David Anders (born David Anders Holt; March 11, 1981 in Grants Pass, Oregon) is an American television and stage actor. He's perhaps best known for his Ensemble Dark Horse roles in Alias, Heroes and Once Upon a Time. He also starred as Blaine in iZombie.
Notable Roles
- 2002-2006 Alias as Julian Sark
- 2005 Charmed as Count Roget.
- 2007 Grey's Anatomy as Jim
- 2007-2010 Heroes as Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei
- 2010 24 as Josef Bazhaev
- 2010-14 The Vampire Diaries as John Gilbert
- 2011-2014 Once Upon a Time as Dr. Viktor Frankenstein/Dr. Whale
- 2013 Necessary Roughness as Troy Cutler
- 2015-2019 iZombie as Blaine
David Anders provides examples of the following tropes:
- Actor-Inspired Element: In Once Upon a Time, he used an English sounding accent for Dr. Whale's true identity Dr Frankenstein — feeling the character's dialogue didn't work with his normal voice.
- Action Survivor: usually his characters die, but they put a good fight and the viewer knows that if there is a chance for a character to escape, it will be him.
- Agent Peacock: most notably as Julian Sark in Alias, but could be applied to his role as Blaine in iZombie. Camp? Check. Pretty? Check. Absurdly good at evil? Check.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Frecuently overlapped with Daddy Issues and
Draco in Leather Pants. - Alone with the Psycho: His status as psycho main villain/antagonist usually provides examples of his characters torturing a male or female main character. These scenes, thanks to previous Ho Yay and Belligerent Sexual Tension / Unresolved Sexual Tension moments with said characters provide enough Fanfic Fuel to create their own fandoms.
- And I Must Scream: immortal Adam Monroe was trapped in a coffin (later he was released, though). Zombie Blaine was buried "alive" and later trapped in a well for all eternity. Zombie Bart was buried "alive" and became an immortal, half-decomposed soldier.
- Amazon Chaser: Sark had a long-running crush on Sydney Bristow, a romantic relationship with Allison Doren and Lauren Reed plus a sexual encounter with Rachel Gibson. Blaine had sexual encounters with Jackie and Candy, plus a romantic and sexual relationship with Peyton. Dr. Whale had a one night stand with Snow White.
- Anti-Hero: he could go this way for a while, helping the heroes and getting a last minute redemption. Unless he becomes the Big Bad, of course.
- Asshole Victim: Adam Monroe, Sark or Blaine were the worst. But surely the fandom will suffer for them if they suffer.
- Awesome Ego: his characters tend to have shades of this, mixed with A God Am I. To be fair, Sark, Dr. Frankenstein, Adam Monroe or Blaine really have a couple of reasons to boast.
- Ax-Crazy. Dear Lord. Also adding The Chessmaster, The Sociopath, Chronic Backstabbing Disorder and Wild Card to the mix.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: it seems most of Anders' career goes along the lines of "Villain of the Week/Season", "Winning the Fandom" and "Becoming the Big Bad of the show". See Beware the Nice Ones / Beware the Silly Ones.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: the Wardrobe Department knows how to use Mr. Anders looks. If the suit or a dark shirt is impossible for plot reasons, a form fitting T-shirt or a shirtless scene will appear instead.
- Beauty Is Bad: Most of his characters have sex on screen as an antic to get what they want or to be presented as The Casanova, and/or have other characters commenting in universe said good looks.[Italian cell immate in Alias, while Sark is faking a seizure] "The beautiful man is dying!".
- Befriending the Enemy: comes in the package of Heel–Face Revolving Door and Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.
- Evil Feels Good: apparently, Julian Sark and Blaine deBeers just simply enjoy being assholes.
- Beneath the Mask: Dr. Frankenstein or Blaine aren't nearly as confident and composed as they seem to be.
- Beware the Silly Ones: 21 year old Sark seemed "just" a henchmen wannabe. The Count seemed "just" a Cabaret owner. Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei seemed "just" Hiro's one off drunkard sidekick. John Gilbert seemed "just" Elena's absent muggle uncle. Dr. Whale seemed "just" a doctor. Bart seemed "just" a soldier. Blaine seemed ''just'' a random, pathetic addict and drug dealer.
- Buried Alive: Three times. Adam Monroe was buried alive by the heroes in a coffin to stop him. Bart was killed in combat and resurrected as a zombie in his coffin. Blaine had his throat slit by the local Mafia Boss and resurrected as zombie in his tomb at the woods.
- Came Back Wrong: Bart became an immortal vigilante that roamed the city and Blaine became from drug dealer to mafia boss.
- Chronically Killed Actor: see below. The spoiler is when he doesn't die (or is the Big Bad).
- No Full Name Given: the viewers didn't discover Sark and Blaine's full real names until season 2 of their respective shows. They knew he was Dr. Frankenstein almost since the beginning, but thanks to this character they discovered on season 2 that characters from non-fairy tales could end in Storybrooke.
- Sex for Services: Sark uses this to get information. Blaine uses this to get zombie clients.
- Small Role, Big Impact: see Beware the Nice Ones / Beware the Silly Ones above. Upon his introduction, Sark appeared around less than 25 minutes on a 22 episode season, becoming a fan favourite and one of Sydney's main enemies (and the only alive after the Distant Finale). Adam Monroe's immortal blood was used during several seasons of Heroes to cure or resucitate characters. John Gilbert saved Elena's life and introduced the Gilbert's family drama and role with vampires. Dr. Frankenstein revealed non-fairy tales and characters from non-magical realms could arrive at Storybrooke, along an insight at magical resurrection. And Blaine managed in less than 40 seconds of screentime on 1x01 to scratch Liv with zombiism and unleash the Zombie Apocalypse. Even in his short run as Patient of the Week at House, M.D., his character managed to almost kill Chase and suspend the titular character as a result.
- Would Hurt a Child: Sark plants bombs here and there at public places, Burt actively fights against the Children of the Corn, and Blaine started his bussiness using homeless teen brains.
