[Dario Argento] would yell at you in Italian, and I'd have no idea what he was saying. I'd just go, "Okay!". But it was a really great experience [filming Two Evil Eyes ].
Julie BenzCause at the end of the day, honestly, at the end of the day when you're in your death bed and that's it, I think it's the relationships you've had and the people that you've touched and the people that have touched you that matter.
Julie BenzDarla [from Buffy The Vampire Slayer] was where I grew up. For me, Darla was like going to graduate school for acting. I learned so much with Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They encouraged us to make creative choices with our characters.
Julie BenzI loved working on that show [Defiance]. I mean, that show was brutal. We worked long, brutal hours in really brutal weather.
Julie BenzIt was fun to play that surreal high school life [in Jawbreaker]. I was a huge fan of the movie Heathers. But I think at the time - you know, when the movie was released, it was a very limited release, and it didn't do very well at the box office. And I love the fact that it has found legs and that the audience has kept growing and growing over the years.
Julie BenzI think for me it was a natural transition to move full time into acting rather than figure skating.
Julie BenzI love doing action films that do challenge me physically. I feel it's my job to keep my stamina up and be as physically fit as possible, so that I can just jump in and do it. It takes its toll sometimes and it's hard work, but I love that.
Julie BenzI'm fortunate that I've been an athlete, my whole life, and I work out like a crazy person.
Julie BenzNo one ever asks me about Breeze O'Rourke! I did the pilot for[Payne] right after Jawbreaker, or at least right around the same time, and it was an Americanized version of Fawlty Towers. That was the first time I worked with John Larroquette, and it was definitely not the last time.
Julie BenzI've been an actor for 30 years, so I pretty much know how to do the basics of a fight without hurting anybody.
Julie BenzI didn't really know who [Dario Argento] was at the time. I know him now, obviously. But I went in to be an extra on the movie [Two Evil Eyes], and he saw me sitting out waiting to meet the casting director, and he pulled my mother and I into a separate conference room.
Julie BenzI remember Gale Gordon was in the pilot [of Hi Honey, I'm Home], and it was one of my very first professional gigs without having an adult take me to the job.
Julie BenzAs an actor, it made me realize a really important lesson. I didn't have to put any spin on the ball as Rita [in Dexter]. All I had to do was speak. And there was such simplicity in that as an actor. With Debra, I was trying to put a square peg into a round hole, and it just didn't work, but in my mind, because I had to work so hard on it, I was, like, "Oh, this is acting!" But that's not acting.
Julie BenzI love doing sitcoms and I love performing in front of a live audience, so [Payne] was a really fun experience.
Julie BenzThat's a hard question, because I started skating when I was three, so I don't really remember life before it, and I don't know what it is like not to work hard at something.
Julie BenzOh, well, in Los Angeles everybody is an actor, or a producer, or a writer, or a director, or an agent, or... So everybody understands the hours.
Julie BenzI actually started, this year, doing some voiceovers. I did some radio spots, and some games.
Julie BenzI remember reading an interview that Anthony Hopkins had given about how he developed Hannibal Lecter. He said he just looked in the mirror and, I forget exactly what it was, but he looked in the mirror and realized that when he smiled, it looked creepy.
Julie BenzI have so many people come up to me, 20-some years later, and saying, "I loved you in Jawbreaker!".
Julie BenzI just don't think [Payne] was the right time to do it, maybe. It was timing, not so much that it was executed wrong.
Julie BenzI was sad when the show [Defiance] got canceled. It was heartbreaking for all of us involved. It was definitely a project that everyone involved poured their heart and soul into. But we had three good years, which is, you know, three more years than most shows get.
Julie BenzI'd been doing comedy up that point and hadn't really done a lot of drama, and then all of a sudden he casts me as a 400-year-old vampire from hell. It was, like, "What?!"
Julie BenzYou really have to work hard and apply yourself and by applying yourself and working hard and being diligent, you can achieve success.
Julie BenzWhen I first auditioned for Dexter... Well, I was sent the script, and I read it and loved it, and I knew right away that it was going to be a hit because it's the type of programming that I like to watch. It's that very morally ambiguous thing where you find yourself rooting for someone who's really an awful person, but... is he doing good? You're constantly calling into question your own moral code. I love that as an audience member.
Julie BenzIt's a moment that I will be asked about for the rest of my life as an actor, and I carry that moment with pride, that Rita [in Dexter] had such an impact and that it was such a gut-wrenching moment for audience members.
Julie BenzI was sad the show [Payne] only lasted one season. It was a big undertaking. It'd be fun to revisit, but it'll probably never happen.
Julie BenzI loved everything about that movie [Jawbreaker]. The fashion, the friendship amongst all of us girls... it was great. We had a blast filming it, and it was really wonderful. It was a very special time.
Julie Benz[Dario Argento] speaks very broken English - he's Italian, so I'm going to do a very bad Italian impersonation - but he asked me my name, and I told him, and he goes, "Walk across the room." He looked at me, and he said, "Do you want to be in my movie [Two Evil Eyes]?" I was, like, "Yeah! Yeah, I do!"He goes, "Okay! You play Betty!" And I was, like, "Oh, I'm playing an extra named Betty! Great!" So we walked out, thinking that I was playing an extra named Betty, no lines, just background.
Julie BenzWorking with Dario [Argento] was a lot of fun. He's a larger-than-life character, and with an Italian accent.
Julie BenzI was sent the script [of Havenhurst ], and I was out of town at the time, so I did a site meeting with Andrew [Erin]. It was so bizarre. I was staying in a hotel at the time, and the night before the meeting with Andrew, I learned there was a ghost in the hotel.
Julie BenzThat movie [Jawbreaker] was so much fun to shoot. We were all in our mid-20s at the time, playing high school students. Which was the point. It was the point of the film to hire older actors to play high school students. But we had a blast.
Julie BenzI've had a career where I've bounced around a lot between different genres, and I feel very lucky and very blessed that that's happened to me.
Julie Benz[ Angel series] really taught me that acting is not just about being emotionally challenged. It's about being physically challenged. And I enjoyed both aspects of that.
Julie Benz[Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt] pushed me out of my comfort zone [in Buffy The Vampire Slayer ].
Julie BenzBut I never worked with a northern horse before. They are very different from western horses.
Julie BenzI love the fans of genre. Genre fans are the best fans. They're loyal, they're dedicated, and they're passionate about the projects. They get it on a cerebral level. Being a part of that culture and that world... It's very gratifying and very fulfilling.
Julie Benz