‘SEAL Team’ Star David Boreanaz on Playing Angel on ‘Buffy’ and Supporting LGBTQ Youth
Stacey Abrams shocked social media when she sounded off on Twitter last month about, not politics, but “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The political powerhouse tweeted, “To be fair, Angel was the right boyfriend for Buffy coming into her power. Spike was the right man to be with as she became the power.”
Now, David Boreanaz, who played Angel, weighs in. “Your first love is your true love, and your true love is your first love,” the 51-year-old actor says on this week’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.” “Game over. … Stacey is a great person and all, but I disagree. We can agree to disagree.”
Variety caught up with Boreanaz ahead of the Dec. 2 new season premiere of “SEAL Team,” his hit CBS series about the elite unit of the Navy.
You have been shooting the show during the pandemic. How has that been going?
We first finished around March 13, right when the pandemic hit and they were shutting everything down. We were in the middle of shooting the episode I was directing and then Chris was directing one as well, so we were cross boarding and it was a bit crazy. I was up in Big Bear. I was in snow and I came off the mountain and I was like, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” The transpo guys said, “We may be shut down,” and I didn’t think too much of it. And then yesterday, the next day we got shut down. We waited six, seven months and got back up. We had to do a lot of meetings with Viacom and go over the protocols and the guidelines worked out what we were able to get past.
The show hasn’t had to be shut down?
No. We’re maintaining our path. I don’t want to jinx it, but you just don’t know with this. The scary thing is, you get tested and you think you’re invincible and you’re really not because the thing is so invisible. I don’t know if you’ve known anybody who’s gotten it, but it’s very sad. And it affects people regardless of where their health is and the elderly, and it’s just been wiping people out.
Let’s talk about directing the first episode of the new season of “SEAL Team.”
It was a very tough episode to do. It was grueling. The environment was tough, four days up at Big Bear up inside of a mountain, and it was a snowstorm. The conditions helped with the performances. I think it helped just with the whole drive of the characters in order to be climbing mountains and getting to the top and the altitude would get to you.
What have you learned about yourself playing Jason?
I’m not a classically trained actor. I’m very much street-oriented and I take my experiences and use them a lot. I learn a lot through my own conflicts and how to apply that to this character, specifically, just his drive and his mentality to get the job done and also to pick the pieces up and carry it on his shoulders – as easy as that may sound. One of the things I’ve learned is you can’t carry everything on your shoulders. You have to be able to let that go and trust. You can really only control your three-foot-world and not anything outside that space.
What did you think when you heard Donald Trump call soldiers who died “suckers” and “losers?”
I’m not one to kind of dive into the politics of it all, but it’s upsetting when you hear that because I’ve been fortunate to meet these gold star families and it’s sad. It really is sad.
I was really happy to see that you posted a photo on Instagram of you wearing GLAAD’s purple t-shirt for Spirit Day for LGBTQ youth.
I hate bullies. We’re all people, so live in love, man. When I posted that on Instagram, I got a lot of flak from people: “Oh, you’re Catholic and you shouldn’t be wearing that.” Hence why I turned my comments off and Instagram people are like, “Why did your turn your comments off?” Probably because I’m really not too interested in your opinion. Some of the comments were so rude and so angry. That was the turning point for me. I was like, I’m either going to get off of this social platform and I don’t care what kind of brands that it can get me or kind of money. I miss the days when it was just a pager and you just went about your work. That was kind of the turning point, was just to shut these comments off and continue on. I’m so close to just getting rid of all social media.
If I set up a stage right now, would you debate Stacey Abrams about Angel and Spike?
[Laughs] Of course. It would be over in one second. The first love is your true love. Your true love is your first love. And that’s all I have to say. It’s over. Just drop the mic and walk off.
Would you ever want to play Angel again?
No. I’m all for people redoing it or whatever, but I’m too old. It’s not like we’re the cast of “Friends” reuniting. We’re not hanging out in the coffee shop on a couch. But, you know, with all that technology, they made Robert De Niro look really young. [Laughs]. I would encourage them to find somebody else to do it.
This interview has been edited and condensed. Listen to the full interview above. You can also find “The Big Ticket” at iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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