How Bones' Emily Deschanel Really Felt About Working With David Boreanaz
The Fox forensic procedural "Bones" was notable at the time of its release for being the first series David Boreanaz would be starring in following his multi-year run playing Angel, first on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," then its spin-off series, "Angel," which had ended in 2004, just a year before the debut of "Bones."
However, unlike his previous series, Boreanaz wouldn't be playing the titular character, as that went to Emily Deschanel. Deschanel, the older sister of actress Zooey Deschanel, plays Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist with the nickname Bones. Along with her team, Dr. Brennan works with FBI Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz) to help solve crimes where the human remains require more expertise than the FBI can provide.
The duo worked together on the show for the entirety of its run, which went for 12 seasons. In a recent interview, Deschanel spoke about what the experience of co-starring on a show with Boreanaz was like.
Deschanel never felt like less than an equal to Boreanaz
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Emily Deschanel opened up about her experience working with David Boreanaz.
Deschanel pointed out that she and Boreanaz had a good relationship right from the start. While Deschanel was a TV veteran prior to being cast on "Bones," she had not been a main castmember on a show before, whereas Boreanaz had experience as the titular character in the vampire series "Angel." However, Deschanel said the difference in their experience was never used by Boreanaz to belittle her or put her down in any way. "He never tried to tell me what to do, never tried to school me in any way or make me feel like I didn't belong or like I was learning and new," she added.
Deschanel also added that she and Boreanaz understood that they would be spending a lot of time with each other, and would be likely to get on each others' nerves as a result. So they formed an agreement to ensure there wouldn't be lasting damage to their relationship.
"We gave each other permission to walk away at different times, or just say 'you're really bothering me right now,' or 'you're annoying me, I have to get away from you.' And we rarely used that because we gave each other permission and we talked about it," Deschanel said.
Boreanaz also helped keep Deschanel in line
Emily Deschanel also spoke about the pressures of being the lead in a TV show, saying that it was a lot of pressure from various facets. She expanded that not only did she feel the responsibility to keep the show going and to maintain its quality but to also be a leader for the cast and crew of "Bones" as well.
"It's a lot to be the lead of a television show. It's a lot of responsibility and it's an honor, but you do have to set a tone for a set," Deschanel told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that it meant she was usually stressed out while doing the show.
David Boreanaz, however, had a way to notify Deschanel if she was being unpleasant to the cast and crew while on set. "For some reason it became a joke that if someone was acting badly, you give them a Diet Coke," Deschanel said, "I don't drink soda, so if somebody brought me a Diet Coke, I knew it was because he would tell a PA to bring me a Diet Coke as a joke."
Deschanel concluded by adding that she did the same to Boreanaz occasionally as well, but Boreanaz was more of a prankster between the two of them.