Seth Green Overachieves As The Underdog
There are a lot of reasons why you might want to watch Sexy Evil Genius -- which is basically the nexus of all things cult-y thanks to stars Seth Green, Michelle Trachtenberg, Katee Sackhoff, Anthony Michael Hall and Harold Perrineau. And while the noir-ish drama fully capitalizes on those actors' appeal, the real reason to check out Sexy Evil Genius is because it's a damn fine thriller.
Sackhoff plays Nikki, the titular character, who is late to a gathering of all her exes (Green, Trachtenberg, Perrineau), giving them ample time to reminisce about the immense highs and serious lows of dating the wild child. But secrets abound in this constantly peeling cinematic onion, resulting in a dynamic denouement I didn't see coming. ETonline caught up with Seth Green to talk about this exciting indie, his sorta Buffy reunion with Trachtenberg and calling his wife before love scenes.
ETonline: What appealed to you about this script?
Seth Green: The script was really great and it reminded me of old Hitchcock films, like Rope -- those strange and twisty human stories that take place in a single time period and are constantly unfolding. Plus, it came to me through Katee Sackhoff, so I read Nikki with her in mind. Imagining her in that part is what convinced me the most.
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ETonline: All the characters talk about how they met Nikki; do you remember how you met Katee?
Green: I'm not sure ... I know she was an actress I liked from Battlestar [Galactica], and we kind of crossed in all the same circles so before I knew it, we were friends. She called me when she was developing this movie and I knew, as an actress, she was good, but kind of unchallenged. I was so confident she could play this part well.
ETonline: What about your role? What did you like about playing Zachary?
Green: I like playing underdogs. I'm always interested in characters you wouldn't have an opinion of, and trying to find human qualities to make them sympathetic. This was a guy who had all his best moments in high school, and, like so many people has been systematically defeated by life, so he's accepted the idea that he doesn't have a say in the trajectory of his future. This guy needed a wake-up call and I thought it was such a fun place to start.
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ETonline: What is it about underdogs that you like playing?
Green: As an actor, my favorite thing is that puzzle. Figuring out how someone is a human being and not just what they're meant to serve within the world of that story. That's always more interesting to me than just playing something that's mathematically funny, or being able to dissect a character from beat to beat.
ETonline: A lot of people have been looking forward to this movie because it stars two Buffy alums -- but, correct me if I'm wrong, you and Michelle never shared a scene, right?
Green: Right. I was already gone when she came on. I came back for an episode but we didn't crisscross.
ETonline: But did you meet through the show?
Green: I was doing commentary for something in the fourth season, and I met her then. She's a terrific actress, and, again, underutilized and widely misunderstood. I've known her for a really long time, so this was a great opportunity to get to play together.
ETonline: Given your history, is it strange to be making out with her?
Green: [laughs] So strange. So funny. Both Katee and Michelle have been friends with my wife for several years. They're all kind of foul-mouthed and innuendo-based, so they all play around and make incredibly provocative jokes with eachother. The night Katee and I had to do one of our big make out scenes, she was really nervous because she was worried about what my wife would think, so we called her [laughs]. So Katee and I are in bed on set and having a conversation with Claire, who told us, "Make it sexy."
ETonline: That might be the first time talking to the guy's wife made the woman more excited.
Green: [laughs] Well, both of those girls are hot for my wife, so it's all good. But with Michelle, who I've known for so long in this sibling kind of way, it took us a minute to really into it to make it look real. So we laughed a lot.
ETonline: Does it surprise you that, all these years later, people get excited that you and Michelle are co-starring in a movie, despite the fact you never actually worked together on Buffy?
Green: No. It speaks to how indelible the story and characters Joss Whedon created remain. People had such a personal connection to them, so the fact anyone would have an emotional response to the idea of us making out is amazing.
Sexy Evil Genius hits DVD on April 9, click here to pre-order!
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