Emily Deschanel Locked In Her Bones Role With One Improvised Moment
"Bones" is a product of the "CSI" craze of the early 2000s: a police procedural with a hook centered around the science of crime-fighting. The eponymous lead, Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist, meaning she specializes in studying human remains (especially bones). In "Bones," Dr. Brennan uses her academic skills to identify human remains and collect clues to find their murderers in both cold and fresh cases.
However, the show's bouncy tone and dialogue owes more to an older mystery show: "Moonlighting," about two private detectives (Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd) who let their sexual tension simmer as they solve cases together episode by episode. Bones' partner (eventually, in both the professional and personal sense of the word) is FBI Agent Seeley Booth (Angel himself, David Boreanaz).
The show lived and died on Bones and Booth's chemistry (really Deschanel and Boreanaz's); considering the show ran 12 seasons, it's safe to say that the duo's casting paid off. Speaking to TV Insider ahead of the "Bones" series finale in 2017, series creator Hart Hanson discussed casting his two leads, and how Deschanel first made an impression on him and clinched the role.
An attitude of sturdy Bones
As Hanson recalls, Boreanaz was cast first: 20th Century Fox Television head Dana Walden suggested him for the part of Booth and Hanson accepted enthusiastically. Casting Bones herself then came down to "two finalists." Hanson left the runner-up unnamed, but said she was apparently the "safer" pick next to Deschanel (who'd never had a main role on a TV show before).
However, Deschanel convinced Hanson that she could be the scene partner they wanted for Boreanaz. "When [she and David] did their read together, they had chemistry, and I got excited. Emily pulled into the front position for me," said Hanson, adding, "I still figured I'd have to go in and argue for her against this more established actor." But instead, Deschanel sold herself, showing off her acting instincts with a small but impactful bit of improv.
"At the reading in front of the network and studio, there was this moment with David and Emily where he stepped toward her. He just steps toward Emily, and Booth was trying to establish himself as the alpha with Brennan, and she just steps toward him. It sounds like a simple thing, but it was her instinct and it was electric. Everyone in that room was a pro, and knew chemistry when they saw it."
From their first scene together in the pilot, Bones is butting heads with Booth and they've apparently had this semi-professional relationship for a while. The crux of their relationship is the conflict between thinking with one's head or heart, so they needed to stand on equal footing. Deschanel proved she understood that and could play it — for 12 years, no less.