'Buffy's' Marc Blucas Takes Bite Out Of Fame

'Vampire Slayer' Co-Star Tells Why He's Proud Of His Wholesome Personality

On Your Marc ...
When the producers of the mega-hit WB show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" announced in 1999 that the character of Angel (played by David Boreanaz) would be exiting the show to star in his own self-titled spinoff series, viewers wondered if the fictional town of Sunnydale would ever be the same again.

Not only was Buffy's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) main squeeze out of the picture, but the teen demon avenger, vampire slayer and all-around protector against evil was going to face the ultimate challenge: college.

Enter Riley Finn, the unassuming professor's assistant, as Buffy's new beau and a link to something that could be very sinister.

Boy-next-door Riley slayed more than Buffy's heart; millions of the show's fans felt a bit wobbly, too.

The man who plays heartbreaker Riley, actor Marc Blucas, talked with me about his apple-pie childhood, how he broke into showbiz, and the life of Riley.

All Riley'd Up
"I'm having such a good time on this show," Blucas tells me.

This comes as no big surprise. Blucas' Riley has become a bona-fide heartthrob, sporting more than good looks; he also has a devilish storyline.

"Riley had a pretty good character arc last year. He started as the sweet, socially uncomfortable TA in psychology class, only to find out that he was the head of an underground military organization whose goal was to capture and study demons," Blucas explains.

At the end of the season, Riley discovered that the organization was really up to no good.

"As the season went down, the (organization) was taken down by Buffy, and ultimately, Riley as well," Blucas says.

Turning on the military group that Riley sometimes thought of as a family wasn't easy for the character, but it made it interesting to portray for Blucas.

"Riley was a very black-and-white guy. He was a person who was always in control of his emotions," Blucas says.

By the end of last season, Blucas says, "Riley's whole world and what he thought was stable and constant was kind of pulled out from underneath him."

The extraordinary circumstances will continue to affect his character next season.

But then again, having a girlfriend like Buffy is not exactly normal, either. The girl with the supernatural talent to kick butt is not your average college coed.

One of the biggest draws for "Buffy" fans before last season was the troubled love story between the slayer and remorseful vampire Angel. When Angel's character was written out of "Buffy" and Boreanaz was given his own "Angel," it left big romantic shoes to fill for Buffy.

Was Blucas nervous about coming on the show after Boreanaz left?

"I never looked at it as shoes to fill or replacing David Boreanaz," Blucas tells me. "He and his character and his energy -- that's a completely different creature."

Blucas thinks the transition went well, but credits the creators of the show for its success.

"That's a tribute to the writers. I knew that (show creator) Joss (Whedon) would position me in a way to give me the best shot at being accepted," Blucas says of the show's loyal fans.

"It's an audience that's so protective, especially of Buffy. They were such big Angel-Buffy fans, you know, fans of that relationship. That made it an even steeper hill for me to climb," Blucas explains. "They positioned me in a way that let me have an identity before they forced the romance. And as the romance grew, Riley already had a small fan base developing, and then people realized that they were good together."

Blucas does admit, however, that there was a certain amount of pressure.

"But most of that pressure was put on by me, because I've always expected a lot of myself," he says.

The Back Forty
Blucas' welcome on to the hit show was made easier by Buffy herself.

"Sarah was so great to me. We've gotten to be very good friends," he tells me.

Blucas says that he was not nervous when he started working with the Emmy winner.

"I'm not awed by people. I'm very much more a judge of character," he says. "When I met Sarah, we instantly hit it off and she made things very easy -- because that is a hard transition. It was hard for all of us. In a way, it was like a new show last year. New set, college, cast changes.

"Sarah really made that transition for me much easier."

Although Blucas admits that he had not watched many episodes of "Buffy" before auditioning for the role of Riley, he tells me that he started watching past episodes when he was in the auditioning process.

"I must have seen 40 back episodes, and I got so hooked on this show. It was ridiculous," he says.

Blucas says he likes "Buffy's" unique attitude.

"(The show) is extremely funky. It lends itself to not being taken seriously. It's a world you have to learn to accept," he tells me. "But once you get to the pace and the tone, it's such a smart clever, funny, well-executed show, you can't help but root for it."

Besides a steadily growing number of TV viewers, critics have been rooting for "Buffy" all year. The show was nominated for the Television Critics Association's best drama award.

Everybody's All-American
Blucas grew up in a town of fewer than 7,000. Girard, Pa., is barely a dot on the map, but it has made a huge impact on Blucas.

Located on Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania, Girard is a place that Blucas is proud to call home.

"I had the best upbringing you could possibly imagine, I mean storybook stuff, like the movie 'Hoosiers.' One hundred percent all-American, apple pie, small-town USA stuff. We won state championships, and the whole town went to every game," he tells me.

Blucas' parents are educators (his dad is the school superintendent), and Blucas thought that he would grow up to be a lawyer.

A high school academic all-American, Blucas headed for prestigious Wake Forest University in North Carolina after graduation. After college and a stint of playing professional basketball overseas, Blucas returned stateside to settle into law school.

But destiny came calling.

"They were casting a movie in Charlotte called 'Eddie,' the Whoopi Goldberg basketball movie. They needed a baby-faced white kid who could play basketball," he recalls.

Blucas read for the part, got it, and the rest is history.

Well, almost.

A month after Blucas landed the role, it was rewritten as a black character.

Blucas took it all in stride. "Hair and makeup couldn't do much for me," he says with a laugh.

He remained on the set of "Eddie" in a much smaller role and managed to impress both the cast and crew.

In fact, months after the picture wrapped, Blucas was set on moving to New York to start an acting career when he received a call from Los Angeles that changed his life forever.

The call came from the casting director who remembered him from "Eddie." He encouraged Blucas to move to L.A. instead of New York.

Blucas took the director's advice and moved to Hollywood.

Dream Weaver
When Blucas got to L.A., he knew there was a lot of work to be done if he intended to make it in show business.

"I've always been a professional dream chaser. I am one who follows his heart to no end," he says.

Blucas soon got the small breaks that he needed to move ahead. But it was being cast in a minor role in a major motion picture that made his career begin to hum.

"I got a few gigs doing TV movies. I got this movie 'Pleasantville.' I was cast to work two days. Because the director responded to me, I ended up working eight weeks," Blucas says. "It was really during 'Pleasantville' that I really fell in love with (acting)."

After basketball, Blucas had found the second love of his life.

"At my age, to have two passions in life, I'm painfully lucky because of that," the 28-year-old says.

But Blucas understands that it's one thing to love something, and it's another to make a career work.

"You want this to be a career, not a two-year flash in the pan," he says, hoping for longevity in Hollywood.

A League Of Their Own
Capitalizing on his sizzling-hot television gig, Blucas has returned to the big screen.

He just wrapped the Warner Brothers feature "Summer Catch" co-starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, "7th Heaven's" Jessica Biel and Brian Dennehy. The film was directed by Mike Tollin ("Varsity Blues").

For the Wake Forest University graduate, the North Carolina filming location was a homecoming of sorts. It was also a chance for him to don his school's colors again.

"'Summer Catch' is set against a real-life baseball league, which is called the Cap Cod baseball league," Blucas says. "College all-stars go and play for the summer in this league in front of professional scouts in hopes of making it to the bigs.

"What was cool was all the guys who got cast -- (producers) called and got clearance to use everyone's real colleges. So now I'm a player from Wake Forest. It was so awesome, it's such a cool feeling."

Another joy in making the movie was the cast.

"We had such a great cast and such a fun time doing this movie. If any of the fun we had off camera can translate onto the screen, it will at least be entertaining," Blucas tells me.

"Freddie's (Prinze) so cool. He's a great guy. You know he and Sarah (Michelle Gellar) are dating. So Sarah came down to the set a handful of times. So that was great for me.

"Freddie plays a pitcher, and I play the centerfielder who is the gifted natural athlete with a big secret. Freddie, Matt and my character are like the three guys you follow throughout the movie."

And what's his character's big secret? "I can't come to grips with my buddies that I like a certain kind of woman," Blucas says. "Let's call her a full-figured gal. The whole movie, they get on my case and my character denies it. Finally, at the end of the movie, I jump up on the bar and give this whole speech about how I love bigger women and they love me. It was a fun character to play."

Season's Greetings
Blucas is just as curious to find out what happens on "Buffy," now filming its fourth season, as the show's fans.

"I honestly don't know what's going to happen for the season. That's part of the beauty of it. Frankly, I don't want to know," he tells me. "Last season, when they wouldn't tell me, that bothered me. But this year, I really appreciate that and like not knowing. You're living it now more."

If he had to guess, Blucas says that his character Riley will likely go through a big transformation.

"I know (Riley) is chomping at the bit. I don't have a mission in life (without the military group). That's hard for Riley. My guess is that as this season goes on, it's going to get more and more under my skin," he says.

And Blucas says that there could also be storm clouds ahead for Riley and Buffy.

"Stable, fun relationships on television are very boring to watch. So, where we ended the season on pretty good terms and we started this season on great terms, that's usually a setup for some rocky road ahead. It's just my guessing," he says. "This show hangs its hat on taking the audience one direction and completely turning it around the other way."

The High Life
Blucas' positive energy is amazing. His friends swear that it's not an act, that he's one of the most focused, determined and positive people whom they have ever met.

"We all have our ups and downs in life, but the truth of the matter is -- and it sounds so sappy -- but I'm so high on life it's ridiculous," Blucas tells me. "Every situation to me can be positive."

Blucas' clear head may come from the fact that he hasn't been caught up in the Hollywood party scene.

"I've never had a drop of alcohol," he says. "I don't even know what it tastes like. In seventh and eighth grade when those kinds of pressures are put upon you, even then, I was just so focused on what I wanted. I just made a list of things that will help me reach my goals, and (drinking) just never made the list, so I never did it. I've never had a puff on a cigarette, nothing."

But rest assured, Blucas certainly isn't opposed to good fun.

"I was in a fraternity in college. I loved going out and having fun and being with my friends. But there was just no desire to do those things. I don't know what the benefit is," he says.

"To me, what's attractive in people is passion. Whether that's playing the piano, being an actor, being an athlete, a cheerleader, or a lawyer -- be passionate about it and want to be good at it. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be good and working at it."

'Hi's and 'Hello's
Perhaps one habit, more than any other, sums up Blucas.

Despite living in a big city, Blucas still gives a small-town "hello" to strangers on the sidewalk.

He's often met with blank stares.

"I say 'hi' to people when I walk down the street, even when I get ignored time and again in Los Angeles," Blucas says with a laugh.

But just as in life, no matter how many disgruntled passers-by he meets, Blucas won't give up his smile, and he won't stop trying.

The Big Scoop

Blond Ambition: "Real World New Orleans'" Danny is reportedly heading for Hollywood. Word is, this favorite Georgia Peach has signed up for a recurring role on the hit series "Dawson's Creek." In the real world, Danny is a 22-year-old gay guy. No story yet on his role in the reel world.

Village Voice: "Will & Grace's" foxy Karen, Megan Mullally, wowed them this week at the Village in Los Angeles. The Emmy nominee sang everything from rock to jazz. In the audience, co-star Debra Messing and series creator Max Mutchnick lent their applause.

Star Grazing

Island Fever: "Survivor" tribemates Ramona, Joel, Jenna, and Gervase caused a near-traffic jam on Sunset Boulevard on Thursday evening. They were reportedly exiting a liquor store next to the famed Viper Room. They told my sources that at least two of them are California dreamin': Joel is moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and Jenna is on her way to San Francisco.

Starstrucks Coffee: That "it" girl Sandra Bullock turned heads at the Hollywood Starbucks on Sunset Boulevard. Dressed in a baseball shirt and ponytail, she waited for her caffeine fix just like everybody else.

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