David was born in Buffalo, New York and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Patti, a travel agent, and weatherman Dave Roberts (Boreanaz). His father is of Italian descent and his mother is of half Slovak ancestry. At the age of seven he decide to be an actor, which eventually led him to study cinema and photography at Ithaca Co...
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David was born in Buffalo, New York and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Patti, a travel agent, and weatherman Dave Roberts (Boreanaz). His father is of Italian descent and his mother is of half Slovak ancestry. At the age of seven he decide to be an actor, which eventually led him to study cinema and photography at Ithaca College in New York. After graduating from college, David moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in the movies. After some uncredited roles he received his first important role as Kelly's boyfriend in the series Married with Children (1987). After three seasons of playing Angel in the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), he received his own spin-off show titled Angel (1999). Show less «
[on being cast in Bones (2005)] I have love and admiration for what I've done in the past, but I'm l...Show more »
[on being cast in Bones (2005)] I have love and admiration for what I've done in the past, but I'm looking forward to playing this character, Seeley Booth. He's a simple guy on the outside - a cheeseburger and black cup of coffee guy. Inside, he's conflicted. (September 13, 2005) Show less «
[about the friendship and relationships with Emily Deschanel]We're there for each other as actors in...Show more »
[about the friendship and relationships with Emily Deschanel]We're there for each other as actors in developing these characters that we can really improvise more so now than we did second season or third season because you're trying to develop a show and a relationship. It's fun now that we're able to go around those certain words that they write and kind of really get into it. Show less «
I didn't grow up as child actor. I was fortunate to find this show with a small character that grew ...Show more »
I didn't grow up as child actor. I was fortunate to find this show with a small character that grew into this huge cult thing. I was like, "Let's ride it." (New York Times, December 27, 2006) Show less «
[about friendship and relationships with Emily Deschanel]She's such a sweetheart and such a humble p...Show more »
[about friendship and relationships with Emily Deschanel]She's such a sweetheart and such a humble person. She's the type of stock that is like the good slice of pizza I just had. Show less «
"[on the subject of hipness] It's just one of those things. It's like buttering an English muffin. A...Show more »
"[on the subject of hipness] It's just one of those things. It's like buttering an English muffin. An English muffin is hip. Because it's so good". Show less «
"I'd have to say, I can share Cordelia's pain".
"I'd have to say, I can share Cordelia's pain".
[on appearing as Angel in the very last Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) episode:] "I pretty much sli...Show more »
[on appearing as Angel in the very last Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) episode:] "I pretty much slid right back in. It was another day of work. I'm not big with reunions, but it was fine." Show less «
[about the relationship with Emily Deschanel] You've seen just the good days; there are bad days. [l...Show more »
[about the relationship with Emily Deschanel] You've seen just the good days; there are bad days. [laughter] You know what's unique -- and this is, seriously, since day 1 -- I've been blessed to have a co-star who can be open and honest and tell me, "You're bothering me today" or "I have an issue." I think we have complete trust and respect for each other that we can just go aside and say, "You know what? I'm having a bad day" or "Just know where I'm coming from, Emily." We both support that with each other. Shooting a television show is hard enough, and it takes a lot of time. It takes away from your personal life, your family life. Thank god, I was blessed with a co-star who is so generous and supportive, yet also if we have a bad day, we have a bad day. We recognize it, we go on. We don't hold on to it. We don't judge. We just go forward. It kind of helps our chemistry, because we use it. We use what we're going through in our scenes, and we've learned early on that that helps our chemistry. It helps us grow with the characters rather than being so stagnant and say, "Hey, we're in Season 9, so why don't we kick back and do nothing about it and take it for granted." You can't. You gotta be able to push every moment in every scene, and it's so important. Yeah, we have those moments, but that's what helps us. Show less «
For me, what I was doing with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Angel (1999), it was all about the...Show more »
For me, what I was doing with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Angel (1999), it was all about the pain and the torture and the sense of being in the alleyway. Not to take anything away from it, but those were some learning, hard, difficult times when I didn't know what the hell I was doing. (New York Times, December 27, 2006) Show less «
[on almost turning down the part of Seeley in Bones (2005)] I had a difficult first meeting with [th...Show more »
[on almost turning down the part of Seeley in Bones (2005)] I had a difficult first meeting with [the producers] because I'm pretty frank. I was kind of in the mentality of, "This is who I am. This is me. I can offer this. But you don't have your leading lady yet." ... For me, I come from a stock of family [where] my handshake is better than a contract. And I've gotten burnt a lot on that, but I wear my heart on my sleeve and I will continue to. ... I looked at it as an opportunity to take a character, mold him and take a lot of chances. ... I personally am kind of sticking towards the attitude of what it's like to walk the fine line of potentially having a '69 Chevelle with a 396 under the hood and 375 horsepower, and the fine line of being correct as an FBI officer. (November 22, 2006)And I was kind of conflicted with some of the ideas of 'Is this going to be recent bones or . . . a recently decomposed body?' It just didn't feel right. Show less «
[on missing Sarah Michelle Gellar] "I loved working with Sarah... Sarah is great. A great person. Wi...Show more »
[on missing Sarah Michelle Gellar] "I loved working with Sarah... Sarah is great. A great person. Without Sarah I wouldn't be standing here right now. So I owe her a lot." Show less «
(2002) I like downtown cities, but L.A. doesn't really have one, so you have to go look for it. But ...Show more »
(2002) I like downtown cities, but L.A. doesn't really have one, so you have to go look for it. But you can go down there and just experience Broadway. There's a lot of stuff going on. Chinatown is fascinating. There's a restaurant that I always go to, and it's like being in San Francisco's Chinatown. Show less «
[about his character Seeley Booth] He's a stand-up, blue-collar guy. I know the blue collar mentalit...Show more »
[about his character Seeley Booth] He's a stand-up, blue-collar guy. I know the blue collar mentality. You meet these guys, you make friends, that's all stuff that I have. Show less «
[on the sexual tension between Booth and Brennan in Bones (2005)] The potential for their personal l...Show more »
[on the sexual tension between Booth and Brennan in Bones (2005)] The potential for their personal lives entering into their professional lives is, I just think, dynamic. I think we all remember when we would watch Moonlighting (1985). You never remembered what crimes the characters were solving and, to me, that is character work. (November 22, 2006) Show less «
[about relationship with Emily Deschanel] I'm sure there are TV shows in the past where actors had g...Show more »
[about relationship with Emily Deschanel] I'm sure there are TV shows in the past where actors had great chemistry on screen, but didn't get on outside work. We're not like that. Emily has become part of my family. We're always there for each other. Show less «
[on hearing that The WB, which canceled the series, has offered to return to Angel (1999) with occas...Show more »
[on hearing that The WB, which canceled the series, has offered to return to Angel (1999) with occasional TV movies or a miniseries] "As far as returning to the show for a reunion, I could probably put that to bed now: I have no interest in doing that. It would have to be a bigger challenge, rather than going back to something." (May 13, 2004) Show less «
I didn't come from a traditional background of studying theater and doing Shakespeare. (December 27,...Show more »
I didn't come from a traditional background of studying theater and doing Shakespeare. (December 27, 2006) Show less «
[on working with acting coach Ivana Chubbuck:] I'm learning more how to do that now, draw on my own ...Show more »
[on working with acting coach Ivana Chubbuck:] I'm learning more how to do that now, draw on my own experience. It's a style she teaches that makes sense to me. I didn't know this could be so much fun. (New York Times, December 27, 2006) Show less «
[about friendship with Emily Deschanel]Emily has a great sense of humor. She's extremely dedicated t...Show more »
[about friendship with Emily Deschanel]Emily has a great sense of humor. She's extremely dedicated to the character and her work is great. She's very humble and she keeps me humble. She's a joy and she doesn't take things personally. We fought twice on the set and then we made up. We don't hold grudges and when you work so close and for such long hours on a drama, you become a family. Show less «
(2002) I like to escape to hotels. I'm pretty much a hotel fanatic, whether it's the Peninsula Hotel...Show more »
(2002) I like to escape to hotels. I'm pretty much a hotel fanatic, whether it's the Peninsula Hotel--where the people are great and it's the lap of luxury--or the Chateau Marmont. I could easily escape to a hotel for a weekend and do absolutely nothing. Just sitting in the lobby and watching people come in and out is entertaining. I can use the spa. You kind of find yourself wanting to stay once you're in the door. I've just always liked hotels. I like the bed and the sheets and everything that comes along with it. Show less «
[about his mother] I always thought of her as Doris Day. (New York Times, December 27, 2006)
[about his mother] I always thought of her as Doris Day. (New York Times, December 27, 2006)
[When told that Amy Acker told a reporter that he sometimes flashes his fellow stars:] "Yeah, I pull...Show more »
[When told that Amy Acker told a reporter that he sometimes flashes his fellow stars:] "Yeah, I pull my trousers down in the middle of a serious take to see if they can keep a straight face. I need to lighten the moment, I guess." Show less «
[From Late Show with David Letterman (1993) on his view on L.A.] "I see L.A. as a beautiful blonde w...Show more »
[From Late Show with David Letterman (1993) on his view on L.A.] "I see L.A. as a beautiful blonde with dirty underwear" Show less «
[on his divorce from Ingrid Quinn:] It was great at first, but soon became a real burden. Ingrid fou...Show more »
[on his divorce from Ingrid Quinn:] It was great at first, but soon became a real burden. Ingrid found it tough to cope with the fact that all of a sudden I'd become public property as opposed to her husband. [June 9, 2003] Show less «
I was walking my dog and a talent scout saw me on the street. Then from there, I got my manager, whi...Show more »
I was walking my dog and a talent scout saw me on the street. Then from there, I got my manager, which led to me getting my first acting jobs. ... He was trying to pick me up. It was a guy, he was homosexual. You know, he knew off the bat when he met me that I was very into females, so he knew he was going to strike out on that one. But I did some research and saw he was a reputable guy. So, yeah, walking my dog kind of led me to acting. (interview in Smoke Magazine, Spring, 2008) Show less «