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By: Sean Elliott
Senior Editor

David Boreanaz reveals acting secrets & more about Bones ~ Part 2

Buffy and Angel actor comes clean about his origins in Hollywood.

David Boreanaz is certainly one of the most charismatic FBI agents on TV in the second season of BONES. The return of the popular Fox crime drama was off with a bang last week, and doesn’t look as if it’s planning to slow anytime soon. iF MAGAZINE got the chance to talk to Boreanaz the day before the second season premiered and he gave us some unique insights as to what goes into making the hit show, his acting past, and his new films.

F Magazine: Was your father, David Thomas Boreanaz (Philadelphia weatherman and actor) some kind of influence on your chosen profession?

DAVID BOREANAZ: My dad was a big influence on me, not in regards to getting involved in acting, but in everything that I did. My mom and dad have always been supportive in what I did. I remember my dad saying to me, “whatever you decided to do there’s going to be good times and bad times, and you have to work through them in the profession.” They were always supportive in what I wanted to surround myself in.

It was something I found through discovery when I moved to Philadelphia and did some plays, and moved to New York and saw some Broadway stuff; from there it just blossomed into a career for me. When I came to Los Angeles, I decided to go after it, and I surround myself in acting and it’s been a great work in progress for me so far.

iF: What do you feel is the balance between the character stories, and the storyline and the cases?

BOREANAZ: You have the procedural through line, which is always consistent with each episode that will somehow mirror what each character is going through personally. The personal stuff will always be ongoing. The procedural stuff is there as through line, and for me I like to see it as an 80/20 split more about character for me. As far as I approach the show, I think it’s more interesting to watch, than trying to solve a crime. There are shows out there that focus on 100% procedural and solving a crime. That’s great, and people like that, but I don’t and I prefer the characters to come to the forefront of it and get invested in their lives. Then invested into how they solve these specific crimes and how they affect them as they deal with their personal stuff.

iF: How far ahead are you privy to the storyline and scripts for the show?

BOREANAZ: I have a sense of about a couple weeks ahead. I have a general outline of how the year goes by. I like to sit with Hart [Hanson] and Stephen [Nathan], and Tony Wharmby (our new producer/director) and throw down ideas on how I would like to see the character evolve and put him in situations which they are really great at doing. They allow me to do that, and allow me to develop that character along the lines of how I would have him go, and shape him in ways that I was never able to do. So, it’s fun to that.

iF: What do you think distinguishes your characters on BONES from other male/female pairings on TV?

BOREANAZ: Best pairing you’ll see ever, I can tell you that now. This season will be the best pairing as far as television characters are concerned. You won’t see a better dynamic between two characters who I feel have such love for each other and respect at the same time and continue to grow off of each other. I say that with the utmost confidence, and obviously my opinion is a little different [Laughs] than other peoples because I work on it on a daily basis. The momentum that we had coming out of last season going into this season is day and night, and it’s a totally different show this season, and I’m really excited about it.

iF: You’ve been on two long running shows, and now BONES. You seem to be very fortunate with your acting choices as far as series work.

BOREANAZ: I’m fortunate to work and continue and just work on where I want to go. To me I don’t always think of it as a means to an end, but a means to a new door opening. Whatever that may be I will take on those challenges. I just invest my time into work presently, not in the past. I work moment to moment, and that’s how I operate.

iF: What is SUFFERING MAN’S CHARITY about?

BOREANAZ: I think it’s about the absurdity of a man who is so desperate and lonely played by Allen Cummings, who just tries to torture someone else for his own gain. It’s pretty heavy. It was intense, two to three weeks of shooting while I was shooting this [BONES]. It was before Christmas break, which I will never do again, because the workload was nuts. Working with someone like Allen who was directing it and starring it was phenomenal. To work with someone of that caliber and to learn from them and grow; you challenge yourself to go to places you’ve never gone and that was great.