Remembering Nicholas Brendon: ‘Buffy’ Star Who Fought Personal and On-Screen Battles Passes Away

For fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, what began as a week of minor disappointments quickly turned into a time of genuine sorrow. The anticipated Hulu reboot of the series was halted at the pilot phase, and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s latest film did little to impress. However, the true heartbreak came with the news of Nicholas Brendon’s passing. Known for his role as Xander, Buffy’s loyal sidekick, Brendon’s death adds to the melancholy that has lingered since the loss of Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn, just about a year ago. The two shared memorable moments on the show that are cherished by fans.

The legacy of Buffy is significant, as it represents the pinnacle of many of its actors’ careers. Spanning seven seasons and 144 episodes, the show consistently delivered quality entertainment, thanks in no small part to its talented ensemble cast. For several young actors, the success they achieved on Buffy has been hard to surpass. Nicholas Brendon, although he found roles in the Blank Theatre Company, appeared on Criminal Minds, and contributed to the Buffy comics, never quite reached the same heights. Unlike his peers, such as Alyson Hannigan, who enjoyed a long run on How I Met Your Mother, or Sarah Michelle Gellar, who ventured into teen movies, Brendon struggled to maintain a steady presence in the industry.

Part of Brendon’s challenges stemmed from personal battles with alcoholism and drug use, alongside health issues and legal problems related to domestic violence. Despite seeking treatment soon after Buffy ended, he faced multiple arrests throughout the 2010s and had strained interactions with some of his co-stars. Brendon notably defended Joss Whedon, the series creator, amidst allegations of misconduct, further complicating his relationships within Hollywood.

Brendon’s connection with Whedon makes sense on several levels. Whedon not only provided the actor with his breakout role but also infused Xander’s character with elements from his own adolescence. Xander, the wisecracking, non-superpowered teen with a crush on Buffy, was in many ways an embodiment of Whedon’s younger self. Watching the series now, Xander can appear as the archetype of the ‘nice guy’ who believes he deserves affection simply due to his underdog status, rather than any particular merit.

Despite Whedon’s own controversial reputation, his writing of Xander was nuanced. The show often delved into Xander’s flaws and vulnerabilities, portraying him as well-intentioned yet deeply imperfect. Nicholas Brendon adeptly navigated this complexity, delivering comedic lines with precision while avoiding turning Xander into a mere caricature. He provided depth and authenticity to a character that could easily have been reduced to comic relief, ensuring Xander remained a fully realized, albeit flawed, individual.

One of the most endearing elements of Xander’s character is his insistence on sticking with the so-called “Scooby Gang” on their vampire-and-demon-fighting mission, despite his lack of superpowers (his fellow nerd, the actually-good-at-school Willow, dabbles in witchcraft) – something that is also, as the show will regularly point out, kind of foolhardy. That’s explored most directly and comically in the third-season episode “The Zeppo,” where Xander, smarting from his ex-girlfriend’s insistence that he brings nothing to the Slayer-centric group, heads off on his own adventure while the rest of the character face a largely offscreen apocalyptic threat. Xander’s story occasionally intersects with what would normally be the episode’s A-plot, with Xander only faintly aware of the world-ending threat.

It’s a funny premise, deepened by how Brendon plays multiple levels at once: Desperate for acceptance from anyone, including the undead bros who adopt him as their wheel man; congenitally nervous about the danger he’s in; longing to be involved in whatever’s going on with Buffy and the gang; sure enough of himself, despite his insecurities, to know that when he attracts the attention of a car-obsessed girl with new wheels, she’s ultimately kind of boring. Granted, the episode also finds room form very Whedon-y wish-fulfillment when Xander casually loses his virginity to Faith (Eliza Dushku), but Brendon is also credible in that moment, again in multiple modes at once: Handsome guy who can step up to the plate when a strong woman makes advances; flustered nerd, nervous with inexperience; regular guy who can’t believe his luck.

The specific idea of Xander as a layered and sometimes self-defeating character was further explored a few seasons later in “The Replacement.” In this episode, Xander thinks he’s been replaced by a demon doppelganger but it turns out to be his authentic self, split in twain: One side gets all of his stumbling weaknesses, while the other gets his strengths. Naturally, it’s the stronger, more confident Xander who reads as more “off” (helped along by Brendon’s twin brother playing him in scenes where the two share the screen, though Brendon himself played both versions in most of their solo shots).

Those two Xanders kept showing up, albeit reunited in the same body, throughout the series: Leaving his longtime partner Anya at the altar in “Hell’s Bells”; saving the world by comforting a grieving Willow in “Grave”; shaming Buffy for her relationship choices in the seventh season; quietly making Dawn feel seen in “Potential.” Maybe Whedon gave Xander so many emotional scenes to play because he truly did identify with him, and as such was comfortable with a bit of self-glorification. But Brendon’s performances felt too raw to be an uncomplicated self-insert.

It’s also possible that Brendon’s personal problems emerged after his work on the show; it’s also possible that he related to Xander’s complex and deeply flawed character on a more personal level than anyone would have assumed at the time. Whatever the reasons, Brendon made what could have been a stock part into a multifaceted, entirely believable person, and an integral part of the show’s ensemble. On a horror-fantasy show, he was tasked with playing a non-superpowered human. But he clearly understood demons.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn podcasting at www.sportsalcohol.com. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Guardian, among others.