Michelle Trachtenberg, actress
TFK talks with the actress about her show, Truth or Scare, and all things spooky After years of battling demons and vampires as Buffy's little sister on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, actress Michelle Trachtenberg is taking kids on a spooky series of adventures. Her mission: To get the real stories behind the ghost stories.

Michelle is hosting her own television show, Truth or Scare, on the Discovery Kids channel. TFK asked Michelle about the show, Buffy, Halloween and whether she really believes in vampires.

TFK: Tell us about Truth or Scare.
Michelle: The show is not meant to frighten kids but meant to teach them about the scary stuff. Everything on the show is completely based in fact and overly-researched. It's all the real deal.

With Truth or Scare we really let you think as you're scared. The imagination can be the most fascinating and scary place a person can experience because anything can happen in your imagination.

TFK: What is the spookiest thing you learned while doing the show?
Michelle: I'd always kind of believed in ghosts but the show kind of showed me exactly that ghosts can and do exist because there are just way too many creepy stories and too many eyewitness spottings. I've also learned the dark is a scary place but once you turn the light on you can get through it.

TFK: What do you like best about Halloween?
Michelle: Being able to really tap into your fantasies and dreams for one night. Every boy who dreams of being a fireman can dress up as a fireman. Every girl who dreams of being a pop singer can be a pop singer.

TFK: What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
Michelle: I had a favorite because it was a pass me down. My sister loved Wonder Woman when I was a kid. Her entire costume was like a sheet of plastic. I was Wonder Woman and that was my favorite Halloween. Maybe I'll be Wonder Woman this year with a slightly more updated costume.

TFK: What was your favorite book as a kid?
Michelle: I loved R.L. Stine's Fear Street. I must have had 100 of his paperbacks stacked up. When Harriet the Spy came out eight years ago, they tracked down RL Stine and he signed a book for me and I still have it.

TFK: Do you believe in demons and vampires?
Michelle: I think there is something out there that goes bump in the night. Not fully saying yes or no kind of allows the unpredictable to happen. Especially around Halloween the unpredictable is what's most exciting.

TFK: You turned 18 on October 11. How did you celebrate?
Michelle: I threw a bowling party.

TFK: What did you like best about playing Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
Michelle: Much like myself, Dawn was very opinionated. The great thing about all the characters on Buffy is that the writers really wrote them to our talents. The characters were each catered to the individual actor.

TFK: What was it like working with Sarah Michele Gellar?
Michelle: Sarah's great. I've known Sarah for like nine years now, much before the show. We were on (the soap opera) All My Children together. She was my sister on the set. She's a true professional and a cool chic.

TFK: Did you ever dream Buffy would have such a huge following?
Michelle: I knew it was something special because there was nothing else like it on TV. I loved the fact that there was a girl that was the lead character who was not a ditz. The writing was fantastic. It really sucked you in. That was the power of Buffy.

TFK: How did you get started in acting?
Michelle: When I was 3 years old, my mom knew of a manager who was seeing kids in New York. She dropped everything and dedicated herself to advancing my career. I did a Whisk detergent commercial where I spilled cranberry juice on my father. I ended up doing over 100 national commercials.

TFK: You worked on a lot of Nickelodeon projects including The Adventures of Pete and Pete and your first big movie, Harriet the Spy. What was that like?
Michelle: It was amazing for your first movie to be a studio movie where you are not just the lead but the title character. When I got it, I was 9 years old. I couldn't have asked for anything better because when you’re a kid you are aware of responsibility but you are not bogged down by it. I was able to go about filming in a very lighthearted manner and have a lot of fun.

TFK: You've been involved in a lot of charity work over the years. Can you tell us about that?
Michelle: I've been very much out there trying to talk about the fact that you can be successful without the use of drugs. I've never used drugs and I don't plan to. What kids don't understand is that when you do drugs you lose control of yourself and to me that is the most frightening thing. Drugs really hold you back.

TFK: You just graduated high school. Any plans to go to college?
Michelle: I've decided to take a year off and focus on my career. I’ll take a year and then I'll be able to go to film school.

TFK: What’s your next project?
Michelle: I'm doing a really funny movie called Off the Mat which is coming out in late February/early March.