> Buy the Complete Series DVD boxset on Amazon.

 

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy)

Quite simply the best female heroine of all time, Gellar kicked-ass and looked great doing it. Buffy took on any fight with little or no whining about it, even dying a couple of times in order to save the world. There was nothing she didn’t take on; Vampires, Daemons – even her best friend – she’d face-up to her responsibility and ways fight the good fight.

Outside of Sunnydale, she’s been making films left and right. With Cruel Intentions and Scooby-Doo (we’ll ignore the sequel) under her belt, Gellar went on to launch the American Grudge franchise before returning to TV in All My Children, Robot Chicken and, more recently, playing twins as the lead in The CW’s series Ringer.

Nicholas Brendon (Xander)

Amazingly loyal, Xander was one of the few characters who was with Buffy throughout the show’s seven year run. Always there to offer a hand – or amusing one-liner – he rarely failed to come through for the team, though did suffer for his unwavering loyalty; losing an eye and his girlfriend in the final season.

Buffy was Brendon’s first major role, spring-boarding him into various films and TV-shows which has kept him in steady work. His most notable role since Buffy would be his five year (and continuing) tenure on Criminal Minds as Kevin Lynch.

Alyson Hannigan (Willow)

Adorable and loveable geek Willow underwent several changes throughout her time on Buffy (in which, like Xander, she was a permanent feature) becoming a witch, a teacher and one of the first regular lesbian characters on television.

She would also take a turn for the dark side following the death of her girlfriend Tara, but redeemed herself by saving the day in the final season and awakening all potential Vampire Slayers across the world.

Like her  co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar, Hannigan hasn’t stopped working, appearing as band camp’s Michelle Flaherty in the American Pie movies before winning a lead role in hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which reaches its eighth season later this year. Her next big role will be a return to Michelle Flaherty-Levenstein in this summer’s long-awaited American Pie: Reunion.

Anthony Head (Rupert Giles)

Giles was the watcher, the character always on hand to aid with research, teaching Buffy everything she knew, and giving her the strength to keep fighting.

Level headed and charming (though he didn’t know it!), Giles was the rock around which the rest of the team revolved. He was a regular character from the pilot to the end of Season 5 at which point he became a frequent guest star during times of much-needed crisis.

Head has worked his way through a huge list of projects since saying goodbye to Giles, including Little Britain’s Prime Minister, a Doctor Who villain and a three-year turn as Uther Pendragon on BBC One’s Merlin. Most recently the former face of Nescafé Gold Blend has appeared in cinemas as Will’s dad in The Inbetweeners Movie and alongside Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady.

James Marsters (Spike)

Like Angel, Spike’s character became a crucial love interest for Buffy over the series, proving his devotion to her time and time again. Unfortunately his lack of humanity kept getting in the way, so went to the ultimate extreme of getting his own soul back in order to be a better man. Witty and sarcastic, Spike was a badass character the audience loved.

Marsters’ chemistry with the rest of the cast was dead on and his comic timing even better. Spike met a gruesome end in the season finale, but returned to the living world in spin-off series Angel, which concluded after the events of Buffy.

Marsters has appeared in countless cult TV shows since, including Supernatural, Caprica and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He doesn’t seem to be the type to tie himself to a single show, however, although keep an eye out for recurring roles as Smallville’s Brainiac and Torchwood’s Captain John Hart.

David Boreanaz (Angel)

A vampire who’d been forced to keep his soul in punishment for his past crimes, Angel proved a force for good, and indeed a fitting romantic character for our heroine, despite their four-hundred year age gap. In a series of unfortunate events Angel loses his soul, gets it back, and is then sent to hell before returning once again to continue the fight alongside the love of his afterlife, Buffy.

His role as Angel proved so popular with fans that Boreanaz was given his own show, after which he appeared in several little-known feature films before beginning a seven year turn on procedural crime series Bones as Special Agent Booth, a role which continues to date.

Seth Green (Oz)

Oz was one of the few men to steal Willow’s heart. Laid back and quiet, the werewolf musician was a hit with fans. Besides Xander, Oz was probably the most important man in Willow’s life. Appearing in the second season, he did not become a main character until the third, finally departing to learn more about his nature as a werewolf.

Green already had an extensive acting career before Buffy but the number of credits he’s had afterwards is staggering: Austin Powers, Scooby-Doo 2 (alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar), Family Guy, Robot Chicken, American Dad! and countless more. Sharp-eared fans might also recognize his voice as Jeff Moreau in the Mass Effect video game series.

 

> Buy the Complete Series DVD boxset on Amazon.

Who was your favourite character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Let us know below…