Where Are They Now: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) – Since Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar has not exactly been in the public eye. Gellar’s post Buffy Movies include: Scooby-Doo 2, The Grudge, The Grudge 2 and a slew of movies that went straight to DVD and limited release, as well as an unsold HBO pilot called The Wonderful Maladys.

However, the movie scene was definitely not on her list of priorities. After meeting Freddy Prinze Jr. during  the filming  of the 1997 (Same year as Buffy started) teen horror flick, I Know What You Did Last Summer, they were married on September 1st, 2002 in Mexico and have been enjoying their married life ever since. In 2007, Gellar legally changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze in honor of the couple’s fifth marriage anniversary and two years later, on  September 19, 2009 she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter named Charlotte Grace Prinze.

Sarah Michelle is also an active advocate for various charities, including breast cancer research, Project Angel Food, Habitat for Humanity and CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.

Fun Fact: Gellar has revealed that she suffers from a phobia of being buried alive, “I really fear graveyards and I have a big phobia of being buried alive. It was really hard being an ass-kicking vampire slayer when you are afraid of graves.”

Angel (David Boreanaz) – After Buffy The Vampire Slayer was over, Boreanaz still had a year left on his Buffy spin off, Angel, where he played the same lovable character only in Los Angeles and this time he was the hero. Much like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy’s end was the beginning of straight to DVD and limited release movies with the exception of The Crow: Wicked Prayer which wasn’t really that great. Unlike Gellar however, Boreanaz made a huge come back when he was cast as special agent Seeley Booth alongside Emily Deschannel in the FOX drama, Bones. He is also a co-producer of the show and has even directed a few episodes.

After marrying actress and playmate Jaime Bergman in 2001, they had a son, Jaden Rayne, born May 1, 2002 and a daughter, Bardot Vita, born on August 31, 2009. On May4th, 2010, Boreanaz revealed to his wife as well as the media that he had been unfaithful, after a supposed mistress threatened to blackmail him for six figures. Bergman and Boreanaz stated that divorce is not an option and that they are working on their marriage.

Fun Fact: According to Amy Acker (Fred), David Boreanaz used to flash people on the set of Angel. “Yeah, I pull my trousers down in the middle of a serious take to see if they can keep a straight face. I need to lighten the moment, I guess.”

Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon Schultz) – To continue the “there’s no life after Buffy curse”, Schultz made a few unknown movies like Unholy, Blood On The Highway, The Portal and My Neighbors Secret. Schultz also had some guest appearances on more known TV shows like Kitchen Confidential, Criminal Minds and Without a Trace. Much like his marriage to Tressa Di Figlia which ended in 2007, so did his acting career. On March 17th, 2010, the police responded to an early morning call in Los Angeles about an intoxicated individual roaming the streets. The officers had to taser him after he allegedly swung his fists at them and attempted to run away. Nicholas was arrested for felony vandalism and was held on $20,000 bail. He was later charged with four misdemeanors, including one count of resisting arrest, two counts of battery against a police officer and one count of vandalism.

After dealing with stuttering most of his life, Schultz became a spokesperson for the Stuttering Foundation of America, appearing in a print campaign for the organization as well as serving as an honorary chairperson of the Stuttering Foundation of America’s Stuttering Awareness Week for three consecutive years, from 2000 to 2003.

Fun Fact: Schultz has an identical twin brother, Kelly Donovan Schultz, who is older than him by three minutes.  Kelly served as his occasional stand-in on Buffy The Vampire Slayer when Nicholas was sick as well as during some fight scenes.

Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) – For Alyson Hannigan, life after Buffy has been pretty sweet. She has made a ton of guest appearances in several popular TV shows like Angel, That 70′s Show, King of the Hill, Veronica Mars and The Goode Family. In 2005 she joined the cast of How I Met Your Mother and has been making people across America laugh ever since. Hannigan also starred in the 2006 romantic comedy spoof Date Movie as Julia Jones.

Aside from Buffy, Hannigan’s most popular role was probably playing Michelle Flaherty in the generational teen comedy movie series American Pie, American Pie 2 and American Wedding.

In 2003 Hannigan married her Buffy co-star Alexis Denisof who played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (See below). Six years later on March 24th 2010 (Which is also Alyson’s birthday), Alyson gave birth to their first daughter, Satyana Marie Denisof. Satyana has bright orange hair just like her momma and has been seen taken out for strolls in L.A. parks. Watch out Hollywood.

Fun Fact: Alyson has had two songs recorded about her: “Alyson Hannigan” by Juvenile Wreck and “This One Time” (named for her famous “This one time, at band camp…” quotes from American Pie) by The Malcolm Effect.

Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) – One of my favorite characters of all time (Probably more for Angel than Buffy, but still), this chick is hilarious. After Buffy wrapped up, Charisma had one more year of Angel just like David Boreanaz and then the real world began again. Carpenter did a couple of Lifetime movies, an ABC Family movie and a Syfy movie as well as numerous appearances on popular TV shows such as The Division, Charmed, LAX, Veronia Mars, Back To You, Big Shots, Greek, CSI and Legend of the Seeker. What I’m expecting to be her big come back, Charisma will be starring along side Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the upcoming action movie The Expendables.

After marrying Damian Hardy in 2002, Charisma gave birth to a son named Donovan Charles Hardy on March 24th, 2003 (Again on Alyson Hannigan’s birthday). By late 2007 they decided to separate and officially got divorced in July 2008. Right after her son Donovan was born, Carpenter was not happy with her weight gain and decided to get in shape and do a cover and ten-page spread in Playboy to cheer herself up.

Fun Fact: Charisma originally auditioned for the role of Buffy but was cast as Cordelia after actress Bianca Lawson turned it down. Lawson later guest starred on Buffy as a slayer named Kendra, played Emily Bennett on Vampire Diaries and guest starred on Bones with David Boreanaz. Now there’s a tongue twister.

Rupert Giles (Anthony Head) – As the protective watcher and only father figure Buffy has ever had, Rupert Giles definitely made his mark on Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans all over the world. As Anthony Head, not so much. Head made several guest appearances in a few TV shows and several unknown movies, most of which went directly to video release.

When Saw director, Darren Lynn Bousman, heard Anthony Head in the musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer called “Once More With Feeling”, he immediately became Bousman’s number one choice for his 21st century rock opera, “Repo! The Genetic Opera”. Head played an organ repossession man, also known as the grim reaper, doing the bidding of an evil bio-tech company called GeneCo. Repo also starred paparazzi queen, Paris Hilton, and was released on November 7th, 2008.

The only show that’s been somewhat a success, is the Syfy drama Merlin. Merlin has been on the air since 2008 and tells the legend of the mythical wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur. Rupert Head plays Uther Pendragon, Prince Arthur’s father. If you’re interested in seeing ole’ Giles, Merlin airs on the Syfy channel, Friday’s at 10/9c.

Fun Fact: Anthony Head’s right hand is hidden during most of his TV appearances because it is actually deformed – three of his fingers are the same length.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof) – Unlike some of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer cast, Alexis Denisof has been unsuccessful in everything he’s done. He of course joined the cast of Angel along with David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter, did a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother (With his Buffy co-star and wife, Alyson Hannigan), did an episode of Private Practice, a few episodes of Dollhouse (With his former misguided slayer, Faith) and finally he was going to play the role of Byron Montgomery in ABC’s new teen drama, Pretty Little Liars, but was replaced by Chad Lowe. He did however play the part in the pilot. Denisof was also one of 200 actors considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royal but unfortunately lost out to Daniel Craig. Wesley as Bond? That would have been interesting.

So here’s a little juicy morsel we all want to know; how did Alexis Denisof and Alyson Hannigan get together? Well, it wasn’t easy. Hannigan made the first move by asking Denisof out when they first met on the set of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in 1997. Unfortunately Hannigan was tuned down, due to Denisof’s strict rule about dating co-workers. By the time he left the show, Hannigan was already dating someone else but they had remained good friends. Eventually they decided to give a romantic relationship a try and luckily for us, they seem to be doing fantastic along with their first born daughter Satyana Marie Denisof.

Fun Fact: Denisof and his wife, Alyson Hannigan, are Godparents to Joss Whedon’s (The creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer) son, Arden.

Faith (Eliza Dushku) – Faith might not have been a fan favorite, being evil for a few of seasons and all, but Eliza Dushku did not just roll over after Buffy The Vampire Slayer was over. She did a number of movies that did not have much success, even though Dushku herself received praise for her roles. When Buffy ended, Eliza Dushku was offered her own Buffy spin off based on her character Faith, but turned it down to star in Tru Calling, which lasted about 2 years.

In 2008, Dushku joined forces with Joss Whendon, the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, for a new project called Dollhouse. Dollhouse premiered on February 13, 2009 but was canceled only 27 episodes later. Why? Well here’s what the audience had to say: “Dushku does wonderful things to a tank top, but her grasp of this vague, personality-changing character is a bit of a muddle”.

Eliza Dushku may not be married yet but she has dated a number of eligible bachelors since Faith, including Matt Dillon and creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane. Dushku is currently dating Canadian television actor and retired professional basketball player, Rick Fox (Who also dated Sharon Stone, Kristin Davis and was married to Vanessa Williams). Rick Fox is also eleven years older than Eliza Dushku but hey, who’s counting.

Fun Fact: Not only is Dushku a hottie and an actress, she is sometimes seen on stage at the Children’s Theater signing for the deaf.

Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg) – I must say, little Dawn Summers has done pretty well for herself. Trachtenberg may have played the little sister in Buffy The Vampire Slayer but in real life, she is definitely the leading lady. Playing Jenny on Eurotrip was probably the best decision she has ever made. Then came Ice Princess, 17 Again and Cop Out with Bruce Willis among others. Still to come in 2011 is Young Americans, with the likes of Anna Faris, Audrina Patridge, Dan Fogler, Topher Grace and Chris Pratt.

Michelle Trachtenberg didn’t skimp out on television either. Since Buffy The Vampire Slayer, she had made appearances on Six Feet Under, House, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Robot Chicken, Mercy and as a recurring character on Gossip Girl by the name of Georgina Sparks.

In 2006, Trachtenberg made a few cameo’s in several music videos. She appeared in the Fall Out Boy music video for “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” (with fellow Buffy The Vampire Slayer cast mate Seth Green), in the Joaquin Phoenix-directed video “Tired of Being Sorry” for Balthazar Getty’s Band, Ringside, as well as the music video ‘Echo” by Trapt.

Fun Fact: Trachtenberg worked with Sarah Michelle Gellar on the soap “All My Children”  in the 1990s before “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” premiered in 1997 and they had become good friends. In fact, Sarah was the one who recommended Michelle for the part of Dawn.

Spyke (James Marsters) – Well if it isn’t our favorite evil vampire. Unfortunately, Spyke was probably the biggest part James Marsters has ever played. After Buffy The Vampire Slayer ended, Marsters joined the cast of Angel, reprising his role as Spyke from time to time. After Angel, Marsters played a small role in P.S. I Love You with Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank as well as making some guest appearances in TV shows like Andromeda, Smallville, Without a Trace, Saving Grace, Numbers, Lie To Me and Caprica.

Marsters’s acting career might have gone down the drain but it seems to me that acting was not his focus for the past few years. Together with his band “Ghost of the Robot”, Marsters has been touring the U.K and enjoying his 40′s.

Fun Fact: While filming Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Marsters lived in a house on the beach and stated in an interview that the worst part of living there was that because of his Vampire role on the show, he couldn’t go out on the beach for any length of time because he’d pick up a tan.