VanCon: Julie McNiven
STARS IN MY FUCKING EYES ABOUT THIS PANEL. JULIE IS ONE OF US. ONE OF US.
- Julie heard Russ Hamilton talking about the time machine that the Supernatural crew apparently have. She wants to use it to go back to 1977, "pre-pile-of-ash."
- She talked about how the role of Anna was unique for her in many ways. Anna was her first role with a real character arc, at a time when she was mostly unproved. In an industry that usually doesn't believe you can do a thing until they see you do it, she was grateful for the trust shown to her in giving her that role.
- She loved playing a badass. She usually gets cast as sweet girls because she looks the part, but she described Anna as an empowered, strong woman. "Anna does what she thinks is right no matter what." Julie feels that playing Anna has empowered her in her own life.
- Julie asked the director of one episode if she could add Matrix-moves to one of her fight scenes.
- She did a lot of research on angels and angelology when she first got the role, which led her to believe that Anna might really have been Anael. (I squeed so hard when she said this, because my headcanon is vindicated). But despite all the research, she ended up basing her performance very much on the character's immediate circumstances. And after Anna got her grace back, Julie played her as a figure of authority.
- "I don't think Anna 'went evil.' Yeah, she killed Sam, but she was trying to save the world! Maybe it's more accurate to say she 'went rogue,' because she stopped following the rules, but I don't think she was ever evil." In other words, Julie has the same Anna feels that I feel. She's one of us. I cheered out loud when she said this about Anna.
- On her death scene: the first script just read, "She burns." But every draft after that added to it, making her death sound more and more dramatic.
- A fan asked how she would like Anna to come back, if she could. Julie asked us, "You know the scene where I popped up in the back of the car?" Then she immediately realized that we were all thinking of the sex scene, so she added, "Not that one!" If she were to come back, she'd want to just pop back up in the car unannounced, as a total surprise. However, she doesn't think there's a future for Anna on the show. She seemed disappointed by this, and she repeatedly said that she would love to come back. I had to resist the urge to shout, "WE WANT YOU BACK!"
- She described the character arc in her first episode as, "Oh fuck I'm an angel!"
- Anna was originally supposed to die after two episodes. Julie found out at the last minute that they were changing it so that they could bring her back later.
- She talked a lot about her sex scene with Jensen. It was her first time doing a sex scene on camera, and she was nervous because she didn't know whether or not it was okay to use tongue. She wanted to ask Jensen, but she was afraid that it was something that everyone knew already and she would be looked down on for asking. During the scene it became obvious that she should mimic open-mouthed kissing without really using tongue (but she still thinks there are some onscreen kisses where the actors must have used tongue, so she's still not sure of the rules).
- There was a rehearsal for the scene where Anna and Dean kiss beside the Impala. Julie didn't know that you're not supposed to actually kiss during a rehearsal, and she kissed Jensen. She didn't figure out that it had been a faux pas until working on Stargate. She figures Jensen was probably surprised, but he just took it in stride.
- A fan asked if it was distracting to do a sex scene with such a hot guy. Julie said that it was easy to remain professional because she's not Jensen's fan, per se, she's his friend, so she wasn't thinking about him in that way. "Sex scenes aren't fun, guys! They might look fun, but they're not!"
- During the shot where Anna's hand runs down the Impala window, Jensen wasn't even in the car anymore. Julie reenacted how she had to make a sort of humping motion and then streak her hand down the window by herself.
- Three different men at various conventions have asked if she wants to see their Impala. It makes her nervous because she can't tell whether it's a pickup line or if they really do want to show her their car. And if the latter, whether they expect to reenact the sex scene with her.
- She's aware that fans want her to be Ariel on Once Upon a Time. She's seen a photomanip of herself and Matt Cohen as Ariel and Prince Eric.
- Her favorite line of Anna's: "Maybe, maybe not. But there's still me."
(angel-kink's account here.)
- Julie heard Russ Hamilton talking about the time machine that the Supernatural crew apparently have. She wants to use it to go back to 1977, "pre-pile-of-ash."
- She talked about how the role of Anna was unique for her in many ways. Anna was her first role with a real character arc, at a time when she was mostly unproved. In an industry that usually doesn't believe you can do a thing until they see you do it, she was grateful for the trust shown to her in giving her that role.
- She loved playing a badass. She usually gets cast as sweet girls because she looks the part, but she described Anna as an empowered, strong woman. "Anna does what she thinks is right no matter what." Julie feels that playing Anna has empowered her in her own life.
- Julie asked the director of one episode if she could add Matrix-moves to one of her fight scenes.
- She did a lot of research on angels and angelology when she first got the role, which led her to believe that Anna might really have been Anael. (I squeed so hard when she said this, because my headcanon is vindicated). But despite all the research, she ended up basing her performance very much on the character's immediate circumstances. And after Anna got her grace back, Julie played her as a figure of authority.
- "I don't think Anna 'went evil.' Yeah, she killed Sam, but she was trying to save the world! Maybe it's more accurate to say she 'went rogue,' because she stopped following the rules, but I don't think she was ever evil." In other words, Julie has the same Anna feels that I feel. She's one of us. I cheered out loud when she said this about Anna.
- On her death scene: the first script just read, "She burns." But every draft after that added to it, making her death sound more and more dramatic.
- A fan asked how she would like Anna to come back, if she could. Julie asked us, "You know the scene where I popped up in the back of the car?" Then she immediately realized that we were all thinking of the sex scene, so she added, "Not that one!" If she were to come back, she'd want to just pop back up in the car unannounced, as a total surprise. However, she doesn't think there's a future for Anna on the show. She seemed disappointed by this, and she repeatedly said that she would love to come back. I had to resist the urge to shout, "WE WANT YOU BACK!"
- She described the character arc in her first episode as, "Oh fuck I'm an angel!"
- Anna was originally supposed to die after two episodes. Julie found out at the last minute that they were changing it so that they could bring her back later.
- She talked a lot about her sex scene with Jensen. It was her first time doing a sex scene on camera, and she was nervous because she didn't know whether or not it was okay to use tongue. She wanted to ask Jensen, but she was afraid that it was something that everyone knew already and she would be looked down on for asking. During the scene it became obvious that she should mimic open-mouthed kissing without really using tongue (but she still thinks there are some onscreen kisses where the actors must have used tongue, so she's still not sure of the rules).
- There was a rehearsal for the scene where Anna and Dean kiss beside the Impala. Julie didn't know that you're not supposed to actually kiss during a rehearsal, and she kissed Jensen. She didn't figure out that it had been a faux pas until working on Stargate. She figures Jensen was probably surprised, but he just took it in stride.
- A fan asked if it was distracting to do a sex scene with such a hot guy. Julie said that it was easy to remain professional because she's not Jensen's fan, per se, she's his friend, so she wasn't thinking about him in that way. "Sex scenes aren't fun, guys! They might look fun, but they're not!"
- During the shot where Anna's hand runs down the Impala window, Jensen wasn't even in the car anymore. Julie reenacted how she had to make a sort of humping motion and then streak her hand down the window by herself.
- Three different men at various conventions have asked if she wants to see their Impala. It makes her nervous because she can't tell whether it's a pickup line or if they really do want to show her their car. And if the latter, whether they expect to reenact the sex scene with her.
- She's aware that fans want her to be Ariel on Once Upon a Time. She's seen a photomanip of herself and Matt Cohen as Ariel and Prince Eric.
- Her favorite line of Anna's: "Maybe, maybe not. But there's still me."
(angel-kink's account here.)