Buffy on "Buffy the vampire slayer" Emmy Award-winning actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is a veteran of television, theatre and the big screen, having worked for nearly 15 of her young 20 years. In addition to starring in The WB's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Gellar will conquer the big screen this year in two highly anticipated feature films written by Kevin Williamson ("Dawson's Creek") - "Scream 2," the sequel to last year's blockbuster hit, and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" co-starring Jenifer Love Hewitt ("Party Of Five"). Starring in the title role of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Gellar plays a somewhat reluctant hero who fights off vampires at night while juggling the traumas of high school during the day. Fighting evil creatures requires adeptness in the martial arts, a challenge which Gellar has been devoted to since before landing the role. Having studied the Korean art of Tae kwon Do for four years and earning a brown belt, Gellar spends her free time both on and off the set continuing her training with the series stunt coordinator.No stranger to television, the versatile actress won an Emmy Award in 1994 for her memorable role as Kendall Hart, the devious secret daughter of Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), on the daytime drama "All My Children." She played a younger Jackie Kennedy in the critically acclaimed mini-series "A Woman Named Jackie," and starred with Valerie Harper and Jeff Daniels in the television movie "An Invasion of Privacy."She was also a regular on the Syndicated show"Girl Talk." Gellar's feature film credits include the Warner Bros. movie "Funny Farm," "Over the Brooklyn Bridge" and "High Stakes." She also performed in New York stage productions of "The Widow Claire" opposite Matthew Broderick at Circle in the Square, and "Jake's Women" at the Old Globe Theatre. A Manhattan native, Gellar currently resides in Los Angeles.
Angel on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" While relatively new to the world of acting, David Boreanaz has catapulted to stardom with his quiet intensity as the mysterious and tortured Angel on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." A native of Philadelphia, Boreanaz was exposed to television at a young age - his father is a veteran weather forecaster for WPVI in Philadelphia. Since seeing the inspiring performance of Yul Brynner in "The King and I" at the young age of seven, Boreanaz had a feeling that acting would be in his future. After graduating from Ithaca College, he moved to Los Angeles to try his luck in Hollywood. While studying the craft of acting, Borneanaz lived the life of a starving actor doing such jobs as parking cars, painting houses and handing out towels at a sports club. Yet, it was while walking his dog in a Hollywood neighborhood that a manager spotted his brooding, intense look and instantly signed him as a client. His first big break was a guest shot on "Married...With Children" playing Kelly Bundy's (Christina Applegate) biker boyfriend. He has also appeared in the television movie "Men Don't Lie." On Stage, Boreanaz has performed at the Ensemble Theatre in "Hatful of Rain," at the Gardner Stage in "Italian-American Reconciliation" and "Fool for Love," and on theatre row in "Cowboy Mouth." His feature film credits "Aspen Extreme," "Best of the Best 2" and "Eyes of the World." Currently, Boreanaz lives in Los Angeles with his dog, Bertha Blue.
Willow Rosenberg on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" In "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Alyson Hannigan plays a shy wallflower who becomes Buffy's friend and confidante.In real life, Hannigan is a veteran actress who has been performing since the age of four. During the series' hiatus, she filmed the Paramount/MTV Films feature "Dead Man on Campus," starring Tom Everett Scott. She began her career in Atlanta doing commercials, working steadily in national spots for companies like McDonald's, Six Flags Amusement Parks and Oreo cookies. When Hannigan was 11, she moved to Los Angeles in hopes of breaking into film and television. Her breakthrough role came when she was cast as Dan Aykroyd's misunderstood daughter in the feature film "My Stepmother Is an Alien." She went on to guest star on a number of popular television shows, including "Picket Fences," "Roseanne" and "Touched by an Angel." She was a recurring guest star on the series "Almost Home"and a series regular on "Free Sprit." In her free time, the Washington, D.C. native and Dr.seuss fan likes to surf the web, practice kick-boxing and spend time with her dogs and cats. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Xander Harris on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Newcomer Nicholas Brendon, who portrays the sardonic Xander with sensitivity and humor, already has an impressive list of credits in television, film and theatre. With his aspirations of playing professional baseball quashed when an arm injury cut his sports career short, he turned to the acting game for a new challenge. Soon after, he made his television debut in a Clearasil commercial. Yet, as roles were few and far between, he persevered in entertainment and switched to the other side of the camera, working as a television production assistant on "Dave's World." When he nailed an audition for a guest-starring role on the series, Brendon gained the confidence he needed and continued to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Fate soon smiled upon him and he was called in to audition for the role in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." In television, he had a recurring role on the daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless," and starred in the pilot "Secret Lives." He played an evil corn follower in the feature film "Children of the Corn III-Urban Harvest," and starred in Los Angeles theatre productions of "The Further Adventures of Tom Sawyer" at Theatre West, "My Own Private Hollywood" at The Black Hole Theatre and"Out of Gas on Lovers' Leap" at the Pasadena Playhouse. Offsreen, the Los Angeles native enjoys basketball,camping and spending quality time with friends and family, including his identical twin brother, Kelly, with whom he shares a home.
Rupert Giles on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Anthony Stewart Head has enjoyed a successful acting career in his native England for many years, but it was a popular series of coffee commercials that brought him his greatest recognition in the United States. Head starred as the intriguing romantic lead in a dozen Taster's Choice commercials, each tracing the budding romance between two neighbors who share a love for the same coffee. Head was a regular cast member on the sci-fi television series "VR.5." He also guest starred on the series"Highlander" and the critically acclaimed police drama "NYPD Blue." Additional credits include the Showtime movie "Royce" with Jim Belushi; and the feature films "A Prayer for the Dying," "Devil's Hill" and "Lady Chatterley's Lover." He has performed in several BBC Productions, including "Secret Army," "Accident," "Bergerac," "The Grudge Fight," "Howard's Way" and "Pulaski." Head also starred in the British television productions "Enemy at the Door" and "Love in a Cold Climate." Head was born in Camdentown, England, and grew up in Hampton. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and got his first show business break playing Jesus in "Godspell" in the West End. He went on to star in a number of theater productions, including "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Julius Caesar," "The Heiress," "Chess," Peter Shaffer's "Yonadab" at the Royal National Theatre, and "Rope." Head divides his time between home in Los Angeles and England.
Cordelia Chase on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Charisma Carpenter had no plans to pursue acting, but fate intervened in Los Angeles while she was working as a waitress to save for her education. Carpenter was discovered by a commercial agent, and her career in front of the camera began. She appeared in more than 20 commercials, including one for Secret antiperspirant which ran for two years. Her first big break in television came with a guest shot on the popular series "Baywatch." Not long after, she auditioned for Aaron Spelling, who cast her in the role of Ashley in the NBC series "Malibu Shores." Carpenter was born in Las Vegas, and lived there until she was 15, when her family moved to Mexico and San Diego to take classes at the School of the Creative and Performing Arts. After graduating from high school, she traveled through Europe. Upon returning, she moved to San Diego where she held various jobs to support herself through junior college. Her job experience at that time included working in a video store, teaching aerobics, and waiting on tables- the job that ultimately led to her acting career. Offscreen, the brunette beauty enjoys the outdoors - rollerblading, hiking, sky diving, rock climbing, running and horseback riding - as well as traveling and cooking. She also continues to dance, and is a former San Diego Charger Girl cheerleader. Carpenter currently lives in Los Angeles with her golden retriever.
A veteran of film and stage, Seth Green has been acting professionally since age six. By the time he was twelve, he had a leading role in the Woody Allen's feature film "Radio Days." Since then he has starred in numerous television and film projects, including "Austin Powers:International Man of Mystery", "the X-Files", and "Stephen King's It." Green began his role as Oz on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in 1997. Joss Whedon, the show's creator told green, "Oz would have the same reaction to spray cheese as to true love," says Green. "Oz is unflappable and I love being the guitar player on TV, I'm living out my rock and roll fantasy." Four episodes turned into five, then eight, and now it's endless. "The show is so fun and quirky but there's a lot of heart to it, that's what's so appealing," describes Green. "It's smart, scary, and funny." As for playing a werewolf Green says, "They take their monsters pretty seriously without the show taking itself too seriously." And the transformation? "It takes a lot of time and it's really difficult to stand still," says Green. "It starts at 11:30am until 4:30pm They have to hand lay all of the hair on me, but the make-up artists there are so great, so sweet and considerate. They make it as painless as possible and the end result is worth the effect." What does Green do when he's not starring in films and on television? "I read a ton of magazines, I play pool, I love to see any movie that's out, good or bad. The one bad thing about working," laments Green, "you can't watch all the movies."
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon may have summed up Juliet Landau best when he called her and her co-star James Marsters. "the Sid and Nancy of the vampire set." Cast as Drusilla, a vampire who along with her blood-sucking lover, Spike (Marsters). is out to slay the slayer. Landau began her career in Los Angeles and performed all over the world before returning to her home town. She attended the American School in London graduated from the North Carolina Center for the Arts, starting her career as a ballerina. While she may have paid the bills dancing for five years, she had acting on the brain all along. She became a member of the world famous Actor's Studio and started auditioning for parts. Juliet soon found herself acting alongside John Cusak in "The Grifters," Whoopee Goldberg in "Theodore Rex" and the other Landau, Martin, in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood," where she co-starred as Loretta King. Landau Currently lives in Los Angeles.
As the male half of what "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon called "the Sid and Nancy of the vampire set", James Marsters has brought a vicious coolness to Sunnydale. A seasoned actor of stage and screen, Martsters attended Juilliard, where he starred in such classics as "Twelfth Night" and "Troilus and Cressida." Marsters currently resides in Los Angeles.
No stranger to the underworld, Kristine Sutherland, a native of Kentucky, got her start in high school playing Pegora the witch for the Lexington Children's Theatre Company. After going on to attend the University of Kentucky, Kristine traveled to London to study at The Drama Studio. After completing her studies, New York City beckoned and Kristine soon got her professional start Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. Since then she has appeared in a number of pilots for television, guest starred on many popular television shows, and appeared in countless commercials and voice-overs. many of you may remeber her as the next door neighbor, Mae Thompson, in the hit Disney film, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids". In 1993, Kristine and husband John Pankow (cousin Ira on "Mad About you,") moved to Los Angeles. Currently, Kristine plays the ever motherly Joyce Summers on the WB's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Armin was born November 5th, 1949, in Lakewood, New Jersey. His parents divorced when he was seven and his mother moved him and his brother to Los Angeles. Armin went to Santa Monica High School, where he gained his passion for Shakespeare. He then went to UCLA and continued his studies. In 1974, he moved to New York to try to succeed as an actor. However, for the first year, he waited tables in Connecticut. His first real success was a small part in Brecht's Three Penny Opera. After that, he performed on Broadway. He also played Mr. Thorkelson in Richard Rogers' last musical, I Remember Mama, with Liv Ullmann. In 1979, Armin met Kitty Swink, who is now his wife, and he went back to Los Angeles to do a pilot. Armin and Kitty were married in Portland, Oregon, in May 1981. They moved to Hollywood in that same year. In October of 1987, Armin was called in to read for a new TV show called Beauty and the Beast. He waited for a larger part, and in the meantime, he was cast in Arena, in which he played the wicked character, "Weezil." The movie was set to be filmed starting in December, and Armin received a call to read for the part of "Pascal" in Beauty and the Beast. He contacted Alex Ganza, Pascal's creator, and explained the problem of his prior commitment to filming Arena. That problem was solved, and Armin guest-starred in several shows over the next two years, as well as making seventeen appearances on Beauty and the Beast. He was the first Ferengi on Star Trek: The Next Generation. After Beauty and the Beast went off the air, Armin played "Jacques" in Ellen Geer's production of As You Like It. He later was cast in Brooklyn Bridge as "Cousin Bernie." Armin landed the role of "Quark" on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1992. He gained celebrity status as a result. Armin and Kitty have no children, but they do own two dogs, Maggie, a Samoyed, and Percy, a mixed-breed. Armin teaches Shakespeare when he's not filming. He also considers vacuuming a great way to relax.
JOSS WHEDON PROFILE Even as a small child, "Buffy" writer/creator/executive producer Joss Whedon knew his interest in super heroes, horror stories and other twisted tales was out of the ordinary. "It was deeper, more consuming than [with] other children," he said. "While they were outside playing, I was indoors, fascinated by a large stack of comic books." Now, at age 32, Whedon has an impressive list of writing credits that include the upcoming "Alien 4: The Resurrection," the Academy Award-nominated "Speed," and such other well-received films as "Toy Story" and the 1992 film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Whedon studied film at Wesleyan in Connecticut, where he graduated "broke and without a job prospect... I wanted to write for TV, so I wrote a sickening number of TV specs, most of which were returned to me." After a year of sending his work around, he found success with a script he wrote for "Roseanne," then quit the show a year later after selling a movie script. As for moving from film back to the small screen, Whedon says he is excited about the prospect of returning to TV. "You get to control it more... it's like doing a string of independent movies with each episode something different as opposed to the movies, which takes a year or more to create just one product." Whedon said what he is not interested in doing on TV is camp or a spoof of horror shows. "We take our horror genre seriously. This is not �Clueless' or �Party Girl.'" he said. "The description I like best is �My So-Called Life' meets �The X-Files.' Basically, �Buffy' has all the classic, very cool monsters: vampires, werewolves, mummies. She is a good role model for not just girls but for everybody, because she has to use her wits and her physical strength to win. Yet, she still has to get high marks in all her courses at school." Whedon said his storyline inspiration for "Buffy" involves not only his own experiences in school, but the universal woes of others. "When I get together with my writing team, I ask them, �What was your favorite horror movie? What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? Now, how can we combine the two?'" Whedon said the one-hour show should not disappoint those who liked the movie, even though the differences will be apparent. "The show is scary, and less about spectacle and more about people," he said. As for Buffy's appeal, "I think there is a little bit of her in all of us," Whedon said. "She struggles with many of the things we had to face, issues of popularity and fitting in. thing. With 12 one-hour episodes of "Buffy" filmed so far, Whedon said he still has many more story ideas he'd like to incorporate onto the show, which premieres March 10. "I'm not nearly finished with Buffy yet," he said.