It wasn’t long into James Marsters’ Supanova panel in Melbourne that a fan asked the ever-important question as to who was a better kisser out of Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar or Torchwood’s John Barrowman; which took Supa-Fans on an interesting behind-the-scenes journey.
“When you’re filming, [kissing] isn’t that romantic,” Marsters enthused. “I remember the first time I kissed Sarah, it took all day. We did like 14 takes because she kept saying, ‘James, we’re all so impressed that you’re such a good actor, but can you stop acting, because when you’re all passionate you’re smooshing up our faces.’
“And it’s supposed to look good — it’s called a glamour shot. Glamour actually means illusion, so the more glamourous something is, the further away from the truth or reality that it actually is. So, if you’re doing something that’s supposed to look glamorous, it’s actually harder to get that shot, because it’s more artificial in a way.”
While Marsters may have eventually mastered the art, it was another skill-gone-wrong that led to a definitive answer as to who was the better kisser.
“The thing about doing stunts is, any idiot can do a stunt and go to the hospital — it isn’t hard. So, the art of it is to not get hurt,” he said.
“I blew a stunt and I got hurt pretty badly and I didn’t tell anyone on Smallville or Torchwood that I blew a stunt because I don’t want to get the reputation of anyone who does that.
“So, I got a cut on the set of Smallville and I just duck-taped my leg together and flew to Wales. I’m on the set [of Torchwood] and I’m bleeding out through the costume and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ And I finally went up to John [Barrowman] and went, ‘Dude, I blew a stunt in Vancouver and I’m bleeding out through my costume and I need help.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it. Go to my trailer, I’ll get a doctor, I’ll get them to pause on set.’
“He saved me. I love John — I love Sarah too, but John saved me — and so I trust him on a really deep level and I’ll kiss John any old day.”
Lead Image: James Marsters greeting a fan at Supanova 2020 – Melbourne. Photo by Emma Wilkinson.
