The Incredibly Morose Performance of DB In Angel Season 3

[telperion66]

By this time DB had completely lost his looks, which makes him look like he has no confidence in his own performance.

In seasons 1 + 2, there was a certain intensity that he encompassed in his performance of Angel, that is totally missing in S3.

Just the continual vibe he gives off as being incredibly downbeat, morose and sad when all of the other cast members are so lively and full of life.

On rewatch, it really is depressing to watch his performance in S3.

There's only really 'Carpe Noctem' where he gets to portray a completely different personality as Angel that he ever comes out of this depressing mode, or shell.

Thoughts, comments?

Anyone else notice this about DB in S3?

 

[famicommander]

He's not a very good actor in the first place. He's just pretty.

 

[Taake]

What? Lost his looks? Downbeat?

Look at this adorable dada


So no, that has never crossed my mind with season 3.

I don’t see a lack or big change in his performance. As a female watcher I certainly still find him gorgeous (the only questionable period for that is the long hair start of s5), but obviously the season is dealing with a lot of serious emotions for Angel

- losing Buffy
- having a child
- facing Holtz
- losing his child
- losing Cordelia to Groo
- being betrayed by Wesley
- getting his child back
- getting dropped into the ocean

It is a pretty dour season, all things put together. But DB having no confidence in his performance, nah. The character is just evolving past being a mere heartthrob/love interest. We don’t have women swooning over him all the time, because more important stuff is going on. The character is about more than being the handsome ”dark avenger” and this is really when we start to see that.

 

[NotASlayer]

As a female watcher I certainly still find him gorgeous (the only questionable period for that is the long hair start of s5)

I am not interested in men, but even I can tell that he is attractive! And is still attractive for that matter, over two decades later.

As for DB not being able to act, this was true in S1 of BtVS. In season two, though, with Angelus he showed he could, and that, I believe, was one major reason why Angel got his own show. I think it is highly doubtful - perhaps not impossible, but highly doubtful - that DB would have been given the male lead in three successful, and sometimes pretty long-running, shows on looks alone if he could not act.

And, as @Taake said, in S3 Angel had lots of things to be unhappy about.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Wasn't this about the time DB had knee surgery? I do recall a period where he wasn't doing any physical stuff in his acting and he might have been in continuous pain.

 

[nightshade]

Wasn't this about the time DB had knee surgery? I do recall a period where he wasn't doing any physical stuff in his acting and he might have been in continuous pain.

That was season 5, he was sat behind the desk a lot then!

 

[thetopher]

Season 3?
In S3 Angel is pretty much a goofball a lot of the time and to me its really neither interesting nor compelling to watch. It's my least favorite version of the character. Tbh in S3 I think of Cangel being inflicted on everyone or Angel being a devoted Dad. He's a lot more upbeat than at any time previously so I'm curious as to why the term 'morose' is applied here and not previously when he was even more bummed out.

...It's true that a lot of bad stuff happens to Angel, and DB tends to sell the effect these events have on his character, but having baby-Connor is pretty much the best thing to happen to Angel ever. Even getting dropped in the ocean didn't change that in the end.

So overall I wouldn't say 'incredibly morose' but it is a lighter season all round... maybe the contrast when bad things happen to him is more pronounced? Everybody (with the exception of Wesley) has a pretty easy time this season. Fred builds a life outside of Pylea, Gunn finds love, Cordelia becomes a higher power, Lorne goes to Vegas, etc.


...And nice to see the usual suspects dropped into the thread not to engage with the question on any level but to spout more bile at a fictional character.

 

[NotASlayer]

@NileQT87 In season 1 of Buffy, David was simply inexperienced and he had been hired for his looks. But he rapidly got better. Which is why I said that in S2, his performance as Angelus showed he could act, and showed he could carry his own show.

 

[Kendar]

It should be noted that he's had arguably the best post-Buffy/Angel career of any of the main cast on both shows, with the possible exception of ASH. Not counting summer hiatuses he's been consistently employed since 1997 in TV. His two most recent shows went a combined 19 seasons, and he apparently has something else already lined up.

 

[BaskingINBangel]

By this time DB had completely lost his looks, which makes him look like he has no confidence in his own performance.

Oh, no, no, no, I have to vehemently disagree with you here. Looks are subjective but DB is steadly good looking from BtVS through his entire run on AtS, even with the extra weight he carried in S5. I don't agree that his acting had slipped at this point, either.

Just the continual vibe he gives off as being incredibly downbeat, morose and sad when all of the other cast members are so lively and full of life.

In S3? He's so happy and giddy at becoming a father during this season, that for someone like me who loves his consitently dark brooding persona, it's extremely jarring.
Angel is typically always a morose character except for part of S3, so im a bit confused at this.

 

[hoponlilmama]

In 2025, DB is still a good looking guy. So no, he didn't "completely lose his looks". That's a bit of a hot take.

He's not a very good actor in the first place. He's just pretty.

To echo what @Kendar said above, DB has had been the most successful out of everyone - he's jumped from one successful series to another, without so much as taking a breath.

And whilst looks play a part (as with most actors), if you don't have the ability behind it, you're not going to get very far. I think most of us can agree David was very 'green' in the beginning, but he definitely improved over time.

 

[famicommander]

In 2025, DB is still a good looking guy. So no, he didn't "completely lose his looks". That's a bit of a hot take.


To echo what @Kendar said above, DB has had been the most successful out of everyone - he's jumped from one successful series to another, without so much as taking a breath.

And whilst looks play a part (as with most actors), if you don't have the ability behind it, you're not going to get very far. I think most of us can agree David was very 'green' in the beginning, but he definitely improved over time.

I stand by what I said. It's true that he got better over time but he's still a very limited actor whose primary success is based on being hot while playing a character in a relationship with someone also hot. It's a simple formula, it works, and I'm not mad at the guy for cashing those checks. There are innumerable successful actors that are pretty much 100% coasting on their looks. You cannot possibly tell me anyone would hire Gal Gadot or Kyle Maclachlan for any other reason that that they are pleasant to look at. Well, you could tell me, but I wouldn't believe you.

 

[hoponlilmama]

I stand by what I said. It's true that he got better over time but he's still a very limited actor whose primary success is based on being hot while playing a character in a relationship with someone also hot.

Cool. I stand by what I said too. Keira Knightley mostly sticks to period pieces. Staying in her lane, but it doesn't make her any less of a good actor.

It's a simple formula, it works, and I'm not mad at the guy for cashing those checks. There are innumerable successful actors that are pretty much 100% coasting on their looks. You cannot possibly tell me anyone would hire Gal Gadot or Kyle Maclachlan for any other reason that that they are pleasant to look at. Well, you could tell me, but I wouldn't believe you.

Also, you could say that for any actor who is thin and good looking. Musicians too.

 

[thetopher]

DB's success is being a hot, action-hero type guy who can play emotional vulnerability well, he has pretty good chemistry with most of him female co-stars and has enough comic timing to land a good humorous scene or spit out a pithy one-liner when necessary. He was also a fairly compelling villain that was distinct from their heroic counterpart.
All of that is what he learned on BtVS/Angel and its not nothing, especially compared to actors who are more famous than him who can't do half of that.

Basically he deserved the spinoff and his modest success in TV land despite what others may think; there are more deserving targets of scorn both in the acting profession as a whole and the Buffy shows specifically and yet its always DB that gets singled out...because those same critics have a beef with the character he plays, basically. It's so tired.


I say all of that knowing that the best actors on either show are Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Tony Head; nobody else comes close in terms of versatility and range.

 

[famicommander]

Cool. I stand by what I said too. Keira Knightley mostly sticks to period pieces. Staying in her lane, but it doesn't make her any less of a good actor.



Also, you could say that for any actor who is thin and good looking. Musicians too.

No, you couldn't say that for any good looking actor because there are plenty of good looking actors who can... act. Boreanaz is a male Gal Gadot. And, again, that's cool for him. If I were 1/50th as attractive as he is I'd take advantage of it too. Not mad at the guy, but won't pretend for a heartbeat he's a good actor. Especially not when he tries an accent.

 

[thetopher]

By that metric the worst actor ever is Sean Connery. Can't even do any kind of accent; he's always a Scottish Russian Submarine commander or Scottish Egyptian Immortal lol.

 

[Taake]

Basically he deserved the spinoff and his modest success in TV land despite what others may think; there are more deserving targets of scorn both in the acting profession as a whole and the Buffy shows specifically

*cough cough* Charisma Carpenter *cough cough*

People make all sorts of excuses for CC, but really that is because she is gorgeous. Terrible actress. But so pretty. Still, so so pretty.

 

[thetopher]

People make all sorts of excuses for CC, but really that is because she is gorgeous. Terrible actress. But so pretty. Still, so so pretty.

Yep. She also fluffed her lines a lot, which is bad. She is a good comedic actress and she really nails all her 'Cordelia-isms' but dramatically? Urgh. Plus hands down probably the worst villain performance over either show.
I mean, Jasdelia was worse than the hyena-kids from S1 The Pack, and they were very cringe.


Also, to bring it back on topic; Cordelia in S3 Tomorrow almost single-handedly downgrades that season finale from great to only partly good.

 

[NotASlayer]

Perhaps DB does not have the range of some actors, but Angel/Angelus showed that he did have range. And a lack of huge range is not the same as being a bad actor.

Carrying, say, a couple of hours of an action film if you are less than great as an actor is a far different thing from being the lead role in three series, 24 seasons, 425 episodes and over 300 hours. That is pretty much impossible to carry on looks alone, and all the main characters on Buffy and Angel had looks. So, maybe he does not have a huge range and sticks to what he is good at; he is still good at it. And his looks mean nothing to me,

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

I'm not a huge DB fan, but the 'lost his looks' is ridiculous. He is a pedestrian but very competent actor. By the time he hit Angel the series, he'd learned the craft even if he doesn't have the charisma of ASH, SMG or JM. He is not Lawrence Olivier, Meryl Streep or Gary Oldman but by the time he's gotten to the end of Angel the series he's a very consistent, competent actor and he has lost the post surgery weight and is looking trim and attractive. He learned the lesson that James learned decades earlier - take care of your instrument- JM successfully played against a woman much younger than he was and didn't look like he was an 'old guy' even though he was closer to Joyce's age than Buffy! If a scrawny man with a weak chin (i suspect he has an implant) could look as good as James did (and still does), then a man who is blessed with a perfect face can also do well if he (a) is competent (b) is consistent (c) has a great work ethic. DB has a reputation as someone who works very, very hard and shows up no matter what. That matters a lot in tv series. Probably as much as 'brilliance'. Glen Quinn was twice the actor he was, but he was fired b/c he was a using drug addict and didn't show up sober to the set. And of course, he went the way of many using addicts - he OD'd.

DB is a big, tall man, and though that's not my taste in men, (I like them wiry) - he learned that staying fit and probably staying off the sauce means that decades after Angel, he looks handsome, 'youthful' and trim. He figured out his 'niche' -- he's always a cop or a soldier or something physical. He basically plays the same kind of character. He's a character actor with leading man good looks and decent 'presence'. He hasn't tried for the stars, but the moon has been in his back pocket for decades.

I suspect he has more series in him... and I suspect he'll let himself age into 'senior cop/soldier' kind of roles and keep on acting as long as he wants. Just as he let go of the Buffy era 'pretty boy' pretty much by the end of Ats season 1, I suspect he'll let go of the 'action man' 'younger' and move on to the 'active man' 'older'.

I don't love him, but I do respect him.