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Press - 2000
Under Michelle's spell (TV actress Michelle
Trachtenberg)(Interview)
Girls' Life, Dec, 2000, by Kelly White
There's a strong now force in Sunnydale. Buffy has a sister, and she's
slayed (opps, sorry) ...played by 15-year-old Michelle Trachtenberg,
Michelle has come a long way since her Harriet the Spy Inspector Gadget
days.
Wow, a lot has changed since we last talked to you, like four years ago!
Right. I was Harriet the Spy back then! I was just 11. Now I am 15.
You told us you spy on your neighbors. Do you still do that?
No. I don't spy from the roof anymore.
Tell us about your new gig on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You play Buffy's
sister Dawn.
Dawn is just your average teenage girl. She has her worries and her
thoughts that she always writes down in her journal. Buffy and I have our
little sisterly tiffs. We argue over who can borrow whose clothing and
that whole thing. But, deep down, Dawn has a great respect for Buffy. So
that's my character in a nutshell.
Did Buffy always have a sister? Not that Dawn isn't great, but she seems
to have just sort of popped up out of nowhere.
That's what a lot of people have been saying. But if viewers had paid
really close attention, they'd see that my character has been showing up
all over for the past three years. But there is a whole lot of mystery
surrounding Dawn. I definitely raise a couple of eyebrows in Sunnydale. In
episode five, it was revealed that Dawn is a key
You're a key? That does sound mysterious.
A key to the world. Dawn is a kind of a force. She hasn't always been
Buffy's sister, but she is now. I can't tell you all the juicy little
details, but let's just say I have been around in the past and I know
what's going on.
This isn't the first time you and Sarah Michelle Gellar have worked
together.
We were both on the ABC daytime soap All My Children several years ago.
Sarah played Kendall Hart Lang, the daughter of Erica Kane, who is like
the lead character.
Did you play sisters then, too?
Well, in a soap opera, everyone s related somehow. Every character has
been married to every other character, and everyone is a step or half
relation to another character. I played Lily Montgomery, an autistic girl.
My mom went through a couple of divorces and marriages, and I had a whole
bunch of stepfathers and fathers. So I'm very proud to say I had five last
names. Kendall's stepfather was my mother's husband's brother--or
something like that.
And you and Sarah remained close?
We stayed very close through the years. A couple weeks before I got the
call for Buffy, Sarah said, "Hey, come by the set, and see how it works. I
know you've always loved the show--come and visit." I'd always been a big
fan of the show, but I had absolutely no idea they were casting for Dawn.
When I came to visit, I met with Joss Whedon, who created the show. I kind
of saw how it worked behind the scenes. Then, later on, I got the call. It
was an exciting process.
Do you and Sarah hang out and do stuff together, like go to the mall?
Sarah's actually been all about teaching me how to bowl. That's our new
hobby--bowling. It's fun. Sarah has her own ball, and she's convincing me
to get my own, too. It's fun!
And Sarah's hottie boyfriend Freddie Prinze Jr. comes along?
Yeah. He's just the sweetest thing. He's absolutely adorable. And he's a
good bowler. He tries to give me tips. It just doesn't help.
Do you have a boyfriend?
I don't, actually. No, no boyfriends here.
We hear Sarah does a lot other own stunts on Buffy, and you did stunts in
Harriet the Spy. Will you try to do your own on Buffy, too?
I've always loved to do my own stunts. I don't know why--it's just kind of
fun to actually be in on the action. And the episode we're filming now has
a lot of stunt work in it. I hope to be doing it myself. Sometimes the
action just gets too intense, and they insist on using stunt people--for
everyone's safety. But sometimes they'll let us do it ourselves, so that's
really fun.
The other day, I saw a Buffy the Vampire Slayer jigsaw puzzle with Sarah's
picture plastered on the front of the box. How would you feel about being
a puzzle piece?
That could be interesting. I've been a Jeopardy question. The category was
"Famous Michelles," and I was the $1,000 question: "Who played Harriet the
Spy?"
Were you watching it?
My friend told me about it. He's Mr. Jeopardy. He was like, "Michelle,
you're never going to believe this!" And I was like, "I hope you answered
the question right."
You said your character likes to write in her journal. I know you do a lot
of journal writing. Is that a trait the writers pulled from you?
Before we started the show, we had a meeting and they asked me what I like
to do. As it turned out, they picked up some stuff from me for Dawn. I
keep a journal and, obviously, so does Dawn. It's something I think is
really important because, well, I'm very lucky to have a supportive
family, but I think it's a good thing to be able to randomly write a whole
bunch of opinions that maybe you can't say out loud.
Some journals have places to fill in your favorites. You're probably one
of the few journal writers with a favorite commercial! The Cream of Wheat
commercial I did was probably the worst!
And now you hate to eat Cream of Wheat!
Yes! Ugh! After that commercial, I vowed I would never eat Cream of Wheat
again. My mom eats it and so does my sister. I just can't eat Cream of
Wheat.
Ever do commercials for food you like?
I did a macaroni and cheese commercial. I'm fine with macaroni and cheese.
Four years ago, you were working on a book titled Death Penalty. Did you
ever finish it?
I haven't finished it yet! Obviously I've written many more chapters. It's
been a long journey. As I've gotten older, I have different opinions. I
have a more advanced vocabulary. I can go back and really express a
certain thought that I wrote in the sidelines with so much more depth to
it. I'm constantly making rewrites. Usually I'm not one for the
rewrites--the finished product is the finished product. But I really think
that eventually it will be done.
That's some real stick-to-itiveness! If you were to turn your book into a
movie, would you want to play the lead?
It'd be fun to play a part in my own movie. I don't know if I would
necessarily play the lead. It's interesting enough to see a movie you
worked so hard on. That's accomplishment enough. Just to be a little part
of it is fun.
You are also very involved in a lot of anti-drug organizations, aren't
you?
It's very important to be involved in charities. I try to do whatever I
can do to help better our world. I think it's really horrible for people
to do drugs. You can succeed without doing drugs. You can succeed if you
believe in what you are doing. I've spoken at the National Coalition for a
Drug Free America with President Clinton about trying to rinse away all
the horrible influences. It's a cause I really believe in.
Have you ever had any personal experiences with friends getting wrapped up
in drugs?
I never would surround myself with anyone doing drugs. I think that's one
of the most disgusting habits, next to smoking.
Whatcha doing for the holidays?
I'm spending the holidays at home with my family. We celebrate Christmas
and Hanukkah. I've got the best of both worlds. Big ol' meal, big ol' tree
and a pretty menorah on the mantle. Nothing out of the ordinary.
We think that's pretty special!
Michelle Trachtenberg Interview - 1997
From snooping around as Harriet the Spy to hiding the fact that her
nanny's an alien on CBS' new television show Meego (Debuting September 26,
1997 the series will broadcast on Fridays, 8:30-9:00pm, Pt),
eleven-year-old actress Michelle Trachtenberg brings boundless enthusiasm
to everything she does - which now includes screenwriting.
"I'm writing a movie," she declared. "I may have to write it like a book
first, then do it over as a screenplay, but I definitely want it to be
made into a movie."
The plot, she proceeded to tell me, is a drama about the death penalty. "I
thought about everything I'd heard on the news and in movies, and I
started coming up with a plot: A man is murdered and everyone suspects his
wife because he recently left her and took everything, so she would have
the perfect motive - but it isn't her. I haven't decided when they'll find
out she didn't do it - after she is sentenced to the death penalty and
dies, or maybe right before," she mused thoughtfully.
And yes, I did say she's only eleven years old.
So is Maggie Parker, Trachtenberg's character on Meego. "I think Maggie is
very realistic," Trachtenberg explained. "She goes through what most
eleven year old girls go through: Trying to be cool and fit in; getting
her first crush; occasionally fighting with her siblings, that kind of
thing."
But not all eleven- year girls have a nine-thousand-year-old alien named
Meego for a nanny.
Still, Trachtenberg believes aliens do exist. "I don't know if they're
actually visiting Earth, but I do think there are aliens on other
planets," she stated.
The one thing - on this planet - Trachtenburg wants to do is remain in
show business. " I want to write my own movie, star in it, and direct it -
several times. Behind the camera or in front of it, I want to be in the
business," she proclaimed.
Although show business is her heart's desire, Trachtenburg does know the
importance of education. "I am definitely going to college," she told me.
"I always have a tutor with me when I'm on the set, so I don't miss school
work. And I love learning."
One thing she's learned is that show business isn't all fun and glamour.
"You have to work hard and sometimes you don't get a part, but you can't
give up," she explained. " And you have to make sacrifices - sometimes you
can't go play with your friends because you have to work. But I don't mind
- I love acting."
Michelle Trachtenberg had interviews all day and an English Lit final...
"It's pretty tough," she said of the exam. "I can't afford to write it
unprepared."
Does she ever fail? "Oh no! I'm way too big a perfectionist."
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