When fans think back to Buffy The Vampire Slayer on its 20th anniversary, they most likely remember the show’s stars.
Sarah Michelle Gellar herself wrote about what an honor it was to play a career-defining character like Buffy Summers that will be remembered for years to come.
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David Boreanaz’s career was made off playing Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which he then carried into a spinoff show before starring in Bones. Similarly, James Marsters was Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer before he started appearing in pretty much ever genre show of note for the past 15 years, including the upcoming Marvel’s Runaways series on Hulu.
However, there’s a good chance that some fans have forgotten some of the bigger names that passed through Sunnydale on their way to bigger things. Some of these stars only popped up for a single episode, other had a multi-episode run, but all are significantly better known now than they were then.
Read through the slideshow to remember five stars you probably forgot were in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
More Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Sarah Michelle Gellar Celebrates Anniversary With Message To Fans / Buffy Nearly Ended Getting With A Surprising Character/ Sarah Michelle Gellar On The Possibility Of A Revival
Wentworth Miller
If you’ve forgotten that Wentworth Miller was ever inย Buffy the Vampire Slayer you’d be forgiven. After all, Miller was in, arguably, one of the worst episode of the entire series, and one that many fans try to block out of their memory.
That episode was “Go Fish” fromย Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2. Miller played Gage Petronzi, a member fo the Sunnydaleย High swim team. The swim coach was so desperate to win that he was giving the swim team steroids that were turning the team into fish monsters. Who knew high school swim was so competitive?
Miller has since gone on to bigger and better things, includingย Prison Break and playing the Arrowverse’sย Captain Cold.
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Pedro Pascal
Pedro Pascal was part of the Season 4 premiere ofย Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was titled “The Freshman” and sees Buffy Summers adjusting to life on a college campus.
Pascal played Eddie, a fellow student who ran into Buffy whenย he was lost and couldn’t find his dorm. Buffy, ever the hero, helped Eddie find his way back to his room. Unfortunately, Eddie was jumped by a gang of pretentious campus vampires and turned. Buffy was forced to dust him.
Pascal had a longer run but no lessย grisly end onย Game of Thrones. Pascal played Oberyn “The Red Viper” Martellย inย Game of Thrones Season 4, but had his skull crushed by The Mountain. He’s since gone on to star inย Narcos on Netflix.
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Amy Adams
Today, Amy Adams is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress. Inย theย Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5 episode “Family” she was just Cousin Beth.
Beth Maclayย was Tara’s cousin. She, along with Tara’s father and brother, came to Sunnydale to bring their wayward witch home.
Tara’s father had kept her mother in line with a made up story about them having a monster or demon inside of them. After Spike called Mr. Maclayย on his lies, Buffy gave an impassioned speech that let everyone know that Tara had a new family. Beth decided to leave with her uncle and cousin anyway.
Adams is now better known to the geek crowd as Lois Lane in the DC Extended Universe moviesย Man of Steel andย Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and to the general populace for her roles in films likeย American Hustle andย Arrival.
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Felicia Day
In the seventh and final season ofย Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Giles, ever the watcher, traveled the globe gathering up potential slayers in order to bring them to Sunnydale where Buffy could protect them from the First Evil.
One of those slayers was Violet, usually just referred to as Vi, played by Felicia Day. Vi survived through the end ofย Buffy the Vampire Slayer and became empowered when Buffy used the power of the scythe to unlock the power within every potential slayer. Vi remains the only character on this list to appear inย Buffy the Vampireย slayer comic book series that continued the story in Season 8 and beyond.
Day originally tried out for the role of Fred on theย Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff series,ย Angel, but the role ultimately went to Amy Acker.
Day is now best known as the creator of the hit web seriesย The Guild. She’s also gotten back to her monster-fighting roots with recurring guest appearances onย Supernatural.
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillionย is the only actor on this list who played a more iconic roleย before his turn onย Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Fillionย played Captain Malcolm Reynolds on Joss Whedon’s beloved sci-fi seriesย Firefly. Unfortunately,ย Firefly was canceled after just one season. After the news came down, Whedon decided to give Fillionย a new job as a villain inย Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s final season.
Fillionย played Caleb, a demented preacher who communed with the First Evil. Caleb was ruthlessly misogynistic, making him the perfect villain to personify, in its final season, everything the unapologeticallyย feministย Buffy the Vampire Slayer had been fighting against for seven years.
Fillion got to take to the sky one last time inย Serenity, the major motion picture follow-up toย Firefly. Since then he’s been best known for playing the lead role on ABC’sย Castle.
