The Untold Truth Of David Boreanaz

David Boreanaz may not be an A-list movie star like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, but he is definitely a household name for fans of genre television. A prolific actor who has been working nonstop since his first big television break as Angel on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Boreanaz has solidified his presence on television with the subsequent spin-off series starring his character, "Angel," and then immediately beginning a role as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth alongside Emily Deschanel in "Bones." That show enjoyed an impressive 12 season run, in which Boreanaz expanded his repertoire beyond that of just acting. But he wasn't going to leave the small screen behind, and once "Bones" ended, Boreanaz immediately transitioned into the starring role of Jason Hayes on "SEAL Team."

While he's gained significant success as a television actor, he's not exactly broken into mainstream media fame, though he doesn't seem to really mind. He has a cult following from his Angel days, and appears satisfied with the work he's done so far — yet he also doesn't show any signs of slowing down. But just who is the actor who's behind such iconic roles? Keep reading to find out the untold truth of David Boreanaz.

It may surprise some fans of David Boreanaz to realize that the prolific actor is not actually classically trained. In fact, according to a report written in Fuse, an Ithaca College publication (Boreanaz's alma mater), the "Angel" star only took one acting class when he attended the school, Introduction to Acting. During his time at Ithaca, he seemed to be much more focused on what went on "behind the camera," graduating in 1991 with a degree in cinema and photography, per Fuse. He also focused on intramural sports, playing softball, basketball, and football, a hobby that would contribute to his eventual success.

Upon graduation, Boreanaz decided to give Los Angeles a try and moved out to the Golden State, hoping to use his degree to break into the film industry in some way. However, what befell him was the typical story of struggling filmmaker/aspiring actor, and he got by "by working various odd jobs (painting houses, parking cars, handing out towels at a gym) and acting whenever he could find a job (paying or not)," reported Fuse. Eventually, he landed a guest stint on "Married...With Children," though doors didn't really open up for him until he was discovered in sort of an odd way.

As written by Fuse, an Ithaca College publication, David Boreanaz was able to drop the "struggling" adjective in front of his "actor" job in 1997, when he was cast as Angel in Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV show, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. While the role was originally only supposed to be a guest-starring gig for a few episodes, Whedon (and the fans) apparently liked him so much that he was soon promoted to a series regular. It was also soon realized by Whedon that Boreanaz could be a leading man and carry his own show during one of the earlier episodes he shot. "I watched David very emotionally, unabashedly, and poetically playing a woman, and in that moment was like 'This guy can anchor a show,'" Whedon said, via Entertainment Weekly. 

Boreanaz himself described his casting as "all timing, really," per Entertainment Weekly. "It happened so quickly," he told the publication. "When 'Buffy' hit, I was in the right spot at the right time." The actor mentioned (via Parade) that he owes all his success to one of his old dogs, Bertha Blue. While walking her, Boreanaz was discovered by the talent manager Tom Parziale, who still represents him, as of this writing, so he thanks his dog for his success. Boreanaz is still an avid dog lover, and Parade reported he has several rescues.

David Boreanaz recalled via Entertainment Weekly that he only had a day to get to know Angel before he was scheduled to start shooting his scenes. "They were kind of pressed against the hour to cast this character because I would have been shooting, I think, the next day. The day after they cast me, I remember being thrown into this world of complete chaos." 

He recalled at New York Comic Con (via Comicbook) that he wasn't sure if he was going to jive with the character, as Angel didn't really talk in the first few scenes. But he said the character was described as a "prizefighter, like Joe Louis" which Boreanaz said resonated with him, per Entertainment Weekly.

When asked about his first day on the set of "Buffy," Boreanaz recalled "they fitted me in this velvet suit — I'll never forget it. I waited and waited to shoot, and when I went to meet Sarah, she was in the middle of some sort of fight sequence. I was like 'Okay, that was a quick meeting.' It went slow and fast because she was working." The actor said they didn't end up shooting until 4 a.m. and it went so fast that he didn't really have time to think, which helped him get into character. But at the end of the day, he said the "first day of shooting [was] a madhouse for me." His ability to hit the ground running seemed to impress the right people, though.

Working on a television show can be difficult, and helming a show even more so; it involves long hours, tough, emotional scenes, and in David Boreanaz's case, often performing his own stunts (per Parade, he does 90% of them). This intense work environment often leads to casts becoming quite close to one another, and that seems to hold true for most of the shows Boreanaz has worked on. He's famously close to Charisma Carpenter, his "Angel" co-star, and has a strong friendship with his "Bones" co-star, Emily Deschanel, reported The Hollywood Reporter. However, it seems like the relationships he's fostered with his "Angel" and "Bones" co-stars didn't extend to his coworkers on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." In fact, it seems like the entire cast isn't really close. 

As reported by E!, none of the "Buffy" cast appears to be on more than cordial terms with one another. Though it may be reading too much into the situation, four of the series' stars got married, and none of the weddings were attended by fellow castmates. When Boreanaz married his current wife, Jaime Bergman, E! reported that nobody from the "Buffy" or "Angel" cast showed up to their wedding. The same can be said of Alyson Hannigan, who married "Angel" cast member Alexis Denisof. Finally, Sarah Michelle Gellar's marriage to Freddie Prinze Jr. wasn't attended by any of her "Buffy" co-stars. For someone who is so close to his other coworkers, it's an interesting dynamic to take note of.

Those who are fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" know that neither of those shows ended in quite satisfying ways. While "Buffy" fans were fairly divided on how that series finale ended (spoiler alert: Angel and Buffy's love story didn't have a satisfying ending), the "Angel" finale was a disappointing experience for many who enjoyed the series. It ended on what most thought to be a cliffhanger, though show creator and writer Joss Whedon didn't believe that to be the case. "That ain't a cliff," Whedon said of the finale, via Entertainment Weekly. "I understand why people would want closure, but for me, that would be like adding a cliff note to the end. What I always wanted to say is, trying to become worthy of the life that you have is a life's work. The fight is for always." 

For his part, David Boreanaz agrees with Whedon. "I'm so proud of what we all accomplished," he said, per Entertainment Weekly. "There's such strength in all of these characters; they struggle and they do find redemption somehow." He also said he has no desire to return to the character of Angel. He told Parade that he's "not much of a reunion guy," adding, "I work in the now." He also said, per Variety, that he's "all for people redoing it or whatever, but I'm too old ... I would encourage them to find somebody else to do it."

Although David Boreanaz has made a career of playing intense and self-assured men, Boreanaz himself wasn't nearly as confident in his early career. When discussing his first day on the set of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," he said it happened so fast that he didn't have time to think until he got home after filming. At that point, he told Entertainment Weekly that "all of the insecurities came out: Did I mess it up? Did I do something wrong?" Of course, those insecurities were unfounded, and Boreanaz told the publication that "the response to the dailies was great." However, his success as Angel on "Buffy" didn't mean his insecurities went away immediately.

In fact, he told E! when he got the phone call that Joss Whedon wanted to talk to him, Boreanaz thought he was going to be fired. "He said, 'It's not a bad thing, just come in the office.' But he didn't tell me over the phone, so I had a night of ... ugh, clawing and angst." Fortunately for the Angel actor, Whedon had a spinoff offer for him and even said he could return to "Buffy" if "Angel" was unsuccessful. Indicative of his anxiety though, Boreanaz recalled to Entertainment Weekly that he was more concerned about shooting a scene as Angelus when Whedon told him about the spinoff. In response to Whedon, Boreanaz said, "And I'm like 'All right,' but I'm concerned about my accent that I'm supposed to do in the scene."

Fans of David Boreanaz may think that he has a significant number of tattoos, but he actually only has two, reported TV Over Mind. His two tattoos are also fairly simple and meaningful. He has two kanji symbols, inked in black, on the inside of his wrists, one on each side. The kanji symbols can be translated to mean "soul" and "destiny." While some might think the tattoos might be a reference to his first big break, Angel, they most likely have an even more romantic meaning. Though he's never spoken publicly on the reasoning behind the tattoos, it has been reported that Boreanaz's wife, Jaime Bergman, has the same exact tattoos in the same exact place. What a beautiful tribute to a loving relationship!

Those who are familiar with Angel might be surprised to find out that his extensive back tattoo was completely fake. Angel had "an image of a griffin taken from the Irish book of gospels, The Book of Kells" tattooed on the upper right hand side of his back, reported Screen Rant. However, Joss Whedon told Entertainment Tonight that the tattoo was created by the show's makeup artist, indicating that the tattoo was made on Boreanaz's back via makeup.

While David Boreanaz has definitely made a career out of acting, it seems like he also has a passion for being behind the camera. Fans might remember that he graduated with a college degree in cinema and photography, and he has used those skills to step into the director's chair. In fact, his first stint behind the camera was slightly hampered due to him having reconstructive knee surgery to fix an old football injury, reported Entertainment Weekly. "I always wanted to direct," Boreanaz told the publication. "I wouldn't just leave set [when I wrapped my scenes]; I'd stay and learn ... I remember having knee surgery and literally directing with 50 percent of my knee gone ... so it was a challenge, but I loved it." Boreanaz first directed an episode of "Angel" in 2004 and has continued to direct episodes for "Bones" and "SEAL Team," including directing the series finale of "Bones," per IMDb.

Boreanaz has also expanded his career beyond the entertainment industry. As reported by Cosmopolitan, he, his wife, Jaime Bergman, and two of their friends developed Chrome Girl together, a nail polish line that debuted in 2013. While the line was popular, it stopped production in 2018 (as seen on their Instagram page). Though Boreanaz still seems interested in diversifying his career, he appears focused on his family and his television shows as of this writing.

With such a prolific career in front of the camera (and a slight diversification back in the day into a nail polish line, per Cosmopolitan), it's no surprise that David Boreanaz has a fairly significant net worth. He not only helmed three television shows (and is currently still working on one of them), he has also directed a significant number of episodes of "Bones" and "SEAL Team," which has most likely earned him more money. Additionally, he has negotiated to be a producer of "Bones" for all but the first two seasons of its 12 season run (he was co-producer of those first two seasons) and an executive producer of "SEAL Team" (per IMDb), probably netting him even more income. 

He and his "Bones" co-star Emily Deschanel also famously sued Fox over profits owed from their time on the show, and in 2019 they, along with show executive producer Barry Josephson and the author of the books "Bones" was based on, Kathy Reichs, were awarded $179 million in damages and profits owed, reported USA Today. Boreanaz has consistently been working since 2002, via his IMDb, and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. All told, he has a net worth of around $30 million as of 2021, according to Celebrity Net Worth, a number that is most likely only going to grow as he continues his successful career as a director and actor.

Currently, David Boreanaz is married to actor Jaime Bergman. The two tied the knot on November 24, 2001, per People, in a small, intimate ceremony at Ingleside Inn in Palm Springs, California. They were originally supposed to marry on September 22 but delayed their wedding in respect of the September 11 terrorist attack. The delay didn't seem to dampen their spirits or hurt their relationship though; the two are still married as of this writing. Bergman, a former Playboy playmate and an actor who starred on FX's "Son of the Beach," and Boreanaz met at a Valentine's Day party at the Playboy Mansion and married just 10 months later. The couple has two children, Jaden and Bella. 

But his marriage to Bergman wasn't the first time Boreanaz has walked down the aisle. He first tied the knot to Ingrid Quinn, a social worker-turned-screenwriter, reported E!. The two started dating in 1994, back when Boreanaz was a struggling actor and married in 1997. They eventually divorced in 1999, citing irreconcilable differences. However, there was speculation that Quinn became jealous of some of the relationships Boreanaz had formed on the set of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," and would frequently head to set to check up on the actor. The two did not have any children together.

David Boreanaz hasn't always kept his nose clean. In fact, in 2010, the actor had to deal with two separate scandals involving his romantic relationships. Per People, Boreanaz admitted he cheated on his wife while she was pregnant with their daughter. "Our marriage has been tainted with my infidelities," he said to the outlet. "I just want to be open and honest. I was irresponsible." 

Boreanaz came clean about his infidelities because he claimed he was being extorted by the woman he had an affair with. Per HuffPost, the actor had an extramarital relationship with Rachel Uchitel, the same woman with whom Tiger Woods cheated on his own wife. However, while Uchitel admitted to having an affair with Boreanaz, TMZ reported that she denied extorting the actor for any money.

The affair didn't seem to adversely affect Boreanaz's and Bergman's marriage, though, with the actor telling TV Week (via E!) that the fling was "a bonding experience, in the long run." Their relationship also appears to have weathered another scandal Boreanaz faced in 2010 — an allegation of sexual assault. According to CNN, an extra who auditioned for "Bones" filed a harassment suit against Boreanaz, claiming that he made "unwanted sexual advances while offering her a role on his TV series 'Bones.'" Ultimately, however, CBS News reported that the lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, with the lawyer for the alleged victim filing to dismiss.

After spending decades on network television, David Boreanaz is finally moving to a streaming platform, an opportunity that he seems to be excited about. His show, "SEAL Team," is going to be shown on the streaming platform Paramount+, after four seasons and the first four episodes of Season 5 airing on CBS. Boreanaz gave an interview to TV Insider where he discussed just how excited he was to be on a streaming platform now, as he felt the show could finally explore some things they weren't able to do because of the constraints of network television. "I know we'll be able to take our show to a deeper, darker place as far as storytelling is concerned," Boreanaz told the publication. "Standards and practices, obviously, is kind of a handcuff on network television."

And while changing to a streaming service can provide challenges of its own, Boreanaz pointed to the lower episode requirement of streaming as a good thing, due to networks wanting a large number of shows. "Network television is about quantity and it's no disrespect to that at all ... I think the challenge of network television is being able to push the boundaries and be creative in that aspect. And our show really has gone above and beyond." However, he lamented the fact that the extraordinary work the cast and crew do on military shows is often overlooked by critics, something that may change with the switch to a streaming platform.

In 2020, Ray Fisher accused Joss Whedon on Twitter of creating a "gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable" workplace environment on the set of "Justice League," and was recently fired from "The Flash," per Variety. As a result of his firing, a number of stars took to social media to support him against Whedon and share their own stories. One such star was Charisma Carpenter, who starred as Cordelia Chase on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" before getting fired at the end of Season 4 of "Angel." In a lengthy Instagram post, Carpenter accused Whedon of inappropriate workplace comments and abusive behavior that has caused her "a chronic physical condition." Numerous members of the "Buffy" and "Angel" cast have stepped up to stand with her, including Michelle Trachtenberg, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Julie Benz, reported TV Line.

David Boreanaz did not keep quiet either. He took to Twitter shortly after Carpenter made her statement to write a message for his old co-star, writing "I am here for you to listen and support you. Proud of your strength." It seems like this isn't the first time the "Angel" actor has supported Carpenter, as she tweeted back, "I know you're there for me, David. I appreciate all you've done to demonstrate that support privately as well." While Boreanaz seems to be fairly lowkey in his support of Carpenter, he appears to have done all he could to help her through the tough times she's faced throughout the years.

David Boreanaz has gone on record stating that he grew up Catholic, telling Parade that he went to a Catholic high school and "was just a fun lovin' good Catholic boy." However, when talking about his character on "Bones," FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (who's Catholic as well), Boreanaz told The TV Addict that he wished he "was more of a practicing Catholic" like Booth. He described himself as "not very religious," though it seems being Catholic still affects some parts of his life, like his interactions on social media.

In an interview with Variety, Boreanaz admitted that there were certain parts of his faith that he really didn't believe in, mainly, how angry some commenters got about some actions he took. Boreanaz posted a photo to Instagram of him wearing a purple GLAAD T-shirt in support of their Spirit Day for LGBTQ youth (though the photo has since been removed), and said he ended up turning off the comments because so many people "were so rude and so angry." He told the publication that the reason he posted the photo was to stand up against bullies. "We're all people, so live in love, man ... I got a lot of flak from people: 'Oh, you're Catholic and you shouldn't be wearing that.' Hence why I turned my comments off." Boreanaz continued, saying that interactions like that made him miss the days when it was "just a pager" and people didn't comment on every little thing someone did.