Buffy The Vampire Slayer went off the air more than 20 years ago, but it still feels so alive today—impressive for a show about the undead. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz and the entire Scooby Gang, remain iconic in reruns on Hulu. And in real life, they still look and feel great. SMG uses exercise to clear her mind. Seth Green is grateful for his collaborators. Charisma Carpenter trains regularly. Here are the stay-well secrets from the cast today.
Sarah Michelle Gellar played the title character. In an interview with Shape, she talked about how her approach to fitness has changed. “I think it’s become more emotional. [Exercise] used to be, sort of, ‘I have to do this, this is my job, this is work.’ But I think there’s an emotional component too, which is, it’s what clears my mind. When I work out for an hour, I can sort of let everything else go, and I just focus on whatever the movement is and making sure it’s correct.”
Alyson Hannigan played one of the main characters, Willow Rosenberg. She recently appeared on Dancing With The Stars, making it to the finale with partner Sasha Farber. Hannigan opened up about her weight loss from the show on Instagram. She captioned the post, “The before and after says it all. I lost 20 pounds of both weight and emotional baggage during my time on @dancingwiththestars. I can’t thank @sashafarber1 enough for helping me shed my insecurities and getting me to the confident and strong place I am today!”
Charisma Carpenter played Cordelia Chase on both Buffy and Angel. She shared some of her fitness secrets in an interview with OK! Magazine. “I train with a trainer regularly. I love my trainer Mark Monroe. He mixes it up. We did some boxing the other day. I brought my son to work out because he’s out of school and we had a lapse between summer camp and school. Sometimes we do that together. We’ll do an outdoor workout when he comes along.“
David Boreanaz played Angel on the show, and his own spinoff. His most recent role was on the CBS show Seal Team. Boreanaz shared how he got in shape for the show to Men’s Journal. He revealed that the crew has special forces members that help the cast train. “I can’t explain how crucial they have been to the character,” Boreanaz said. “During these operations they can’t go below 100 percent, they are always going and burning. I get so much out of being around those guys, and it pushes me to work harder.”
Michelle Trachtenberg joined the show as Dawn Summers in season five. In an Instagram post, she revealed that she was bullied as a child due to her acting career. Trachtenberg gave her advice to others in similar situations in the post. “I write this to every child, teen, person out there who is bullied. You are something. Do not put your value in someone else. Not letting them win, is your win.”
James Marsters, who played Spike on the show and on Angel, talked about what he wants people to take from the series to The AV Club. “It began just as the story of an adolescent who’s going through a period in her life where she realizes that the world is messed up, her parents don’t always know what they’re talking about, her teachers don’t always know the subject matter they’re teaching, and we’re going to watch to see if she gives up. If she’s going to continue to try to find answers and engage with the world or just going to cocoon and give up. I think it’s well done enough that someone who’s older or younger than that can still identify with that and say, ‘Oh, I know what that feels like.’ It’s hard to wake up every morning and not give up and [instead] say, ‘I’m going to try to help out today.’ I think that’s very important right now.”
Seth Green played Oz on the show. He talked about his long career and how grateful he is in an interview with Looper. “I’ve been really lucky to have consistently gotten to work with people that I’m inspired by and been able to collaborate with friends of mine. And I got to a point where I made enough money where I could be far more specific about the choices I was making and only work on things that I could predict would be a positive experience or would be something I was truly passionate about. To that end, I love it all. Like, I can’t even believe looking back that I’ve gotten to do the work that I have, and I am eternally grateful for that.”
Bianca Lawson played the role of Kendra in season two. She shared her secrets for getting good sleep with Glamour. “I’m someone that loves to feel like I’m sleeping on a cloud, so a very soft mattress, very soft pillows, a weighted blanket, has been really helpful to me. Sometimes I play a rain app since there’s something that feels very cozy about listening to rain or the sound of waves. I need to have blackout curtains. I can’t have any lights on.”
Emma Caulfield joined the show in season three, playing Anya Jenkins. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she revealed that she has MS, and talked about why she wanted to talk about this. “I’m so tired of not being honest. And beyond that, my daughter has changed my perspective, as I think anybody who is a parent can attest…Truthfully, my attitude is not crumbling under the fear of ‘what if’ or ‘what can,’ or ‘what has’ for other people. I just have to keep going.”
Julie Benz played the recurring character Darla on the show. During the pandemic, she made sure to work out from home. Benz revealed in this Instagram video that she uses workout apps, captioning it, “Working out from home using the @bodybysimone app!! Dogs not included! Stay healthy, stay strong, be kind and WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!” In the video, Benz is seen jumping on a treadmill and doing plank walks.
Eliza Dushku played the fan-favorite character, Faith Lehane, in season three. She notably spoke out about being sexually harassed by a co-star, Michael Weatherly. This led to her testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she talked about what she took away from the experience. “With mandatory arbitration clauses, there’s no accountability, no transparency. And so it continues. And that affects the culture both at specific workplaces and as a whole. If you keep harassment shrouded, that allows harassment to continue. We can heal from this, but the healing will come from action—from, hopefully, Congress choosing to act and protect future victims.”