James Marsters has often cited his dislike for the sexual assault scene in the famous ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘. Marsters played the role of William Pratt, commonly known as ‘Spike’. Marsters’ character was destined for a short-term punk-rock villain. But the character became so popular among gothic romance-riddled teenagers that Spike’s character was given a romantic development with Buffy Summers, played by Sarah Mechelle Geller.
However, Marsters was not alone when he protested against the assault scene in the sixth season episode titled ‘Seeing Red’. Spike, in love with Buffy, is determined to convince her love for the vampire. In a desperate attempt, Spike forces himself on Buffy in hopes it will remind her of any affection left for Spike. As the slayer, Buffy manages to fight off Spike. Marsters is very sensitive to abusive content and is still terrorized by Spike’s actions.
James Marsters Reveals The Dark Way Writers Came Up With The Scene
While talking on the ‘Inside of You‘ podcast, James recalled how the disastrous scene was created. “The writers were being asked to come up with their worst day, the day that they don’t talk about, their dark secret, the one that keeps them up at night,” he related. James revealed, “One of the women writers actually had come up with this idea.”
In case you missed it: “I Had Less Than $7 In My Account”: Pedro Pascal Reveals How ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Saved Him From Homelessness And A Failing Career
Marsters narrated to Michael Rosenbaum the podcast host how the writer’s personal experience was the source of the scene. He said, “In college, she had gotten broken up with and she went to her ex’s place and thought that if they made love one more time, everything would be fixed. She kind of forced herself and he had to physically remove her from the premises, and that was one of the most painful memories of that time of her life.”
But the show creators forgot to factor in the most important fault in the scene. Marsters continued, “They thought that since Buffy was a superhero that they could flip the sexes.” The actor remembered how he cautioned the creators about the fallback the scene could and did receive. “You know, guys, we’re providing a vicarious experience for the audience. Everyone who’s watching Buffy is Buffy, and they’re not superheroes, so I’m doing this to every member of the audience, and they’re going to have a very different reaction.”
James Marsters Was Traumatized Due To The Filming For A Long Time
Marsters had signed a contract with the production. Therefore he “couldn’t say no” to perform the scene. However, the actor struggled extremely in acting the scene. He related, “I remember making my entrance for the first line of the scene, and I have an injury on my neck from doing too many stunts… I just collapsed to the floor… I’m like, ‘I guess I’m kind of tense right now.’ And we got the scene in the can, and it was hell. I was in personal hell.”
In case you missed it: Which ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Character Is Based On Taylor Swift?
“I was like doing a take and then going in the corner of the set and going into the fetal position on the cement,” Marsters recollected.
The ‘Superman: Doomsday’ actor was so traumatized that he had to seek medical help. “The good thing is that I found a really good therapist, and in putting me back together from that, got into all the other stuff as good therapists will do,” he said. “It was very painful and very destabilizing, but I came out of it a much happier person.”
