The first kiss between Buffy and Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was as romantic as it was revealing, but it's also funny when considering the trick actress Sarah Michelle Gellar used behind the scenes. The kiss saw the beginning of Buffy's epic and fraught romance with Angel and the beginning of the hilarious pranks Gellar would play on co-star David Boreanaz. These tricks are not only a fun bit of behind-the-scenes trivia, but they also contributed to the success of the on-screen relationship between their respective characters, Buffy and Angel, on the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1, episode 7, “Angel,” Buffy and Angel are attacked by the Master’s minions and are forced to hunker down in Buffy’s house. Angel reveals his feelings for Buffy, and they share their first kiss. After a passionate moment, Angel pulls away and reveals to Buffy that he is a vampire. In a DVD behind-the-scenes featurette of Buffy the Vampire season 1, show creator Joss Whedon described the prank behind Buffy and Angel’s first kiss: "Sarah and David had a breath off. They both ate as many horrible things as they could before they kissed, just to be fun.”
This “breath-off” was the beginning of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s many pranks directed at David Boreanaz during their Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel appearances. She said she would do what she could to make filming the sexy scenes as fun and “unsexy” as possible without ruining the scene. Gellar eating horrible food that left an atrocious stench — like fish and pickles — to mess with Boreanaz during kissing scenes began a string of tricks and pranks between the two actors that ultimately strengthened their friendship off-screen as well.
In other intimate scenes shared between Buffy and Angel, star Sarah Michelle Gellar would use other tactics to tease David Boreanaz. She would purposefully pin her clothes together to make his job as hard as possible during sensual scenes. There is one Gellar prank caught on camera in Angel season 1, episode 8, “I Will Remember You," where she purposefully spilled ice cream on Boreanaz during a take. Rather than creating hostility, these pranks forged a strong friendship between them. Boreanaz is seen laughing in the scene, and their longstanding friendship since the show ended proves that it was all in good fun.
The friendship between Gellar and Boreanaz extended well beyond the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was revealed (via E! News) that Gellar would visit Boreanaz on the set of his show Bones at his insistence and they would both partake in catering food together. Furthermore, Gellar and Boreanaz have released several Twitter and Instagram posts over the years supporting each other on birthdays and Buffy the Vampire Slayer anniversaries.
This playful relationship between Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz strengthened the portrayal of the innocent puppy dog love that Buffy and Angel shared on screen. Although the actors share no romantic feelings for each other (they are both happily married: Gellar to Freddie Prinze Jr. and Boreanaz to Jamie Bergman), their kinship contributes to the believability of their portrayed connection on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The relationship between Buffy and Angel has remained iconic over the years, partially because of the strong bond shared by David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar behind the scenes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.