Meet Buffy's Little Sister by Alissa MacMillan

From New York Daily News - May 7th, 2001

Michelle Trachtenberg got her Screen Actors Guild card four days after her 4th birthday.

By the time she was 10, she had been in more than 100 commercials and had a part in the daytime soap "All My Children."

Now, at 15, and with the perspective of an old hand, Michelle is settling into her role as Dawn Summers, Buffy's kid sister and the "key" to the future of the universe, in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (tomorrow, 8 p.m.), now in its last few episodes on the WB before it moves to UPN in the fall.

"I'm a huge fan of the show, even before I was on," said Michelle.

A fan, yes, but also maybe fated for the role. Having known Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays Buffy, from their days together on "All My Children," Michelle dropped by the set for lunch during filming of the last episode of season four.

During that taping, a character tells Buffy, as she heads out of town, "Be back before Dawn." Viewers certainly thought — Michelle included — that she was talking about the sunrise. But in fact, she was referring to the yet-to-be-cast character of Dawn, a role Michelle got a few months later.

She now has a mentor in show producer Joss Whedon, a second sister in Gellar (she has a real sister at home) and a spirited attitude about acting.

"I love to be in front of the camera and I love to make people cry — is that a horrible thing?" she said.

And "Buffy" has been challenging, especially the episode in which Buffy and Dawn's mother died.

The talkative teen is looking forward to a long career in entertainment, but her first stop is education. Just inducted to the National Honor Society in California, Michelle, who's a sophomore, is thinking about college.

"I'm really intrigued by Yale. Not only do I greatly admire Jodie Foster, who also went to Yale and is a wonderful role model for all women in film and just girls in general, but education is very important to me."

Her latest love is all things Harry Potter. She realizes she's getting a bit on in years to play one of the characters — "In the fourth book, they'll be 14 or 15, and by that time I'll be like 18," she said.

"You never know. In the future, hey, I can be directing the last Harry Potter movies," she added. "I'll be like, 'Wave your wand a little higher.'