Major and recurring characters created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer are as follows:
Cast Main cast The following characters were featured in the opening credits of the program. Actor Character Count Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy Summers 144 colspan=7 Nicholas Brendon Xander Harris 143 colspan=7 Alyson Hannigan Willow Rosenberg 144 colspan=7 Charisma Carpenter Cordelia Chase 54 colspan=3 colspan=4 Anthony Stewart Head Rupert Giles 121 colspan=5 colspan=2 David Boreanaz Angel 56 colspan=2 colspan=2 Seth Green Daniel "Oz" Osbourne 39 colspan=2 colspan=3 James Marsters Spike 96 colspan=4 Marc Blucas Riley Finn 31 colspan=3 colspan=2 Emma Caulfield Anya Jenkins 81 colspan=2 colspan=2 colspan=3 Michelle Trachtenberg Dawn Summers 66 colspan=4 colspan=3 Amber Benson Tara Maclay 47 colspan=3 colspan=2
Recurring cast Actor Character Count Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mark Metcalf The Master 8 colspan="3" Kristine Sutherland Joyce Summers 58 colspan="5" colspan="2" Julie Benz Darla 5 colspan="2" colspan="2" Andrew J. Ferchland The Anointed One 6 colspan="5" Robia LaMorte Jenny Calendar 14 colspan="4" Armin Shimerman Principal Snyder 19 colspan="2" colspan="3" Juliet Landau Drusilla 17 colspan="2" Danny Strong Jonathan Levinson 29 colspan="2" colspan="2" Bianca Lawson Kendra 3 colspan="5" Larry Bagby Larry Blaisdell 7 colspan="4" Jason Hall Devon MacLeish 8 colspan="3" K. Todd Freeman Mr. Trick 5 colspan="2" colspan="4" Fab Filippo Scott Hope 3 colspan="2" colspan="4" Eliza Dushku Faith Lehane 20 colspan="2" colspan="2" Harry Groener Mayor 14 colspan="2" colspan="2" Mercedes McNab Harmony Kendall 15 colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" Alexis Denisof Wesley Wyndam-Pryce 9 colspan="2" colspan="4" Lindsay Crouse Maggie Walsh 9 colspan="3" colspan="3" Phina Oruche Olivia 3 colspan="3" colspan="3" Adam Kaufman Parker Abrams 5 colspan="3" colspan="3" Paige Moss Veruca 3 colspan="3" colspan="3" Bailey Chase Graham Miller 13 colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="2" Leonard Roberts Forrest Gates 12 colspan="3" colspan="3" George Hertzberg Adam 10 colspan="3" colspan="2" Charlie Weber Benjamin "Ben" Wilkinson 14 colspan="4" colspan="2" Clare Kramer Glory 13 colspan="4" Troy T. Blendell Jinx 6 colspan="4" colspan="2" Joel Grey Doc 3 colspan="4" colspan="2" Todd Duffey Murk 6 colspan="4" colspan="2" Adam Busch Warren Mears 16 colspan="4" colspan="2" Tom Lenk Andrew Wells 27 colspan="5" colspan="2" James Charles Leary Clem 8 colspan="5" Elizabeth Anne Allen Amy Madison 8 colspan="4" Kali Rocha Halfrek 7 colspan="4" D. B. Woodside Robin Wood 14 colspan="6" Sarah Hagan Amanda 10 colspan="6" Camden Toy Ubervamp 4 colspan="6" Iyari Limon Kennedy 13 colspan="6" Clara Bryant Molly 5 colspan="6" Indigo Rona 8 colspan="6" Felicia Day Vi 8 colspan="6" Kristy Wu Chao-Ahn 6 colspan="6" Nathan Fillion Caleb 5 colspan="6" Mary Wilcher Shannon 3 colspan="6" Dania Ramirez Caridad 3 colspan="6"
Notable guest cast Actor Character Count Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Eric Balfour Jesse McNally 2 colspan="6" Dean Butler Hank Summers 4 colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Robin Sachs Ethan Rayne 4 colspan="3" colspan="3" Julia Lee Anne Steele 2 colspan="2" colspan="4" Saverio Guerra Willy the Snitch 5 colspan="3" colspan="3" Harris Yulin Quentin Travers 3 colspan="2" Andy Umberger D'Hoffryn 4 colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Sharon Ferguson First Slayer 4 colspan="3" colspan="2" K. D. Aubert Nikki Wood 3 colspan="4" Amelinda Embry Katrina Silber 3 colspan="4" colspan="2" Azura Skye Cassie Newton 2 colspan="6" Lalaine Chloe 2 colspan="6" Note
Main characters Buffy Summers
Portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar The show's titular protagonist, Buffy, is "The Slayer", one in a long line of young girls chosen by fate to battle evil forces in the form of vampires and demons. The Slayer has no jurisdiction over human crime. Slaying vampires and other paranormal beings is her specialty and she has a personal rule against killing humans. This calling mystically endows her with a limited degree of clairvoyance, usually in the form of prophetic dreams, as well as dramatically increased physical strength, endurance, agility, intuition, and speed and ease of healing. Traditionally, there has been only one Slayer alive at any given moment, with a new one called upon the event of her death.
Xander Harris
Portrayed by Nicholas Brendon Xander is a close friend of Buffy. Possessing no supernatural skills, Xander provides comic relief as well as a grounded, everyman perspective in the supernatural Buffyverse. In another departure from the usual conventions of television, Xander is notable for being an insecure and subordinate male in a world dominated by powerful females.
Willow Rosenberg
Portrayed by Alyson Hannigan Willow was originally a nerdy girl who contrasted Buffy's cheerleader personality but also shared the social isolation Buffy suffered after becoming a Slayer. As the series progressed, Willow became a more assertive and even sensual character; in particular, she realized that she was a lesbian and became a powerful Wiccan. Willow is Buffy's best friend through everything that happens and maintains her humanity and kindness to others throughout.
Cordelia Chase
Portrayed by Charisma Carpenter (seasons 1–3) Cordelia is originally an archetypal popular, shallow, mean-spirited cheerleader. She is tactless, but direct and honest, and she becomes a reluctant ally of the Scooby Gang, even after her relationship with Xander disintegrates. After season 3, she joins Angel in L.A., where she abandons her attempts at acting to fight evil at his side.
Rupert Giles
Portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head Giles, rarely referred to by his first name, is a Watcher and a member of the Watchers' Council, whose job is to train Slayers. In the earlier seasons, Giles researched the supernatural creatures that Buffy must face, offered insights into their origins and advice on how to kill them. Throughout the series, he became a father-figure to Buffy, Willow, Xander, and the others, giving them advice not only on the supernatural world, but on life issues as well.
Angel
Portrayed by David Boreanaz (seasons 1–5, 7) Angel, a vampire, formerly known as Angelus, was a cruel killer until he was re-ensouled by a Romani curse. After decades of guilt over his past atrocities, he allies himself with Buffy and they fall in love. The consummation of their relationship brings him a moment of true happiness, breaking the curse and releasing Angelus upon Sunnydale. Buffy is forced to send him to a hell dimension to save the world. After his release from hell, Buffy and Angel continue to struggle with their ongoing love. Angel breaks off their relationship and moves to L.A. (after season 3) to give her a chance at a more normal life. There, he gathers new allies in his own fight against evil in the five-season spin-off, Angel.
Oz
Portrayed by Seth Green (seasons 2–4) Daniel "Oz" Osbourne is a brilliant yet generally unmotivated student and part-time rock guitarist. He is Willow's first and only boyfriend and an active member of Buffy's inner circle, despite the fact that he has recently become a werewolf. Portrayed as taciturn and unflappable, the contrast between his outward coolness and his violent animal episodes is an example of the show's efforts to subvert usual character expectations, as well as to display double-personalities (like Angel/Angelus). As an unusual side-note, the actor Seth Green went on to co-design and supervise the creation of the acclaimed line of Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figures.
Spike
Portrayed by James Marsters (seasons 2–7) William "Spike" Pratt is a vampire character whose role varies dramatically through the course of the series, ranging from a major villain to "love's bitch", to the sarcastic comic relief, to Buffy's romantic interest in a relationship that grows from miserable lust to a friendship, and eventually to a self-sacrificing hero, dying as a Champion at the Hellmouth. His path to redemption subsequently resumes in L.A. (in season five of Angel), where his resurrected character continues to develop into a selfless hero and reconciles with his former nemesis and love rival, Angel, and occasionally works with him. Spike is known for his Billy Idol platinum hair (Buffy mentions in one episode that Spike doesn't style his hair like Idol's, but the other way around), his catch-phrase "bloody hell", and his black leather duster, which he acquired after killing his second Slayer. In Season 4, he was captured by the Initiative and had a chip implanted in his brain to prevent him from hurting humans. In Season 6, he underwent a trial in order to remove the chip, instead he had his soul restored. After accidentally killing a human in Season 7, the chip nearly killed him and he had it medically removed.
Anya Jenkins
Portrayed by Emma Caulfield (seasons 3–7) Anya is a 1,120-year-old former vengeance demon (Anyanka) who specialized in avenging scorned women. After being forcibly stripped of her demonic powers by Giles, the character is forced to re-learn how to be an ordinary human, a journey which is portrayed as both comical (e.g., her fear of rabbits and her love of money) and poignant (e.g. her grief over Joyce's death). Her story is largely focused on her romantic relationship with Xander, and like many characters on the show, she is portrayed as morally ambivalent.
Riley Finn
Portrayed by Marc Blucas (seasons 4–6) Riley is Buffy's first serious boyfriend after Angel. He is initially an operative in a military organization called "The Initiative" that uses science and military technology to hunt down HSTs or "hostile sub-terrestrials" (demons). Riley is Angel's opposite, an Iowa-born-and-raised man whose strength lies in his military secret identity. Buffy's superior physical strength causes him insecurity, particularly after his medically enhanced powers were removed. This, combined with Buffy's inability to truly emotionally connect with him, eventually causes him to leave in the middle of Season 5.
Dawn Summers
Portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg (seasons 5–7) Dawn is introduced in Season 5 as Buffy's fourteen-year-old younger sister, sent to Buffy in human form as a disguise for the Key, a dangerous magical artifact sought by a hellgod. Although Dawn's genesis is magical, she functions as a complete and normal teenage girl, and, after her true nature has been revealed, she is accepted and loved as a sister, daughter, and friend. Although Buffy initially tries to shelter Dawn from her work as Slayer, Dawn later becomes a useful member of the Scooby Gang.
Tara Maclay
Portrayed by Amber Benson (seasons 4–6) Tara is introduced first as a fellow member of a Wicca group during Willow's first year of college. Their close friendship evolves into an ongoing romantic relationship; their relationship attracted significant attention as one of few featured same-sex relationships on television at that time. Tara uses her magical skills to assist the Scooby Gang in their fight against evil, and she struggles with how to deal with Willow's growing addiction to magic. Tara is killed by a bullet intended for Buffy, her death triggering Willow's transformation into "Dark Willow".
Supporting characters Introduced in season one (1997)