David Boreanaz

WITH a family pedigree that boasts an Oscar-nominated cinematographer and a respected actress, it was inevitable that Emily Deschanel would wind up in show business.

The 29-year-old American is the daughter of actress Mary Jo Deschanel (she played John Glenn’s wife in The Right Stuff among a swag of other things) and Caleb Deschanel, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his cinematographic work on The Passion Of The Christ.

But the acting bug didn’t just bite Deschanel, who will star in the new Channel 7 drama Bones when it premieres tomorrow, with her sister Zooey in the trade and remembered for roles in Almost Famous and Eulogy.

Deschanel plays no-nonsense forensic anthropologist Temperence Brennan in Bones with her character created by novelist and anthropologist Kathy Reichs.

"My character is named after a character in Kathy’s books, so when Kathy came to visit the set I picked her brain but I didn’t spend enough time with her to really influence my character," she says.

"I have enjoyed playing Temperence because she is such a substantial character and she is prickly. It’s rare to have a lead who is so prickly, but I would rather play someone like that than a bubbly character who was always making jokes.

"There is so much difference between my character and my personality, I am much more personable than the character I play, and that was another aspect of the role that I really enjoyed."

Bones also stars former Buffy and Angel favourite David Boreanaz in his first substantial role since leaving the world of the walking dead.

"I was initially a bit intimidated to meet David, because I thought he was so brooding, but once I got to know him I could see there is a lighter side to his personality and he isn’t always so intense," Deschanel says.

"David was so protective of the whole cast, because he had been there before, and he gave us advice when we were feeling overwhelmed, he was our protector and guide and I am so grateful he has been there.

"One of the things that amazed me about David was that he could be joking and then, when the cameras starting rolling, he would immediately go into dialogue and be talking about broken femurs and bone grafts."

Bones, Seven, Thursday 9.30pm