Fame & Fortune: David Boreanaz
By Bonnie Siegler • Bankrate.com

Down-to-earth star focuses on simple pleasures

Actor David Boreanaz, 39, says life was idyllic in Buffalo, N.Y., before moving to Philadelphia when he was 8, where his father, Dave Roberts, was a television weatherman.

While attending Malvern Prep School in Pennsylvania, Boreanaz was bullied for about a year, until he began to grow into his full stature. Being on the football team also helped curb those bullies, and he went on to become a sports enthusiast and to pursue his bigger dreams of becoming an actor.

Now starring as Special Agent Seeley Booth opposite Emily Deschanel in Fox's crime drama hit "Bones," Boreanaz first came into the public eye as a biker boyfriend of Kelly Bundy on "Married ... With Children." After that, he was cast in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," playing the mysterious Angel. That lasted for two years before Boreanaz got his own spinoff show as Angel.

Boreanaz shares life with his actress/model wife, Jaime Bergman, whom he wed in 2001; and 7-year-old son, Jaden Rayne; along with two four-legged friends, a white Lab, Buddha, and Rocky the Chihuahua.

Bankrate: Hard to imagine that you were bullied at school now that you stand 6-feet-1. Were you small back then?

David Boreanaz: Well, we moved from Buffalo to Philadelphia when I was 8 years old, so going from a school and tight-knit community, and a community of openness, to going to a school in Philadelphia, that was a little bit more bruised up -- and I was the new kid on the block -- I was razzed. It started as that and compounded into getting pushed around a lot. The older I got, the bigger I got, so that changed pretty quickly (laughs).

Moving from a school in Philadelphia and being pushed around a bit, and getting my bearings, learning that, hey, this is the real world. In some ways you get beat up a little bit. I guess I got my "mojo" put on big time there, stopped getting pushed around, so it was kind of like the mean streets of Philadelphia versus the blue-collar, small-time feel of where I came from. Growing up in Buffalo and visiting my grandparents often in Binghamton, N.Y., I had a very blue-collar, working-class upbringing.

Bankrate: What kind of blue-collar things did you do?

David Boreanaz: I can remember me, my sisters and grandparents going to the local bar for happy hour at 5 o'clock on the dot every day. They would have a Genny beer in those green cans and I would play with the old shuffleboard game -- the ones with magnets and sawdust. Then my sisters and I would go behind the bar and clean the glasses for them. It was just a local restaurant/bar in the neighborhood, but that's what they did then. They sure weren't thinking of brand-name, upscale beers.

I also remember my grandparents putting a mug in the freezer in their home, taking it out with the ice all around it and pouring a beer, watching the foam, and taking a sip of that. When you're young, that was so cool. I don't know if that's an East Coast thing or not, because I don't know of people here in Los Angeles that do that.

Bankrate: Did football teach you anything about self-esteem?

David Boreanaz: Yeah. It was very disciplined. Organized sports is a great way to get focus and foundation to a child's life, whether that be baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse -- knowing the ins and outs of it.

I went to a Catholic school that had a pretty intense program. You had to know your assignments, playbooks and obviously be pushed around by the older kids when you're going into the program. To this day, it's given me a sense of understanding what it is to approach a subject matter, study for it, be prepared, take my work in a light of having fun, but at the same time being prepared and knowing what's coming at me. I think it gives you a really good grass-roots foundation into who you are as a person.

Bankrate: You seem to be a very down-to-earth kind of guy. Do you have any extravagances?

David Boreanaz: Well, I like classic rock like The Grateful Dead, so that's pretty down-to-earth. I just live my life, enjoy my stuff and love good music.

I guess my one splurge is I have a lot of old cameras that I collect because I love taking pictures. I have a lot of digital cameras. I have an old Fields camera that's an architectural camera, Canon digitals, pocket cameras. I like to collect certain types of cameras, so it's just a thing that I have. Obviously, now with a child, I'm always taking pictures. It's something I enjoy. But on a day-to-day basis, we're pretty normal around here.

Bankrate: So what would we find you typically doing as a family on a Sunday?

David Boreanaz: If it's warm out, we'd be by the pool swimming and hanging out, listening to music and barbecuing for dinner. Nothing extravagant. I like spending time with my son. We do go to Park City for a getaway, and if we're there, we'd be bike riding.

We're very active, outdoor people. My wife is now getting into gardening, so she's involved with planting, weeding and things like that around the house. But actually, we love sitting at home, renting and watching movies together at night.

Bankrate: You've directed an episode of "Bones." Why the switching of hats right now?

David Boreanaz: I just enjoy being in front of and behind the camera, producing, directing. I love the whole process of it. I've directed before, so it's just something fun and challenging. I just fell into it, and I never really gave it a lot of thought. I don't think consciously, 'Oh, this is where my career is going.' I just kind of do it.

One would be foolish not to take the opportunity of being fortunate enough to be on a show, first of all, and then be around and absorb and learn from that so you can expand yourself. Once the run is over, I don't want to look back and say, 'Gee, I wish I had done that.' And now with a family, I do have to think of security for the future. But I don't like living in regrets, so I take advantage of opportunities that naturally come my way to expand my knowledge and career so that I'm not stuck in just one area.

Bankrate: So how do you look at the longevity of "Bones" and your acting security?

David Boreanaz: I think I always put things in perspective with shows and the nature of how the system runs. I could have done one show and it could have gotten canceled after four episodes. It could be canceled tomorrow. So I kind of focus on each show as it's ordered and prescribed in every scene.

I've always kind of lived with that as my mantra. I look forward to the challenges of tomorrow and what I'm going into in the next 10 minutes. I'm not one for reunions and looking back in the past. I just kind of learn from the past and grow from it. I maintain a kind of strength from it.

Bankrate: And how do you reduce the inevitable stress?

David Boreanaz: Laugh out loud with my son. I really am a happy person and thankful for all the success and things that have come my way.

Bonnie Siegler is a freelance writer in Los Angeles.