Why Hollywood Won't Cast Sarah Michelle Gellar Anymore

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Well I have to say SMG nailed Buffy and she owns Buffy.

But for some reason, otherwise I never was really impressed with any of her other performances.

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A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.

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People like Michelle Williams, Melissa McCarthy, Keri Russell, David Boreanez, Kristen Bell, Joshua Jackson, Lauren Graham, Kristen Ritter, Alyson Hannigan, even Blake Lively went on to have at least solid careers, and all their big breaks came from WB/CW/UPN. There are plenty of people who originated/got their breaks from those networks that are still getting steady work even if they don't have well-established careers. So, I don't entirely buy the WB thing. I do think the WB/CW puts more of a premium on looks than talent, which afterwards frequently hurt the performers who have so much more of the former than the latter.

Ultimately, so much about Hollywood is luck. Most actors don't go on to have big careers after their breakthrough roles. So, Gellar is hardly unique. People also have to remember that 'Buffy' was a cult hit. It was hardly Friends popular. Gellar did make the mistake of taking some silly roles and not really seeking work when she was at her peak of popularity. You have to strike while the iron is hot, especially when you're young.

I will admit that though Gellar had some brilliant moments on this show I don't think she's anywhere near a great actress. 'Buffy' was a perfect role for her, but even within this show she had some sketchy stretches and showed her limitations, particularly in the last couple seasons. The skills she did use to have seem to have dried up a bit. She doesn't appear as attentive and alert of an actress as she used to be. She often comes off dour most of the time I see her now.

She got too type cast and when you try to change your type or get too old to play said type it leads to a decline. She also had children which affected things. I think she should go on Scream Queens or American Horror Story to get relevant again. She still has a huge following.

The truth is she's simply not that great of an actress.

She was perfect for Buffy--something about the role just clicked with her and she ran with it. She deserves all the accolades she gets for it.

But outside the show, she falters. She doesn't have a great range. All of her performances in films contain mannerisms and facial expressions she used on Buffy, especially her way of showing fear, which is basically her looking constipated. Her crying scenes are also very similar.

To make matters worse, her voice is just offputting and automatically puts her out of the running for many roles. It's high and nasally and unfortunately it makes taking her seriously in some roles hard to do.

She has many instances of overwrought performances, especially when she's whimpering and trying too hard to display intense emotions and it comes off very much like a person trying to act. It feels like you're watching Sarah Michelle Gellar play a character--you never lose yourself in the project and forget for a second that you're seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar be (insert role here).

Her performance in Southland Tales was just awful, for one. Ditto with The Grudge--she basically had like two expressions the entire time.

She had spunk when she started out on Buffy, and she was young and beautiful. Those things worked in her favor. But she was never in the leagues of other young actresses the public took seriously, then and now. Comparing her talent to Jennifer Lawrence at the same age is no contest. Hell, Lindsay Lohan has a trainwreck career but she carried films like Mean Girls, at age 17, better than Gellar could have.

I've always felt that her body held her back in adult roles. She's short and often underweight which gives her a child-like appearance. It makes her male romantic costars look like pedophiles. Because of her appearance, I don't think she can play leading lady roles anymore. I think she would do well in quirky roles, where the focus is not on her body.
I am a huge Buffy fan and loved her on the show, so this is not meant to be an
attack on her. I wish her well and hope to see her in more roles.

The posts here are full of contradictory analogies and stupidity. She mainly goes voicework, yet that's why she doesn't get roles: her voice. She doesn't have range, yet carried a show that focused on everything from comedy to drama to satire for 7 years as both the straight man and humor. She's the only actress from that WB gen era to get a major award nomination, yet wasn't respected.

Her career sucked for a few reasons:

1.) She's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the titular character on a teen show. You're not casting Sarah Gellar, you're casting Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That's what every article and interview will reference.

2.) Luck. It's not talent that gets you anywhere, it's being in the right flick at the right time. That's why Brody said it took him years to be an overnight success when he won an AA.

3.) Poor choices in independent scripts.

4.) She got herself in major trouble with larger studios by refusing to promote a movie that the studio took from the director and turned into something else. Other than a cameo in Grudge 2, she hasn't worked with a major studio since.