ING INTERVIEW: CHARISMA CARPENTER
by Eric Goldman

IGN TV: You must have had something else too!
Carpenter: I can dance. It's fun. But Terry, it was great, he would throw the football with us, and it was just a real strong camaraderie and we were all in this small town in Canada, in Nova Scotia, and the weather was not agreeable to the schedule that we needed. We needed to do a lot of outdoor stuff and it would be really raining, or it would be really, really hot and bugs everywhere. It was just really, super unpredictable. Or the fog would roll in and it was chilly to the bone. But we were just all in it together and it was just fun.

IGN TV: There's a scene involving you and a bear...
Carpenter: Oh yeah!

IGN TV: I'm curious if you had any actual interaction with it, or was it all movie magic?
Carpenter: I think it's really important to know that is all movie magic. I was actually really bummed out that I didn't get to work with the bear. I didn't get to meet the bear! I mean I could have, if I wanted to drive like two and a half hours outside of town on a day off and go be there when they shot it, but I didn't want to do that - My hours are long enough. But I really thought that we were going to be with the bear. You know, a la Legends of the Fall or something.

IGN TV: Will you be returning to Veronica Mars this fall?
Carpenter: I do return to Veronica Mars this fall.

IGN TV: Can you talk at all about what role your character might be playing this season?
Carpenter: A little more of the same, with a really, really interesting twist. And it starts the first episode; you've got to watch it. You miss the first episode, you're out of the loop. Gotta tune in right away.

IGN TV: When you had that scene at the end of last season when you give Keith the case, did you have any idea what was in it at the time?
Carpenter: No. I was really annoyed at that, and I think the writers didn't know what was in the case either.

IGN TV: I talked to Enrico this summer and he told me how he had no idea, but was coming up with all these crazy theories.
Carpenter: Yeah, yeah. And I just kept pushing to have Enrico be my love interest. You know, I just thought, "Can we start... Can she...?" Because on Angel, the person that's literally the bad person, that's the bitch or hard to get along with or superficial or just makes your life miserable type person, always ends up being a redeeming person in the end. They get remolded somehow or they have some life experience that they realize, "Oh, you're not so bad!" And I just thought it would be really funny if Enrico's character and myself got together and then I was Veronica's stepmom. I really, really wanted to do that, but, yeah...

IGN TV: That would be a very interesting dynamic with Veronica!
Carpenter: I pitched it, but it's not going that way.

IGN TV: What was your reaction when you read the script and learned that's how you'd first be seen on the show?
Carpenter: My reaction: Into action. Immediately in the gym. [Carpenter makes breathing/work out noises] Just working out!

IGN TV: Many of your scenes were with Jason Dohring last season. How was it working with him?
Carpenter: Oh yeah, he's a brilliant actor. I'm telling you, these guys… Kristen and Jason and all these people are profusely talented and extremely together for such a young age. Sometimes when you get a lead actor, like Sarah [Michelle Gellar] on Buffy, [she] was just so acutely intelligent. You know, it makes sense; you're somewhat of a prodigy. But on this show, everyone is a prodigy. Everyone is super together on every level. At that age, it's really remarkable. It's like wow, if I had my head halfway that well screwed on when I was that age I'd probably be in a lot different place. It's really impressive to be in their company. And they're spiritual and they're solid and they're in committed relationships, and they're committed to their work, and they're prepared and they're on time and there's no drama. And it's just like, "Wow… You guys are way beyond your years!"

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