Okay, here's the Clare Kramer interview. Also, I have way too many magazines, so if anyone wants this FHM special (no matter where in the world you live), drop me a line at:
ty2che@yahoo.co.uk
First come, first served - I only have one copy. As well as Aly and Clare, it features photos of Jennifer Lopez, Caprice, Zhang Ziyi, Martine McCutcheon, Toni Braxton and many others. Clare Kramer
Brilliantly, ‘Buffy’s sassy new number one villain takes on even the mighty [Sarah] Michelle Gellar in the glamour stakes.
Interview: Richard Galpin
Place any small, wet-nosed puppy in the hands of a lady and their maternal instincts will immediately kick in. The floppy-eared scamp will be hugged to their bosom, stroked with their hairbrush, made to wear an enormous pink bow, and whispered to in ridiculous ‘baby talk’. However, not all of God’s creatures are subjected to such affection by the fairer sex -if you drop a stag beetle or tarantula into their lap they’re more likely to wet their delicate underwear than whittle up a nice insect-arium out of a shoe box.
So it was a relief on ‘FHM’s shoot with actress Clare Kramer - who plays Glory in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ - that she didn’t run a mile when a 12ft-long albino python was produced and suggested that it be wrapped around her shoulders like a rather jazzy scarf. “Once I got used to touching it I was fine, I let it slither all round me”, says the 22-year-old from Ohio. “The woman who owned the snake was saying to me ‘It’s okay, we fed him two days ago so he shouldn’t be hungry yet.’ To be honest, I ‘d much prefer to hold a snake than a hamster. I don’t dig little rodents.”
‘FHM’ caught up with Clare at the chilled-out surroundings of The Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, which transpires to be the scene of one of the aspiring actress’s wildest nights out. “The little group of girls I run with, who all did ‘Bring It On’, Eliza (Dushku), Bianca (Kaljich) and Nicky (Bilderback), tend to get into trouble when we go out together”, she says. “When the movie opened we decided to celebrate. First, Nicky and Bianca came over to my apartment to help me clean it because they said it looked like a homeless person’s apartment. We did cleaning all day then had a few drinks and went out for dinner. We ended up coming here - still dressed in sweats from our cleaning. We were shouting “‘Bring It On’ number one movie!” and being so rude and obnoxious. A couple of people landed in the pool, so the manager threw us out.”
Were you one of the party-goers taking a dip?
I was holding onto a heat lamp which was at a 45-degree angle with me on the end of it, and two guys trying to pull it back upright. It was a close one.
Were you a fan of ‘Buffy’ before joining the show?
I’d never seen it. I had no idea what it was. I knew my friend Eliza (who played vampire slayer Faith) was on it for two seasons, but I didn’t know what to expect.
You get to have fight scenes with Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Have you ever lamped her in the face by accident?
I once clocked Sarah’s stunt double right between the eyes - she had a big knot on her forehead and two black eyes. The crew called her ‘Unicorn’. I felt terrible. When I first went onto the show I told the stunt co-ordinator I wanted to do as much as possible. I do as much as I legally can do. But I box three times a week, so that comes in handy, because I know how to throw a punch that looks real.
For ‘Bring It On’, you had to attend cheerleading boot camp. Did you try and escape by tunnelling under the barbed wire fences?
No, it was hard work - we were all in much better shape than when we originally turned up for the movie. I dislocated my shoulder, which was not even a big deal. The coach just pulled it and popped it back in its socket. I think my shoulder must have been loose. I wasn’t doing anything aggressive with it. I had to sit down with a bag of peas on my arm for bit, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Did you ever get the cheers completely wrong?
There were a lot of takes when we were falling down so we had to re-shoot them. We wanted it to look good, we didn’t want professional cheerleaders to watch it and go, “Oh my God, that’s so lame.”
Were you a cheerleader when you were at school?
I was. I didn’t mesh too well with the squad. I had a small group of friends I hung out with, we were sort of the nerds of the school - we were in the recycling club and ran the newspaper. My junior prom was an nightmare because I found out my first boyfriend had slept with this other girl, and despite breaking up we were still going to the prom together because he’d already booked the limo. Not a lot of people liked me and wanted to hang out with me. In my senior year I got a boyfriend, who was more involved socially so I came out of my shell. Looking back, I’m just glad it’s over.
Apart from hamsters, what are you afraid of?
I don’t like the dark. I’ve gotten over my fear a bit over the past few months and I’m now sleeping with only a little night light. But I used to have to sleep with the closet light, the hall light and the bedroom light on.
If ‘FHM’ were to take you for a perfect weekend, where would we go?
We’d go hiking. I used to enjoy cross-country running so I like being out in the open. One time I went hiking in Malibu and I saw this sign which said ‘Beware of mountain lions’, so I was like “Oh my God!” I found myself a big stick and made as much noise as possible as I walked so I didn’t sneak up on a sleeping lion.
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A vampire with a soul? How lame is *that*?"