|
There's an emergency on the Angel set. Star of the
show David Boreanaz is not happy. His trailer, in a
secluded corner of the Paramount Studio car park in
LA, has what locals call a 'pop-out' - a foldaway canopy
for David to sit under between scenes so the California
sun doesn't spoil his vampire pallor with (heaven forbid)
a tan. Problem is, it's rumoured the pop-out has collapsed,
falling right onto the roof of David's brand new Mercedes.
The car's a wreck.
We're watching a scene that doesn't feature David,
when his livid phone call comes. Everyone goes into
panic mode. Producer Kelly Manners reluctantly takes
the handset and tries to soothe the yelling actor.
Just a couple of big cheeses have plucked up the courage
to cross the car park and face the demon's wrath, David
Boreanaz himself emerges from the neighbouring building
in a dark blue suit, looking around at the chaos he's
caused. The he bends up double, laughing. The whole
thing was a joke.
David likes a laugh. This is the guy who, in his days
as Buffy the Vampire Slayer's screen lover, would eat
raw tuna and onion rings before snogging scenes to gross
out Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Angel started life as Buffy spin-off and is now on
of the biggest shows among hip young Americans, outshining
all the competitors apart from Dawson's Creek. In Britain,
over 2 million switch on. And because it's screened
after the watershed, Angel is darker, sexier and inspires
a cult following even more devoted than Buffy's.
Thirty-one-year-old David plays Angel, the vampire
cursed with a soul, who's not only left his home town
of Sunnydale, but also his passionate relationship with
vampire slayer Buffy. He ends up in LA, fighting evil
to redeem himself for past crimes.
Trouble is, the city's too big for one good guy to
cope with - even one this skilled at kicking ass. So
Angel sets up an unlikely but effective evil-fighting
team comprising wannabe actress Cordelia Chase (fellow
Buffy veteran, Charisma Carpenter), brainy Brit Wesley
Wyndham-Price (Alexis Denisof) and streetfighter Charles
Gunn (J August Richards). They're joined in this second
series by Winifred'Fred' Burkle, played by Amy Acker
and baby-faced, first-time actor Andy 'The Host' Hallett.
Filmed partly at the Paramount studios, the rest of
the scenes are shot on LA's streets, but shooting out
and about has its drawbacks. Angel's nocturnal, so it's
all late night or early mornings. Plus, the actual locations
are hardly Beverly Hills. Taking a break from filming,
female lead Charisma wrinkles her nose, slinging her
hands in her leather jacket: "It's uncomfortable,
it's stinky. We shoot down alleyways with rats, as big
as dogs running around. People dump pee on us out of
their windows."
David is more philosophical adding: "Homeless
people scream at me all the time. Others come up and
tell me their life stories. I guess they all want to
be saved."
But the main issue on set among the Angel crew is kicking
butt: who gets to do it, who doesn't, who kicks whose.
J's excited about it. "Man, I'm getting to do me-vs-three
demons ass-kicking action now. I've got my own signature
weapons in that cabinet over there. Signature weapons!
It's like being a kid and playing at Star Wars."
David does kung-fu and two-thirds of his own stunts.
Even trained ballerina Charisma acts tough. "For
months I've been begging, 'When do I get to punch somebody?
When do I get to stake a vampire?' And now I am and
it's so much fun," she enthuses, running her hands
through her newly blonde hair.
David reappears in full Angel garb, having been on
the mobile to his pregnant wife, model-turned-actress
Jaime Bergman. She's due any day now. "I'm excited
about diapers and everything," he beams. "It's
going to be a life-changing experience. It's scary too,
but hey, if I can give what my parents have given me,
then I know I'm in a good boat."
He rolls up his shirt sleeves to show off his tattoos,
one on each arm. "That means the soul and this
one means fate. My wife has the same ones." Do
they know if it's a boy or a girl? "No, it'll come
out and go, 'Surprise!' Just let it be a kid, you know?"
Suddenly David and Charisma are called back to the
set. The leading pair's will they/won't they relationship
is hotting up this series and it's time for one of those
scenes that crackle with sexual tension. ("I'm
like, will she ever get laid?" laughs Charisma.)
As they're heading back to work in a flurry of black
leather, there's one more thing we want to know. What
does the fake blood taste like? "It's sweet, like
sugar," says David, turning back, smacking his
lips and giving me his best vampire stare. "The
blood tastes goooood."
We make our excuses and leave. Fast.
|
