Since joining Charmed at the beginning of season four, Rose McGowan has been integral to The Charmed Ones’ adventures, with fans taking her quirky alter ego, Paige Matthews, to their hearts. With Charmed’s seventh season flying high in the ratings, David Waldon chats to Rose about the impact she’s made and finds out just what’s going on with her hair colour…

If playing the gorgeous and goofy Paige Matthews on Charmed has altered Rose McGowans’s public image as ‘cooly aloof’ then spending half an hour with her smashes that perception completely. Besides being spry and witty, the actress is just as animated behind the scenes as in front of the camera. Her animation reflects what Rose has brought to Charmed in the years since she joined the ‘family’ at the beginning of season four. At the time, the decision to cast Rose seemed to come out of leftfield. How could – and would – this seriously offbeat star of independent films such as The Doom Generation and cult hits such as Scream, adapt to the mainstream world of series television?

Three years later, to the surprise of many – including, perhaps, herself – Rose has made the role of Paige her own, and has become a firm favourite with fans. In an exclusive interview with Charmed Magazine, the lovely Rose chats about her ‘Charmed’ life, on-screen love, ever-changing hair colour and what’s going on with her movie career…

Charmed Magazine: You’re now in your fourth season of Charmed. How is the experience going for you?

I can’t believe it. I really thought I’d be here for two years. This is shocking, and not in a bad way. It’s just shocking. For all of us.

When the producers came to you more than three years ago, did you have to be talked into coming onto the show?

I wasn’t hesitant, but then I also found it perversely funny, I tend to do things if there’s an ironic twist to it. If anybody ever had told me in my lifetime that I would be on a Spelling show, I would have thought they were off their rocker just because, you know, I grew up watching [Beverly Hills] 90210. And Dynasty was the first big show that I loved; when I came to America, I was obsessed. I also love Alexis Colby Carrington. So, yeah, being involved with Charmed was very surreal, ad it still is surreal and has strange moments. It’s interesting. But it was a strange decision to come to. I really didn’t think it would go for as long as it has. And, like I said, it hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing, it’s just been strange. But, you know, my life has been all about strange.

What is it about Paige that you’ve come to love as you’ve played her?

Well, doing this sort of light comedy comes extremely easily to me, so that’s kind of the bad side for me, because it becomes – you know, its like anybody who’s a dramatic actor, they want to do comedy. If you’re eating the same meal, you really want something else. So it’s roughly the same as that. But I do like playing kind of a wacky, sweet goofball that always getting into trouble, and who for some odd reason never seems to have a boyfriend, which I don’t quite understand, but…

Its fantasy

Its fantasy, I know, right. Hello? I’ve had a boyfriend since I was in the first grade; can we discuss that? But, then again I guess its Paige. She can’t hold a man!

Have you approached the writers about weather its time for Paige to settle down, at least for more than a few episodes?

Yeah, I’ll do that, and then they’ll give me a guy, like, three episodes maximum. Its odd… but then again, you know, I don’t really care, because I get so harassed any time I kiss anybody, so it’s actually easier not to have a boyfriend on the show.

Do you think that the character of Paige, if not saving the show, has extended its life expectancy?

I think she certainly re-energized it, and probably brought a bit of lightness to it. But, then again I’d only seen one episode of the show before I came on.

Was that done on purpose on you part, or did you just never get around to seeing pre-Paige episodes?

It never occurred to me. I wasn’t there, I wasn’t involved. It had nothing to do with me. But it was ironic, because I was in Romania at the time of making the decision to join the show, although I had never seen it. And on the flight back from Romania, to England, they offered a choice of things to watch. You could press something to watch TV, or something like that, and they had – it was bizarre – they had the pilot episode of Charmed. It was an odd thing. And I’ve honestly never seen that on any other plane that I’ve been on. And I actually really liked it.

Why were you in Romania?

I was doing a movie [Vacuums]. But it was cool – I got to go around in Transylvania, which was pretty funny and silly. They sell one-dollar vampire wine. But I was filming in Belgrade.

Some of the crew told me that when you started on Charmed, you were a bit of a daredevil when it came to stunt work…

Yeah, but they don’t really write many stunts for me anymore! To be honest, there’s a point – and I think Holly and Alyssa kind of reached this for themselves too – where you just get so tired, instead of being gung-ho, “Yes let me do a stunt,” you can just be, like, “Oh, let me have this 20 minutes to sit down.” But I still would love to do more wirework. I don’t really get that. That’s probably because I don’t levitate, and they’d probably have to turn me into something to be able to do it. But I like being on the wire most of all.

Wouldn’t they give you guys the stunts earlier in the season when you have more energy?

They don’t think that way. Before Christmas when you’re desperate for a break, they give you a really hard episode; and when you’re really plowed at the very end, they’ll give you the hardest stuff to do. It’s kind of the reverse of what you’d think.

Do you have a clue as to where Paige is going this season?

I’m teaching at the Magic School which is cool, because I like working with younger actors and teenagers and they like, so that’s fun and different and will go in a different direction. And I really like the babies playing Chris [Halliwell]. They’re cute.

One more thing, what exactly is going on with the hair? And what’s got more response from fans, the black or red look?

I would say that about 80 percent of the people who come up to me on the street say, “Oh my God, I’m glad you dyed it back again.” Frankly, though, it’s on my head, and its grows out of my head, so I can do whatever I want.

Will we ever see you as a blonde?

I was blonde in Scream, but that was for a particular reason. I wanted her to looks like a real middle American girl. I would do white blonde – I like the idea of platinum. I’ll do that someday.

Issue #2

Jan/Feb 2005