Snakkle Celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the Cult TV Classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar played Buffy Summers, the one girl in all the world chosen to slay the vampires and demons that lurk in the shadows, ready to decimate humanity. Through high school and college, she split her time trying to be a normal girl, all the while slaying nightly and saving the world… a lot.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar—Today

After Buffy, Sarah headlined some horror films like The Grudge and The Return. Personally, she married Freddie Prinze Jr. in 2002 and they had their first child, Charlotte Grace Prinze, in 2009. In 2011, Gellar returned to television, playing twin sisters in the CW drama Ringer.

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David Boreanaz as Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Newcomer David Boreanaz played 200-year-old vampire Angel, who fell in love with Buffy. The former “scourge of Europe” known as Angelus became the reformed vampire Angel once he was cursed with his soul. He joined forces with Buffy in Sunnydale, fighting evil until he lost his soul after one night of “perfect happiness” with the Slayer. He eventually turned good again and went on to his own WB spin-off series, Angel.

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David Boreanaz—Today

Boreanaz headlined the spin-off Angel from 1999 to 2004. In 2001, David married model and actress Jaime Bergman and they now have two children. In 2005, David also returned to television, playing Special Agent Seeley Booth with Emily Deschanel in Bones.. The series is in its seventh year.

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Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Alyson Hannigan played Buffy’s sweet and shy best friend Willow Rosenberg. The high school book nerd got more interested in magic as the series progressed and eventually became a powerful Wiccan by series' end. She also found her soul mate in fellow Wiccan Tara Maclay (Amber Benson), though that ended tragically. We’re still sniffling over that one.

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Alyson Hannigan—Today

Alyson came to Buffy as a seasoned child actor and was part of the successful American Pie films. Hannigan returns to that film franchise in April with American Reunion. In 2005, she was cast in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother as Lily and continues with the show, now in its seventh season. As for her home life, Hannigan married fellow Buffy actor Alexis Denisof in 2003 and they have a daughter and a second child on the way.

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Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Nicholas Brendon played average high school student Xander Harris. Initially Xander had a huge crush on Buffy, but he evolved into one of her most trusted friends and part of her inner circle. Without any supernatural powers, Xander took a supporting role in the demon hunting, often providing the funny and the needed heart. (His Snoopy dance was superb.)

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Nicholas Brendon—Today

Xander was Nicholas Brendon’s big break into the acting world. After the show ended, Brendon had roles in several television shows like Kitchen Confidential, Criminal Minds, and Private Practice. He also does theater in Los Angeles.

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Anthony Head as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Anthony Stewart Head played Buffy’s British Watcher, Rupert Giles, who trained her to fight demons and provided the research to vanquish her foes. He grew to be a father figure, looking out for her personally and professionally. Giles even left the Council of Watchers rather than betray her and earned his badass stripes as the show continued.

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Anthony Stewart Head—Today

A hugely popular character actor in Britain and America, Anthony Stewart Head actually went back to Britain before the end of Buffy’s run to spend more time with his family. In the U.K., he’s appeared on Little Britain, Monarch of the Glen, and the hit BBC series Merlin. In the U.S., Head appeared in the films Sweeney Todd, Repo! The Genetic Opera, and The Iron Lady. He resides in Bath, England, with his wife and daughters.

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Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Charisma Carpenter played mean girl Cordelia Chase (before Tina Fey made Mean Girls cool). As the popular girl at Sunnydale High, Cordelia mocked and humiliated social oddities like Buffy and her gang. However, she was brought down to size when her father went to jail for tax evasion. She ended up slumming it with the Scooby Gang and begrudgingly liked it. After high school, Chase went to Los Angeles to act and became part of the spin-off series Angel.

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Charisma Carpenter—Today

Charisma Carpenter spent four seasons on Angel as Cordelia Chase but wasn’t picked up to return for its fifth and last season. However, Carpenter was invited back for one last episode that tied up Cordelia’s story line. Afterwards, Carpenter had recurring roles on the series Miss Match, Veronica Mars, and Greek. She’s also starred in lots of made-for-cable movies including See Jane Date and House of Bones. On the big screen, she was last seen in The Expendables and will be back for the sequel.

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Seth Green as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Seth Green played ubercool guitarist “Oz" Osbourne, who became Willow’s first (and only) boyfriend. Mellow, with a spectacular dry wit, Oz became an important part of Buffy’s demon-fighting team (even though he was a werewolf himself). It was only when Oz’s inner wolf compelled him to cheat on Willow that things went south and he left Sunnydale to tame the demon within.

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Seth Green—Today

Seth Green left Buffy during its fourth season, but he’s still associated frequently with the series because of his beloved character. He went on to star in the cult sitcom Greg the Bunny and appeared as a guest star on everything from Grey’s Anatomy to Entourage. In 1999, he was cast as the voice of Chris Griffin in the animated sitcom Family Guy and he’s been with the show ever since. He cocreated Robot Chicken and was Scott Evil in the blockbuster Austin Powers films.

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James Marsters as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

James Marsters played Spike, the Sid Vicious look-alike vampire who raced into Sunnydale with a mission to kill his third Slayer. Together with his mad girlfriend Drusilla (Juliet Landau), the pair got vexed at every turn until they were run out of town. He eventually returned to town and became a reluctant member of Buffy’s team, and then her lover. He sacrificed himself to help close the Hellmouth and miraculously ended up in L.A. for the last season of Angel.

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James Marsters—Today

James Marsters spent one more season as Spike on Angel before it was canceled. Immediately afterward, he got rid of his signature peroxide hair and joined other popular genre shows such as Smallville, Torchwood, and Caprica. He narrated the popular The Dresden Files audio books for years and recorded albums as a solo artist and with his newly reunited band Ghost of the Robot.

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Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Emma Caulfield played the former vengeance demon Anyanka, who was stripped of her powers and left to rot in high school under the name of Anya. She eventually started dating Xander Harris and became a part of Buffy’s extended Scooby gang. She was known for her uncensored and blunt observations about humans and their strange frailties.

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Emma Caulfield—Today

After Buffy, Emma Caulfield continued to act in films such as Darkness Falls and Timer, as well as on television shows like Private Practice, Life Unexpected, and most recently Once Upon a Time. She also writes and directs her own projects, like the film turned web series Bandwagon.

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Marc Blucas as Riley Finn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Marc Blucas played Buffy Summers’s first college (and nonvampire) boyfriend, Riley Finn. He was supposedly a teacher’s assistant but was soon revealed to be part of a secret government demon-fighting team. Superpowerful due to special drugs, he joined Buffy to fight against a lab-produced supervillain called Adam. After Riley lost his strength and couldn’t get Buffy to open up to him emotionally, Finn left town. He returned once more with his spy wife in tow.

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Marc Blucas—Today

Marc Blucas shifted over to film work post-Buffy. He starred in We Were Soldiers, First Daughter, and most recently Knight & Day. On television, Revenge fans will recognize him as the late David Clarke. Blucas now stars in the USA series Necessary Roughness.

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Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Michelle Tractenberg played Buffy’s little sister, Dawn Summers, who suddenly appeared on the show at the start of season five. It didn’t turn out to be the jump-the-shark moment fans dreaded because Buffy discovers that Dawn is actually a magical Key that she must protect. Buffy eventually comes to love Dawn, and they maintained their sisterly sibling rivalry until the show ended two seasons later.

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Michelle Trachtenberg—Today

Also an experienced child actor when she came to Buffy, Michelle Trachtenberg ended the show as an 18-year-old eager to land more mature roles. She starred in the Disney film Ice Princess and then changed her image a lot in Euro Trip. In 2008, she took a recurring role as conniving Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl. Since then, she’s made the successful transition to adult actor with consistent roles on Mercy, Love Bites, and Weeds.