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Julie Benz took a character killed in the pilot of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER to one of its most memorable characters, and has a legendary genre TV career at the age of 35. This year however Julie makes the jump to the big screen in genre fare in a huge way, starring in films based on two iconic vigilante characters: John Rambo and Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher. For RAMBO, which opens January 25th in theaters, Benz jumped at the opportunity to work with Sylvester Stallone as a missionary caught up in a civil war. To promote RAMBO, Heidi
Martinuzzi, AKA Superheidi, represented the Colonel's Crypt at a press
junket and had an opportunity to speak with Benz about her career to date,
working with Stallone, being the only girl on a set of men, and what the
future holds for her. INTERVIEW BY HEIDI MARTINUZZI Julie Benz has a long list of genre roles to whet your appetite for her role as Sarah in Rambo 4 (titled RAMBO) which comes out on January 25th in US theaters. Benz not only dazzles as Rita Bennett on the Showtime series DEXTER, about a serial killer with a heart of gold, but BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL fans know her as Darla, an evil 400-year-old vampire. However in 2008 you’ll remember her for two reasons: RAMBO and THE PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, in which she stars as Angela. Julie is a gorgeous mid-thirties actress with a dazzling laugh and a childish demeanor totally unlike the woman you see in RAMBO, a missionary who needs John Rambo’s help in finding her husband in the war-ridden Burmese jungles. RAMBO may well be the most violent film Sylvester Stallone has made in a very long time, and Julie Benz is the first woman to play opposite him in any RAMBO movie.
RAMBO may well be the most violent film Sylvester Stallone has made in a very long time, and Julie Benz is the first woman to play opposite him in any RAMBO movie. JULIE BENZ: I was just so excited to be The Girl in a RAMBO movie that actually lives, because there was one in Rambo II, and I think as soon as she says ‘Take me with you’… It was nice to actually survive. Julie herself was not a huge Rambo fan before she got this role. JB: I actually was not familiar with them. But I mean, who doesn’t know Rambo, right? But I had never seen RAMBO. I was a huge ROCKY fan; I had seen every ROCKY movie like seven times. But as far as the RAMBO franchise... you know, I’m a girl, (smling) I mean, I’m, a girly girl. Julie got really lucky when it came to getting her role. Instead of holding auditions, Sly had seen Julie on DEXTER and thought she would be great for the part. JB: It turns out that Sly is actually a big fan of DEXTER. They called and said ‘He’s interested in you for RAMBO, would you be interested in taking a meeting with him?’ I said Of Course. Do you say NO? And that was all there was too it? JB: So yeah, I came in and met with him and that was it! I really was really excited to be part of the project. The new RAMBO film begins with some real documentary footage of war atrocities in Burma. The disturbing imagery sets up the story so that the audience can understand that the excessive violence and horrific imagery that Stallone uses is based on real incidents going on now. JB: I loved the script. I thought that the social message behind the movie, to make people aware of what was going on in Burma, was extremely important. And, for me, to be the only girl in an action movie was like, Okay, I’ll rise to the challenge. Working with Sylvester Stallone himself had to be one of the major reasons Julie took the role, right? JB: And to work with him! I mean, to work with Stallone! Watching him work as a filmmaker… I don’t really recall any other actor/director except maybe Mel Gibson with BRAVEHEART, who directed themselves in an action movie. Action movies are really tough to direct. And to direct yourself in it, and to be running the show… and we had like seven cameras going at one time… it just was unbelievable. The fact that she had gotten this huge and amazing role in a movie didn’t really hit Julie until one day while filming; JB: I remember there was one moment we were on a boat and we were shooting, the sun was going down, they were shooting some establishing shots, I remember turning to Paul [Schulze] and going ‘Oh My God, we’re in the movie!’… There’s Sly, and all of us, and the sun going down, and it’s just... Ah! Reminds you it’s a really cool job. Sylvester Stallone, being the tough guy he is, is no-nonsense on set, according to Julie. JB: He doesn’t coddle you. He’s brutally honest. I don’t think there was one day when he came to set where he wasn’t energized with a great attitude and a good morning or everyone… he’s very demanding as well. He expects you to deliver 150% every moment, but he also delivers that himself. You understand why e is who he is; why everyone in the world knows his name, why he’s a film icon… he’s also not above calling you out when you suck”. And it was easy to suck under the conditions in which they were shooting: the jungle, with extreme heat and heavy gear, and a short shooting schedule. JB: We had two weeks rehearsal in Thailand. It was a huge movie shot in 48 days, a movie that really should have had 82 days… one of the reasons he was so demanding was that we didn’t have a lot of time, you couldn’t mess up. With 7 cameras running you’re shooting tights, close-ups, etc. you just have to do it. But at the same time he’s a perfectionist, and if he felt like he wasn’t getting it he would stay till he got it. Now that Julie has worked with THE Rambo, maybe she can tell us how to stop him in combat? JB: Maybe a screaming baby? I don’t know? With a stinky diaper. Something completely out of his realm! Speaking of cool jobs, will there be a DEXTER Season Three? JB: It was unofficially announced that we will have season three. I’m assuming. The show has been doing so well. But right now almost everything is on hold. DEXTER is actually moving to CBS where the show’s first season will start playing “Feb 17th at 10 P.M. It premieres on CBS, the first season. It will be interesting to see what they can keep in and what they have to take out. You know if you really watch that show there’s not a lot of violence in it really. There’s a lot of insinuated violence which is almost scarier. But definitely the language. Good luck Jennifer Carpenter being onscreen! I don’t think she has one moment where there’s not one bad word coming out of her mouth. Do you miss playing Darla on BUFFY and ANGEL? We miss those shows SO MUCH. JB: I would go back in a heartbeat! Darla was an amazing character, she’s 400 years old! What were you like as a little girl? JB: I was a figure skater. I don’t think it gets anymore feminine than that! I had the Marie Osmond head you could style the hair on. I gave her a haircut I thought she looked great with a mullet. And next, Julie can be seen in the female directed action movie PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. JB: That’ll be out in September! Hence the brown hair! Julie’s hair has been dyed brown. You’ll see in the movie. (Special thanks to Lionsgate and to BWR)
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