James Marsters Interview (2026) – Spike, Slayers, Sith & Supanova!

James Marsters is gearing up for his return to Australia, with a stop at Supanova and a chance to revisit Melbourne — a city he’s long praised for its music culture. Relaxed, candid and always ready with a story, he sat down with us to talk about acting, music, Spike, Sarah Michelle Gellar, missed opportunities and why he still dreams of wielding a lightsaber. What followed was a conversation full of humour, honesty and the kind of insight only James can deliver.

James, welcome to Impulse Gamer — it’s great to have you with us.

Thanks for having me — it’s always good to talk with you guys.

What are you most looking forward to about coming back to Australia?

I love coming to Australia. I get to go back to Melbourne, which is such a good town for music. I’m really looking forward to seeing some live music — it’s been a while.

How long has it been since your last visit?

Maybe five or six years. It was before COVID. I almost didn’t make it back — I got home just before everything shut down. A few months later I was thinking it might’ve been better if I’d just gotten stuck in Australia.

Any chance Ghost of the Robot will play here?

Not this time. Hopefully in the future. Our bassist has two young kids and it’s hard to get him far from home. We’ve played Nashville, Manhattan and LA, but we’ve always balanced the band with real life. When we started, a lot of the guys were teenagers, and I promised their mums the band would never be more important than school.

Australia has a strong music culture — do you feel that when you’re here?

Absolutely. Some cultures really know music — Spain, Wales, Cuba — and Australia is one of them. You guys have exceptionally good music.

Is there a Ghost of the Robot song that resonates with you the most?

Usually whatever’s on the latest album. But “Civilised Man” stands out. I wrote it in Toronto while shooting a bank‑heist movie. We were freezing in tuxedos in the middle of winter, and one of the assistant directors was abusing the extras. It really bothered me. I wanted to drag him into an alley — but I didn’t. Instead, I wrote a song about how hard it can be to be a civilised man when there’s a beast inside you that wants to explode.

So there’s a bit of Spike in you?

Oh yeah. Cops don’t like him. Girlfriends think they like him until they get to know him. Spike is all my rage and cynicism — the part of me I try not to inflict on people. Being a nice person is not telling everyone what you think all the time. Combine the darker parts of me with Buffy’s brilliant writing and you get Spike.

What do you miss most about playing him?

The words. Before Los Angeles, I spent 15 years doing professional theatre — Shakespeare, Molière, Ibsen, Chekhov — the best writing of their eras. I thought I was giving that up to feed my family. Then I landed on a show with writing so exceptional it reminded me of performing those great works.As an actor, you’re limited by the script. If the writing is amazing, it’s almost limitless. Getting a new Buffy script was exciting — you never knew where it would take you. That’s what I miss.

When the Buffy reboot was announced, were you approached for a cameo or role?

I suspected I’d be called eventually, and that turned out to be true. If I were producing it, I’d do exactly what they planned — introduce a new Slayer for a new generation. You need a full season just to establish her and her friends. I expected they’d call me early in season two. I even spoke to one of the producers and that was their thinking.

I had my fingers crossed they’d get season two… but they didn’t even get season one. It’s a real shame.

Q: Sarah Michelle Gellar was reportedly on board. What was she like to work with?

Anyone else in that role would’ve had an emotional breakdown from the workload. We worked up to 20 hours a day and she was in almost every scene. I was in maybe a quarter of them and it fried me. If I’d played Buffy, I’d have had an aneurysm.But she was always on time, always prepared, always professional. She was a rock.Halfway through season seven they were trying to get her to sign on for seasons eight and nine. They were throwing all sorts of money at her and she just said, “Guys, I’m marrying Freddie Prinze Jr. We’re going to go have fun now.Goodbye.” And I thought: you go, girl — you deserve that.They talked her into coming back and I was so happy. I thought the world needed a Slayer as much as ever — maybe more.

Q: Playing Spike involved some intense scenes. How did you wind down after those long days?

A: Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you just listen to Portishead and cry on the couch. Sometimes you can leave it behind, but often I didn’t.I kind of sank into the character and lived it the whole time. Theatre is about creating the illusion of reality, but film wants you to create the reality and live it — that’s the Method.The Method can eat you alive. It was designed for film shoots lasting two to six months. I did it for seven years. I didn’t see much sunlight, didn’t hang around a lot of people. I was very spikish, and it kind of ate me alive.But when you’re working 18–20 hour days, you also can’t wait to get off work and just relax or sleep.

The Buffyverse lost Nicholas Brendon this year. What’s your fondest memory of working with him?

It’s not one moment — it’s constantly looking at him and thinking it wasn’t fair how effortlessly he did what he did. I had to work at it. I had to plan the beats, be very workmanlike about playing SpikeHe just seemed to show up and do it. It looked like he wasn’t trying — and then you see the show and he’s brilliant. It’s mysterious to me. Maybe I just like to beat myself up a bit. But my main memory is how effortless his talent was.

Is there a role you turned down — or missed — that you regret?

There’s one I blew. They wrote the role of Picard’s clone for me in the last Next Generation film. I’m a Star Trek fan, and I blew the audition because I was fan‑boying so hard. Patrick Stewart was right there — three‑dimensional — and I was freaking out, sweating, forgetting my lines.They cast this guy Tom Hardy — never heard of him! What’s he ever done?Honestly, I wouldn’t mind losing out to Tom Hardy. Even if I’d given the best audition of my life, he might still have got it. But after seeing the movie, I think maybe — maybe — I could’ve beaten him for that one.It was the worst audition I’ve ever done. Maybe in an alternate universe I got the role.

If you could play a Jedi or a Sith, which would you choose — and why?

I’d like to play a Jedi.I saw the very first showing of A New Hope in 1976, nine months before release. I lived near San Rafael where George Lucas lived, and they put sign‑up sheets in the high schools. I signed up. Star Wars has always been personal to me.And God, I want a lightsaber.I usually play villains — they’re fun — but from age 13 on, I always wanted to be a Jedi. I’d like to try to be good.
Heroes are hard work. You have to care about everyone, run all day, sprint around saving people. Villains just lurk. You wait for the hero to run past, jump out of the shadows, hit him in the head, and go home.It’s super easy. And you don’t have to dredge up childhood trauma — you just get to sneer. It’s a lot easier.

Final Thoughts?

James Marsters remains as thoughtful, funny and fiercely honest as ever, whether he’s talking music, the craft of acting or the legacy of Spike. His upcoming appearance at Supanova gives Australian fans the perfect chance to reconnect with the passion and humour that have defined his career for decades. And with a stop in Melbourne — a city he’s long admired for its music culture — he’s looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere while meeting the fans who’ve supported him from the Buffy days to now. With new projects ahead and a lifelong dream of wielding a lightsaber still burning bright, James shows no signs of slowing down.

Check out James at https://www.supanova.com.au/guests/james-marsters/

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