Dreamwatch February 2001

Angel: David Boreanaz on the new season and more...

I believe in Angels

He also hates chickens, can look people in the eye and smile, almost became a football player…You thought you knew the real David Boreanaz? Read on!

The talented 31-year-old actor recently took time out from his hectic schedule, filming the second series of ANGEL, to meet dreamwatch’s Jenny Cooney Carrillo in Beverly Hills for a rare and candid interview.

Q: Can you bring us up to speed on how the second season of ANGEL is progressing?

First season kind of started off with an understanding of trying to figure out where the character was heading. I think Joss [Whedon] and I found out where the character and storyline was heading at about episode 18, so we had a lot of experimenting to do in the first 17 episodes. We also found ourselves experimenting with other different characters that came on the show, whether they be demons or love interests for myself from other areas of the universe that worked out or did not work out. The feedback from a lot of the fans was that they were interested in Angel’s back life and his story in the 17^{th and 18th centuries, where he came from and how he turned into a vampire, so we decided to focus more on that.}

^{Now we know this show is more a story about redemption and saving people and killing demons - finding a man who’s trapped in society not knowing where he’s headed but trying to become human again. It’s almost like a Geppetto/Pinocchio kind of thing; getting his soul back for redemption but along the way he’s tempted by evil lawyers and the demons for which he fights on a daily basis, and what better place to do that than Los Angeles! [laughs]}

^{Now he’s living in a hotel which was built in the fifties and the beginning of the second season was set in the 1950s, showing why he was living in a hotel, along with Cordelia who was his secretary, and fighting demons by night, helping cases, having visions. During these visions we find out that these are the cases that Angel will be battling throughout each episode.}

^{In the course of this season, we find a character by the name of Darla who sired Angel, turned him into a vampire and has been kind of driving him crazy for the first six episodes of season two. A woman from his past who is trying to drive him back to the dark side has also tempted Angel. I think the whole basis of the show has become more than just about a vampire walking around in a dark setting but more about a character who has found himself trying to struggle for humanity, and that calls for a fight.}

^{I think he’s going to go a little bit astray this season. He’s evolved from a small character on the first season of BUFFY to a much more interesting and complex character on ANGEL.}

^{Q: Are there more plans underway for Buffy and Angel to cross over?}

^{Production-wise it’s difficult to get all the actors together, but I can say I have done an episode going back [to Sunnydale]. We don’t know whether Buffy will be coming to Los Angeles or what that whole relationship is going to be. I think that’s been put on the back-burner for now and we’ve found somebody else who can kind of run with Angel right now; Faith, who is in jail right now but could possibly save Angel towards the end of this season.}

^{These new areas and new characters have been created to possibly buffer the pain and torment of the audience not seeing Angel and Buffy together, because we know where that went when they were together and it just couldn’t go on any further. But it’s a trying experience as far as Angel’s relationship with another woman and what that could possibly bring.}

^{Q: What kind of reaction do you get from fans?}

^{I was really surprised to see the amount of fans that I have overseas in France, England, Europe and Australia. Somebody wanted a pair of my socks because they were doing a project at school about odour. There is also fan mail from the occasional prisoner, of course. You read these letters and you get everything from the crazy, insane prisoner to the sweet, normal person who just wants an autographed picture.}

^{I can’t respond to every one personally, but what I do like to do sometimes is pick a letter, maybe ten, and call the person up out of the blue and hear their response. Because without the support of the fans, BUFFY and ANGEL wouldn’t have survived. I think BUFFY thrived on its first season having that cult following that stayed in touch through the internet and the website helped us grow to where we are today.}

^{Q: How do fans respond when you call them?}

^{They’re kind of perplexed to say the least [laughs]. They don’t believe you at first, and then you tell them about the letter that they wrote you and you give them the insight into it and then they finally get into asking me questions, so it’s actually a thrilling experience.}

^{Q: What was your first reaction on hearing about your possible spin-off show?}

^{We were just finishing up the second season of BUFFY and Joss called me into his office and said, "I have this great idea for this character - I want to spin him off and put him in Los Angeles and be the defender of evil in a city of lost souls." At the time my mind wasn’t really into it because I was focused on the season finale we were shooting. I remember walking out of the meeting, saying "Oh, that’s great", and it didn’t really hit me until we went to the Warner Bros event for the show in New York. They did a presentation of [ANGEL], and I realized this was a show that could really happen and snowball. At the time I found that the character really didn’t have much place to go in Sunnydale so, succeed or fail, this was an opportunity that I definitely wanted to accept to grow as an individual. I kind of kept it at bay. I understood what it was and what the possibilities could be, but I looked at it one step at a time. I kind of live life to the fullest so I think that helps take the pressure off, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel any. The show is called ANGEL, not Angel and Friends [laughs]! I take the heat for it all but the responsibility lies within everybody, so I’ve been blessed so far with a great production crew and writers.}

^{Q: Angel fights demons. What are your fears and what would you fight for in life?}

^{A sense of humanity and strength, and people understanding that we’re all individuals and can get along in this world. I’m very nostalgic and love old Hollywood and I love the atmosphere of tradition, of love and friendship and holidays and remembering that life should be very simple. Don’t get so bent out of shape over things. These are people’s opinions and you take them for what they’re worth.}

^{As far as fears, I’m afraid of chickens, but how do you get over that? [laughs] I guess you eat a lot of chickens! I also think we all fight that inner demon. All of us have gotten up today and we’re fighting something, whether it be an illness, a relative sick or passed away, a struggle with our own identity and how you deal with that or mask it. I think that’s what is great about our show; the character tries to bring that out, and he finds in the end that there are flaws inside of his own character that he learns from that person who may have that flaw or that demon.}

^{Q: You were raised in a small town in Pennsylvania with simple values. Does that make working in Hollywood difficult?}

^{Sure, of course. Every day you’re stuck with people who make remarks towards you and you’re immersed in a sea pot of disgust, in a way, and a lot of egos that can blow up in a big manner. I was blessed to have a really great father who showed the values of understanding, what a handshake is, and how to look somebody in the eye and smile - look at them for who they are and not for who they’re not. My father was in the entertainment industry and he had a big impact on me as a person. But living in a city like Los Angeles, you’re invaded by publicists and agents and managers. When you’re immersed in a business like this, you have to separate yourself and realize it’s the hardest part of this business. Working is a blessing, but waiting around between shots or something is the hardest thing.}

^{Q: When did you decide you wanted to become an actor? In high school?}

^{I decided it in high school that I wanted to become a football player or be in athletics. High school was a troublesome time for me and I didn’t really want to be involved in theatre or anything like that. I was going through the bumps and bruises of life and very awkward stages, and it wasn’t until after I started college that I sat down with my father and we talked about what I was going to do after I graduated. I had family out in Los Angeles and my intentions were to work behind the camera, because I’d studied film at college. Instead, here I am!}

^{Q: What happened to the football career?}

^{I was in a long jump in my junior year and I twisted my knee up and tore it to pieces. When I came back in my senior year all my hopes and dreams were shattered because I wasn’t 100%. I think it was a big lesson for me. Of understanding, not to put everything into one basket, and that was all I did in high school.}

^{Q: Were you a trouble-maker in school?}

^{Of course [laughs]! I was more of the class clown in high school than anything else. I was the person that had to be sent down to the principal for discipline all the time for making everybody else laugh in class.}

^{Q: Do you still want to work behind the cameras?}

^{I find myself really immersed in the acting right now, but maybe down the line, if the show continues in the coming years I could direct an episode.}

^{Q: You went through a tough time in the public eye with your divorce. How did you cope?}

^{It’s a relationship that didn’t work out, but we’re still close. We talk to each other almost three or four times a week. When I was going through the divorce it was a very tough time for me. I had started the first season of my show and filed for divorce, so I was living outside my house in various other houses in Los Angeles while I was holding down my television show, and I think the work kept me pressing on and moving. Thank God for the strength of my friends and my father, that I had somebody to lean on. My brother-in-law was also there for me every day with his smile and friendship and helped me get through the pain. It’s a healing process, so I find myself continuing to heal and learning from it all.}

^{Q: How do you feel about marriage now?}

^{I was disenchanted a little, but now I’m becoming more and more enchanted again. I’m a big romantic, always have been, and when I found the one I married and then divorced, that whole process was like a Romeo and Juliet experience, a tragedy. When the divorce happened I pushed myself far away from it all, but now I’m fully understanding it a little bit more and slowly coming back round to being enchanted again.}

^{Q: Are you dating again?}

^{I’m not dating anybody right now. I wish I had time to! I was seeing this one girl and then she got upset with me. She said "You never take me out to dinner", and I said, "I wish I had time during the week to take you out to dinner, but we can go somewhere at 4am if you like" [laughs]! I’m not involved in a relationship right now, nor do I really want to be. I’m finding myself relaxing on the weekends and spending time with friends.}

^{Q: What are you learning about yourself?}

^{I shot a movie, VALENTINE, over the summer and went to Hawaii by myself and kept looking for myself. Who is this person inside? I must have played 36 holes of golf every day. I had days that were really great and days that were really frustrating, and I found inside of myself that there’s really a stubborn bastard there. A selfish man that can at times go to his cave and shut everybody out. But then there is the other side of him - that loves to go out and enjoy himself and be vulnerable. How I balance those two out, I’m still trying to figure that out.}

^{Q: So do you believe in angels?}

^{I think the best one I could relate to is when you’re late, you’re five minutes away and you say, "Oh man, I left the iron on", or "Geez, I forgot the invitation", so within that time frame you don’t get to go or you’re late for a reason. I think things happen for a reason. You have to go back, and that’s an angel tapping you on your shoulder keeping you away from an accident you may have had, steering you in the right direction. It happens to us all, every day.}

^{ANGEL IN DISGUISE}

^{THE REAL DAVID BOREANAZ}

^{- David is a keen collector of antiques. His collection is an eclectic mix which includes cigarette holders, jewellery and lamps. His prize possession is a 19th century cane belonging to a Canadian General, given to him by his grandfather…}

^{- He loves to restore old cars. His current project is an old ’58 Chevy. He is also on the outlook for a Gullwing Mercedes and an Aston Martin DB7}

^{- He suffered painful injuries when his Mercedes was hit en route to film the uncomfortable torture scene in the BUFFY episode In The Dark, which had him dangling from chains (inset) for fourteen hours. Ever the consummate professional, as James Marsters noted, "We never would have known that he was in pain, until I caught him when he thought no one was looking. He was hurting, but he never would have admitted it…"}

^{- David wasn’t always the tall, dark, handsome devil he is now. He admits that, as a child, he had long, blond curly hair…}

^{- Among the odd jobs he undertook as an up-and-coming struggling actor were house painting, selling frozen gourmet food door-to-door and valet parking - he has parked both Robert De Niro’s and Martin Scorsese’s cars…}

^{- Early in his career, David employed an imaginative technique to get himself seen by producers and directors - he used to pretend to be one. "I used to walk into the studios, just with a suit, and pretend I was a producer with the network", he told chat show host Rosie O’Donnell…}

^{- His first brush with the fantasy genre came at an early age. Before embarking on a career as a TV weatherman, David’s father hosted a long running show called ROCKET SHIP 7, which was set on a fictitious spaceship with puppet characters. Boreanaz Junior attended promotional appearances with his dad all over America…}

^{- David’s fear of chickens stems from a childhood incident at a camp called Academy Farms. "As young kids we used to torture the roosters", he recalls. "We use to throw rocks at them." The birds got their revenge when two roosters trapped him a barn and David hasn’t been able to face even a Chicken McNugget since…}

^{- A big spender from an early age, he blew the $300 raised at his first communion on stick-on tattoos! Naturally his parents were none too pleased and made him take them back to the shop where he bought them…}

^{- David has spent time this year learning to play the drums. His tutor? None other than former ANGEL co-star Glenn Quinn! Despite Quinn’s departure from the show, the two remain good friends.}

^{-Vielen Dank an Cordy-}