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5 minutes with...Eliza Dushku

By JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ
DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER

'Go big or go home!' is the motto that steers babe-tastic actress ­Eliza ­Dushku, whether she's dealing with demons ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel"), dead folks ("Tru Calling") or De Niro ("This Boy's Life" and "City by the Sea"). The philosophy is now guiding her in her ­latest venture — Off-Broadway. ­Dushku, who turns 25 next month, makes her New York stage debut tomorrow at the Century Center for the Performing Arts (111 E. 15th St.) in Bert V. ­Royal's "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead." The play is an "unauthorized parody" of the "Peanuts" gang — Charlie Brown, Lucy (who inspires Dushku's character), Linus, et al. It fast-forwards the tots into their troubled teen personas — and manages to use the F-word 57 times. Salty "Peanuts," indeed.

Considering its dead beagle, same-sex kisses and other quirks, did you have qualms about doing a play that blatantly blasphemes beloved cartoon kids?

It's definitely twisted, because these are characters we know and love, but it's also deep and tragic and hilarious. It's reminiscent of high school to me. I grew up in Boston and went to public school, so in that sense, the play is very real.

You've done lots of films and TV — why a play at this point?

People have said that I always play this black-leather-pants-wearing, big-busted tough chick, but I like to try different things. Still, when I was ­approached with this [play], my first instinct was "No f—ing way." Being onstage, live, where you can't cut and go back and do another take, is just terrifying. What better reason to do it. I've learned so much about losing inhibitions.

You, inhibited? Readers of the lad magazine Maxim might be surprised to read that you're at all uptight.

What are you trying to say, that I'm sexually provocative (laughs)? Yes, I posed for Maxim. I'm very comfortable with my sexuality. I don't try to be gratuitous, but at the same time, I think my body is part of my whole deal, baby.

Beyond Off-Broadway, what's next for you?

I just finished an independent movie, "Nobel Son," with Alan Rickman, Danny DeVito, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. I play this poet and artist who helps kidnap the son of this physics Nobel Prize winner. She's dark and kind of a wacko.

Back to those black-leather pants.
Do you wear a pair in "Dog Sees God"?

No. In one scene I'm in ­institutional wear. I don't know how sexy that is, but there are also handcuffs. That might bring in its own crowd.

Originally published on November 29, 2005

http://www.nymetro.com/nymetro/arts/theater/15448/


Theater
Cartoon Figure: Eliza Dushku

By Boris Kachka

Former child actor Eliza Dushku grew up fast in the surprisingly great cheerleader comedy Bring It On and as Faith, the teen-goth nemesis of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now, after a year as a Good Samaritan time-traveler in the canceled series Tru Calling, the onetime Mormon, 24, finds herself Off Broadway in the dark “Peanuts” parody Dog Sees God. She spoke to Boris Kachka.


Do you have any fond memories of “Peanuts”? You play a character based on Lucy.

She was probably my favorite— I can draw a few parallels in my own personality. Lucy’s a little bit of a troublemaker, so I think it’s really appropriate to have her institutionalized for pyromania.


You often play the sexy ass-kicker. Are you worried about being . . .
Typecast? I can think of a lot worse things to be typecast as than a strong, bold young woman.


But you’re not that dark. Your dogs are named Coco Chanel and Max Factor.

I wanted a dog named Max, and he needed a middle name. I have a bit of gay-boyfriend influence. My mother came to see a preview and she heard someone say, “Oh, God, Eliza Dushku has in her bio that she resides in Los Angeles with her dogs Max Factor and Coco Chanel. What is she thinking?” And my mother was like, “Excuse me, that’s my daughter! She’s a human being!”

So what’s the next thing to go in your bio?

I have a coach here in New York, and before the plays, we read scripts. After doing Buffy, with my ADD, I could never sign another six-year deal.


Is that why you turned down a Buffy spinoff in favor of Tru Calling?

I started to feel a little responsibility to young women, but it didn’t quite jell. It certainly wasn’t this young, strong female character that I expected it to be.


That’s something you really think about when taking a role?

Absolutely. Especially in America, people waste so much time watching smut for all the wrong reasons. I don’t want to be a part of that, and I don’t think that I have been.


But this isn’t charity work. You’re selling sexuality.

Being sexy is part of the game. If I can get that initial head-turn, then maybe people will stay to see a little bit more of, like, the message.


What was the message behind posing for Maxim?

I was basically forced by the studio to do Maxim. It was a new studio and they had a lot of power.


What does your Mormon family make of your roles, and the 50-odd F-words in the play?

My grandma did try to call Michael Ovitz when I was represented by his company, telling them, “My 17-year-old granddaughter is naked on the television!” She didn’t talk to me for a couple of weeks.


Are you a Mormon?

I was kicked out of Mormon girls’ camp for talking about seeing two men kiss. I’m trying to find new things and—what do they say?—a higher power. Something bigger than myself.