Numfar

Joss Whedon appeared as Numfar in the Angel season two episode ‘Through The Looking Glass’. Joss had the idea of Numfar dancing the dance of joy and showed how it should be done, it was then decided that Joss should perform it himself. Andy Hallett (Lorne) didn’t know who it was until filming had finished.

Amy Acker

Amy Louise Acker was born on December 5th, 1976 in Dallas, Texas. While growing up Amy enjoyed dancing - ballet, jazz and modern, but in high school she had knee surgery and had to stop dancing. Amy spent some time in Japan modelling, before attending the Southern Methodist University, studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. She was nominated for best leading actress in the Leon Rabin Awards for her part in Therese Raquin.

Amy worked at the American Players Theatre in Wisconsin, where she played the parts of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing and Hilda in Ibsen’s The Master Builder. She then moved to New York where she acted in two independent movies: The Accident, and The Energy Specialist. Amy quickly moved to L.A. where she starred in Groom Lake, a film written and directed by William Shatner, before landing the role of Fred on Angel. Amy voiced Huntress in Justice League, and plays Kelly Peyton in Alias. She has also appeared in Supernatural, Mr. Dramatic, The Novice, and Catch Me If You Can.

Mark Lutz

Mark Lutz played the Groosalugg in seasons two and three of Angel. He was born in Montréal, Québec and lived in Hong Kong for 4 of his teenage years before moving to Toronto. Mark graduated with n Honors BA in Political Science from the University of Guelph, and decided to try his hand at acting. He got an agent after a series of improv comedy gigs. He played Finnish hockey superstar Jukka Branny-Acke in Power Play before being cast as Groo. Mark has also appeared in Friends, Due South, ER and Doc.
Off screen, Mark enjoys swimming, for which he has set Canadian National records, as well as swimming internationally for his country, including World Cups and the Olympic Trials.

Groosalugg

The Groosalugg (affectionately known as ‘Groo’) was a dedicated half-human warrior from the dimension Pylea. His name means ‘brave and undefeated’. He was summoned from the Scum Pits of Ur to Com-shuk (mate) with Cordelia and absorb her visions. Groo ended up proving to Cordy that he was a good man, not a tool of evil and she appointed him as the new ruler of Pylea before she escaped Pylea.

Back in L.A, and just as Cordelia and Angel were close to starting a relationship, Groo unexpectedly appeared at Angel Investigations. He explained that he had been deposed in a revolution on Pylea, and decided to find Cordelia again. Cordelia rekindled her romance with Groo and even went as far as to find a mystical spell which allowed her both to have sex with Groo and to keep her visions. Angel was jealous of Groo for many reasons, as Cordelia had chosen Groo over him and Groo was just as formidable a fighter as himself. Unable to withstand being witness to the relationship between Cordy and Groo, Angel gave them money and asked that they go on an extended holiday.

When Cordy and Groo returned, they found that some terrible things had happened in their absence. Cordelia immediately began to pay more attention to Angel, and Groo started to realize that Cordelia did not love him but rather Angel. He finally mustered up the courage to tell Cordelia this, and then left L.A.

Bad things happen

In Underneath, when Angel is talking to Spike about how he should have never let Fred leave Pylea, he says, “bad things always happen here”. Fred said the same line when referring to Pylea in Through The Looking Glass.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

In Primeval, Spike says, “Alice heads back down the rabbit hole.” He’s referring to Lewis Carroll’s 1865 book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, about a girl named Alice who sees a rabbit in a waist-coat and follows him down a rabbit hole into a world named Wonderland.
The Angel episode Through The Looking Glass is a direct title reference to Lewis Carroll’s sequel novel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In Through the Looking Glass, Alice steps through a mirror into an alternate reality, which is a parallel to the Angel Investigations crew entering Pylea through a portal.