David Boreanaz

Looks like romantic tensions on BONES will be heating up even more this season between the characters of Temperance Brennan [Emily Deschanel] and Special Agent Steely Booth [David Boreanaz], and that is just the beginning of everything that is going on in season two. iF MAGAZINE got the chance to talk to Boreanaz the day before the second season premiere and he gave us a ton of dirt as to what to expect from the new season of the hit crime drama.

iF: Tamara Taylor joining the cast brings in a love triangle aspect to the show ... how did that come about?

BOREANAZ: I know last year there was a decision to bring on another female character that would give a different perspective as far as someone who would come between my character Booth and Emily’s character Brennan. Cam [Tamara Taylor] is the new head of forensics at the Jeffersonian, came from the New York area and worked in labs and basements without the best facilities, but for me obviously we’ve known each other and we have a past. We’re going to bring that relationship to the forefront which is going to cause tension and problems from early on. How we handle that and how I handle that, do I go back to that [relationship], and I think we’ll see that as we progress into the episodes. You’ll see that I will touch into that, so to speak, [Laughs] and this will cause some sparks with Bones. The mother of my child played by Jessica Capshaw will add to that. I am surrounded by interesting women this year as far as characters are concerned for Booth, and it’s going to be interesting to watch that and see how he handles that.

iF: So we’re going to get more of Booth’s back-story this season?

BOREANAZ: You’re going to see more on all of the characters respectively. The fascinating part of this series for me has been all about the lives of the characters and how they handle their personal lives and how they handle those lives along with their professional lives. That’s always going to part of the show, but even more this season than it was last year.

iF: Can you compare the dynamics of this cast to the dynamics, say on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER?

BOREANAZ: Not much really to compare. Two different shows, two different genres. They are two different levels of experiences that I went through for different types of characters. There’s no comparison.

iF: When you started as a recurring guest-star on BUFFY, and then went so far with it, are you more keenly aware coming from that background, to make newcomers to BONES welcome?

BOREANAZ: It’s great to see people emerge from guest spots, and to watch them have a strong impact on a show. Coming from that world, and how I started as a recurring character on BUFFY and then taking that character and spinning off from that, it’s always great to see strong characters come on and have an impact not only on what they are playing but also on the storyline. I enjoy that aspect of watching that happen.

iF: The last season ended with the cliffhanger with Temperance’s father ... how much of that do you deal with in the first few episodes of the new season?

BOREANAZ: We do touch on it towards the end of the first show. She does actually go and visit her mother’s grave, and we find out that her father was there visiting her. From there the plot thickens, and we touch on it in the car ride into the first big accident that we have. It will definitely come out as the season progresses, and it is a case that isn’t an easy case. Also as far as last season we had a character named Epps, who was a serial killer, and we’ve done an episode again with him. You never know what they can do with him. He can be involved with the mafia; they can go so many ways with this. It’s really opened the doors for the writers creatively.

iF: What else can you tell us about the Booth/Brennan relationship for this new season?

BOREANAZ: It’s a fine line of flirting with the audience, and putting them in situations where they have to share a hotel room if their on a stakeout together, like what happened on the first episode. It was very quiet and intimate and they’re close and you think they’re going to kiss, and then they’re not going to kiss. I think when you add in different conflicts of characters like Cam, there’s going to be lots of reactions. There’s going to be some jealousy there’s going to be hot steamy reactions. That’s how they keep that relationship alive and how they thrive off of that. They’ll continue to do that, and it’s more interesting for me to have two characters that are flirting with that aspect of it rather than having them do it.

iF: Do you think in the long run it’s more important for the characters to not act on those feelings?

BOREANAZ: I don’t know man, they did it on MOONLIGHTING and the series was over. [Laughs] I don’t know. Who knows, maybe they can figure how to write these two characters together, but personally I enjoy the sparring they have and the possibility of them hooking up.

iF: How is has your personal relationship with Emily Deschanel changed over the last season into this one?

BOREANAZ: We work on weekends with our acting coach, and we work every weekend on our upcoming scenes and we bring our personal stuff to what is going on textually and we thrive off of that. We bring a lot of personal stuff as well as a lot of interesting dynamics to these characters that you aren’t going to see on an average scene that would be shot on a television show.

iF: How do you feel your fans from BUFFY and ANGEL have embraced BONES as the new show to watch you on?

BOREANAZ: I think they’re embraced it considerably. The numbers speak volumes and it’s just fantastic that they can embrace that and move with you. Some may like, and some may hate it, but I can’t control that. I’m there for the work.

iF: Can you talk about the differences between going into a second season as opposed to starting a brand new series?

BOREANAZ: You’re trying to find what the characters are all about, and to work within the elements of the stories that they have given you. Within that first season you operate trying to find that new show. For me, it was always about finding a relationship with Booth and Bones, and how he was going to operate day in and day out. Then how that would affect him being respected by his FBI colleagues. I think it’s more defined when you throw in halfway down the first season for the characters to find themselves and when they do it just clicks. It’s like catching lightening in a jar and we found that towards the end of the first season. There were moments of it in the first 10 episodes, and we were kind of under the double edged sword of finishing last season late and then starting so early with no break. The beauty of that was picking up where we left off, and going into this season. We kind of know our characters and we kind of exploit the connection even more so.

iF: There have been lots of different FBI agents on TV over the last few years especially. Anything you’ve kept in mind that you wanted to avoid with Booth?

BOREANAZ: Just not the norm. I don’t want this guy to come off like your staple, “by the book” kind of guy, because he’s not like that. Obviously, his downfall is his gambling, and he likes to gamble on things and take risks. He is definitely a risk taker and he operates best off of that. I don’t ever want him to be that “paper pushing” guy because that isn’t him.

iF: What would be your dream scenario you would have for Booth?

BOREANAZ: I’m evolving with him every episode. I love what he’s doing every episode. I think he’s a little bit more unexpected with everyone this new season. He can be charming with people, and then behind them there’s a turn. I love that kind of stuff with this character, and I’m going to keep going with that.