Charles Gunn, the tough, no nonsense leader of a vampire-fighting street gang began on Angel in the episode, "War Zone." His sister, Alonna was kidnapped and turned into a vampire during the episode. After a confrontation with her after she was turned, Gunn was forced to stake her in order to save himself and others. The two were very close, and Gunn was a very protective brother towards Alonna. Angel and Gunn clashed throughout the episode, despite Angel's many attempts to prove that he was on Gunn's side.

In the following two episodes, "Blind Date" and "To Shanshu in L.A.", Angel went to Gunn for assistance. While Angel stole files from a vault at Wolfram and Hart's offices, Gunn created a distraction. He later provided protection for the hospitalized friends of Angel, Cordelia and Wesley while Angel took care of the creature that put them there. Throughout the second season, Gunn slowly worked his way into Angel Investigations, earning himself a full-time job.

He still dedicated some of his time to his old crew, but working for Angel soon became a problem. Unable to be there for his crew all of the time, Gunn had to deal with the deaths of some of his closest friends. One of those deaths almost kept Gunn tied to L.A. when the gang needed to rescue Cordelia from another dimension, but at the last minute, he choose to help Cordy. Gunn and the rest of the gang survived their time in the other dimension, Pylea and returned home to L.A. all in one piece.

Gunn slowly develops a crush on Fred, the girl they brought back with them from Pylea, and subtly competes with Wesley for her affections. The question of her feelings for him wasn't answered until 'Waiting in the Wings' when, after a battle, they kiss.

J. August Richards changed his name at 14 from Jamie Augusto Richards to avoid problems with pronunciation of his name. His career began with guest roles on shows like Family Matters, Diagnosis Murder, Chicago Hope, Moesha, and Nash Bridges. His movie career includes roles in Good Burger, Why Do Fools Fall In Love and a role as Richard Street in the TV mini-series, The Temptations. Most recently, J. guest starred in the TV shows, The Practice and The West Wing.