> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Gellar happy to just chill - URL: https://www.smdp.com/gellar-happy-to-just-chill/ - Published: 2004-10-22T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:19:36.000Z - Author: Dan Dunn - Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import Seems like only yesterday Sarah Michelle Gellar was a bright-eyed bobby-soxer battling bloodsuckers on TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Though the 27-year-old actress is no longer wielding wooden stakes on the small screen, she’s still intrepidly battling monsters. In Takashi Shimizu’s paranormal thriller “The Grudge,” Gellar stars as an exchange student in Japan who stumbles upon a spook-infested house and must confront a terrifying evil. In an effort to get us to get you to go see the film, the urbane urbanite (she hails from New York City) recently chatted up a roomful of reporters. QUESTION: “The Grudge” is a remake of the Japanese film “Ju-on.” Have you seen the original? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: I have. I just thought it was so chilling, and I haven’t seen anything that stayed with me for so long afterwards. I made the mistake of watching it at night by myself, and I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Q: What scares you, Sarah? SMG: Long lines for restrooms and very crowded airports scare me. Those are the biggies. Q: Do you believe in ghosts? SMG: I believe in the idea of ghostly experiences. One of the things I love is this Japanese belief — which is almost a religious belief for them — that when someone dies with so much emotion, so much pain, anger and frustration, that the emotion envelops a place. I do believe emotions can transcend life and death. Q: When buying a house, do you think it’s a good idea to check first to be sure nothing terrible has happened there? SMG: (Laughs) In California, those types of houses go so quickly. I have a girl-friend who owns a house in which there was a murder — that’s not for me. No way. I think the only house that didn’t sell quickly was Nicole Brown Simpson’s place. Usually, though, it’s prime real estate, which is the strangest and most oddly sick thing I’ve ever seen. Q: Do you miss doing “Buffy?” SMG: I miss the character. I miss my family — the crew — but I don’t miss the hours. God, I so don’t miss the hours! Q: You and your husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., worked together in two “Scooby Doo” films. Do you plan to make other movies together? SMG: As an audience member, I don’t like watching real-life couples onscreen together. I think Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones had the right idea with “Traffic.” They got to be in the same city at the same time. They were both passionate about the project, and could share that passion. But at the same time, they were never in a scene together. That’s the only way we’ll do it again. Q: You spent a great deal of time in Japan making “The Grudge.” What do you see as being the biggest differences between their culture and ours? SMG: America is a youth-oriented society. Everything is about what’s new, what’s hot, and we throw away the old. In Japan, they revere the elderly; as well they should, because wisdom comes from experience. Q: You achieved success in Hollywood at a very young age. Looking back, how has your career impacted your life off camera? SMG: Working in this business has afforded me opportunities I don’t think I ever would have had otherwise. (My family) couldn’t afford to travel, but now I’ve gone all over the world. I found something that I not only love, but that I’ve been successful at. To have that sort of direction from a young age is really amazing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/102204-14_01.jpg) (Photo: BY DAN DUNN Special to the Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 22, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)