Drusilla (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) - Personality and Appearance

Personality and Appearance

Actress Juliet Landau said that when she first received the script, it indicated that Drusilla's accent could be British or American. Landau felt Drusilla "should really be Cockney, especially with the whole Sid and Nancy analogy." Though she never considered portraying Drusilla with a Southern American accent, as James Marsters had considered for Spike, she notes that invited comparisons with Blanche DuBois would also have been interesting.

Drusilla's madness is exhibited in her often-strange dialogue, which is peppered with non sequiturs like "Spike, do you love my insides? All the parts you can't see?" Her behavior is girlish, accompanied by a dark, ironic twist. For instance, when she is happy, she will squeal and laugh like a young child, but she is happiest when committing torture, hunting humans, or witnessing mass destruction. She has a fondness for china dolls but keeps them blindfolded or gagged. She also loves flowers and cute animals, but is not sane enough to care for them; as she says, "Do you like daisies? I plant them but they always die. Everything I put in the ground withers and dies." She even goes so far as to own a Pekingese puppy. She speaks in a soft, mellow voice which contrasts with her dialogue.

More signs of her madness can be seen through her speech:

• "Everything in my head is singing."
• "Do you know what I miss? Leeches."
• "I think sometimes that all my hair will fall out and I'll be bald."
• (To her dolls) "Miss Edith speaks out of turn. She's a bad example and will have no cakes today."
• Dru: I'm naming all the stars. Spike: You can't see the stars, love, that's the ceiling. Also, it's day. Dru: I can see them. But I've named them all the same name, and there's terrible confusion."
• "Run and catch. Run and catch. The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch."
• "The King of Cups expects a picnic, but it is not his birthday."
• (Imitating a growling dog) "Shhh, grrr. Bad dog."
• "It's not nice to change the game in mid-play, Spike. You've taken my chair and the music hasn't stopped."
• (Upon witnessing Angel and Darla having sex) "Snake in the Woodshed! Snake in the Woodshed! Snake in the Woodshed!"
• Dru: "I saw you coming, my lovely; the moon showed me; it told me to come to the 20th century. Angel: "It's the 21st century, Dru." Dru: "Oh well. Still lagging."
• "Dead already? Bad soldiers!"
• (As The First Evil) "Daddy, no kicking . . . I've been so very good all year. It's not even Christmas yet and you've already gone spoiling it . . ."

Drusilla's costumes were initially intended to be a "cross between a Victorian period look and the Kate Moss heroin chic fashion look," says Landau.