Buffy the Vampire Slayer heartthrob James Marsters, who played Spike, doesn’t look like this anymore

He was one of televisions the biggest heartthrobs of the 90s – but what does he look like now?

Fans of the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which ran from 1997 to 2003, made a big star out of its lead actress Sarah Michelle Gellar.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: James Marsters talks to The Morning Show.

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But it’s also garnered a huge and devoted following for actor James Marsters, who plays the peroxide blond vampire bad boy, Spike.

Spike posters graced the bedrooms of many teenagers and twenty-something fans back in the day, so it’s a little shocking to think that the actor who plays him is now 61.

Marsters is about to arrive in Australia for Supanova Comic Con.

On Tuesdays The morning showit was a markedly different-looking Marsters chatting from LA with the hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillis.

The funky peroxide is gone, now replaced with silvery gray locks and a slightly softer demeanor.

The short, spiky hair look has also been replaced with a longer, slicked back style.

But the trademark good looks are still there – along with the 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 battle, it’s actually a lot easier (to play a villain).

“I would kill Spike in season two!”

The character of Spike was so popular with fans that Marsters reprized the role in a spinoff series called Angel, which ran from 1999 to 2004.

Marsters has since had roles in Smallville (2005-2010), Witches of East End (2014), Runaways (2017-2019) and Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood (2020).

He said he was amazed at how many followers the show continues to have.

“You know, I was a Star Trek fan, and I suspected that maybe we were creating a world that would be fun to come back to, even after you’ve seen it a few times,” he said.

“We were shooting at one or three o’clock in the morning and I was like, ‘you know, we might be talking about this scene for the rest of our lives.’

“They would have laughed at me, but I guess I suspected it was possible (it would become a huge hit).

“But I didn’t know for sure, and I certainly didn’t know it was going to be as big as it has 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 Center on June 29 and 30.