Submitted by Unknown on 2002-04-19
Queen Cordelia

Source: Zap2it.com

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - In Shakespeare's "King Lear," the monarch's youngest daughter, Cordelia, refuses to suck up to her father in order to be awarded dominion over part of his realm. Her honesty ultimately costs Cordelia her life.

It's probably no coincidence, then, that the brutally honest character on The WB's "Angel" played by Charisma Carpenter is also named Cordelia...

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"She's really the best friend you could ask for," Carpenter says of Cordelia. "She always tells the truth."

It's a trait that doesn't always make Cordelia the most endearing character -- especially in Carpenter's years on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Cordy more often than not played the stuck-up, popular-girl role in the show's high-school setting.

Since Carpenter moved to "Angel" three seasons ago, however, she has had room to show far more depth to Cordelia. It's something she says was always there in the character.

"It was just a matter of when to bring it out," Carpenter tells Zap2it.com. "She was never one-dimensional; she wasn't as superficial as people thought."

Where Cordy was a supporting character on "Buffy," she's the female lead in "Angel." Her psychic visions -- sent to her by the supernatural Powers That Be -- are what point Angel (David Boreanaz), Wesley (Alexis Denisof), Gunn (J. August Richards) and Fred (Amy Acker) to where the bad guys are.

That responsibility, executive producer David Greenwalt says, has allowed Cordelia to grow from a "vainglorious" high schooler to someone who's "almost like a superhero." It's also allowed Carpenter to stretch as an actress.

"Having the opportunity to convey the other facets of her personality and the dynamic of her has been a wonderful workload and experience," Carpenter says. "I can't help but notice a vast difference."

The chance to expand Cordelia's character was a big part of what drew Carpenter to "Angel" after three seasons on "Buffy." Carpenter says she was "very flattered" by the offer from "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon and Greenwalt, but wondered whether any of the people who made "Buffy" what it was would be moving over to the new series.

After hearing that several key crew members would make the transition, and that she'd be welcome on "Buffy" if "Angel," for some reason didn't make it, Carpenter took the plunge.

"I just trusted -- which is not my nature, actually -- because I believed so truly in [Whedon's] ability as a writer and as a visionary, that it would be fine," she says.

Carpenter's expanded role has also allowed to take part in the demon-fighting action that makes up a good chunk of each "Angel" episode. She says she didn't get to kill a vampire on "Buffy" until her final episode, which didn't sit too well with her.

"That was the final thing I asked for Cordelia to be able to do," Carpenter says. "She lived on a Hellmouth but didn't stake a vampire until the third-season finale. She was always the damsel in distress, and I was constantly frustrated by that."

Now, she regularly works with the show's stunt team, learning how to handle the show's array of fearsome weaponry. She's even considering doing some training on her own.

"If we [continue to] go in that direction, I'd possibly have an interest in pursuing martial arts. Also, because I've gained a bit of weight, and I'd like to work on that," she says with a laugh. "I'm just attracted to it."

The "if" in that statement may come from the fact that she's befuddled by what she knows about the end of this season.

"I guess it's all up in the air," she says. "I had to pointedly ask -- and the answer was, 'We don't know what's happening with any of you.' So, I'm just as frustrated as the next guy."

Still, she has confidence that the show's writers will make whatever happens works.

"These writers aren't normal writers," she says. "They're able to put twists and turns on things."


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