"Ringer" Star Sarah Michelle Gellar Slays With Her Charm

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Because I have a "thing" for Sarah Michelle Gellar, I must admit that I came into the Ringer panel at Comic Con as a biased spectator. While I obviously don't harbor any sexual longing for her, during her years as a '90s teen icon I still developed something of a platonic crush, first during her run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later with roles in films like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make the Comic-Con screening of the pilot, so I have no idea whether or not it was any good (though I've heard raves from the rest of the AfterElton.com staff). However, the plot, which has Gellar playing a dual role as estranged twin sisters Bridget/Siobhan, sounds intriguing enough.

Bridget is the recovering alcoholic on the run from the mob, who takes over wealthy, glamorous Siobhan's identity after the latter mysteriously disappears during a boating excursion. Soon enough, Bridget discovers there was much more to Siobhan than meets the eye. Twisty plot developments ensue.

"At its core…it's a tale of two sisters where one is driven by redemption and one is driven by revenge," said series co-creator Erich Charmelo. "We're also playing with the themes of identity and duplicity, so [we're] playing within the conceits of noir. You know, you don't know really who's the femme fatale and who's the mark. Everybody has two faces, and every single one of our characters on the panel has a duplicitous nature. So we love delving into that realm of moral ambiguity."

For her part, Gellar – who had some of the best lines of the hour and was a real audience-pleaser throughout – spoke to the challenge of portraying two different characters.

"Bridget's story is the story of redemption, which I think is something that everybody can understand and relate to, and I think Siobhan's story is the story of revenge, which I think a lot of us think about, often, maybe," said Gellar. "As long as that's in the back of your mind, I think you can make two really compelling characters at the same time."

Along with Charmelo, Gellar was joined on the panel by co-creator Nicole Snyder, executive producer Pam Veasey, and co-stars Nestor Carbonell (Lost), Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four), and Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected). Carbonell, who made an impression on genre fans with his role as Richard Alpert on Lost, stars in the show as Victor Machado, an FBI agent who has been tasked with protecting Bridget.

"I so enjoyed the ride I got to [go on in] Lost, the mystery," he said. "And the way we worked, which is not dissimilar to this, in that I only knew what I was shooting that week, and then I always thought I knew the answer, and the next week I was completely wrong. And I love… I really learned to love working that way. And I'm actually asking not to know from the writers where it's going, because I just want to sort of play the moment."

Gruffudd, who adorably blushed on stage during the Q&A when a super fan expressed her adoration for him ("my love, Ioan Gruffudd"), plays the role of Andrew Martin, Siobhan's husband who becomes suspicious of Bridget after she attempts to pass herself off as her sister. His uncertainty arises when in Bridget (who he believes is actually his wife) he begins to notice shades of the "old" Siobhan he knew before their marriage began to sour.

"I think Andrew's…relationship with Siobhan, or the stated relationship as we see in the pilot, is devastating," he said. "I think he really wants the old Siobhan back. And he's seen a glimpse of that of course… [with] Bridget as Siobhan."

Polaha, who previously starred on the short-lived CW series Life Unexpected, cut a dashing figure on the panel as he discussed his character Henry Gallagher, the husband of Siobhan's best friend Gemma who is carrying on an affair with Siobhan.

"Henry really does love Siobhan," he said. "So it's genuine, true love. So while he's sort of being unfaithful to one person, his true heart is [with] this other woman. It just happens to be involved in a marriage."

For Polaha the new series represents a "full circle" milestone in his career, given that ten years ago he was second in the running for the role of Riley Finn on a certain sort of well known show that previously starrred Gellar, but that ultimately went to Marc Blucas – a fact that was revealed to the delight of the audience during the panel.

"I was at NYU, and I had my very first audition ever for a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer," he said. "And they flew me out to Los Angeles to read with Sarah and Joss Whedon. So like my very, very first professional thing ever was reading with Sarah."

It's also been full-circle for Gellar, both because Ringer represents a return to the small screen where she got her first big break and because the new series airs on the CW, which was created after the WB and UPN (each of which served as Buffy's home base at different periods during the show's run) merged in 2006. She spoke of coming back to her old stomping grounds, and why she ultimately feels the CW is a better fit for the show, which was originally developed for CBS before TV head Les Moonves suggested it may not be the right fit for the network.

"There's so many of the same people that are there [from when Buffy was on the air], and my experience over there was so incredible and so incredibly supportive," she said. "I think we have a little more freedom at the CW. I think we can explore what the show is about in a different way. I think you can take more risks at the CW. I think we all know who CBS' audience is [read: old], and their shows are fabulous and they're made for that audience. But because the CW is still finding [itself], it gives us that opportunity to find ourselves as well."

"I'm naturally thrilled to be on [the CW]," joked Gruffudd. "I'm thrilled because I'm 37 now. And I think the median age of all the other cast members on the CW is 22 or something. [So] I'm thrilled that I'm considered young enough to be on the CW."

Ioan Gruffudd

So what can fans expect in the upcoming first season? While the panelists were understandably mum on the larger plot machinations they have in store, it was revealed that the show will remain rooted in the "real world" throughout: "There will be no vampires… nothing supernatural," said Snyder. "Sorry, guys."

You can also expect a focus mainly on Bridget, though there will be flashbacks to her and Siobhan's relationship previously, which had soured for reasons only hinted at in the pilot. These flashbacks will include ones depicting the sisters as adolescents, but don't worry, said Gellar: "I won't be playing teenage twins. I don't kid myself that much."

Ringer debuts on The CW on September 13