The hit 1990s show Buffy the Vampire Slayer etched out a space for itself in pop culture by fusing spookiness, action, and hotness.
Before we had hipster vampires who glittered in sunlight in Twilight and backwoods bloodsuckers in True Blood, there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Buffy set the standard for what a good supernatural drama was, and from that, the show acquired the allegiance of loyal viewers who were saddened by it coming to an end.
It ran for seven seasons between 1997 and 2003, centering around Sarah Michelle Gellar 's character Buffy Summers.
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Buffy fearlessly fought against countless evil characters, which included vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. However, the protagonist was not alone, as her close friends joined her in a group known as the 'Scooby Gang' to battle everything Hell had to offer. After the show finished following 144 episodes, there was a spin-off series titled Angel and the ‘Buffyverse’
News of there being a reboot of the original Buffy was reported in 2018. Here the Mirror takes a look at where the cast members are now, with some having gone on to become massive names in the entertainment industry.
Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy Summers
Sarah Michelle Gellar came close to portraying Cordelia Chase since she originally auditioned for that role. Dawson's Creek star Katie Holmes had actually been offered the role of Buffy; however, she turned it down to finish high school and the rest is history.
Sarah scored the leading lady spot, battling occult foes for several seasons. The series helped launch her career to the next level with parts in Cruel Intentions, Scream 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer, where she met her future husband Freddie Prinze, Jr.
According to her co-star and on-screen bestie Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg, Sarah struggled with fame and was “annoyed” by the show from series three onwards. Sarah’s displeasure prompted her to quit at the end of series seven amid clashes with Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who is said to have thought she was being “unappreciative.”
"I was 18 when I started the show; I'm 26. I'm married. I never see my husband. This has been the longest span of my life in one place," Sarah told Entertainment Weekly at the time. "There've been times where that's been difficult - you want to pick up and go, try other things, live in different places. It feels right, and you have to listen to that. The show, as we know it, is over."
Sarah has also came out against Joss after Charisma Carpenter's allegations of “bullying” while on set. The 43-year-old actress used social media to express her support for victims of abuse, adding that she would not make any more comments.
"While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers , I don't want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon," Sarah wrote.
"I am more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently, so I will not be making any further statements at this time. Despite meeting on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Sarah and Freddie didn't start dating until three years later in 2000.”
In 2002 they got married and now they have two children, daughter Charlotte, 14, and Rocky, 10. The power couple has worked together quite a bit, co-starring in cult classics such as playing love interests Fred and Daphne in the two Scooby-Doo movies.
They also voiced characters in the animated films Happily N'Ever After and Star Wars Rebels. Furthermore, Sarah dropped her cookbook and appeared as herself in an episode of The Big Bang Theory in 2019. As of last year, Sarah made a comeback to supernatural teen dramas with a role in Paramount+'s Wolf Pack. Sarah starred as Kristin Ramsey, an arson investigator investigating the cause of the forest fire.
Charisma Carpenter - Cordelia Chase
Charisma played cheerleader Cordelia, who initially was vain and shallow before she teamed up with Buffy and her crew to fight evil. The actress played the role for the first three seasons, then left to take on a larger role in the first four series of spin-off Angel.
When she departed from vampire slaying series, Charisma, who is now 53, starred in Charmed, Veronica Mars and The Lying Game. She also acted as Lacy in the first two The Expendables films, landing roles in Sons of Anarchy and Lucifer.
Charisma spoke out against Joss in a powerful X, which was Twitter then, statement. "Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers."
Joss denied all allegations of threats and cruelty i n a lengthy interview with New York magazine , saying he has been made to seem like an “abusive monster”. Representatives for Gellar, Chase and Whedon were approached by The Mirror at the time for comment.
David Boreanaz - Angel
Angel was Buffy ’s main love interest prior to receiving his own spin-off show. Before becoming the lead in the crime drama Bones, David Boreanaz starred in Dido’s White Flag music video.
David’s personal life came under the microscope in 2010 when it emerged he'd had an affair with Tiger Wood's alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel while his wife Jaime Bergman was pregnant.
However, he insisted the saga served as a 'bonding experience' between himself and Jaime.
"In a sacred ground like marriage, you find yourself out of it at certain times for reasons unknown that can be destructive,” David told TV Week. “There could be a demon that kind of comes out and overtakes you."
Since the scandalous incident, The 55-year-old has played the role of US Navy SEAL Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Jason Hayes in the Paramount+ military drama series SEAL Team.
Michelle Trachtenberg - Dawn Summers
Michelle entered the series in Season 5, coming in as Buffy's moaning sister Dawn. “I still get comments like, ‘Oh my God! I think Dawn is so annoying!’ I do get a lot of ‘Oh she was so whiny!’" she told Entertainment Weekly.
She of course defended her character, saying: "Were you a teenager? Oh, you were docile, sitting in the corner, doe-eyed and happy to be there? No. There’s a reason why teenagers have a stigma and that is what Joss wrote.”
Michelle went on to play Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl and was also reportedly first choice for Bella Swan in the Twilight movies. However, she's said to have turned it down due to scheduling conflicts and the role went to Kristen Stewart instead.
Michelle, who is now 38, replied to Sarah Michelle Gellar's post in relation to the Whedon allegations, claiming she is now brave enough to speak out. "Thank you @sarahmgellar for saying this," Michelle wrote in reply.
"I am brave enough now as a 35 year old woman....To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior....very. Not. Appropriate." In a comment, she added: "What he did was very bad. But we win. By surviving!" Michelle also shared Sarah's statement on her Instagram story, adding: "We know what he did. Behind. The. Scenes."
Alyson Hannigan - Willow Rosenberg
Willow was the shy, nerdy girl who was occult-obsessed, developing magical powers while studying as a witch. Not only did Buffy jumpstart her acting career , but it also introduced Alyson to her husband, Alexis Denisof, who joined as pedantic watcher Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in season three.
The American Pie star Alyson did her best to slap on the moves, but for a while, Alexis remained oblivious to her flirtiness. "I was trying to pursue him, but he said he didn't want to date somebody he was working with. But we developed a great friendship..." she told The Sun in 2012.
"When my new relationship ran its course, the whole thing suddenly changed and Alex and I started to really care about each other. So it was two years before we started seeing each other and that was back in 1999." The couple went on to marry and have daughters Satyana and Keeva.
Nicholas Brendon - Xander Harris
Xander was one of Buffy's closest friends who was nerdy at first but eventually came into himself as a leader in the fight against evil. After the show ended, Nicholas got trapped in a destructive spiral of alcoholism and entered rehab in 2004 and 2010.
He was arrested four times in 2015 for trashing hotel rooms, public intoxication and an alleged domestic altercation with a girlfriend, and checked back into rehab for substance abuse, depression and alcoholism before tragically attempting to take his own life.
Nicholas talked about his struggles on the Dr Phil show before going back to rehab.
“I think I wanted to be heard. I think I wanted to be helped, you know? Because I think there’s a lot of good life to live,” he said.
The troubled star, who is now 53, revealed that he had been molested by a music teacher when he was 10 and said the trauma left him deeply damaged. “I think about it every day of my life and I wonder how it affected me did I stop growing emotionally?” he added.
"When you’re molested for a couple years and you’re blamed for it by the people who are supposed to be your protectors, there’s going to be a lot of confusion and a lot of sadness.” Nicholas raised eyebrows when he seemingly skipped the Entertainment Weekly 20th anniversary cast sit-down and was later photoshopped into the picture.
Anthony Head - Rupert Giles
In a world of surging teenage hormones, mentor and father figure Giles was the calm among the storm. Tasked with watching over Buffy and her slaying for the Watcher's Council, Giles knew everything there was to know about the supernatural.
British actor Anthony Head, who is now 70, has since starred in Little Britain, Silent Witness and Spooks and appeared in Netflix crime drama, The Stranger. His daughter Emily Head played Carli D'Amarto in The Inbetweeners before landing the role of Rebecca White in ITV soap Emmerdale .
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