Julie Benz is no stranger to good television. Not too long ago she played a memorable role on Showtime’s Dexter, and before that she took what initially seemed to be a small role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and expanded it into something great on the Buffy spin-off Angel. Me, I remember her as “Babs Nielsen” on Hi Honey I’m Home, but there are probably not a lot of people who remember that.
KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne was fortunate enough to get the chance to participate in roundtable discussions with the cast and producers of ABC’s upcoming family super-hero drama No Ordinary Family at the Comic-Con International in San Diego. The interview follows, and at interview’s end, you can see the trailer for this highly-anticipated series.
Please do not duplicate this interview onto other websites. Instead, just link to KSiteTV! Thanks! Questions are in bold; answers are not.
What was it that attracted you to the role of Stephanie Powell on No Ordinary Family?
For me, I wanted to find a character that was the exact opposite of Rita [from Dexter], and I got lucky when I found Stephanie. She really is the exact opposite. She’s a much more active character. She’s a very career-oriented Type A personality. I was an athlete growing up and I love to be physically challenged, and having done quite a few action films, I love being challenged that way on set, and doing all that kind of adrenaline-rush stuff. I hope I get to do more of it on our show.
There was absolutely no hesitation. I feel so damn lucky. [laughs] Someone asked me if I had thought about taking a break, and I’m like “I don’t think actors think about taking breaks,” because self-imposed breaks are put on you. When works come in, you take work, and I’m a full believer of when work is flowing, you take it. You don’t go “I’m going to take a break,” because trust me, in five years, somebody will be telling me to take a break. So, no. I love working in television. I love doing films too, but I really love working in television. I love the family that’s created on a long-running show. I love working with the same crew. I love knowing I’m going to work every day. It’s a way of having security in a world that very little security exists as an actor, and I love that. And I love that you’re going into peoples’ homes on a regular basis. They’re letting you into their house through the television, and it is a whole different experience, and I love being a part of that creation.
What kind of genre or category does No Ordinary Family fall into?
Well, I think what you see first in the show is the family drama that exists in families naturally, and then all of the sudden they have these super-abilities put on them. I describe the show as The Incredibles meets Heroes with some Brothers & Sisters thrown into it, and it really is that. The base of the show is very much like Brothers & Sisters, which is very much a family drama, and then the super powers are put on top of that. I think we’ve all wanted to have a super-ability at some point or another. We all fantasize about being able to have super-speed, or super-strength, or being able to read minds. I’d like to read all of your minds right now.
How much of your character’s backstory have you been clued in on?
Absolutely nothing, because I’ll tell. [laughs]
What have you figured out for yourself?
I think Stephanie’s such a well-written character that it was just really easy for me to step in and bring her to life. I don’t know, but sometimes when it’s the right marriage of actor and character that just happens. And then working with Michael [Chiklis] – we just have a great chemistry together. There’s a natural rapport that we have on set. I met him ten years ago socially, so I think that helped, too.
Was this your first time working with him?
This was my first time working with him, yes. But my ex-husband had done a movie with him a couple of years ago, and I met him then.
Could you tell about the actors that make up Stephanie’s family?
Yes. Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett, they play our kids, and they’re wonderful kids. Kay’s been around forever, and so has Jimmy. They’ve done more work than all of us put together. They’re really, extremely talented. I’m almost blown away by Kay, and her work, there’s a rawness to it. There’s nothing forced that comes out of her.
You’ve done some really dark series, like Angel and Dexter. What’s it like to lighten up this time with this show?
It’s fun. I got my start in comedy 20 years ago, and I really thought that’s all I was going to do, was comedy, and then my life changed when I took on playing Darla on Buffy and Angel, and then I get thought of as a dramatic actress, and it changed even more because of Rita. So for me to kind of go back to my roots and do something lighter… it’s really a hybrid show, because there is a sense of drama on the show, but then there’s also obvious comedy that comes out of it. It’s, for me, just a perfect marriage of genres, and a perfect time of my life where I really tackle all of it. I’m ready to explore of a lighter side. I don’t feel I need to be all tortured anymore.
Right after Dexter you had a role on Desperate Housewives. Can you talk about that?
Oh, that was a wonderful bridge. Playing Robin was just a gift. I got offered the role the day after the Dexter finale aired, and I couldn’t believe it. I was like “Really?” I had been such a fan of the show for so long, and to finally be on Wisteria Lane and play a lesbian stripper at my age? I mean, I was like “Okay! Sure!” And to go on and then play a character that wasn’t going in to wreck someone’s marriage, or wasn’t going in to steal someone’s husband… I went in and fell in love with one of the women on the show, and that hadn’t been done before. It was really cool, and it’s also how I met with ABC, and how all of this kind of came about. It just was very serendipitous how it all happened. I mean, if you told me when I was going to take a bloodbath and my job ended, that I’d end up here, I would have told you you were all high.
In the pilot, your characters tell your best friends about your superpowers. Usually in the comics when that happens, those people are in danger. So why should they tell them?
I think for dramatic effect, that they need to know. Michael told his best friend; I told my assistant, as someone who has a scientific brain, who could help me research because I can’t do the research on my own. So, Katie’s there to help me figure out what’s going on, and Autumn Reeser is fantastic in the role.
No Ordinary Family premieres Tuesday, September 28 on ABC. You can read more information about the show here on KSiteTV! Thanks to Julie Benz for taking the time to participate in this roundtable discussion!
