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I recently had a bit of a chinwag with the lovely Eliza Dushku for the DVD/Blu-ray release of Dollhouse Season 2, the thrilling finale of the sexy sci-fi drama, Dollhouse. The series reunites Dushku with fellow Buffy alumna Joss Whedon – the man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and the upcoming ‘The Avengers‘ movie. Dollhouse Season 2 and the Complete Collection are available to own on Blu-ray & DVD from 11 October 2010 courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Can you tell us about your dress? It is very interesting.

Eliza Dushku: You know, I wanted to get dressed up for the international press! Sort of an appreciation for the other places in the world. For the U.S. press I do T-shirt and jeans. But it is Phillip Lim so I gave a little bit of flavor.

It looks like you are really good at — it’s interesting because of the show as well yourself, you could have been in and out of your character. There is almost the actress and the girl and it is almost impossible to recognize you if you are not wearing the makeup and the hair and everything; right?

Eliza Dushku: Uh-huh.

Do you do that on purpose?

Eliza Dushku: You know, I’ve sort of always — I’ve just sort of always been a mimic and deep down there’s this tomboy in me. There’s the young woman that sort of started discovering hair and makeup and dresses and how to be girlie and feminine and that’s fun. Then I sort of experienced the celebrity element and the red carpet and the glamour and I know how to play that role. Once I sort of pick something up and absorb a few of the details I usually sort of chameleon in and out of different people, yeah.

The character was perfect for you?

Eliza Dushku: Yeah, sort of came from a four-hour lunch with me. Joss went, “You’re a lot of people.” And I think he also noticed that more often than not I was sort of being cast as the leather pants tough girl, you know, really sort of my guard was up and that was where I came from in a way. Coming out of high school I did “Buffy” right away and I was in that tough fiercely protective, I’ll kick anyone’s butt that tries to scrutinize me or tell me who to be or put me in a box. And as I have recovered from high school every year, I’m a little more open about playing different characters and playing vulnerable characters and playing characters that, you know, can be beat down as well as doing the beating.

And which of these characters are you playing on the show are you more comfortable with? And which one are you uncomfortable with?

Eliza Dushku: It depends. It definitely depends. I think absolutely there is a level of trust with Joss and the cast and the crew even that we’ve had with on the show both seasons because I feel comfortable going those places and going to some of the more vulnerable, raw places and when I don’t feel entirely comfortable, it’s — you’re more likely to get the bold, the strong, the resistant person. So when I’m in my comfort zone I can be quite lovely.

So it seems like you have a lot of action scenes. How do you prepare?

Eliza Dushku: Gusto, baby. I just step up to the line and I hate — I remember in the “Buffy” days I used to watch the fight scenes on TV after we shot them and every time my stunt double was in I thought everyone could notice that it was not me as much as I could. So I wanted to do as much as I could so I didn’t see that wig flipping around. (Laughter.) I wanted to climb in. And also it is so much fun, you know, it’s great stress reliever to just beat the bag out of someone on a Monday morning. And it’s just — it’s physical. You get your endorphins going. I’m a competitive kid. I did grow up with brothers, and so it beats sitting behind a desk or playing sort of the same character every day. It switches it up. How do I prepare? I just show up and I take direction.

A lot of shows now especially ones involving Joss Whedon have two lives: There is the show and there is the DVD. Did you do stuff within the production of “Dollhouse” that was specifically geared towards DVD or was it all after the fact?

Eliza Dushku: I don’t really know because I feel like we, of course, make the show for the viewers and the fans first and foremost. And I think — I don’t think we’re favoring the DVD with the stuff but I think with all Joss’s shows what is so fascinating about them and what sort of feeds the fan craze is that there are nuances in every show. And there are — you can watch the show three times and pick something up each time you watch it from the characters or from the sets or from, you know, little things that, yes, Joss probably does to get into people or get people thinking and coming, breaking off into big, giant theories about world corruption.