This weekend it's time for FACTS Fall Edition 2024! Unfortunately, Carola won't be able to make it, but I (Liv) will be there on Saturday and I am very excited about some of the guests. I haven't missed an edition of FACTS since 2015 and we always have an amazing time in Flanders Expo. Today we have a the first of our traditional 'looking forward to the guests' article for you. There is one guest in particular I am very excited about and that is also the first guest I am going to talk about in this article. The second guest is also a great addition to the guest list. Sit back and relax and let us tell you all about these first two names.

David Paul Boreanaz was born on May 16, 1969 in Buffalo, New York (United States). He has two older sisters, named: Bo and Beth. His father, Dave Roberts (born Boreanaz) was a well known weather forecaster and presenter of the children's show "Rocketship 7". David's mother, Patti, was a travel agent. From a young age, David was interested in acting and his father being in showbusiness only kindled his interest further. When he was seven years old, his father got a new job at WPVI-TV and the family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States). He attended the Rosemont School of the Holy Child.and after that he went to Malvern Preparatory School, located in Malvern, Pennsylvania. When he was in sixth grade, he saw Yul Brynner in the movie "The King and I", this made such an impression on him that he knew he wanted to become an actor. During high school, however, David was very active in sports and he played in the school's football team. After graduating high school, David pursued his passion for acting and enrolled at Ithaca College in New York. The college is well known for its media related and entertainment program. In 1991, David graduated with a degree in cinema and photography.

After his graduation, David moved to Los Angeles. He didn't have a lot of money and crashed on his sister's couch. During these first years in Los Angeles, David worked all kinds of jobs to get by. He cleaned toilets, parked cars, he was a production assistant on film sets and prepared props. Sometimes he even snuck onto film sets to learn more about the industry. His first paid acting job was in a J.C. Penney commercial. In 1993, David appeared as an extra in the sports movie "Aspen Extreme" and in the action movie "Best of the Best II". His first credited role in a TV show also came in 1993, when he played the role of Kelly Bundy's boyfriend in an episode of "Married With Children". Although he didn't have a lot of lines, he said the role gave him the confidence he needed. to continue pursuing an acting career. Strong confidence was what he needed, because it would take quite some time before his big break came.. 

In 1996, casting director Maria Schulman was casting for a new TV series called "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". Apparently Schulman spotted David, while he was walking his dog and she thought he had the qualities they were looking for in the character of Angel. She approached him and this led to a more formal meeting. David and Marcia shared a love for Italian restaurants in New York and it led to an audition. When he came into the audition, there wasn't a formal set up. David improvised a turned a chair upside down, so he could sit on it like a motorcycle. This creativity impressed the show's creator Joss Whedon and his team of producers. Besides this impressive audition, it turned out that David had a great chemistry with Sarah Michelle Gellar (who played Buffy). So David landed the role of Angel and he grew out to be a superstar. He later talked about why he was drawn to the role of Angel. He said, he wanted to do something different and a little edgy. David also adores horror movies and he said Frankenstein scared the hell out of him, when he was a kid. He had always been fascinated by the movie "Nosferatu". After a few years on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", Angel became such a popular character that it earned him his own spin-off show in 1999, with the name "Angel" (also created by Joss Whedon). The character of n would still appear on "Buffy" from time to time. Eventually, David played the role of Angel in 57 episodes of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" from 1997 until 2003 and in 111 episodes of "Angel" from 1999 until 2004. Despite its very dedicated fan base and strong ratings, "Angel" was unexpectedly cancelled after five seasons. The stiry was kater continued in a comic book form.

It didn't take David long to land his next huge role, because in 2005 he landed the role of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth on the crime drama "Bones" (a role he would play for 12 seasons from 2005 until 2017). The show's creator Hart Hanson and his team of producers were impressed by the work David did on "Angel". Besides this there was the on screen chemistry between him and Emily Deschanel (who plays Brennan). It was this chemistry that kept the show running for 12 seasons. During his time on "Bones", David also took some other jobs in movies and series, like: "These Girls" (2005, as Keith Clark), "The Hard Easy" (2006, as Roger Hargitay), "Mr. Fix It" (2006, as Lance Valenteen), "The Mighty Macs" (2009, as Ed Rush), "Officer Down" (2013, as Det. Les Scanlon) and "Full Circle" (2013, as Jace Cooper). 

Kathryn Felicia Day was born on June 28, 1979 in Huntsville, Alabama (United States). The names of her parents are not widely known, but we do know that Felicia's father was a military engineer and doctor in the U.S. Air Force. Her mother took it upon her to homeschool Felicia and her younger brother Ryon. Felicia says they were homeschooled for 'hippie reasons', but what is also plausible is that it was because the family moved around a lot (because of her father's job). All that moving made it difficult for Felicia and Ryon to enroll at a traditional school, so homeschooling provided a more stable educational environment. Furthermore, homeschooling made it possible to for Felicia to learn at her own accelerated pace. It also allowed her to pursue her broad interest in academics, music and technology. This fostered her creativity and unique perspective. Felicia took her first steps in acting at the age of 7, when she played the role of Scout in a local production of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Young Felicia had more talents than acting alone, as she was also quite the talented musician. During her youth, she took part in various competitions and performances where she showcased her multiple talents, like (operatic) singing, playing the violin and ballet dancing. In 1995, she was a National Merit Scholar and as Felicia was an accomplished violinist , she was accepted to the world renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York. Felicia chose to attend the University of Texas in Austin on a full scholarship in violin performance. She majored in music performance and mathematics. Besides her academic adventures, Felicia also developed an interest in gaming and technology in this period. In 1998 (at the age of 19) Felicia graduated as one of the best of her class.

After her graduation, Felicia decided it was time to pursue an acting career and she moved to Los Angeles. Her acting journey began with a series of small roles in indie movies and some minor roles in TV shows. Later on Felicia recalled that during these first years she was often typecast as 'crazy cat lady secretary'. On the one hand she thought this was funny, but on the other hand it was also frustrating. This motivated her to work harder, so she could create her own content. Some of Felicia's early roles included her role as Cherie in "Emeril" (2000-2001) and her role as Cookie in "Maybe It's Me" (2000-2001). Her first significant role came in 2003, when Felicia played the potential slayer Vi, in season 7 of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". She looks back on her time on the "Buffy" set with much pleasure. She says the cast and crew felt like a family and that the show was iconic in so many ways. Felicia also says she didn't really understand how iconic it was when she came in, but it changed her whole career. It was also the beginning of her friendship with showrunner Joss Whedon. Felicia often refers to Joss as her mentor and she says he encouraged her to follow her own path.

In 2004, Felicia landed a supporting role in the sequel to the 2000 cheerleading movie "Bring It On", with the title "Bring It On Again". Felicia played the role of Penelope and it was one of her first steps in the world of feature film. She ways it was a fun experience, which allowed her to explore different sides of her acting abilities. Also in 2004, she plays the title role in the movie "June". In 2005, she played alongside acting heavyweights Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon and Kathy Bates in the biopic "Warm Springs". The story revolves around U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's battle against polio and his time in the Warm Springs Resort. Felicia plays the role of patient Eloise and her most memorable moment in the movie is when her character sings the song "I Won't Dance".  

Frustrated by the lack of substantial roles motivated Felicia to create her own content. She channeled her love for (technology and) gaming into creating her own web series "The Guild" (2007). The series is loosely based on her own experiences as a gamer and revolves around the adventures of an online guild called 'The Knights of Good'. This guild spends most of their time playing a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) called "The Game". Felicia serves as the creator and writer of the web series, but she also plays one of the main roles as Cyd Sherman (a.k.a. Codex) who is the guild's Priestess. "The Guild" premiered in June 2007 and ran until 2013 (for 77 episodes over 6 seasons). The first season of "The Guild" was almost entirely funded by fan donations and throughout the seasons it featured a lot of famous guest stars, like;  Nathan Fillion, Brent Spiner and Stan Lee. I already mentioned that it was loosely based on her own experiences as a gamer and she wanted to break through the cliche image of gamers in their parent's basement. The series is considered as on of the landmarks in the history of web series and it set the tone for shows to follow.

One of her most memorable role is the role of Charlie Bradbury in the tv show "Supernatural". She played this role for 11 episodes from 2012 until 2020 in seasons 7 to 10 and 13 and 14. Charlie Bradbury seems to be a role written for Felicia as Charlie is also a quirky, loveable and tech-savvy character. Although she is only in 11 episodes, Felicia made a lasting impression as Charlie and she became one of the fan favorite characters pretty soon. Over the last decades, Felicia has been a busy bee and she took part in a lot of projects, like series, movies, voice roles in animation and videogames and a lot of other media related things. Recently she created and hosted some podcasts. In 2022, she hosted the podcast "The Official Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power Podcast". In 2024, she was a guest star in the stage production of "Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty Sided Tavern" at Stage 42 in New York City. Felicia Day is a true jack of all trades and she describes herself as actor/ writer/ producer/ author/ Podcaster/ streamer/ influencer/ maker. If you want to know more about her projects take a look at her IMDb page and her official website.