He was one of TV’s biggest heartthrobs in the 90s — but what does he look like now?
Fans of cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which ran from 1997 to 2003, made a major star out of its lead actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: James Marsters chats to The Morning Show.
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But it also garnered a huge and devoted following for actor James Marsters, who played the peroxide-blonde bad boy vampire, Spike.
Posters of Spike adorned many a teenage and twentysomething fans’ bedroom back in the day, so it’s a little bit of a shock to think the actor who played him is now 61.
Marsters is about to arrive in Australia for the Supanova Comic Con.
On Tuesday’s The Morning Show, it was a markedly different-looking Marsters chatting from LA with hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.
The punky peroxide is gone, now replaced with silver-grey locks and a slightly more mellow demeanour.
The short, spiky haired look has also been replaced with a longer, combed-back style.
But the trademark good looks are still there — along with a wicked sense of humour.
“I loved playing evil!” Marsters admitted when reflecting on his time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“When you’re playing a good guy, you’re always running from A to B.
“When you’re a villain, you just lurk in the shadows.
“As long as you’re willing to lose the final fight, it’s actually a lot easier (to play the villain).
“I would have killed off Spike in Season Two!”
The character of Spike was so popular with fans that Marsters reprised the role for a spinoff series called Angel, which ran from 1999 to 2004.
Since then, Marsters has had roles in Smallville (2005-2010), Witches of East End (2014), Runaways (2017-2019) and the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood (2020).
He said he remained stunned at how much of a following the show continues to have.
“You know, I was a Star Trek fan and I suspected that we may be making a world that would be fun to come back to even after you’ve seen it a few times,” he said.
“We’d be filming at one o’clock or three o’clock in the morning and I’d say, ‘you know, we may be talking about this scene for the rest of our lives.’
“They would laugh at me, but I guess I suspected that it was possible (it would become a huge hit).
“But I didn’t know for sure, and I certainly didn’t know it would be as big as it’s become.”
Marsters will appear at Supanova Comic Con at the Sydney Showground on June 22 and 23, and in Perth at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on June 29 and 30.