Starring in a procedural television show can give many actors their breakthrough roles, turning them into international stars. Actors like Matthew Gray Gubler, Pauley Perette, Mariska Hargitay, and Emily Deschanel have become famous for their roles on shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, Law & Order, and Bones. The stars of these shows often make a name for themselves through their roles as Detectives So and So. However, there are times when an actor has made a name for himself in a completely different genre before taking on a role on a procedural. That’s the case with David Boreanaz.
Before starring in their breakthrough roles, actors like NCIS’s Mark Harmon appeared in similar procedural-style shows, such as Adam-12, Emergency!, St. Elsewhere, and Chicago Hope. Already well established in the world of procedurals and soap operas, these actors don’t have to change much when it comes to these new roles. On the other hand, David Boreanaz’s journey to becoming a procedural heavyweight with roles on shows like Bones isn’t exactly linear.
Updated February 6, 2024, by Florencia Aberastury: David Boreanaz is a talented and prolific actor who has carved out his own path and become one of the most recognized faces on television. This article has been updated to include more information about his career, as well as to bring the article up to current CBR standards.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was David Boreanaz’s first recurring role on television.
Prior to landing the role of Angel, Boreanaz appeared in an episode of Married… with Children.
David Boreanaz’s popularity on Buffy the Vampire Slayer earned him a spin-off series, Angel.
To fans of police procedurals, David Boreanaz is now Seeley Booth, a suave and straight-laced belt-tightening enthusiast and a brilliant FBI agent. More recently, he’s been Jason Hayes, the fierce commander of the world’s toughest Navy SEAL unit. But rewind a bit, and it suddenly becomes clear that this fun-loving, adventurous, and gray-haired war hero wasn’t always his forte. Boreanaz actually got his start in a bloodier way—as the dark love interest Angel on the late-’90s cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer thrust David Boreanaz into the spotlight as a typical teenage boy. On Buffy, Angel was somewhat of a blueprint for more modern bad boys, like Twilight’s Edward Cullen and True Blood’s Bill Compton. David Boreanaz had the chance to define a genre in Buffy. From Stefan Salvatore to Roman Godfrey, the tragically handsome bloodsuckers can be traced directly to a very soulful vampire: Angel.
