See the ‘Angel’ cast, then and now

David Boreanaz (Angel)

David Boreanaz launched his career as Angel, an immortal vampire cursed with a soul who moves from Sunnydale to Los Angeles. There, he opens Angel Investigations, and dedicates himself to helping the helpless.

While Angel is tormented, Boreanaz considers himself lucky to get such a complex character. “It was all timing, really. [Angel] initially had an arc of six out of the 12 episodes. He was somebody who could be recurring and a love interest to Buffy,” he told EW in 2017. “It happened so quickly, but in order for things to happen quickly when you recognize them, you have to be ready; when it hits, it’s quick. When Buffy hit, I was in the right spot at the right time, but I had been struggling for years just to get in the door.”

When Boreanaz hung up his fangs and left the Buffyverse, he stepped straight into another hit: the Fox police procedural Bones, where his chemistry with Emily Deschanel kept things sizzling for 12 seasons. Boreanaz later moved on to the CBS military drama SEAL Team, which ran from 2017 to 2024, and will soon star on a reboot of The Rockford Files.

Boreanaz married Playboy model Jaime Bergman in 2001; the pair have two children, Jaden and Bella.

Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase)

Charisma Carpenter played Cordelia Chase, a former Sunnydale cheerleader who moves to Los Angeles, teams up with Angel, and eventually gains the ability to see visions of people in need. 

After many years, Carpenter spoke out against Buffy creator Joss Whedon in 2021, accusing the showrunner of harassment. “Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,” she said in a statement. “While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me and alienate me from my peers. The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer. It is with a beating, heavy heart that I say I coped in isolation and, at times, destructively.” 

Carpenter left Angel during the fourth season, although she returned for the show’s 100th episode. She joined season 2 of Veronica Mars as the new trophy stepmom of the infamous Casablancas family. On the big screen, she appeared in The Expendables (2010) and its 2012 sequel.

The actress has since guest-starred on series including Blue Bloods, Sons of Anarchy, Scream Queens, and the Dynasty reboot. In 2023, she returned to her signature role in the Audible audio drama Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, in which Cordelia becomes the new Slayer. She currently hosts a podcast called The Bitch Is Back, in which she watches every episode of Buffy and Angel for the first time.

Carpenter wed Damian Hardy in 2002, but the pair split in 2008. They have one son, Donovan.

Glenn Quinn (Allen Francis Doyle)

Glenn Quinn was Allen Francis Doyle, a human-demon hybrid who receives visions from The Powers That Be. 

The Irish actor was familiar to ‘90s viewers as Mark Healy, Becky’s boyfriend (and later husband) on Roseanne. From there, he landed his role on Angel, although his character was killed in the ninth episode.

Quinn experienced substance abuse for many years. He died in 2002 of an accidental overdose at age 32.

Boreanaz told EW in 2017 that he and Quinn became good friends during his time on the series. “The unfortunate circumstances of his plight and his choice took him into a different direction for which I was very oblivious to, but that was something that will always remain with me,” Boreanaz said. “I miss the guy, even to this day — just a remarkable human being and it’s sad the way it happened.”

Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce)

Alexis Denisof played Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Introduced in Buffy’s third season as the title character’s replacement Watcher, he is eventually fired by the Watcher’s Council and becomes a rogue demon hunter, working alongside Angel and Cordelia in Los Angeles. Denisof portrayed the character for all five seasons.

After Angel, Denisof had recurring roles on How I Met Your Mother and Whedon’s sci-fi series Dollhouse. Whedon also cast Denisof in The Avengers (2012), as a servant of Thanos, and Much Ado About Nothing (2012) as Benedick. The actor has since maintained his supernatural fantasy street cred on Grimm, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Legacies.

In 2003, Denisof wed actress Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow on Buffy and Lily on How I Met Your Mother. They have two daughters, Satyana and Keeva.

J. August Richards (Charles Gunn)

J. August Richards was Charles Gunn, a self-taught demon hunter who joins Angel’s team and falls in love with Amy Acker’s Fred. 

Richards talked to EW in 2000 about working on the Angel set: “It’s a tough schedule, 12-hour days and lots of night shoots. But the tone on the set is anything but dark. David [Boreanaz] is an ‘up’ kind of guy, which you certainly wouldn’t expect from watching the show. You forget that he has a smile, but he does.”

After Angel wrapped, Richards had a recurring role as Deathlok on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and booked gigs on the Law & Order spinoff Conviction, the legal drama Notorious, and the high school dramedy Generation. He returned to his monster-centric roots on Peacock’s 2022 adaptation of Vampire Academy and later guested on The Rookie, The Rookie: Feds, Fire Country, and The Madison.

In 2023, Richards married entrepreneur/musician Joshua Gbor.

Amy Acker (Winifred “Fred” Burkle)

Amy Acker portrayed Winifred “Fred” Burkle, a brilliant young scientist who survives captivity in another dimension and becomes a member of Angel Investigations. 

Acker followed that breakout performance with a key role in the final season of Alias. She costarred on Dollhouse and portrayed Beatrice in Joss Whedon’s big-screen take on Much Ado About Nothing, while also scoring a bit part in the Whedon-penned The Cabin in the Woods (2012). 

The Texas-born actor found a home on network TV as the hacker/assassin Root in Person of Interest before moving on to the superhero series The Gifted, set in Marvel’s X-Men universe. Acker had a recurring role on 9-1-1: Lone Star and was on the one-season Freeform drama The Watchful Eye. She’ll star in the 2026 Hallmark holiday movie My Christmas Cowboy alongside Luke Macfarlane.

Acker and actor James Carpinello married in 2003. They have a son, Jackson, and a daughter, Ava.

Andy Hallett (Lorne)

Andy Hallett played Lorne, a demon who owns a karaoke bar and reads people’s auras and futures while they sing. 

Unsurprisingly, it was Hallett’s gifts as a singer that earned him the role. At the time, he was working as a personal assistant to Joss Whedon’s then-wife, Kai Cole. Whedon reportedly came up with the character after seeing him sing. Hallett appeared off and on as the golden-voiced demon beginning in season 2 before officially joining the main cast in season 4. 

Soon after finishing his work on Angel, Hallett developed a heart condition that kept him from acting, although he remained in touch with fans at genre conventions. He died in 2009 from congestive heart failure at age 33. 

Costar J. August Richards spoke to EW in 2019 about Hallett’s passing: “He brought so much to the table. He was the life of the party and made us all laugh. He was a beautiful man.”

James Marsters (Spike)

James Marsters played Spike, a punk vampire who gradually transitioned from villain to hero on Buffy. After two prior appearances in seasons 1 and 2, he officially joined the Angel cast in season 5 after Buffy ended, quickly developing dynamic onscreen chemistry with Boreanaz.

Marsters has been a genre mainstay on TV ever since, from the supervillain Brainiac on Smallville, to a guest spot on Torchwood, to recurring appearances as terrorist Barnabas Greeley in Syfy’s Caprica. He took on a major role in Hulu’s Runaways as supervillain Victor Stein, reunited with costar Charisma Carpenter for the podcast series Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, and voiced multiple characters for Curses!, DreamWorks’ family-friendly spooky animated series on Apple TV.

Marsters was married to Liane Davidson from 1989 to 1997; they have a son, Sullivan. He later married Patricia Rahman in 2011, but they split in 2021.

Vincent Kartheiser (Connor)

Vincent Kartheiser made a lasting impression as Angel’s human son Connor, who was locked away in a hell dimension until his teen years. 

A few years after his stint on Angel, Kartheiser broke big as the smarmy, ambitious Pete Campbell on Mad Men. Since then, he’s had recurring roles on Hulu’s Casual and The Path, as well as Netflix’s sci-fi head trip The OA. In 2021, he played Dr. Jonathan Crane — a.k.a. Scarecrow — in season 3 of Titans.

The actor has spent some time on the big screen as well, appearing in Alpha Dog (2006), In Time (2011), and Go On (2026).

Kartheiser married actress Alexis Bledel, with whom he shares one son, in 2014. They divorced in 2022.

Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall)

Mercedes McNab was another Buffy transplant. She portrayed Harmony Kendall, a former resident of Sunnydale who gets turned into a vampire and comes to work as Angel’s assistant when he takes over Wolfram & Hart.

McNab first garnered attention in Addams Family Values (1993) as a snobby camper who looks down on Wednesday. The Canadian actress appeared sporadically as Harmony for five years on Buffy before making the move to Angel in its fifth season. Once her time in the Buffyverse was complete, she appeared in the slasher film Hatchet (2006) and its 2010 sequel, and booked a handful of guest spots on the small screen, including Reaper, Supernatural, and Psych. 

McNab married real-estate developer Mark Henderson in 2012 and has not acted since. The couple shares a daughter and a son.