Amber Benson
(From 'SFX' magazine, #106 July 2003)

Tara
As Tara, Amber Benson broke one of US television’s great taboos. Yes, hippies could be heroes…and lesbians, too. And get a load of the above picture! Yowser!

Amber Benson had quite a story arc on Buffy . As Tara, she introduced Willow to lesbianism, sang beautifully in “Once More, With Feeling”, inspired her girlfriend’s recovery from magic addiction and then died an incredibly shocking death (via a silly magic bullet, but we won’t go into that). She was supposed to return as an incarnation of Tara in “Conversations With Dead People”, but that didn’t work out, so that fatal gunshot was the last time we saw her on Buffy .

Amber came to the series finale party to celebrate with the rest of the cast, and, all dolled up, she looked like Tara’s elegant twin sister. Remember, Tara was kind of a hippy, and though cute, never wore the sort of sexy gown she’s wearing in the photo above…

Were you disappointed it didn’t work out for you to come back (there were negotiational difficulties for the actress)?
“Yeah, but you know, things work out the way they’re supposed to. And now Willow has a really hot girl as her new love interest, so…”

What do you think of Willow’s new girlfriend?
“Oh, Kennedy’s a cutie and she’s really nice, the girl that portrays her. She’s a sweetheart. I met her a couple of times.”

How do you feel about your ultimate arc on the show – dying just as Tara and Willow were happy again?
“I thought it was really an excellent arc. It was depressing and it was sad but it needed to be done. We were talking about addiction and you kind of have to hit bottom and lose everything before you can pull yourself back up.”

What do you think of the show ending?
“I think it’s sad. It was seven really good years and I don’t think it was a bad show.”

Is this party a celebration or a mourning? “Someone asked me if it was a wake. I think it’s a wake. There’s gonna be a lot of bloodletting going on in the party.”

Do you think Buffy is ending at the right time, or do you feel it could have lasted a while longer?
“I don’t know if it’s the right time or not, but it hit its peak and it could go on, but it didn’t have to. It would’ve been nice if it did. It ended on a good note. And Angel – I hope – will go on too.”

What are your next projects?
“I just did a film called Latter Days and I co-wrote an animated show for the BBC called The Ghosts of Albion .”

That’s online?
“Yeah, www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts.”

What about Chance , the film you wrote and directed featuring James Marsters and Andy Hallett?
“We’re looking for a distributor now.”