29 Years Ago, Star Stops Filming Iconic Vampire Series Over No Hour Limits!

Filming “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was a grueling task for the show’s lead actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Speaking on the podcast Shut Up Evan (via Télé Loisirs), Gellar shared why she raised concerns about the excessive working hours on Buffy:

“I was sacrificing my entire health”

“The rules have changed because the schedules were very, very different back in the days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There were no hour limits. There’s something called ‘forced calls,’ which are regulated by our union. It means you’re supposed to have 12 hours of rest between the end of shooting and when you need to return, to get some sleep. You can break this rule, but then you have to compensate the actor.”

In the early days of the series, Sarah Michelle Gellar was only 20 years old, and she pushed herself hard, often exceeding the union-mandated limits to earn more, but it eventually took a toll:

“I was a driven actress. During the first few episodes, I thought: ‘This is great. I’m making all this extra money.’ Then, I realized I was sacrificing my entire health because I wasn’t sleeping.”

“This is how I want to bow out”

It’s important to note that Buffy also featured many physically demanding and choreographed action scenes. Coupled with overtime and lack of sleep, it’s understandable that the actress’s health was affected.

Moreover, Gellar always looked after herself, as she refused to shoot seasons 8 and 9 despite the large sums offered to her. On April 21, 2007, she told EW her reasons for stopping:

“You always fear that the show will run too long, especially when it’s cult. Last year, many were ready to tear us down. [So when] we had such a strong season this year, I thought: ‘This is how I want to bow out: on top, at our best.'”

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