gig in the fourth
grade--playing Eeyore in his school's production of "Winnie the Pooh." As a teen
he joined a community theater group, where he performed in such musicals as "Bye Bye
Birdie." "I played Hugo Peabody," says Marsters, "the guy who's not
the cool guy."
These days, Marsters gets to play the cool guy every week on Buffy. The
most delicious demon this side of Transylvania, Spike thrills us with his passion for
bloodletting and his ability to fire off killer lines. And, of course, the English accent
and bottle-blond 'do don't hurt a bit.
Why do you think Spike is a bad boy we love?
I think basically people would like to be freed from the bonds of society the way Spike
is. Spike gets what he wants, when he wants it. I think having a lifestyle that's that
free is cool to people.
Was there a time in your life when you were like Spike, getting into trouble?
Yeah. What I tell people is that I'm better now. I think every young guy goes through a
period where they seek that out. I never hurt anybody who didn't know what they were
getting into.
Would your girlfriend tolerate Spike's behavior?
If you can kiss really well I find that women tolerate a lot of different kinds of
behavior. As long as a girl knows that she is the center of your universe, you can act out
a lot. To tell you the truth, I kind of got all my stuff straight before I met my girl, so
thankfully I don't have to put her through too much.
Do you think the fact that Spike is a vampire adds to his appeal?
A vampire takes everything when they take a girl, and there's something inherently sexual
about that.
What advice do you give to women with bad-boy addictions?
There's something to be gained with that fire, but prepare to be burned. |