Everything You've Heard is True...

From Cult Times Special #17 - by Michael Gardener - March/April 2001

For the last 14 years Buffy has had a baby sister. And whatever the Slayer's up to - looking for some mystical, all powerful Key, or whatever - it has nothing to do with Dawn. Or does it? We ask Michelle Trachtenberg, the latest addition to the Summers household...

The Cult Times office fell silent. It was shortly after the premiere of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's fifth season had aired in the US, a review had arrived on the editor's desk and the final paragraph had been read out loud to the magazine's Buffy-obsessed employees. 'What is unforgivable,' it opined, 'is the flagrant disregard for continuity. Buffy has always been an only child. This episode, however, introduces her younger sister.'

Dawn. Somebody hadn't been reading the news pages, let alone understanding what kind of series Buffy has been for the past four years. The surprise introduction of Michelle Trachtenberg as the sister Buffy never had was completely in keeping with the series' challenging approach to reality. Cynics might even say that we have seen it all before. Had the writers not remembered that Sunnydale High School's Jonathan was a nobody when they wrote the fourth season's Superstar?

Crucially, however, such oddball tactics introduced an element of intrigue in to a series which some argued had lost its was somewhat in Season Four. When we caught up with Trachtenberg at a recent press conference, we were eager to know what guidance she had in creating the girls from nowhere. Where do you start?

"Yeah," laughs the effusive young actress, "the first creative meeting it was like, 'So, you're the key to the survival of Manking, but you're still a teenager'. It was like, '...OK! That's helpful, thank you!'"

Since her first proper episode, Real Me, the character has thrown in a few hints that she has hidden depths. Regrettably this has fallen short of a sly wink to camera, but even so she must have had at least a vague idea of where it was all heading. "A lot of the details were kind of sketchy back then," she reveals, "but now we know a lot more. She is the key to the portal and blah-de-blah - Buffy's new mission.

"Dawn only knows that she has, for 14 years of her life, been Buffy's sister. She knows all this... she know that if she borrows Buffy's leather pants she will die. Everyone's mind has been tweaked. For all intents and purposes she is Buffy's sister and she's human and she's flesh and bone so, 'I'm Dawn, hear me roar' i guess huh?"

A formidable roar that, in no doubt competitive auditions, got Trachtenberg the role.

"I had heard about it through my agents," she explain. "I had known Sarah [Michelle Gellar, Buffy] for a while. I've known her since All My Children for about seven or so years. And so I went to read with Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon and a couple of the other producers..." She flashes a cheeky smile, "I guess they loved what I did!"

Blending in with a team of regulars that have been working closely for four long years, however, is a daunting prospect.

"It is a bit nerve-racking," Trachtenberg agrees, "but everyone accepted me with open arms into the Buffy family. I love it! I have fun with the cast members, we have a great time. We can never get enough of seeing each other. We always have something new to talk about. So it's great. We laugh, we cry, we do the whole thing!"

The welcome seems particularly warm from a subset of that family - the Summerses. Having already worked with Gellar, Trachtenberg was delighted to renew the acquaintance.

"She's like my big sister on set. I have a big sister myself, but she's just wonderful. She's beautiful inside, as well as on the outside, and that's the most important thing. She's such a professional. And Kristine Sutherland, who plays Joyce [Dawn and Buffy's Mum], she's the sweetest, kindest, most fun woman!"

Tragically, nasty things can happen to the least deserving of peopl. Early episodes this year see the Slayer's Mum fall desperately ill. Could little Dawn end up an orphan so soon after her arrival?

"I cannot confirm or deny anything," she laughs. "You will not get anything out of me."

Frankly, this is disappointing. At the time of going to press, broadcasts of Buffy on both sides of the Atlantic have unveiled the vampish, seemingly unbeatable Glory, and we've yet to be let in on exactly what Dawn's part is in her plans. Trachtenberg won't be drawn.

"You've got to expect that Dawn will realize something's up," she says. "There'll be a couple of episodes coming up and one that will be airing in Febrary [in the US] that's actually quite interesting. I can't tell you much about it now, but you'll have to tune in. It's worth it. I'm under lock and key," she quips. "I can't say anything. I will surprise you."

OK, so however we hard we try, we're not going to get illict photocopies of the scripts through to the end of the season. What, in that case, are the possibilities? Where would Trachtenberg go if she was put in charge?

"I have a lot of respect for Joss Whedon. Who's The Creator... " Yes, but how about if Dawn turned out to be the ultimate secret to life, the universe and everything? "...He has an imagination that surpasses anyone that I have ever known..." Granted. But perhaps she could be some fantastic weapon. Perhaps Glory wants her to blow up the Earth! "...He is not only funny and smart but he is just so incredibly creative." Or a red herring? Maybe Spike's really the Key and he's going to win the Buffster's heart when we least expect it. "...I have full confidence in Joss. Whatever he has in store for my character I will act out proudly."

Oh, all right. Fair enough. Perhaps, since Dawn is obviously so important, she'll get her own series.

"You surely never know with Joss, but I'm really happy where I am and I'm having a lot of fun."

As the series progresses, we're seeing Dawn's involement increasing, and she certainly seems to have what it takes. "I have helped out in the fighting a little but here and there," she concedes, scoffing at the idea that her part warranted some special training. "I kind of learn it as we go along! I've taken tae kwon do in the past and I'm called to use some of it. You never know, maybe in the future..."

As far as these things go, however, it seems likely that Dawn's role is going to be more complex than just joining in the slaying duties. And much more than just the result of a sloppy attitude towards continuity. Are we ever going to make sense of it all?

"I do yoga," she smiles. "That's very centering!"