What Happened To The Vampire-Fighting Cast Of 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'?

Then: Spunky, blonde, and bold - Sarah Michelle Gellar has been making movies and starring in commercials since she was just 5 years old. She played the titular vamp-slaying role in Buffy, which almost went to Katie Holmes.  

Now: Gellar didn't stop barreling her way through the entertainment industry after Buffy the Vampire Slayer wrapped up. She starred in both box office and TV hits such as the live-action version of Scooby Doo and CBS's The Crazy Ones. After taking a bit of an acting hiatus, Gellar co-founded the food-crafting and baking kit company, Foodstirs, in 2015, and in 2024 she announced she would be participating in the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot.

Then: David Boreanaz got his big break when he was casually discovered while walking his dog. His acting career went from the role of the lighthearted, cheery boyfriend in the '80s sitcom Married with Children to playing the dark and brooding Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now: Boreanaz was so popular in Buffy that he got his own spinoff series for fans to obsess over: Angel. After Buffy's end, Boreanaz bounced over to the crime-drama series, Bones, which wrapped Season 12 - its final season - in early 2017. He continued his status as a television star, jumping straight into the CBS series SEAL Team.

Boreanaz also admitted to cheating on his wife in 2011. Fortunately, Boreanaz said the affair was a "bonding experience," and they remained together. Boreanaz and his wife founded their own nail polish line, Chrome Girl, in 2013.

Then: Alyson Hannigan had a long acting career before gaining her powerful magical abilities as the lovely Willow Rosenberg. Acting since the age of four, she starred in commercials for major corporations such as Six Flags and had featured appearances in hit TV shows like Free Spirit and Roseanne. She even took the time to star as the raunchy band-geek, Michelle Flaherty, in American Pie while working on Buffy.

Now: After Buffy ended, Hannigan jumped right into the lead role of Lily Aldrin in the TV series How I Met Your Mother. She continued to act in small roles, but found her stride as a television host for shows like Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Girl Scout Cookie Championship. She also participated in the competition series Dancing with the Stars, finishing fifth.

Then: The smooth, suave, platinum blond-haired James Marsters went through a lot for his role as Spike. From multiple peroxide treatments to keep his hair white and shiny, to cutting down on calories to stay thin and vampy, Marsters pushed his way through the series to ultimately become one of its biggest stars.

Now Marsters was supposed to go directly from Buffy to his own spinoff film, Spike, but it never came to fruition. In 2017, he said he would reprise his role as Spike "in a heartbeat" as long as Joss Whedon was involved. Alongside his ever-growing sci-fi roles, he also became the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Ghost of the Robot.

Then: When Nicholas Brendon was in high school, he got into acting to overcome his stuttering problem. It worked out for him, as he landed the sidekick role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now: Since Buffy's end, Brendon has found himself in an array of messy situations. He almost instantly checked himself into rehab for alcoholism when Buffy went off the air. Brendon had numerous arrests for a multitude of reasons, including intoxication, destruction of property, battery of both police officers and his girlfriend, and more.

Then: Buffy's TV father figure Rupert Giles was played by complete music nerd Anthony Stewart Head. Head has a history of participating in musical theater - he can sing, play piano, shred guitar, and even played in the band Two Way in 1983. He also grew up as a huge horse lover, riding his own horse, Otto, in Season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now: Head is still gracefully kicking ass in the entertainment industry. He has picked up roles in everything from TV shows like Little Britain and Merlin to musical flicks like Repo! The Genetic Opera and Sweeney Todd. In 2023 he participated in the Audible series Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, reprising his roles as Giles.