Buffy the Vampire Slayer Cast Where Are They Now?

It's a little tough to believe, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been off the air for nearly 15 years now. We know - it's insane! The show premiered in 1997, with a young Sarah Michelle Gellar playing the amazing title character, and wrapped in 2003. Thanks to things like Netflix, however, the show is constantly gaining new fans. Sure, some of the fashion choices and hairstyles are a bit dated when you watch them years later, but the show itself remains totally entertaining. The crazy effects may not be as high tech as recent monster-filled shows like The Vampire Diaries, but it remains totally compelling and watchable television. In fact, if you haven't seen it since you were younger, we're officially demanding that you re-watch the teen classic and check out Buffy's adventures all over again.

Plus, it's fun to see where some of today's stars got their start - there are plenty of Buffy alum who went on to successful careers in the entertainment industry. And then, there are others who have either switched paths or kept a relatively low profile since the show wrapped.

It's officially been twenty years since the cast stepped onto the set of the show, so let's take a look at where they are now.

15 David Boreanaz (Angel)

Boreanaz had the fortune of playing one of the show's most beloved characters, the brooding, cursed Angel. Everyone loves the bad boy love interest, after all. In fact, his character was so compelling that producers decided to give him his own spin-off a few seasons after Buffy started, entitled Angel (although he popped into Sunnydale from time to time). He existed in that universe from 1997 to 2004, and just when you might think he'd try his hand on the silver screen, he found another prime television gig - playing Special Agent Booth on the show Bones, which lasted an incredible 12 seasons. The show wrapped earlier this year, so we'll probably see Boreanaz branching out a bit and trying out different roles in the years to come. Although, who knows - with his track record, he may very well just score a gig on another hugely successful television show and stay there another ten years.

14 Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers)

Sarah Michelle Gellar played Buffy, so obviously, she was the most important part of the show - without her, there would have been no Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since the show wrapped, she's been a busy lady, starring in films including The Grudge and Possession, as well as appearing on short-lived television shows including Ringer and The Crazy Ones. While some of her more iconic roles came during her Buffy years - such as her role in Cruel Intentions - there's no doubt that her career has stayed strong through the years. She's also happily married to former teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. (and even legally changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze!). Though she's still acting, Gellar has also dabbled in other ventures, such as co-founding a food crafting and e-commerce startup called Foodstirs. I mean, she is a mom of two - it makes sense that she'd want to help other moms streamline their time in the kitchen.

13 Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris)

Brendon has had several roles over the years, but none quite as major as his supporting role of Xander on the show. The actor returned to television on a semi-regular basis with his role in Criminal Minds, and he's even dabbled in writing a bit, penning the Buffy Season 10 comic book series. Unfortunately, it hasn't been all sunshine and roses - while Brendon faced literal demons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he's also faced some pretty gnarly demons in his personal life. He's had several run-ins for the law regarding incidents that occurred, and even did a stint in rehab. It's not something we can picture Xander Harris getting involved with, but hey - people have to grow up sometime. Brendon continues to get a credit or two every few years, and we're betting that all his Buffy money means he can be choosy about what roles he takes now, which is good.

12 Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg)

Who could forget the iconic character of Willow Rosenberg, the meek witch who started out as a super shy member of Buffy's circle, and becomes more and more self-assured and powerful as she embraces her magical abilities and increases her confidence. For many, it would be a once in a lifetime role - but Hannigan has managed to become part of several well-known series. In the film world, she played the role of Michelle in the American Pie series, which she started filming when Buffy was still on the air (the last one, however, was filmed in 2012, years after Buffy had wrapped). She also, more significantly, played the lovably Lily Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother, a sitcom that went on for a staggering nine seasons. Given that she's been on major television shows for nearly twenty years straight, it's no surprise that Hannigan is taking a bit of a break lately, only taking the odd role here or there.

11 Anthony Head (Rupert Giles)

While the vast majority of the characters on Buffy are teens - it was a teen drama, after all - there was one particular noteworthy adult: Rupert Giles. Giles was Buffy's Watcher, the figure that is supposed to help mentor young Slayers. Since the show wrapped, he's had quite the diverse career, appearing in shows in his native Britain including Little Britain and Merlin, narrating Doctor Who Confidential, and popping up in films as diverse as The Iron Lady and The Inbetweeners Movie. Since the show wrapped, Head really hasn't had a single year where he doesn't have at least one acting role to add to his filmography, so it seems that he's one of the slow and steady wins the race type. Which, if you think of it, is a lot like the brainy Giles he played for so many years on the show. With such a diverse body of work, who knows what he's going to do next?

10 James Marsters (Spike)

Most fans would agree that Angel was cast in the role of the heartthrob on Buffy, but for fans who really liked the bad boy figures, it was all about Spike. The platinum blonde vampire, played by James Marsters, was villainous yet nuanced, a bad boy you actually cared about. You may not immediately recognize him in his other roles if you're used to seeing him on Buffy because, well, he hasn't kept the platinum blonde hair. I mean, that's a lot of upkeep! He's had a few credits over the years in various films and television shows, but he also seems to have found an entirely different passion - music. Marsters has released two albums as a solo artist, and four albums with his rock band Ghost of the Robot. That's right, four - this isn't just some celebrity pet project. If you ever imagined Spike as a bad boy rock star, well, seeing James Marsters perform might be the next best thing.

9 Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)

Even on a teen show where all the drama centers around high school students, well, those students need parents - and that's exactly what Joyce Summers was. It can't be easy to find out that your teenage daughter is supposed to fight evil with her magical powers, but to her credit, Mama Summers took it in stride and helped Buffy along the way. She was played by actress Kristine Sutherland, who has been fairly MIA ever since. She had a few one or two-episode arcs on various television shows including Comanche Moon, New Amsterdam, and One Life to Live, but hasn't exactly been rushing out to take on more roles in the years since the show wrapped. Then again, Sutherland is in her 60s now, so she probably made enough dough to live comfortably without having to get up and head to set for early morning shoots. What more can you ask for?

8 Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase)

At first, Cordelia Chase was Sunnydale's resident mean girl, the one who was shallow and selfish and felt like she was better than all her fellow students. Eventually, she joins forces with Angel, and gets a few redeeming traits alongside her mean cheerleader persona. Since her time on Buffy and Angel came to an end, Carpenter has continued acting - although not in anything quite as high profile. She had a starring gig in The Lying Game, and was a host of the show Surviving Evil, where she revealed a traumatic incident that had happened in her past. She has also starred in a ton of made-for-TV movies, including House of Bones, A Trusted Man, Haunted High, Mommy's Secret, and many, many more. Now that she's a bit older, Carpenter no longer gets the sex symbol roles that she did in her younger years, but hey - in the tough entertainment industry, just getting steady work is an accomplishment.

7 Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers)

Michelle Trachtenberg's film career began at the tender age of 11, when she snagged the lead role in the film Harriet the Spy, and has been going strong ever since. She snagged a role on Buffy as the title character's baby sister (introduced in the fifth season, and not really loved by fans). The whole origin story behind Dawn is complex, but there's no doubt that she was a major part of the show. Since then, Trachtenberg has appeared in everything from comedies like EuroTrip and Take Me Home Tonight to hit television shows like Gossip Girl. Since she got her start at such a young age, it can be easy to assume that Trachtenberg is older than she actually is - in real life, she's just 31 years old, so she likely has a huge career still ahead of her. Plus, now she probably won't have to play the dreaded role of the little sister to the main character.

6 Amber Benson (Tara Maclay)

Tara Maclay had quite the storyline on the show, and proved that even decades ago, some producers were willing to represent all types of relationships on screen. Maclay was a shy student who ended up falling in love with Willow, and their relationship was actually the first recurring lesbian relationship portrayed on primetime network television in the U.S. Pretty cool! Her projects since then have been fairly sparse, with roles in movies like Kiss the Bride, Tripping Forward, and Another Harvest Moon. What's more interesting is her move to the sphere of writing. Perhaps her years surrounded by the paranormal on Buffy had a bigger impact on Benson than she realized, because she's penned many supernatural/fantasybooks and comic books, including three in the Buffy world. In a Reddit AMA back in 2015, Benson referred to herself as “an actress in a former life,” so it seems like the world of authorship is her jam nowadays.

5 Seth Green (Daniel “Oz” Osbourne)

Oz starts out as simply an aspiring musician and student (first at Sunnydale High, later at UC Sunnydale), and eventually becomes Willow's boyfriend. Oh, and you know, there's the whole fact that he realizes he's a werewolf partway through the series. In total, Green was in 40 episodes throughout the show's airing, and now has a staggering amount of credits to his name. However, his career has taken a bit of an interesting twist. While Buffy was on the air, Seth Green was frequently spotted in goofy comedies and teen flicks. Nowadays, the vast majority of his work is actually voiceover work. His most notable roles are probably as Chris Griffin on the hit show Family Guy, who he's been voicing for nearly 20 years, as well as various characters on Robot Chicken. He's also voiced characters in animated shorts, in video games, and much more. Hey - when you've got a voice that distinctive, why not use it?

4 Eliza Dushku (Faith)

Like Buffy Summers, the title character of the show, Faith was also a Slayer. However, unlike Buffy, she comes from a bit of a troubled background, which eventually leads her to move from a Slayer fighting demons to a villain (and then back again). She has quite the storyline considering she was only in a handful of episodes. She's certainly been busy since her Buffy days, often in roles that involve some type of paranormal component. She starred on True Calling and Dollhouse, two shows that both lasted a brief two seasons. She's also had guest-starring arcs on a few other shows, and has starred in a few films and voiced several video game characters. She's taken on more and more voice roles in the past few years, so who knows - perhaps that's the direction she's heading in next. Despite having a fairly sparse filmography, in comparison to other stars, she remains a big name, particularly in science fiction circles.

3 Marc Blucas (Riley Finn)

On the show, Riley Finn started out as a fairly normal character, and was the all-American boy in comparison to the brooding Angel. He was Buffy's love interest for a while, but on Buffy, nothing can be that simple - fans later found out that he led a double life as a teaching assistant and a member of The Initiative. He's worked regularly since the show wrapped, starring in movies like First Daughter, The Jane Austen Book Club, Stay Cool, and Sleeping with Other People. He's kept his focus on the film world, and with the exception of Necessary Roughness, a show he appeared on for 29 episodes in a main role, he's only had guest starring gigs on television. Sure, his name might not be one that everyone immediately recognizes, as is the case with some of Buffy's more famous alumni, but he's managed to keep the gigs coming in the competitive world of Hollywood, which is pretty impressive.

2 Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson)

Though Jonathan Levinson was a somewhat minor character on the show, only appearing in 29 episodes, he certainly had an action-packed journey. He started out as a bullied kid at Sunnydale High end eventually learned he had powers and got into some trouble. Many television fans will recognize Strong from another major role he had - playing Doyle McMaster, Rory's Yale Daily News editor and Paris Gellar's boyfriend, on Gilmore Girls. However, Strong wasn't content to just stay behind the camera forever. He also has many screenwriting credits to his name, including Lee Daniels' The Butler, and the two films in the massive Hunger Games trilogy. Oh, and he's the co-creator, writer, and executive producer for the hit show Empire. It's safe to say that Strong's career just continues to grow more and more interesting - and his time acting likely gives him a little added perspective when it comes to being on the other side of the camera.

1 Emma Caulfield (Anya Jenkins)

Anya had a fascinating storyline - according to the show, she spent over a thousand years as a type of demon, before becoming a human again just when the show kicks off. Her unique perspective on the world made her a fascinating character, and obviously the fact that she was a blonde bombshell earned her many male fans as well. She was played by California girl Emma Caulfield, who has never quite earned the same level of fame in any of her subsequent roles that she did for the supernatural teen hit. She's appeared in a few indie flicks, co-authored a web comic, and is now a mom. It just goes to prove that sometimes, being on a hit television show isn't necessarily a ticket to a lasting, wildly successful career - sometimes it ends up being the high point, and that's totally okay. Caulfield is a gorgeous 40-something and probably a fantastic mom.