David Boreanaz Movies
Look up the words "handsome" and "brooding" in any dictionary and chances are you'll have a pretty good description of actor David Boreanaz. Tall, dark, and possessing the sort of alluring charisma that suggests an Abercrombie and Fitch model from the dark side, Boreanaz flourished on the small screen in the early 2000s when his Buffy the Vampire Slayer role was spun off into the supernatural-flavored series Angel.Born in Buffalo, NY, and raised in Philadelphia, Boreanaz was inspired at age seven to pursue a career in acting after witnessing the legendary Yul Brynner's performance in The King and I. In the years that followed, the aspiring actor would strive to keep the dream alive, and when it came time for higher education, Boreanaz opted to study his craft at Ithaca College in New York. The allure of a life in films soon drew Boreanaz to Los Angeles, although it wouldn't take him long to realize that struggling actors were a dime a dozen in sunny California. Dreams of his name in lights soon gave way to realities such as earning a living by parking cars and handing out towels at a sports club -- and uncredited parts in such films as Aspen Extreme and Best of the Best 2 (both 1993) certainly weren't paying the rent. A one-time role on Married...With Children as daughter Kelly's (Christina Applegate) motorcycle-riding boyfriend gained the struggling actor modest exposure -- and his luck would soon change in the most unexpected (though somewhat typical by Hollywood standards) way.
While Boreanaz was walking his dog in Hollywood, a manager was taken by his captivating intensity, and a subsequent introduction to casting agent Marcia Shulman almost immediately ensured his landing the role of the vampire Angel on the soon-to-be-hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Two years after the premiere of Buffy, Boreanaz's character proved popular enough to earn his own eponymously titled spin-off series, and the show proved a solid hit for the WB until it was inexplicably canceled in mid-2004. Of course, by this point, Boreanaz could rest fairly easy thanks to roles in such features as Valentine (2001) and I'm With Lucy (2002). Fans who couldn't get enough of the actor's dark side could look forward to his role as the villainous Luc Crash in The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2004). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- Add Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 01 to QueueAdd Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 01 to top of Queue
A mid-season replacement in early 1997, Buffy the Vampire Slayer quickly established an identity separate from the jokey 1992 feature film that spawned it. An unlikely mixture of action, drama, horror, and comedy, the 12-episode first season effectively cross-pollinated The X-Files, Beverly Hills 90210, and Dark Shadows to become a sleeper hit for the fledgling WB network. Series creator Joss Whedon and his writers set out to literalize the idea that high school is hell, examining teenaged angst and sexual awakening through the lens of supernatural metaphor. The two-part opener established Sunnydale, CA, as an otherwise idyllic small town situated atop the mouth to hell. Witches, demonic hyenas, a sexy praying mantis, and, of course, vampires stalked the streets outside Sunnydale High, their various evils reflecting the raging hormones and social Darwinism within. With the show's edgy take on high-school life driving the wildly varying plot lines, a tightly knit ensemble quickly took shape. Former soap star Sarah Michelle Gellar played Buffy Summers as a reluctant hero, desperately clinging to shopping, cheerleading, and girliness to escape her calling as the mystically empowered Chosen One. Alyson Hannigan, as the geeky Willow Rosenberg, and Nicholas Brendon, as the Slayer-smitten Xander Harris, quickly became Buffy's sidekicks as well as her closest confidantes. They would remain the core of Buffy's "Scooby Gang" for the show's entire run. Charisma Carpenter, as icy teen queen Cordelia Chase, provided not only caustic humor but also a glimpse of the Buffy who might have been, if responsibility hadn't been thrust upon her. And veteran British actor Anthony Stewart Head played the role of fusty mentor Rupert Giles with a mixture of comic bumbling and fatherly wisdom. Although they would never become series regulars, frequent guest stars Kristine Sutherland, as Buffy's long-suffering mom, and Armin Shimerman, as the ineptly Napoleonic Principal Snyder, provided the typical teen pressures that would complicate Buffy's secret identity for the first three seasons. Meanwhile, sexual tension and a dark link between Buffy and arch-nemesis The Master (Mark Metcalf) arrived in the form of enigmatic dreamboat Angel (David Boreanaz). By the end of the season -- when a recently drowned Buffy sprang back to life to face down The Master and attend a sock hop -- the show's organic mixture of disparate genres was a fait accompli. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, (more)
- 1997
- Add Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 02 to QueueAdd Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 02 to top of Queue
By the time its abbreviated first season ran its course, Buffy the Vampire Slayer had captured the zeitgeist despite its modest ratings. With a fully formed aesthetic and a small but demographically admirable audience, the show entered what many fans and critics consider its golden age. On the villain front, hell-raising vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) arrived to shake Sunnydale up. Their twisted, Sid and Nancy-esque devotion to one another added depth and nuance to the show's moral compass. It also provided counterpoint to the fever-pitch romance between Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and tormented vampire Angel (David Boreanaz). Watcher Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), too, found love, in the arms of cyber-pagan Jenny Calendar (Robia La Morte), while Willow (Alyson Hannigan) began dating laconic, guitar-playing werewolf Oz (Seth Green). As for nice-guy Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and haughty beauty Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), they ended up, against all odds, in one another's arms. While the profusion of often star-crossed romance drove the show's emotional dynamics, it also supplied sudden shifts of allegiance and the death of a major character. In the two-parter "Surprise" and "Innocence" (aired on consecutive nights as a promotional stunt marking the show's move from Mondays to Tuesdays), Buffy and Angel finally consummated their love -- with unexpectedly disastrous results. A pesky gypsy curse and a moment of true happiness were all it took to turn Angel back into a killing machine. As the actors played out momentous story lines in a keener emotional register, new depths were revealed behind the scenes as well. Future show-runner Marti Noxon joined the writing staff and quickly became a key player, while series creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed several landmark episodes. Continuity buffs relished the revelation that Buffy's momentary death the previous season had triggered the emergence of another slayer. The brief but memorable career of Kendra the Vampire Slayer (Bianca Lawson) underscored the constant danger of Buffy's calling. Ultimately, though, it was the Slayer's lover-turned-nemesis whose seeming demise brought the season to a shattering close. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, (more)
Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz continue to push forward into the realm of the bizarre, surreal, and campy with the 1996 feature film, Macabre Pair of Shorts,a self-proclaimed "comedy of terrors" written and directed by Scott Mabbutt. Done in the mold of such horror comedy classics as Creepshow and Tales from the Darkside: the Movie, Macabre spoofs traditional horror conventions while delivering a hair-raising fright-fest. The premise relays the events that unfold one Halloween night when a couple of adventurous cinephiles discover an exceedingly strange reel of film at a motion picture equipment facility. Threading it up on the projector, they suddenly unleash a wacky, B-movie style parade of horrors -- from crazed monsters to insatiable blood-sucking female vampires. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Birthday girl Kelly (Christina Applegate) breaks a date with current boyfriend Frank (David Boreanaz) when her parents offer to treat her to the movies. As the lights in the theater dim, Kelly spots Frank--arm in arm with another woman! This is the episode in which the cast pokes derisive fun at the closing credits...with the biggest volley of vitriol reserved for the Columbia Pictures "Torch Lady". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
