`Witchblade' double-edged
August 26, 2000
BY TERRY MORROW

Think being a superhero would be an easy life? It would bring out the neurotic in actress Yancy Butler. In the made-for-cable movie "Witchblade," airing at 7 p.m. Sunday on TNT, Butler plays a woman who nobly commands a bracelet so powerful that she can stomp out Earth's darkest forces. If that happened to her in real life? Forget about it. "I'd freak out," Butler says, laughing at the prospect. "Then, I'd start asking myself: What is this thing? I don't need it. Why did this happen to me? Why me? "Then, being a Type A personality, I'd definitely start figuring out ways to use it to my advantage."

So much for truth, justice and the American way. Fortunately, she only plays a superhero on TV. As New York detective Sara Pezzini, Butler gets to freak out a little, too. Not only does this ancient and powerful Witchblade weapon find its way onto her arm during a shoot-out, but it also opens up a can of worms about who Sara really is. Even more startling is when the bracelet starts to morph all on its own into a large metallic glove that deflects bullets--a handy little trick that saves her more than once from the local mob boss trying to plug her. The Witchblade also gives her visions to solve the murders of her father, partner and confidant. Yes, she sees dead people. The glove makes her strong, fast and agile, allowing her to kick backside with "Matrix"-like special effects.

"This had the potential to be extremely cheesy," Butler says about the tele-film based on the hit comic book from Top Cow.
"But it actually works very well. "I wanted to play this character because of her duplicity. She is very, very strong but very, very vulnerable because of some losses in her life. I liked that [the filmmakers] brought this realistic thread to her through this. That makes her human."

Sara dives into an identity crisis while struggling to understand why the Witchblade has become part of her life. Her road to self-
discovery is one of the richer elements found in the "Witchblade" comic book that the movie tries to emulate, Butler says.
"One of the biggest challenges this character has to deal with is learning to forgive herself. Then, she has to deal with the
technical aspects of her life: How can she control this thing that's on her arm?"

The husky-voiced Butler is no stranger to series television or sci-fi roles. She gained a cult following through a short-lived
1992 series called "Mann and Machine" in which she played a robot posing as the world's perfect woman. "Witchblade's"
Sara is not so mechanical and a little bit more like Butler in real life.

"I think I can be incredibly strong when I need to be, but I am also very vulnerable at the same time," she says, sitting
backstage in a darkened area after an autograph signing at the Wizard World 2000 comics convention, held in Chicago
earlier this month.

"I think today is a perfect example. "You have to be a little crazy to do this kind of schedule, where you are running around
constantly meeting people and signing autographs and things like that. It makes me vulnerable to the whims of other people,
but you deal with it.

"I'm used to it, and I dig it." However, Butler, hoping "Witchblade" will be picked up as a series, says she tries not to let
"what if" scenarios plague her in real life. It's not easy, though--especially working in an unstable profession such as acting.

"I try to not regret much because I think we are here to learn. I try not to expect much, unlike Sara, simply because I don't
want to be disappointed. I want to go through life being pleasantly surprised," she says. "You have to grow into that kind of
mindset. I daily work on it.

"It's a daily struggle to be at peace with yourself and the rest of the world, especially when the world gets to be a little too
crazy, and people are pushing you here and there.

"Should've, could've, would've. I try not to do that unless I need to learn something for the 47th time. "As a human being,
we go through a lot of `should've' in our lives. Hopefully, you'll get the chance to do whatever again, and you can learn."

Scripps Howard News Service