What most scares Sarah Michelle Gellar and how she moved on from ‘toxic’ Buffy set with new show Wolf Pack
Known for her iconic role as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar is once again taking on the supernatural with her new show Wolf Pack.
Having described some behaviour on the ’90s hit drama as toxic, she told Sky News that now she’s an executive producer, she wanted to use her influence to ensure the only monsters she fights are on screen.
“I needed to have a set that was communicative, that was collaborative, where everybody had a voice,” Gellar explained.
“And, you know, when I was growing up in this industry, we were told not to, and if we did, we were difficult.
“And I think this isn’t a Hollywood thing – when you’re new in a job, you don’t want to make waves, you accept a lot of stuff that should be unacceptable, and I needed to have the power to change that and to be on the set that I wanted to be on, and not just that I wanted to be on, that everybody wanted to be on.
“Look, we get to play make believe, it’s really fun, but there’s long hours involved and there’s dangerous stunts and there’s, you know, all sorts of things, and I needed it to be a safe place for everyone.”
Gellar stars as Kristin Ramsey in Wolf Pack. Photo: Paramount+
On Wolf Pack, Gellar is no longer one of the youngest people on set. Her character is an investigator looking into a wildfire that has seemingly awakened a mysterious creature – and in the process changed the lives of two teenagers.
But learning from her own experiences, the star took practical action to ensure younger cast and crew on Wolf Pack were comfortable during filming.
She said: “I was like, here’s my cell phone, call me – and I think it was easier for them to speak to me if something was bothering them.”
Bella Shepard as Blake Navarro and Armani Jackson as Everett Lang in Wolf Pack. Pic: Steve Dietl/Paramount+
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She added: “It’s hard when it’s your producer, boss, network and everyone has a bottom line – I don’t have one, I’m here to make all of this work and work well.
“And by the way, not just for the actors – I said that to the crew, too, to the production assistants: If you’re too tired, and the hours are too long, let me know. There’s Uber now, there’s a really easy way for people not to get in car accidents when they’re working, it’s nothing to a production to call an Uber and guess what? If production won’t pay for it, I’ll get you an Uber.”
Photo: Curtis Bonds Baker/Paramount+
‘The scariest things in life emotionally scare us’
It’s 20 years since Buffy ended and Gellar says she was drawn back to the genre not by mythical creatures, but what they represent.
“To me, the scariest things in life are what emotionally scare us, and that’s what this monster is that metaphor for and really dealing with anxiety,” the actress explained.
“You know, that’s a word we throw around a lot right now, we’re all feeling it, we’re bombarded with news 24/7, and what it does and this constant stream of information.
“The idea is that anxiety is actually your body running at peak condition, but we don’t know what to do with that, so when you harness that, you can actually make that your superpower – and if we have the tools to really deal with anxiety, what would we be capable of?”
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How star got through COVID
But she admits she nearly didn’t get involved with Wolf Pack at all – initially saying no when asked to look at the script, joking that it was “animal instinct” that took over when she eventually relented.
“The idea of the pack to me just really hit home. It was the right time, you know, we were just coming out of COVID where if it wasn’t for my pack, my pod, if you will, I wouldn’t have gotten through it,” Gellar said.
“And what it’s like when you don’t have that and how lonely that feels.
“I surprised myself when I said yes, it surprised Jeff [Davis – the show’s creator], it surprised my team – it was a very just emotional response to material that meant something to me.”
Wolf Pack is streaming now on Paramount +
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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