List of Angel Characters - Main Characters

Main Characters

• David Boreanaz as Angel (1.01–5.22; After the Fall)

The titular main character, Angel is a vampire cursed with a soul who is prophesied to play a major role in the apocalypse. He spends most of his time during the series in fighting evil demons, sent on his path by visions from The Powers That Be. Angel's main motivation for his actions is a quest for redemption for the years he spent without a soul. During this time, he was known as Angelus and became known as "The Scourge of Europe", as well as "The Demon with the Angelic Face", causing death and destruction wherever he went. Originally appearing in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel was written out of that show at the end of the third season so he could star in his own spin-off. Angel is originally hesitant to form friendships and allow anyone to get close to him after the events in Buffy. Over the course of his own series, Angel falls in love, fathers a son and gains numerous allies and friends, but is always forced to control the monster that hides within him. Like many characters on the show, Angel changes drastically, starting out as an almost reluctant hero, and ending up an altruistic hero who is, in Cordelia's words, "trying to save everyone on the planet."

Angel is the only character to appear in every episode.

• Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase (1.01–4.22, appeared in 5.12; After the Fall)

Cordelia Chase seeks to become a successful actress in Los Angeles after events in third season of Buffy. Contrary to that plan, however, she is sucked into Angel's life after almost being killed by a vampire. Initially shallow and vapid, Cordelia is forced to grow after the visions sent by The Powers That Be are bestowed upon her. During her tenure on the show, Cordelia undergoes this transformation, changing from high school popularity queen into a compassionate and nurturing figure. Events in the show's third season lead to Cordelia becoming a vessel for the being known as Jasmine in the fourth season, after which she falls into a coma. No longer a cast member in season five, she guest stars in the episode "You're Welcome", a send-off to her character, setting up the events for the series finale.

• Glenn Quinn as Allen Francis Doyle (1.01–1.09)

Allen Francis Doyle (more commonly known as just Doyle) is a half-demon, half-human hybrid and the original bearer of the visions from The Powers That Be. Doyle plays the Irish anti-hero, who would rather have a drink than fight the forces of evil. When put to the test however, Doyle shows a hero's heart, willingly sacrificing himself to save the lives of his friends in the episode "Hero", just after giving his visions to Cordelia. Archived footage of Doyle is used in two later episodes ("Birthday and "You're Welcome"), partially in remembrance of Glenn Quinn, who died in 2002.

• Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (1.10–5.22, appeared previously; After the Fall)

Wesley-Wyndam-Pryce appears in Angel after the death of Doyle, pretending to be a "rogue demon hunter". Wesley's role during the first season is mostly that of comic relief, but over the course of the second and third season, Wesley grows into the role of capable leader, accompanied by a darkening of his personality. Originally a tried and true hero, Wesley's methods lead to him becoming more of an anti-hero. He is ousted from the team after events in the latter half of the third season, and is only reluctantly accepted during the apocalyptic events of the fourth season. Wesley is reintegrated into the group during the final season.

Wesley appears in 100 of the 110 episodes, missing only the first nine episodes of the series and the fifth season episode "Destiny". He is the only character besides Angel himself to be a regular in all five seasons. Cordiela and him had a thing in Buffy the Vampire Slayer but that is over. In one episode Angel accidentally calls Wesley Doyle trying to get over his grief which leads to issues.

• J. August Richards as Charles Gunn (1.20–5.22, recurring previously; After the Fall)

Charles Gunn (frequently referred to as simply Gunn) appears at the end of the first season as a young demon hunter from the streets, who grudgingly befriends Angel after the vampire helps him. Joining the cast in season two, Gunn must adjust to Wesley and Cordelia, who are primarily researchers, while he seeks more solace in the simple brawn work. After events in the second season leave the three alone, he becomes close friends with both, notably Wesley, a friendship that is all but destroyed by the end of the third season. After spending three years with the team as "muscle", Gunn quickly accepts the chance to become a highly knowledgeable lawyer during the fifth season, which ends up costing him severely in the end.

• Amy Acker as Winifred "Fred" Burkle (3.01–5.15, recurring previously; After the Fall)

Winifred Burkle (more commonly called Fred) is originally a shy girl with troubles of fitting into the group but is shown to be extremely intelligent. She is saved from the demon world of Pylea by the Angel team in the last episodes of the second season, As the series progresses, however, Fred grows to become a capable and sociable person, providing a stable but quirky personality to group. She becomes the subject of a love triangle during the third and fourth season which has severe effects on the make-up of the team and becomes somewhat of a focal point in the series. In the latter half of the fifth season however, she is infected by the legendary demon Illyria, who takes over her form, destroying Fred's soul.

• Vincent Kartheiser as Connor (4.01–4.22, recurring previously and afterward; After the Fall)

Connor is the son of Angel and Darla. He first appeared on the third season as a baby, left in the care of Angel after Darla sacrificed herself to be able to give birth to the child. Cared for and loved by the entire Angel crew, it came as a great shock when Wesley kidnapped Connor in hopes of protecting from the child a prophecy that cited Angel would kill him. Unfortunately the prophecy had been a fake created by Daniel Holtz, mortal enemy of Angel, and Sahjhan, a demon Connor was actually prophesied to kill in the future. Sahjhan opened a portal to the hell dimension Quor-Toth and Holtz took the boy and jumped inside to escape capture. After spending years in Quor-Toth being raised by Holtz to become "The Destroyer", a vicious demon hunter, the two were able to return to the normal world. While only a few months had passed for Angel and crew, Connor was now in his late teens. Holtz was able to manipulate Connor into trying to kill Angel, but after he was saved, Connor grudgingly came to accept his father and joined the crew with a certain reluctance in the fourth season. Connor would play another important part in the season's final story, as he became father to the season's main adversary Jasmine. After Jasmine's defeat, Angel allowed Wolfram & Hart to alter Connor's memories, giving him a normal human life, a spell that would ultimately be broken by Wesley in another act of betrayal, during the show's fifth and final season. With two sets of memories mixing, Connor lived a confusing but content life, making an appearance in the series finale.

• Andy Hallett as Lorne (4.14–5.22, recurring previously; After the Fall)

Lorne is the pacifist and music-loving empathy demon originally opens up a violence-free karaoke bar called Caritas, open to both demons and humans, where he reads people's futures by their singing. He is introduced in the second season, still referred to as The Host then, he is not credited as a regular until the latter half of the show's fourth season. Originally an occasional supporting character, Lorne moves in with the team during the third season, when Caritas is destroyed. Although quickly accepted by the others, he has trouble adjusting to the violent lifestyle that accompanies the group. Lorne comes into his own finally when the team became the owners of Wolfram & Hart's Los Angeles branch, becoming head of the entertainment division. After the events of the fifth season's latter half, Lorne reevaluates his life and decides that he no longer has a place among the team. Andy Hallett died in 2009.

• James Marsters as Spike (5.01–5.22, recurring previously; After the Fall)

Spike is a vampire who fought to regain his soul and also an old companion/bitter enemy of Angel. He appears on Angel in the show's fifth and final season. He initially appears as an incorporeal being, per events of Buffys final episode "Chosen", and must deal with the tug of the afterlife, more specifically; hell. However, when Spike is made corporeal again, he comes to serve as a constant reminder of Angel's past deeds, but also the hero that Angel no longer sees himself as being. As such, Angel must question his actions past and present, the meaning of the Shanshu Prophecy, and finally, the corrupting nature of Wolfram & Hart. Although the two remain rivals, they have an unshakable bond that makes them brothers in arms right up to the end.

• Amy Acker as Illyria (5.15–5.22; After the Fall)

As a result of Fred inhaling Illyria's essence, her body is used as the host, with Illyria by inheriting her human emotions, her legacy living on in some way. Although Illyria herself initially opposes the team, but joins them after she finds she has nowhere else to go, and gradually becomes accepted, standing by the team in the final moments of the series.

• Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall (5.17–5.22, recurring previously)

Harmony Kendall is the type of woman that never moved on after her popular high school years. She is still vapid, shallow and remains eternally at the age of a high school senior. Bitten by a vampire during the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harmony has made recurring appearances on both shows, displaying the same ineptitude for being a vampire as she did for being a mortal. Taken from the Wolfram & Hart secretary pit by Wesley to work for Angel, Harmony earnestly tries to be accepted by Angel and the others, including former boyfriend Spike.