DAVID BOREANAZ: EONLINE

THE ANGELIC HEARTTHROB ON VALENTINE, VAMPS AND FEATHERED FOES

As far as 243-year-old undead men go, it's tough to find a sexier one than David Boreanaz.

The vampire with a soul has been on the fast track to TV hunkdom ever since he locked lips with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the blood sucker she couldn't resist in a 1997 guest appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Viewer response - as in, fluttering female hearts - got him his own spinoff, and in the second season of Angel, he's racking up the kind of ratings that might make Buffy jealous.

Now, Boreanaz jumps to the big screen in Valentine, directed by Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) and costarring Denise Richards, Marley Shelton and Katherine Heigl.

He plays Adam, a sportswriter who's trying to keep up his on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend (Shelton) while she's being stalked by a mysterious killer.  As for the ending, we wouldn't dare give away the murderer's identity...

Were you at all concerned about going from a vampire series to a slasher film?  They're definitely in the same genre.

I don't worry about things like genre.  My biggest concerns were I hated the script and I didn't like the role they were offering me - which wasn't Adam.

Whoa, sounds like a good reason to pass on the project.  Why'd you sign on?

Well, I liked the director - Jamie Blanks - a lot, and he was saying, "This is going to be more than a slasher film."  I told him I was intrigued with the character of Adam, a sportswriter with a troubled past, and I said, "Let me play him."  I wanted to experiment - open him up and at the same time show a different side of me I'd feel good about.

After so long playing Angel, is it strange being on a set and not being a member of the undead?

Sometimes - some days you just walk out the door and feel like everyone's dead.

Even though Valentine is a bloody thriller, at least you got to lighten up a bit.

I got to wear shades.  It was fun to be outside in the sun, because I usually play a character who's destined to be in the shadows.  Angel is not a big fan of bright light - he'd need some serious sunblock.

You made your mark getting hot and heavy with Sarah Michelle.  What was it like to get romantic with Marley Shelton?

Marley was just fantastic to work with.  I really pushed for her.  If she hadn't been my leading lady, I might not have done the film.  She has an old-school quality to her very reminiscent of the Golden Age of Hollywood, which I really identify with.  Romancing her was beautiful.  I loved it.

Valentine may add to your heartthrob quotient - which is pretty major already.  Why do you think women find Angel so hot?

It's a mystery thing - it's the shadow, the night.  Angel is a rebel, but he has that sense of vulnerability mixed in.  It's like the charisma surrounding rock stars.  It's a cult thing.

Do you consider yourself a romantic or a rebel?

I'm definitely a combination of both.  Romantic in the sense that I know my own heart, and I bleed for passion.  A rebel because I love to run wild.

Have you always been a hunk?

Not exactly.  In grade school and growing up, I had my shortcomings - crazy hair, braces, bad skin.  I went through all that stuff.

Now that you play a sexy vampire, don't women everywhere hit on you?

No, definitely not.  But I do meet some strange fans...like people who go to these weird clubs where they worship vampires or do other bizarre things.  But it's their world, and they're not hurting anybody, so more power to 'em.

One media report said, "Boreanaz would rather work on his truck instead of work on women at the Sky Bar."  Is that true?

Not at all.  I actually have someone who works on my truck for me.  And I've been to the Sky Bar.  It's a nice setting.  But I do like to hang out at home and listen to music and kind of be away from public events whenever I can.

What's it like going from the pressure of a TV series to the pressure of making your feature debut?

I got bit by the movie bug on this film.  But I would never sacrifice myself and think, Hey, I'm going to leave my show because of this experience.  I'd never do anything like that.

We won't tell the ending of Valentine...if you tell us what's up for Angel the rest of the season?

I found out today where he's going, and I'm really excited about it.  What the fans are going to see is a different personality coming out - really different.  Angel is now in a phase of being very withdrawn.  Nothing matters - he wants to get the kill, and that's it.

But he'll open up more.  He's going to come out in some way, and what that crossroad brings is going to be interesting.  He's going to be a different person.  There are a lot of personalities in Angel, and I enjoy playing each one of them.

There have been flashbacks this season.  Will there be more episodes like that?

Definitely.  I'd like to go back to the World War II era and do something about espionage.  That would be really cool.

For Angel, making love is a rare occurrence.  Is there going to be more action in his future?

I think so, but he has to be careful.  When he made love on that one episode, it caused a big uproar - the seven signs opened up, the Earth kind of crumbled and everything fell around him.

I know you expect screams from the audience in Valentine.  Do you ever watch horror films and really get scared?

Halloween scared me.  That Michael Meyers mask scared the hell out of me.  I remember being in the audience for Jaws, and that scene when the divers come down and the dead body goes up scared the hell out of me - I spilled my popcorn all over.  I was sitting in the front row with my friend Alex.  I was seven years old, and I was like, piss white.  It was terrifying.

What are you afraid of in real life?

Chickens.

Dead or alive?

Live chickens.  Birds.  Because they're very clucky and full of feathers.  They're just a little too jerky for me.

Did watching Valentine scare you?

I haven't seen the film from beginning to end yet.  I don't know if I'm going to.  I have a big problem with watching myself on camera.  I get uncomfortable.

You don't watch yourself on Angel?

No.  Last year, I watched bits and pieces.  This year, I've distanced myself so much from it, when people talk about what I did in a certain episode, I don't even remember.  Each week, it's just over for me, and I go on to the next one.  This approach has kept me from getting too close to him.  I'm just portraying this guy.  I'm not really a vampire.

Will there be any more crossover episodes between Angel and Buffy?

Yes, but it has become difficult to do because of time constraints.  Sarah Michelle and I are very much involved in our own shows, but we definitely want to do some more together.

What do you think of Sarah Michelle first saying she wouldn't continue to do Buffy if it moved from the WB to Fox and then sort of backtracking and saying she was misunderstood?

You're going to hear that kind of comment until it's settled where the show will end up.  Everyone will be throwing daggers.  So, I really have nothing to say about it, because I don't want to get involved in a pissing match. 

What's shaping your future career?

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