Nicholas Brendon, the actor best known for playing lovable underdog Xander Harris on all seven seasons of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, died Friday. He was 54.
His family announced news of Brendon’s death in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter: “We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes. Most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and for the characters he brought to life over the years. In recent years Nicky has found his passion in painting and art. Nicky loved to share his enthusiastic talent with his family, friends and fans. He was passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create. Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was. While it’s no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing. Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart. Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support.”
Brendon had revealed in 2023 that he had suffered a heart attack and had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. He also had cauda equina syndrome, which led to several spinal surgeries.
Though Buffy was arguably the highlight of Brendon’s acting career, he appeared in film and television roles until as recently as 2021. During breaks from Buffy, he starred in genre movies with titles like Demon Island and Unholy.
In 2000, he starred alongside Lauren Ambrose and Amy Adams in Sundance entry Psycho Beach Party. An adaptation of drag artist Charles Busch’s off-Broadway spoof of 1960s beach movies, it went on to achieve cult status.
His most prominent other TV credits included included a recurring stint on Criminal Minds and a one-season Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential — an adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s memoir of the same name that paired Brendon with Bradley Cooper.
Born in 1971 in Los Angeles as Nicholas Brendon Schultz, he originally wanted to become a professional baseball player. He then decided to pursue acting in an effort to manage his stutter, a disorder he’d later champion as a spokesperson for the Stuttering Foundation of America during the peak of Buffy‘s popularity.
Xander Harris was, not unlike Adam Brody’s Seth Cohen on The O.C., a character that helped shift the portrayal of the “nerd” in American popular culture. Speaking with THR in 2017, on the occasion of the series’ 20th anniversary, Brendon said as much when he described his typical dialogue with viewers.
“I actually don’t have a lot of crazy fan interactions,” said Brendon. “It’s just a bunch of dudes who say, ‘Man, you got me laid a lot in high school. You made it cool to be a nerd and awkward and funny.’ I wonder how many babies are out there because Xander got people laid.”
Starting in his 30s, Brendon suffered public struggles with substance abuse and mental illness. He was arrested multiple times and, starting in 2010, faced charges including felony vandalism, resisting or obstructing officers, criminal mischief and felony corporal injury to a spouse. The latter, his most notable, ended in a plea deal that included three years’ probation.
Throughout these troubles, he would issue statements of apology and even appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil to detail his issues with alcohol and his mental health struggles.
Those in Brendon’s orbit were said to have been optimistic about his recent outlook and attitude and had been hopeful that he’d finally turned a corner.
Among those survived by Brendon is his identical twin brother, Kelly Donovan. They were born three minutes apart and, despite the fact that Donovan never earnestly pursued acting, the two appeared alongside each other on two episodes of Buffy. That includes 2000’s “The Replacement,” in which Xander is split into two individuals — one with all of his good qualities (Donovan) and one with all of his faults (Brendon).
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