TV favorite brings dark tale to SXSW

by Emily Hummel ~ http://www.kvue.com

Films continue to shine in the spotlight for South By Southwest. Hundreds of features, short films and documentaries are screening at a dozen theaters around Austin. For independent films, this is their chance to get noticed.

Alan Cumming directed and stars in "Suffering Man's Charity." He tapped David Boreanaz from TV's "Bones" and "Angel" to share the screen with him and bring the black comedy to SXSW.

The dark tale of deception breaks out of the traditional narrative film mode with an edge guaranteed to shake up audiences. Boreanaz plays Sebastian, a struggling writer taken in by John Vandermark (Cumming.) When John discovers Sebastian's true nature, he turns the tables on his house guest with haunting consequences.

"It's a tone all of its own. I think you'd look at it for going in and having fun with it and just kind of experiencing it. A lot of vultures in the sky circling..." comments Boreanaz. "Diving into this role was a bit dangerous. I like going into roles where there's a duality going on with the characters; there's a flipside to them."

A betrayal in the film sets up a physical and emotional battle between Boreanaz and Cumming on screen.

"It was a long emotional ride," says Boreanaz, who has had little time away from the cameras. Scheduling glitches forced the actor into double duty when "Suffering Man's Charity" collided with "Bones."

"I was shooting the television series on top of doing the film for 12 days. It was maddening," Boreanaz adds, but it was worth it.

"It's tiring, but at the same time there's a lot of internal rewards, personal rewards. For me, that's what it's always about and always will be."

But "Bones" fans will continue to get their crime-solving fix on Wednesday nights.

"The show's doing great. We got picked up for a third season. I love the character. Stephen Fry just came on. He plays my therapist. I'm struggling with some stuff. It's a great relationship-type of procedural, not just your dry procedural."

As for more turns on the big screen, Boreanaz clearly has the looks and talent to launch him into the Leading Man phase of his career. He favors dark humor with a sense of adventure and thinks the romantic comedy genre could use some tweaking -- perhaps with some fresh blood?

"They have this formula where 'So-and-so has to star in this because that's their niche.' Why not put in somebody else in there? Take a chance on something new and different. Don't change the formula, but change what's inside the ingredients. You may come up with something really cool."

As for his first trip to Austin, Boreanaz is making the most of it.

"Accompanied with the music festival that goes on, and the vibe, they mirror each other really well. You can have an experience here with this film and hear some great music somewhere else. This is a great town. I'd love to come back here again."