by Herbie J Pilato
A few years back, Zap2it.com reported how actor David Boreanaz, star of the Fox forensic drama Bones (and former lead vampire on Angel and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) found it was acceptable to improvise the lines of dialogue he’s given to perform.
However, Boreanaz wasn’t allowed to do that on Angel and Buffy, as Joss Whedon, the creator, producer and periodic director of both shows, forbade such acting antics. “That became very frustrating,” Boreanaz said at the time. “For an actor to be able to create and also have a sense of freedom, you have to be able to revolve around those words and create around those words. Now, you can take the written word and have your subtext tell more than is written on the page, which is always fun and challenging too. But it’s always great to revolve around the words and improvise and change things, because that comes from the character’s perspective and point of view.”
Oh, pluueeze! Dude, this isn’t Whose Line Is It Anyway, and you’re not Drew Carey. You’re an actor and, as any true thespian will tell you, that, when it comes to your craft, one is ultimately and ideally supposed to interpret the given lines that a writer (be they William Shakespeare or Aaron Spelling) has written, word for word.
