uring the last Starfury event, Bad Girls and Wild Boys, myself and Linda who were taking on opposite roles in covering this event for a change, had the honour of meeting the lovely and extremely talented J. August Richards. What made it even more pleasurable was the fact that it was an interview arranged at very short notice. There is a story behind this meet, Sean Harry, the events' coordinator, had kindly arranged for CoA to interview J. not knowing we had already interviewed him in the past. We initially declined, but happily opted to do a follow-up, if J. was so inclined. So after a word with J. who was very happy to go ahead and a quick word with Sean, everything was arranged. Only thing was we now had twenty-four hours to come up with some interesting questions, panic! Considering 800 fans were doing the same thing for the Q & A, we had our work cut out for us.

J.'s alter ego, Gunn, has certainly come a long way since Season 1 of Angel and we have continued to see his character expand from the detached, 'all about the mission' street kid whom we first met. It is clear that 'the mission' is still his purpose but he has allowed himself to bond with the team and although we have yet to see his back-story, in any great depth as to why he became this street-wise Vampire hunter, we are perhaps now being given an insight into his true nature, that of a very loving, funny and warm man. As J. arrives for our meet, the warmth that he injects into his character is easily apparent, his manner open and friendly. As in the last summer hiatus, he has also grown out his hair a little, which really suits him. He is all smiles, which quickly reassures us and puts the entire interview at ease. Introductions are made and after some chitchat about the disco the previous night we begin.

J. August Richards, a relaxing interview in the London countryside

This season of Angel has been full of surprises and had more than its fair share of excitement. Perhaps one of the most dramatic storylines from Season 3 has been the way that Wesley's character has developed, and how insulated he became at the end of the season; taking on the burden of translating the prophecy and keeping his discovery to himself and then his ultimate betrayal of Angel. One of Gunn's most outstanding qualities is his loyalty and considering the bond that Gunn and Wesley formed during Season 2 and beyond, how does J. see the situation and does Gunn feels a betrayal on a more personal level? J. nods his agreement before responding, "Yes, absolutely! I think you can tell that in the episode after Double or Nothing, which I think is episode 19 [The Price]. Gunn definitely considers that a betrayal, because I believe that Wesley is Gunn's best friend and so he definitely felt the sense of betrayal." Interestingly though he doesn't share Gunn's opinion, " However, me, looking at it from the outside, I don't think it was a betrayal, I think it was absolutely an act of love, an act of kindness, he was trying to protect Angel and Connor so I don't see it that way...but the character does." Is he aware then that the fans have been very divided over this and that some find it bizarre that Wesley did not confide in Gunn? He smiles as he admits his character's frustration, "Yeah. If he should have confided in anybody, it should have been me I think, you know! Because Cordelia was gone so he could have told me! You know!" Well exactly and if Cordelia had been there wouldn't she have stopped it from happening? "Right!" agrees J. vociferously and we both laugh as he goes on to explain, "Which is probably half of the reason why they needed her out of the state for that episode or for that series of episodes. Because they have known each other for so long, she would have known that something was up! You know, my head was so into Fred that ..." he pauses and beams mischievously, "Ooh that came out wrong!" Linda and I are reduced to tears as he continues to grin and then corrects himself, "My, err, thoughts were so into Fred..."

Which leads in nicely to the next question. The pairing of Fred and Gunn has come as a surprise to many fans; after Fred's initial crush on Angel it seemed that she was on the verge of a romance with Wesley, but this is the world of the Angelverse and well isn't it just like Joss [Whedon] to throw us the curve ball! J. confesses his surprise at the writers decision to choose to pursue a relationship between Gunn and Fred but is also enthusiastic about the turn of events, "Yes and I am happy that they did, because as an actor I wanted to work with Amy [Acker] a lot. Because she's a new person on the show and such a talented actress you know, and obviously so beautiful and she is lovely as a person.

"He's put a woman in his life who he loves and cares so much about and this time he's going to save her."

And so for that reason yes, and then also I think it's great for my character because he's been so serious about the mission that there's not much of a lighter side. I think this is a great side to see a guy like that in love even for the first time, so it's a great thing to play for the character." His character has appeared quite distant, almost cut off emotionally after the death of his sister Elana [War Zone], not withstanding his friendship with Wesley of course, so was it difficult for Gunn to allow himself to get close to Fred? J. nods his head as he puts the situation into perspective, "Well for me it makes perfect sense because I have a friend who's a psychologist and he talks a lot to me about how people are trying constantly to rewrite the script of their life and they put themselves in the exact same situation that was traumatic for them or hard for them where they lost and they put themselves in the exact same situation to try to change it, to change the outcome and that's exactly what the character is doing. He's put a woman in his life who he loves and cares so much about and this time he's going to save her."

It really does make perfect sense and another interesting factor is the way the relationship crept up on us; we see Fred and Gunn have had breakfast together in the beginning of Waiting In The Wings and this is a first for the audience but not it would seem for the characters. Behind the scenes they have been meeting for ages and already have a strong friendship and bond. J agrees smiling, "Exactly. And along those lines I loved the line where, it's in the episode Double or Nothing, where I break up with Fred, there's a scene where she comes in and she's explaining to Angel and Cordelia that something is really wrong with me because I broke up with her. And they're like, 'what do you mean; he broke up with you. So why is something wrong?' And everybody is really confused and then Angel goes, 'Let me get this straight, you and Gunn are dating'? J admits, "So, I think that's really funny!" He chuckles to himself. It's that same 'shock-value' reaction as when Xander discovers that Willow and Tara are an item. Always a winner!

Gunn has become such an integral part of the team especially since That Old Gang Of Mine when he was forced to make a choice between Angel Investigations and his old life. Although his character was not introduced until the end of Season One, it seems as though he has always been there, he wears his character with such ease; which is a credit to both J. and the wonderful writing team. So after his two years on the series and his appearance in almost every scene, has the production work become easier or more difficult? He admits, "Yes, more difficult." He pauses in thought for a moment before continuing, "I remember, I felt like I earned my wings as an actor one day where Amy and I had to do nine pages of dialogue with just her and I talking in three different scenes and it was nine complete pages and I had memorised the pages two days before and then when I got there that morning the pages were totally different. They were completely new and we had to do the scenes that day. We got through it and not only that but we ended the day in a record number of hours. We shot in eight hours, which is unheard of for our show; we usually do 12 or 14 hours. We were just so proud of ourselves, that we could get new pages and finish the day early." He smiles broadly, obviously and rightly proud at this amazing feat. So he must have a good memory for learning lines. "Yeah. I do, I think I do. Sometimes if I have a word that I have never heard before like a demons name or some kind of concept that I've never heard of it's impossible for me to memorise, it's really hard, but if it's just a line I can get it pretty quickly."