Interview parue dans le numéro 145 (novembre 2001) du magazine britannique TV Zone. Spoilers sur la saison 2 + spoiler mineur sur la saison 3.
As vampire hunter Gunn, J August Richards has found himself a new home with Angel Investigations. J reveals all about old friends and new...
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THIS SUMMER, J AUGUST RICHARDS lived out of a suitcase. The actor, who co-stars on the WB series as Charles Gunn, travelled to Vancouver to shoot the TV movie Ground Zero with Roswell's Katharine Heigl. Then he headed off to London and Scotland for convention appearances alongside co-stars Andy Hallett, Christian Kane and Amber Benson and Buffy The Vampire Slayer's James Marsters and George Hertzberg. Richards also made time for visits to Houston, Texas, where his girlfriend, actress Tangi Miller, was shooting a movie, as well as to Las Vegas, New York City, Bora Bora and Tahiti. But from all that travelling, Richards was still recognized in some of the most remote places imaginable.
"A small city outside of another small city in England," Richards says, laughing. "It was so small. They had rented us a limo to drive us to Scotland. In the middle of the night we got really hungry and we decided to stop. We got out of the limo and these two English girls were walking by. They go, 'Ugh, that's real classy, getting out of a limo and going to the chip shop,' because we were going to a little fish and chips shop. Then this other guy .gave us the finger. It was some small working-class town and they were just pissed off that we were in a limo, basically. So we got into the fish and chips shop and the ladies were like, 'Oh, these arrogant Americans. Screw them.' I said, 'Can I have a chicken sandwich?' and the lady was like, We are out of those.' So I said, Well, can I have a fish sandwich?' She was like, We are out of those.' Then one of the ladies in the back said, 'Oh my God, you're Gunn.' I was like, 'Yeah.' She said, 'Oh my God, he's on Angel, ba-ba-bah...' And suddenly the fish sandwich and the chicken sandwich magically appeared."
Of course, nobody, not even a vampire, would turn down Gunn's request for anything, lest they risk getting on the wrong side of the newest member of Angel Investigations. Gunn was introduced late in Angel's first season, in the episode War Zone, and was christened a regular on the show effective with the opening credits of Season Two's first hour, Judgement. When he first appeared, Gunn was described as an activist, an intense and street-smart gang leader who evolved into a vampire hunter to be reckoned with. He maintained the respect of his street crew and, after killing his own sister (Michele Kelly as Alonna) in order to save her soul after she turned into a vampire, he won over the not easily impressed Angel (David Boreanaz), Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and Wesley (Alexis Denisof). Over the course of Season Two, Gunn spent a lot of time working with Cordelia and Wesley, as they launched their own investigation outfit after Angel took his long trip to the dark side.
So, who is Gunn now that the adventures in Pylea are complete and the series is back for its third season?
"You know what's so funny?" Richards asks. "That is the question that is asked right away in Season Three. That question you just asked me is asked on the show in our second episode. Some things have to be defined and a lot of things are defined in a way that you may not expect them to be, as far as my character goes. For me, he's still that activist, but he's definitely a militant vampire hunter. You can never forget and he can never forget that Angel is a vampire. When you get down to it, Angel is a vampire. There's a conflict in that and there probably always will be."
RICHARDS POINTS TO SEVERAL PIVOTAL MOMENTS that have helped to make Gunn the character he's evolved into after nearly two seasons in the company of Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and various members of the living and the undead. "War Zone was the origin, if you will," he notes. "We like to use comic book terms over there sometimes. Gunn had to kill his sister and I think that was the most defining moment because that showed his commitment. That showed how far he would go to fight for a cause that he believed in. So that was definitely a defining moment. Another defining moment for me was at the end of the episode called The Thin Dead Line, where Wesley and Gunn's friendship was solidified. When we started the show, we assumed that my character and the Wesley character would lock horns a lot. It was written that way in the beginning, but it turned out that Alexis and I just vibed out so much that our friendship began to show on camera. So they solidified the relationship between the characters with that episode. And another pivotal moment was the episode in which I make the choice to be with Angel Investigations instead of my gang. I say, 'These people from Angel Investigations are a part of my family, too. They may not be homeless and they may not need me as much, but they are still people that I consider family.' And that's what the character is all about. He's all about family and protecting the people he loves." As for pivotal moments still to be played out, Richards can rattle off a few. "I want to have a new nemesis," he begins. "I'd like a new nemesis that is powerful. I'd like to sing in the karaoke bar. And I would like to see what's new for the character, what new battles he's going to undertake now that he's decided just to be with Angel Investigations. That's what I'd like to see."
Richards is an African-American actor on a show with a cast that's predominantly white and a writing staff that's entirely white. The actor stresses that that is a non-issue. In fact, he explains, he rarely, if ever, finds himself having to 'pow-wow' with the show's writers to discuss what an African-American might say, and how he might say it, in a given situation. "Sometimes I find that to be a copout, trying to change the lines," he says. "I come from the theatre, where you can't change a word. So I will often try to make things work. Nine times out of ten it's all great and I love the fact that they don't over-slang me, don't put all this slang in there for me to say. But every now and again, if I feel like I have to change something, I just don't say anything about it. I wait for the camera to roll and I just say it (his way) and I hope that they don't correct me."
Truth be told, Richards is having way too good a time to let anything bother him. He likes his role and his co-stars. He welcomes the third-season addition of Amy Acker, who will play Fred on a full-time basis as a series regular. And he thinks that Angel, now that it's no longer inextricably linked to Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which jumped networks to UPN, will more than stand on its own and could even put a stake in the heart of its competition. "I'm ready for more," he says. "I hope Angel goes as long as we can."
Angel has inherited no less than three former Buffy regulars since its inception and with the only 'new' character, Doyle, bumped off before the end of Season One, the door was open for street gang leader and mercenary vampire hunter Charles Gunn. Despite good intentions, his angry attitude initially left Angel sceptical. It was only when Gunn demonstrated his cast iron dedication to the cause by staking his own newly-vamped sister that Angel and co let him into their 'family'. Since then Gunn has never looked back and aided by his friendship with ex-watcher Wesley he has become a valued member of Angel Investigations. In the upcoming Season Three episode That Old Gang af Mine, Gunn is confronted with his old gang and must deal with their new but twisted agenda.