CAST NEWS - DAVID BOREANAZ

THE CROW 4
ADDED: 01.05.03

According to the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, David Boreanaz, Tara Reid and Dennis Hopper have all agreed to star in Dimension Films' THE CROW 4: WICKED PRAYER. The story centres on ex-con Jimmy Cuervo and his girlfriend Lily (Emmanuelle Chriqui). The pair are murdered by Luc Crash (Boreanaz) and his satanic gang as part of a ritual for Crash to become an immortal demon. Cuervo is resurrected as The Crow to take revenge, of course. Reid will play Lola, Crash's love interest. Hopper will play El Nino, the man who marries Crash and Lola. BACK TO THE TOP

TALK LIKE AN ANGEL
ADDED: 13.03.03. SOURCE: CINESCAPE

Fans are already mourning the loss of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is heading for greener pastures at the end of this current season, but...spin-off series Angel is still going strong. Now in its fourth year, Angel continues to build on and expand the vast mythology of Joss Whedon's universe in ever-interesting and exciting ways.

David Boreanaz talked with Cinescape to discuss the show and what to expect from the remaining episoides this year, including confirmation that Angel would indeed return to Buffy for that show's series finale this spring.

"To [put it] lightly, [the] reasons he would go back and see Buffy...there's a reason," hints Boreanaz. "I'm going to be going back to Buffy for the season finale."

The actor adds that perhaps more such intermingling of shows would have happened had Buffy not moved to the UPN network last year, while Angel remained on The WB. Still, for an event as big as the Buffy finale, bringing Angel over was all but a given - studio politics notwithstanding.

"I guess there was just an understanding between creator and studio," says Boreanaz. "If there would be a last Buffy, [then] Angel would be able to come back and see her. I think that was worked out ahead of time, but I'm not privy to how that stuff works. If we had gone over to the UPN, the crossovers would have been more prevalent, I think. And the fact that we have Alyson [Hannigan] coming over to our show is fascinating."

Alyson Hannigan will be stopping by Angel for the episode Orpheus in a couple of weeks. Boreanaz says he enjoys crossovers like this, but in this case it was particularly fun since Hannigan is engaged to Alexis Denisof, who plays Angel's sidekick Wesley. And no, Willow's appearace is not just a cameo (as it was last time she showed up on the show).

"No, it's a full episode," offers Boreanaz. "It's maybe not next week, but the week after...she's coming in soon. She's going to lend her hand with some witchcraft and it'll be cool to see her and Alexis together, since they just got engaged. It'll be fun to watch them work. I was doing some looping and saw them on screen and it was kind of funny. It's always good to see that kind of stuff."

Willow isn't the only Buffy character making waves on Angel however. That other slayer, Faith, showed up last week for a several-episode stint in what has already proven to be a season highlight.

"It's a big arc for us," says Boreanaz. "It's been great. The two characters really get along well together. They owe each other a lot. Because of that there's a lot of understanding. That's why, when she hears Angelus is out, she automatically breaks out of prison. She doesn't even think it, she's out. Because of what he's done for her. And they share that common bond. So it's going to be interesting to see how Angelus relates to Faith, because he's never met her before and this is going to be fun for him. So we're in the Faith arc right now, which is going to lead us to another arc with Gina Torres [formerly of Whedon's Firefly] coming in. So that's going to be een bigger."

Ultimately, Boreanaz's main hope for the show is for the characters to continue to grow and change.

"That's the area we want to focus on," he says. "We got so thick into so much exposition, and such heavy angles for each character that when you look at what works for our show it's that you see that each character has so many dimensions. And that's what really makes Angel work." BACK TO THE TOP

E! ONLINE Q&A
ADDED: 04.03.03. SOURCE: E! ONLINE

UK viewers should beware that this Q&A session includes some spoilers for season 4.

How do you feel about Buffy coming to end?

Well, um, everything comes to an end. There is a beginning and an end. I left at a very high point, and it had a great run. With that, I'm very proud it went as long as it did. I'm neither happy nor sad about it. I just feel full.

I think you'd make a terrific Superman. Is it true you've been cast?

I'll just kill the rumour now - it hasn't happened. I did go in and read for the part, but I can't do it because of my schedule with Angel

Is there a chance you will be in any future episode of Buffy?

Yes, I will definitely make an appearance on the finale. I think you owe that to the fans. I think it's my responsibility.

Your official verdict: What did it mean that Angel said Buffy's name during dream sex with Cordy?

I think we've established that his one true love is Buffy, obviously. So, when that occurred, it was a testament to his feelings. It's not the sex that makes him happy; it's the feeling. He can have sex, but he can't be truly happy.

Do you think Angel's run will be as long as Buffy's?

I don't know. I don't really focus on how many years the show will go on. I don't pay attention to the ratings. I play a character, and I focus on that. The other stuff is very stressful, and you need to put that out of your head. If you start looking into the future, it just becomes false.

Will there be any rekindled romance between Angel and Buffy?

I honestly don't know. I can't answer that. It's very much up in the air, because I think some people would want that and others wouldn't.

Is there any character from any of the classics you would want to do?

I would love to do any sort of Harrison Ford-type role. I love his style. I'm a really low-key actor, and I love his whole demeanor. And, actually, Yul Brynner, Westworld - I'd love to do a remake.

I am a big Angel fan! Do you foresee another season? If so, would you want the Buffyverse to mesh with the Angelverse?

Thank you for your support. I think the "verses" match together pretty well. I'd love to continue it, so I don't really have a say, but you have to remain optimistic. I've had a good time so far. As for the actors coming over to Angel, you'd have to see how they fit into this world. If it makes sense and works for the story, great, but if it doesn't, you don't go there. Because then it's forced.

Angel as a character has been both good and evil. What aspect of each do you enjoy playing the most?

I get this a lot. For me, it has been a mixed bag. I love being Angelus because he's so wild and over-the-top, but I love being Angel because he's very unpredictable. And he has grown over the years. I've enjoyed seeing Angel grow. Whereas Angelus has stayed the same, Angel continues to surprise me.

Where do you think the storyline between Angel and Connor is going?

Our two characters - it has been very difficult for them to understand each other. I know that where Connor is at has really laid the groundwork for some interesting things that are going to happen in the next five episodes. There's going to be a change, a big change, and it's going to make things very different for both of our characters. It will change the dynamic between them. Something is brewing.

You have such great chemistry onscreen with Charisma Carpenter and Sarah Michelle Gellar; to what do you attribute your success playing opposite such strong female roles?

I guess the responsibility lies inside yourself to find where the female character is going from. The leading man needs to take care of his leading lady. It's the gentlemen's approach. You try to understand the psyche of a woman, which can be unpredictable. You have to be sensitive to her needs.

Are there any characters you personally would like to see return to Angel?

They have all been killed, unfortunately. I liked Stephanie, who played Lilah. We miss her. That was a big surprise. But you know, you're never safe in Joss Whedon's world.

Do you still watch Buffy?

No, I don't. I don't really watch my show either. I just don't.

How do you feel about Angel and Cordy?

It has been really weird, because she's carrying my son's baby. So, we're just letting that unfold. We're just going to see where that's heading. It's not very good right now. But in the past, she has been very comforting for Angel. So, we'll see.

What's the what with Evil Cordy?! Is it fun playing off of her?

Yeah, I had a good time. You know the personality and the character, so it changes your performance. It's a really nice thing to have, to mix things up after a few seasons.

Will the whole Fang Gang appear in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer finale? Is there any chance for a Buffy and Angel reunion?

I don't know. I honestly don't know. I'm just as clueless as you guys are. I just know it's going to be big.

If Angel were made human this season, would you want to play a human Angel trying to find his way in the world next season?

Yeah, I think that would be cool. Let's get that out there!

If you could end Angel in one way, how would it be?

If the show were ending, I'd have him join the circus. Why not?

What do you like most about meeting your fans, especially the transatlantic ones?

You get a chance to give back to the fans what they give to you. They get a chance to see you, and we get to show you we're just like anyone else.

How do you think Angel will react to Spike and Buffy's relationship?

I think he'll just laugh. Honestly, I think it's going to be him laughing and saying, "Okay, whatever." Though he may be laughing out of fear...or anger. People are funny that way.

Will you be doing any more feature films?

It's up in the air. There's a lot of talk, and a lot of things out there. I know I'll be filling the hiatus with a project. And right now we're working on what that will be. If it fits, well, great. But I try not to worry about such things.

Okay, guys, David has to go back to the set.

Thank you all so much for being here and for supporting the show. We really do appreciate it. We have a great 10-episode run coming up. I think you'll like it. BACK TO THE TOP

BOREANAZ AS SUPERMAN?
ADDED: 01.03.03. SOURCE: THE DAILY EXPRESS

According to yesterday's Daily Express, David Boreanaz has signed a three-film deal to star in three Superman films for Warner Brothers, supposedly winning out over Jude Law.

If true - and it's probably a big "if" - the deal would be for $30 million for the three films, which may be shooting in Australia.

Allegedly, the films will start shooting this summer, which may or may not clash with Angel. However, since The WB have yet to commit to a fifth season, this may not be an issue - since Superman is a Warner Brothers, the TV arm might well kill off Angel if it interferes with the potential revival of a far more lucrative film franchise. BACK TO THE TOP

THERE'S NOWHERE THAT ANGEL STAR FEARS TO TREAD

27.02.02 - UK viewers should note that this feature from the Austin American-Statesman contains spoilers for both Sky One and Channel 4.

It was anything but quiet on the set of the WB's Angel on a recent Friday afternoon.

"Shoot to kill on the side of the house, please," ordered an assistant director as star David Boreanaz prepared to make his entrance for the eighth or ninth time in a half-hour.  Sound problems, some possibly related to the beauty parlor next door, had been hampering the crew's attempts to shoot a scene in which Boreanaz's character, the heroic vampire-with-a-soul named Angel, visits a tiny bookstore with one of his human sidekicks, Wesley (Alexis Denisof).

"This is quite possibly the smallest place we've ever shot in," said co-executive producer Tim Minear, who was directing the episode from a cramped back room.  Surrounded by other crew members, he stared into monitors showing the action a few feet away, his right elbow inches from a bookshelf.

The scene is a short one, but the dialogue touches on a hot-button issue for many Angel fans, the growing attraction between Angel and his feisty assistant, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter).

It also demonstrates Angel's signature style - while taking itself quite seriously in the context of the hero's mission to fight what George W. Bush would probably call "evildoers," the show is given to the kind of throwaway lines that have made shows like The X Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer must-sees for people who wouldn't normally bother with aliens or demons.

As Angel, who's supposed to be more than 240 years old, puts it, "Life's short.  OK, not mine, but most people's."

Between takes, Boreanaz, 32, joined the crowd to claim the seat with his name on it.  He looked tired.

Going on location - about 60 percent of the show is filmed outside the studio - isn't the problem, he insisted.

"I love being out. I prefer it," he said.

"It gives you an opportunity to deal with the elements, and the surprises and the challenges.  Because you can really lock it down pretty hard on the set.  On location, there's always something happening that's exciting, and spontaneous."

There's been excitement to burn in Boreanaz's life in the past year.

On the professional side, he's seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the series from which Angel was spun off, flee to rival UPN in search of a higher licensing fee, leaving Angel to fend for itself on the WB.

Its third-season average of nearly 4.3 million viewers is considered respectable by the standards of the Frog network, which cares most that those viewers are considerably younger than Angel himself.

The show also seems to have hit its stride creatively, with a nice mix of pathos and humor surrounding the arrival of Angel's infant son earlier this season.

(Maybe we shouldn't get attached. Executive producer David Greenwalt last month indicated that something's in store for the baby, and "it won't be pretty.")

On the home front, there have been changes, too. Boreanaz's second marriage, to Son of the Beach star Jaime Bergman, had been delayed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but finally came off on Nov. 24 in Palm Springs.

The details - including the thunderstorm that knocked out power during the reception - made February's InStyle magazine.

But it was the news that broke a few days after the wedding that put Boreanaz and Angel on common ground for once: He and his wife are expecting their first child in the spring.  Was it strange having word of the impending birth appearing in newspapers all over the country?

"It's part of the business.  You work in the business, and that's it, people are going to find out things that are true and that are untrue.  You can't control that.  I just go about getting up in the morning, living my life and filling in some great gaps, then going to sleep, hoping that I made it better somehow."

When Boreanaz's child is confronted with strangers who want to make some sort of contact with Dad "I'm going to tell him or her the same thing my father told me: that we're all people, and that you respect them for who they are and what they do, and be kind and open and loving and friendly.  I think if you put those equations together, then it works out," he said. Back to the top

MY FAVOURITE WEEKEND

18.01.02 - From the Los Angeles Times My Favorite Weekend feature, 10 January:

Route 1: Ideally, I'd spend my favourite weekend up north, only because the Northern California coastline is such a beautiful drive.  It'd be a drive with my wife [actress-model Jaime Bergman] in an old classic car.  She's got a '66 Mustang, so maybe we'd take that.  It's beautiful up to Big Sur.  It's kind of far, but the scenery is so gorgeous.  We'd have the top down, very old Hollywood, scarf blowing in the wind.  I think that when you're driving, your soul is exposed, and it's a beautiful way to feel your colours.  I'd love to go to Carmel, where Doris Day has a bed and breakfast where you can bring your pets along.

The Perfect Vintage: Napa is also gorgeous.  I spent some time at Auberge de Soleil, a beautiful inn in wine country.  It's a rustic approach to life, a definite soul-drenching experience.  You just lose yourself.  We go to the small cafes and restaurants in the area, check out the vineyards.  I'm one for breakfasts, too: Check out any place with good pancakes.  It's wonderful to go up in the fall when the leaves are changing.

Local Vacation: I like to escape to hotels.  I'm pretty much a hotel fanatic, whether it's the Peninsula Hotel - where the people are great and it's the lap of luxury - or the Chateau Marmont.  I could easily escape to a hotel for a weekend and do absolutely nothing.  Just sitting in the lobby and watching people come in and out is entertaining.  I can use the spa.  You kind of find yourself wanting to stay once you're in the door.  I've just always liked hotels.  I like the bed and the sheets and everything that comes along with it.  I love my house, too, but I love getting up and out, not worrying about making the bed and doing whatever you want.

The There There: Downtown's got a real sense of style to it; you just have to know where to go.  I like downtown cities, but L.A. doesn't really have one, so you have to go look for it.  But you can go down there and just experience Broadway.  There's a lot of stuff going on.  Chinatown is fascinating.  There's a restaurant that I always go to, and it's like being in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Just Browsing: The Rose Bowl on the Sundays when they have the flea market is always fun.  I love going around to thrift shops and going antiquing, on Beverly Boulevard, and on La Brea before you hit Wilshire.  Pasadena's not bad.  Or, if you head up to Ojai there's a lot of little places, or in Saugus. Back to the top

BOREANAZ MARRIES PLAYMATE BERGMAN

27.11.2001 - David Boreanaz wed Playmate Jaime Bergman on Thanksgiving Day in Palm Springs, California.  People magazine plans to release pictures and a story about the wedding in an upcoming issue.  Back to the top

THE ART OF BEING...DAVID BOREANAZ

04.08.2001 - From TheWB:

My biggest fear: "Chickens.  I'm serious.  There's just a cluckiness about them."

I can't live without: "My dogs.  I love them."

The real me: "I'm just a big dork.  I'm very simple.  I'm very understated and shy."

My most embarrassing date: "I was in high school.  I left my date and went to the bathroom and saw a pretty large rip right in the seat of my pants."

In my past life: "Before Buffy, I used to put on a suit and pretend I was an executive just to get onto studio lots.  I'd pass out...and talk to people.  In one agency, the security chased me out of the buildings."

I do believe: "I believe in the mythology of the vampire or the ghosts and the demons and that kind of stuff.  I'm just more or less inclined to be more of a spiritual person than anything else."

Back to the top

BOREANAZ ENGAGED TO PLAYMATE BERGMAN

04.08.2001 - Back in May, Planet Buffy reported that David Boreanaz and Jaime Bergman (right) were dating.

Well, according to reports, the actor proposed to the 25-year-old Playboy Playmate and star of Son of the Beach on July 14 on a mountaintop in the California desert.  The couple haven't set a wedding date.  However, when they do, no doubt Boreanaz's best man will tell the guests the hilarious story of the groom's dislike of chickens...

Thanks to Rebecca Kidman for the story (but she wasn't responsible for the pic). Back to the top

BOREANAZ: NETWORK SPLIT WILL ENHANCE SHOWS

23.05.2001 - At The WB's fall schedule presentation to advertisers last week, David Boreanaz stumbled onstage and uttered: "This isn't the UPN."  The none-too-subtle reference to Buffy's network move didn't go down too well with WB execs and intensified speculation that Boreanaz wanted Angel to join its sister show on UPN.

But in an interview with TV Guide Online, Boreanaz insists that he "really didn't have a preference" either way.  "If Angel ended up on UPN, I would still have gone into work and done my thing.  And if it stay on The WB, I'd do the same thing.  That's what I get paid to do.  I am not in a position to decide what network we should be on."

Of course, having the two shows on different networks will make crossovers "difficult", but not impossible.  "If the storyline calls for a major crossover, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he says.  "But I think that the distance between the two shows will enhance the storylines.  I think that the writers will be even more creative than they are now.""

Another, possibly even more interesting, aspect of the network split will be how the likes of Sky One cope with it.  With UPN launching Buffy season six in August, probably a month before Angel season three starts on The WB, could this mean that the days of the Buffy/Angel double-bills are over?  Or will they simply stagger the start dates of the new seasons?

On the subject of The WB's bizarre Monday night pairing of 7th Heaven and Angel, Boreanaz says that "sometimes an illogical match-up is good," even though the same timeslot saw the end of Roswell on The WB.  "I am really happy about the Monday night time slot," Boreanaz added.  "Tuesdays were very good for us, but at the same time, Monday is even better.  It's better.  It's the start of a good week."

As an addendum to the story below, E! Online's Wanda this week confirmed the fact that Boreanaz and one-time Playmate Jaime Bergman are an item. Back to the top

SOCKS MANIAC BOREANAZ IS NO ANGEL

18.05.2001 - David Boreanaz caused a tense moment at The WB's fall schedule presentation to advertisers on Tuesday 15th, appearing onstage and saying, "This isn't the UPN," reports TV Guide Online.  

Angel star David Boreanaz caused a tense moment at The WB's fall schedule presentation to advertisers on May 15, appearing onstage and saying, "This isn't the UPN," TV Guide Online reported. Boreanaz's crack -a reference to UPN's acquisition of Angel predecessor Buffy the Vampire Slayer from The WB -apparently caught WB co-president Jordan Levin by surprise, the site reported.

"We didn't write that," Levin reportedly told the audience. Later, Levin's partner, Susanne Daniels, told TV Guide, "Buffy will always be a show close to our hearts. But we saw the [show's] teen audience begin to erode, ... and we're confident in our ability to refresh our schedule."

E! Online's Wanda has been dropping hints over David's latest flame over the last couple of weeks; refusing to name her, but describing her as "buxom."

That's certainly one description that could be applied to Son of a Beach star, Jaime Bergman (right).  "They haven't been together long, but they're very serious," a source said of the couple who attended a party hosted by the Grey Alliance marketing firm on Tuesday night.  According to one report, Boreanaz was "inexplicably attired in an aqua suit, white satin vest, white shoes and a rhinestone dog bone brooch on his lapel."

The presence of 25-year-old Bergman, Playboy's January 1999 Playmate, might well explain the rant by one of his exes in Sunday's News of the World (thanks to Darren for this one):

Vampire star Angel is a pulsating sex machine who likes to get his fangs into a woman from the feet up.

TV beauty Catalina Guirado, who shot to fame in TFI Friday, can still feel the hard edge of his teeth as he kissed and nibbled each toe before moving up her long legs.

Pin-up actor David Boreanaz, who plays Angel in TV hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer and his own spin-off series, indulged his foot fetish at every opportunity, 27-year-old Catalina told the paper.

"He was keener to get my socks off than my knickers," smiled Catalina, the woman who played the "Gorgeous Girl" always turned down by "Ugly Bloke" on Chris Evans's Channel 4 show.  "David's idea of heaven is giving a long, sensual toe job.

"I was spending more time making sure my toes looked right than my hair and face," she added.

"David didn't like nail varnish on my toenails.  He'd hate it if my toenails were any other colour but natural.  But he did like them to be polished.  He'd play with them for several minutes before he worked his way round to other parts of my body."

And like any good vampire, he did his best work after sundown.

"The first time we made love was after a dinner," she added.  "It was the most electrifying sex I've ever known.

"He really knows how to caress a woman once he's finished with her feet.  After that we'd have sex all the time wherever we were.  David would just grab me and we'd end up doing it on the kitchen floor or on the carpet in the living room."

Mansion

Teen idol David, 29, is one of the world's hottest stars as the reformed vampire struggling to keep his dark side at bay.  He shows are on Sky [One], Channel 4 and BBC2.

But he made no attempt to hide his dark side in another of his fetishes...for Playboy Playmates.

"He loves going up to the parties at Playboy boss Hugh Hefner's Beverly Hills mansion," said Catalina.

"Hef holds them all the time and David goes to virtually every one.  There are lots of blonde bimbos running around being ogled by older men.  Up to 500 people go to the parties and 90 per cent of them are female.

"I only know this because to find out what the parties were really like I teamed up with a girl friend and we posted off our photos.  Sure enough, we both got chosen and went up to a party.  It's difficult to describe just how disgusting they really are."

Catalina knew nothing of this when she met David at a London club.  By the end of their first weekend together she was so besotted that she flew with him to LA - and it was there, after dinner, that they first made love.

"Soon after David took me to Las Vegas," she continued.  "We stayed in the Four Seasons hotel which has this fantastic wave pool.  We started making out in the waves and would have gone further if there hadn't been other people in the pool.

"So we rushed up to our penthouse suite and jumped naked into the Jacuzzi.  We had sex against the side of the Jacuzzi.  It was very, very bubbly but great fun, too.

"I really thought I'd met the man of my dreams."

But she quickly discovered that David would often leave her high and dry to attend Hefner's parties - even on Valentine's Day this year.

"I rang him early the following morning and I could hear girls giggling in the background," she said.

"Suddenly, everything fitted into place.  David had been round at Hugh Hefner's Valentine party and a couple of Playmates he'd met there had surprised him by turning up at his place.

"I slammed down the phone and vowed never to see him again."

But with the last sigh for the vampire who started at her feet, she added: "I though we were soulmates." Back to the top

THE FACE OF ANGEL

01.05.2001 - Sleep all day.  Stay up all night.  Never grow old.  Never die.  Let's be honest, it's good to be a vampire.  Obviously there's the whole undead absence of a soul thing to contend with, but somehow that terror of vampires that has haunted society since the legend of Vlad the Impaler received its colourful touch-up seems to have been replaced by envy.  Look at Anne Rice's books.  Look at those strange goths who drink animal blood.  Look, most importantly, at Angel.

Angel is the show that spun off from cult teen horror comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  It stars Buffy's love interest in the first three series, the good-guy vampire with a soul, Angel, who has moved to LA to get away from Buffy because too much pleasure makes him turn evil again.  Unlike the cheerful Buffy, which nicely contrasts the dumb Valley Girl concerns of high-school Californians with the eternal struggle between good and evil, Angel is dark.  It's dark both in a vampire sense and in that it fools with a more ambiguous morality.

Take drugs.  When Angel sleeps with Buffy, the only woman he has loved in 240 years, the pleasure is so intense that he almost rejoins the undead throat-chompers.  When he arrives in LA, he necks some ecstasy and the pleasure nearly sends him over the edge again.  What are they saying here?  That ecstasy is as good as sex?  Not the kind of thing you hear in Saved by the Bell.

As with all cults, there are people who can tell you the colour of the underpants on the fourth camera-man on series one.  With Angel, the cult lust is unusually high for a show with a male lead, as a swift check online demonstrates.  Type Angel into the search engine Yahoo! and there are some 35 fans sites as well as two official ones.  For comparison, Ally McBeal has 27 sites, Sex and the City has five, EastEnders 19 and Robbie Williams 21.  Angel ain't quite up there with Buffy's 197 web offerings, though, and The X Files trumps 'em all with 533.

Unsurprisingly, most of the fan sites are rather uncomfortable paeans of praise to the show's star, David Boreanaz.  Thirty-year-old Boreanaz is a great big chunk of Hollywood beefcake with sleepy eyes, a body rippled with more muscle than moules marinière and an ability to smoulder that would make peat jealous.  Joss Whedon, the producer and Buffy creator, cast Boreanaz when he auditioned as an unknown for Buffy because "after he finished his screen test, all the women were shaking."

Now he's sitting opposite me in a sleek and overdesigned London hotel room, and I've had to turn my phone off because the text messages my female friends were sending me to pass on to Boreanaz were getting too obscene.  They also want to know if he's more or less intelligent than his on-screen tortured persona.  The answer is, both.  His favourite film is Cinema Paradiso and he loves classic film noir.  He bemoans Hollywood's lack of imagination and has already developed a distaste for the accountants.  On the downside, he has a line in actorspeak that his character would mock into non-existence with one smooth put-down.

It could be the jet lag or too many LA acting classes, but at one point we get on to the difficulty of switching between Angel's intense and tortured fury and the quickfire one-liners that litter the series.  Before I can reach for the garlic, Boreanaz compares his acting to jazz.  "You have to get within the rhythm of the scene and go with that rhythm," he explains, earnestly.  "If you take a different turning, you just make sure it's within the rhythm.  I was at Ronnie Scott's last night and I was watching the way the guy put the chords down - you know, he was playing around with the riff, but he was always within the rhythm."  I let it go.  After all, this man beats up demons for a living.

It's the switch between dark, brooding horror-cum-psychodrama and the keen sense of comedy that raises Angel, and of course Buffy, about thousands of pale imitators.  Nobody with any sense of irony can fail to snigger when evil lawyer Lindsey says to evil lawyer Lila, after Angel jumps her in her car: "Do you really want Angel to give you another surprise in your back seat?  So to speak."  It came as no surprise to regular viewers when Whedon was nominated for a best screenplay Oscar for his multilayered and ever-so arch Toy Story script.

Whedon is an unusual Hollywood player, just as Boreanaz is an unusual actor.  He's an unusual actor in that he never really wanted to be one in the first place.  Born in Buffalo, New York, he moved to Philadelphia when he was seven.  His dad got a job as one of those expressive American weathermen so beautifully caricatured by Bill Murray in Groundhog Day and now chases clouds across the screen for WPBT.  Back in the 1960s, however, he used to host a children's TV show called Rocket Ship 7, with puppets, robots, aliens and a live studio audience that David found himself in more than once.  "I used to love going on set with my dad," he says, sounding wistful but enthused, and cutting through the fug of jet lag for the first time.  "I take my niece around the set of Angel whenever I can, and I can totally transport myself back to being a kid again and spotting the supports holding up the backdrops on my dad's show."

When he grew up, the young Boreanaz was going to get behind the camera and produce shows himself.  He planned to write or be a cameraman, and it was in pursuit of just such a job that he first went to LA.  He took an acting class while he was there and then, walking his dog Bertha Blue through town one day, he was spotted by a talent agent, who nabbed him for the Angel role.

Overcute Hollywood legend, perhaps, but don't mock the dog part.  Or rather, dogs part.  Boreanaz has four - a black labrador, a mixed labrador, a border collie and a little Chinese lapdog.  "I love dogs," he says.  "They're the epitome of what life should be.  They're unconditional, they're always happy, always wagging their tails, their expressions are endless, they speak without speaking..."

I tell him that sounds like the opposite of LA life.  He goes quiet for a minute, rubs his eyes wearily and agrees in a slow, mournful drawl.  "With everything good, there's always a bad side," he says.  "The LA lifestyle can be very lonely.  You go to these parties and there are all these people sitting in a huge room not talking to each other.  It's a really bizarre world.  I tend to work and go home and look after my dogs and sleep and play golf."

But Boreanaz is gradually climbing up the LA ladder.  He's starring in a new film, Valentine, that opened last week across Europe, in which he plays the victim of a practical joke by four lovely schoolgirls on Valentine's Day who returns 10 years later to destroy them.  It didn't break box-office records in America, but it didn't do badly for a film of that genre.  He has a couple more supporting roles lined up and is getting offers all the time.  Won't he just have to get used to it?

He laughs.  "Well, LA is sort of dog world," he grins.  "You can get caught up in it.  A lot of people go to LA and can go through a lot of changes and culture shocks and..." he pauses, thoughtfully.  "Well, you know, it can take away your soul."  I'm about to argue until I realise he plays a vampire for a living.  So he should know.

Angel is on Sky One, Friday, 9pm; the first series is being shown on C4. Source: The Sunday Times, 29 April. Back to the top

CHANNEL 4 CHAT TRANSCRIPT

01.05.2001 - Following his appearance on The Big Breakfast on 16 April, David Boreanaz took part in an online chat on Channel 4's website, which now has a transcript here. Back to the top

VALENTINE NO. 5 IN UK BOX OFFICE CHART

21.04.2001 - Valentine managed fifth place in the UK box office charts, which were predictably lead by Bridget Jones's Diary, which took £5.72million in its opening weekend.  Valentine, which pulled less than a tenth of this (£0.46million) was also below Spy Kids, Rugrats in Paris and Miss Congeniality. Back to the top

I'M WITH LUCY UPDATE

20.04.2001 - According to Yahoo, Julie Christie and Harold Ramis will join the cast of this romantic comedy. Back to the top

FILM NEWS

13.04.2001 - After the clunker that was Valentine, David Boreanaz will star in the romantic comedy I'm With Lucy, which begins filming on Monday 16 April.  Monica Potter plays Lucy in the film, which concerns a young woman who embarks on a series of disastrous blind dates after being dumped by her boyfriend.  Gael Garcia Bernal, John Hannah, Anthony LaPaglia and Henry Thomas will also star, while directorial duties will be handled by Jon Sherman.

UK viewers can see Boreanaz promoting Valentine on The Big Breakfast from 7am on Monday, followed by a live chat on Channel 4's website. Back to the top

BOREANAZ ADDED AS PRESENTER AT SAG AWARDS

07.03.2001 - David Boreanaz and The West Wing's Allison Janney have been added to the list of presenters at the 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be shown in the US on TNT at 8pm on Sunday March 11. Back to the top

VALENTINE NO. 2 IN US BOX OFFICE CHART

05.02.2001 - Despite its poor reviews, a rather quiet weekend Stateside enabled Valentine to make second place in the box office, behind The Wedding Planner.  The film's $10.1 million takings equalled its production budget with a stronger than usual female presence for a horror film - I wonder why... Back to the top

CAN ANGEL FLY SOLO?

04.02.2001 - With The WB's Angel already facing some stiff competition from Fox's similarly appealing Dark Angel this season, it would seem the last thing the dark drama needs is to lose its potent lead-in, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  But David Boreanaz doesn't feel Buffy's possible switch to another network next fall will slay his spin-off series.

"We're confident Angel can stand on its own," he insists.  "In the beginning, you need the love and support from where you came from.  For the first six episodes, [the Buffy/Angel crossovers were] a needed correspondence; it was a nice dance to have.  We're a young show, but Buffy didn't get going until its third season."

With negotiations between 20th Century Fox (the studio behind Buffy) and the WB said to be tense, Boreanaz is being careful not to follow in the footsteps of Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar and make any bold statements he'll regret.  (Gellar was recently quoted as saying she'd bolt the series if it left The WB, only to issue a retraction a day later.)

"As far as the Buffy talks are concerned, that's not my job," adds Boreanaz, who appears in the Warner Bros. pic Valentine.  "That's like pissing in the wind, man.  It's not for me to talk about."

Boreanaz was not so reluctant, however, to discuss his personal life, admitting that he's just now starting to recover from his late-1999 split with his wife Ingrid.  "Divorce is like a death," he sighs.  "I think I'm finding myself going through the defrost period.  I have to really examine myself [and ask] what made me decide to do that, and what was my struggle?"

Ironically, that's a question with which Boreanaz's TV alter ego is also grappling as Angel battles the evil within him - a war he currently is losing.  But the actor reveals that the art-imitates-life aspect of the plot is hardly a coincidence.  "I am a firm believer that [Angel's creators] Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt have chips that they implant into the actors [so] their lives go right along with the plot," he jokes, adding that, "Angel's definitely on a path to destruction... He's going to come to an epiphany about that." Source: TV Guide Online.  Back to the top

VALENTINE STALKS YOUNG PREY

30.01.2001 - From the Hollywood Reporter:

Valentine has won the hearts of moviegoers.  The horror-thriller, which opened in wide release Friday, is positioned to prosper in a marketplace where there is little in the way of direct competition.  The majority of pictures attracting audiences in the current environment are romantic comedies or serious adult dramas, leaving the theatrical door wide open for young girl who just want to have fun.  David Boreanaz stars in the Warner Bros. release as the anti-Cupid, a charismatic womanizer whose charm hides a hidden agenda toward a foursome of former coeds who did him wrong during awkward college years.  Denise Richards, Marley Shelton, Katherine Heigl and Jessica Capshaw co-star in the Jamie Blanks feature. Back to the top

VALENTINE

30.01.2001 - From TheWB.com:

This February, Hearts Don't Just Break.  They Get Even...

Opening Friday February 2, 2001 in Theatres Everywhere from Warner Bros.

Horror/Thriller based on the best-selling novel Valentine by Tom Savage.  After a circle of friends convene for a close friend's funeral, they all start receiving strange, menacing Valentine messages.  At first, the women dismiss the twisted greetings as a sick joke.  But meeting the detective investigating their friend's death they learn there could be a link to someone they all knew, and tormented, years ago, at a Valentine's dance in junior high school - a boy named Jeremy Melton.  The police can find no recent address, employment record or photograph.  If Jeremy Melton still exists, he could be anyone, anywhere.

As the threats of violence intensify, each of the women grapples with the realisation that any man she knows, or ever knew, could be a vicious killer.

Cast Playing the Four Friends Include: The WB's David Boreanaz (Angel), Denise Richards (James Bond: The World Is Not Enough), Marley Shelton (Never Been Kissed), and Jessica Capshaw (TV's Odd Man Out).  Also playing in the starring lineup in The WB's Katherine Heigl, who plays the beautiful alien Isabel on Roswell.

David Boreanaz makes his big screen starring debut as Adam, a sports writer with whom journalist Kate (Marley Shelton) finds herself in on-again-off-again relationship.  "Adam has a thing for Kate," says Boreanaz.  As the film unfolds, and terrible things begin to happen to Kate and her friends, Adam and Kate become even closer.  Boreanaz explains, "He tries to make her feel at easy in a very uneasy situation that he finds himself in the middle of.  He's trying to be a shoulder to cry on and just comfort her.  I've always loved playing those comforting roles," he jokes.

Valentine is directed by Jamie Blanks, who previously made his feature directing debut with the 1988 box office smash Urban Legend. Back to the top

BOREANAZ EYES FILM ROLES

28.01.2001 - David Boreanaz told Sci Fi Wire that he's under consideration for roles in two upcoming genre films, including the World War II supernatural thriller movie Below.

Speaking to reporters about his upcoming horror movie Valentine (which reports say is dire), Boreanaz said he auditioned for one Below part that ultimately went to another actor, but that he's hopeful the producers may consider him for another role.

"It's still kind of up in the air with that right now," Boreanaz said.  "I know there's still some ... interest for me for one of the characters.  But the one character that I went in and read for and met the director [David Twohy] for, ... they had me [in mind] for another type of character.  So I don't know what's going to happen with that.  I found out just a couple of days ago. ... I just know he's one of the guys in the submarine."  Below, which begins shooting in the United Kingdom in March, tells the story of the crew of a haunted American submarine.  Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) was recently cast in the film, which was developed by Pi creators Darren Aronofsky and Eric Watson.

Boreanaz, meanwhile, is also hoping to win a role in Resident Evil, the feature-film version of the popular video game.

"Resident Evil is still there, a possibility," Boreanaz said.  "So, yeah, I'll see what happens."  Milla Jovovich will play the lead in the movie, to be directed by Paul Anderson, based on the Capcom video game series of the same name.  Evil is slated to begin shooting in and around Berlin in early February. Back to the top

BOREANAZ ON VALENTINE

18.01.2001 - On Sunday, January 14, David Boreanaz and Katherine Heigl appeared at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention to discuss their upcoming film Valentine.

Based on the novel of the same title by Tom Savage, Valentine's holiday-themed killer-on-the-loose plot harkens back to films like Halloween, Friday the 13th and, of course, My Bloody Valentine.  "There is this series of killings involving five girls," says Boreanaz, describing the film's plot.  "We don't really know who's doing it or what's doing it."

Heigl describes Jamie Blanks, director of Valentine, as "a big, big horror film fan, so he kind of knew all the angles."  Boreanaz agrees, saying: "When I sat with Jamie in his office, he had posters of Carrie and the original Halloween on the walls."

Boreanaz goes on to describe the "very strong vision" of Blanks, a native of Australia who made his feature directorial debut in 1998 with the surprise hit Urban Legend.  "When I met him and he told me about it," the actor recalls, "I said, 'What's going to distinguish this from other horror/slasher films?'  Jamie said that it's not going to be the average 'See the guy, it's spooky, he turns around and bumps into somebody to get the jolt.'"  Heigl adds: "Jamie is a really passionate and fun director.  He sets suspense very well, and he shoots in a very Hitchcockian way."

For the actors themselves, who have both come to prominence via television shows, Valentine represented a welcome foray into features.  "TV is a very, very different deal than films," states Heigl, who in Valentine plays a med student named Shelly.  "I think it's a lot harder to play the same character for nine months of the year.  It's hard to keep the character interesting."

The big difference between features and TV for Boreanaz (who plays a journalist in Valentine) is the pacing.  "When you shoot a film, you shoot [script] pages a day.  When you do a series, it's eight pages a day.  That's probably the biggest difference."  He adds that "Valentine was a wonderful learning experience.  And I'm still learning."

Valentine opens in the States on February 2.  If you're looking for a sneak preview of the movie, a trailer is available on the film's official site. Source: IGN.  Back to the top

VAMPIRE ANGEL INJECTS LIFE INTO BLOOD-SUCKING CHARACTER

14.01.2001 - An extract from the Knoxville News-Sentinel, 9 January:

...Meanwhile, across the room, another TV vampire was leaning against the bar, sipping on a glass filled with something cold and red.

"I am very pleased with how the character have developed this season," David Boreanaz, star of Angel, tells me (writes Terry Morrow).

"I like where the writers have taken him and how they have taken him there, as opposed to last year.  Last year, we didn't know where the show was going.  I wasn't concerned about where the show was going, though.  I liked how we were trying to work our way through and develop our show.  Not everyone can say that about their shows in the first season."

As for the future of the show, the actor says he's not curious about where the writers want to take it.  "I'd rather not know," he says.  "It's more fun that way."

If the uncharted future doesn't scare this Angel, then what does?  "Chickens," he says.  "I just don't like birds at all." Back to the top

TEN OF THE BEST

31.10.2000 - Appropriately enough for Halloween, David Boreanaz made an appearance on Ten of the Best on the UK version of VH1 tonight.

Unbelievably, there's an absence of that cracking Hepburn tune I Quit (but the original version of Wild Horses which the Sundays covered on the Buffy soundtrack did get a look-in) in his selection, which was:

Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly, The Doors - Riders on the Storm, Neil Young - Harvest Moon, The Who - Magic Bus, John Lennon - Imagine, Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive, U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name, Rolling Stones - Wild Horses, Eric Clapton - Layla, Sinatra & Presley - Love Me Tender. Back to the top

ANOTHER VALENTINE UPDATE

04.08.2000 - Roswell's Katherine Heigl has been cast in the Warner Bros. thriller Valentine, which is currently filming in Vancouver and set for a Valentine's Day release.  Katie, who also appears in the upcoming teen comedy 100 Girls, will play a pre-med student in the film which also stars Jessica Capshaw (The Locusts), David Boreanaz (Angel) and Denise Richards (The World Is Not Enough). Back to the top

"YOU MESSED UP MY MERCEDES!"

30.07.2000 - David Boreanaz, star of the WB's Angel, claims that injuries from a 1999 car accident have prevented him from working.

The heavy-browed TV hunk is suing the driver of a car that crashed into him last year.

According to the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, Oren Kaniel's 1993 Mazda ran into the actor's 1999 Mercedes-Benz on the Ventura Freeway in Los Angeles, north of Western Avenue, last August 3.  Kaniel, whose number appears to be unlisted, could not be reached for comment.

Boreanaz alleges that he "was hurt and injured in his health, strength and activity" and suffered "injury to [his] nervous system."

The injuries "have caused and will continue to cause [me] great physical, mental, and emotional pain, anguish, and suffering," Boreanaz claims, according to the lawsuit.  The actor, whose TV vampire character regularly gets into full-on fights, does have a stunt double for the more serious on-set battles.  However, he claims that his injuries have prevented him "from attending his usual occupation, thereby suffering a loss of earnings and profits, as well as a loss of earning capacity."

He seeks damages for pain and suffering, medical care, loss of earnings, repairs to his car, being deprived of his car while it was fixed, and damage to his personal property.

"Being deprived of his car?"  Hey, it's L.A., remember? Source: Mr Showbiz. Back to the top

VALENTINE UPDATE

02.07.2000 - Two more actresses have joined the cast of the horror thriller Valentine.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jessica Capshaw (TV's Odd Man Out) and Jessica Cauffiel (Urban Legends: The Final Cut, Road Trip) have joined the previously case Denise Richards and Marley Shelton to play four women who played a terrible practical joke on a nerdy guy while in college.  Years later, the nerdy guy has become rich and has had plastic surgery (played by David Boreanaz) that allows him to seek out those same women to do them in one at a time on Valentine's Day.  Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) is directing the film, which starts shooting on 10 July in Vancouver.  Warner Bros. is looking to release the film for the Valentine's Day holiday in 2001. Thanks to Richard Morgan for this update.

BOREANAZ WINS SATURN AWARD

09.06.2000 - Angel star David Boreanaz picked up an award in the 26th annual Saturn awards on Tuesday.

The awards recognise the best in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres in both film and television.  Boreanaz won the Best Television Actor award at the ceremony, which was hosted by Bruce Campbell.  CBS' cancelled Now and Again won the Best Network Series award. Back to the top

MY BLOODY VALENTINE

09.06.2000 - According to Cinescape online, David Boreanaz has signed to star in the Warner Bros. thriller Valentine.

Directed by Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend), the film is based on a 1996 novel by Tom Savage about a college nerd who is victimised by a nasty practical joke played on him by four women.  Ten years later, though charismatic and successful, the ex-nerd seeks revenge on his past tormenters.

The film is being produced by Dylan Sellers from a screenplay by Donna and Wayne Powers, rewritten by Aaron Herberts and Gretchen Berg.  Shooting begins in Vancouver in mid-July, with (US) release targeted for Valentine's Day, 2001. Back to the top

TONIGHT SHOW APPEARANCE

28.02.2000 - David Boreanaz will be a guest on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday 28 February.

Sky analogue and digital viewers, and those whose cable system carries the channel, can catch this particular episode on CNBC Europe on Saturday 4 March at 8.40pm.

For those unable to watch, we'll be running a transcript and screencaps next week. Back to the top