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Nicholas Brendon
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| Nicholas Brendon | |
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| Born | Nicholas Brendon Schultz April 12, 1971 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Spouse(s) | Tressa di Figlia (2001–2007) |
| Official website | |
Nicholas Brendon (born April 12, 1971, as Nicholas Brendon Schultz in Los Angeles, California), is a Saturn Award nominated actor best known for his character Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003).
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Early life
When Brendon was young, he had aspirations to be a professional baseball player, but was forced to give up the dream after an arm injury.1 At the age of 20 he decided to try his hand at acting and overcome his stuttering problem,2 but gave up after two years because he "couldn't stand the politics in Hollywood." He decided instead to go back to school and study medicine, but this did not work out. He also tried his hand at a variety of other jobs, including plumber's assistant, veterinary janitor, day care counselor, waiter, and production assistant for the television show Dave's World.3 After these jobs, he gave acting another try. It only took four days of auditioning before he landed the role of Xander Harris on Buffy.
Career
Brendon's role as Xander Harris was initially that of the occasional comic relief and plucky sidekick to the lead female character, but in later seasons fewer comedic lines were given to the part. When the series ended in 2003, Brendon joined the cast of a new Fox sitcom, Kitchen Confidential, based on the book by chef Anthony Bourdain. Thirteen episodes were made, but the series was cancelled on December 9 of the same year, after the fourth episode aired with low ratings.
In 2006, he voiced Huntsboy #89 for season 2 of the animated series American Dragon: Jake Long. The series ended on September 1, 2007. His character's final appearance was in the episode "Shaggy Frog", which aired on April 28, 2007.
From July 26 through August 30, 2006, Brendon co-starred with Noah Wyle in the play Lobster Alice, in Los Angeles.
That same year, Brendon reunited with his former Buffy on-screen sweetheart, Charisma Carpenter, in the ABC Family TV movie Relative Chaos.
At a pop culture expo in Sydney, October 2007, he mentioned that he would be joining the cast of the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds as Penelope Garcia's love interest.4
Personal life
In 2001, Brendon married actress Tressa DiFiglia. The couple divorced in 2007.
On April 25, 2004, at a Buffy fan convention in Cleveland, Ohio, he announced that he had voluntarily entered rehab for alcoholism.5
Brendon has played a major part in the Stuttering Foundation of America. He was the first person to serve the role of honorary chairperson of the Stuttering Foundation of America's Stuttering Awareness Week for three consecutive years, from 2000 to 2003.
Brendon has an identical twin brother, Kelly Donovan, the elder by three minutes, who served as his occasional stand-in on Buffy. Kelly played the part of Xander's double in the episode "The Replacement"6 when the two Xanders were on the screen at the same time. When Nicholas fell sick with pneumonia, Kelly filled in for him as Xander, and in most of Xander's fight scenes in the episode "Intervention", Kelly was filling the role.7
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest | Basketball Player One | |
| 2000 | Psycho Beach Party | Starcat | |
| 2002 | Demon Island | Kyle | |
| 2007 | Unholy | Lucas | |
| 2008 | Blood on the Highway | Chase Sinclair | |
| 2009 | The Portal | Paul | |
| 2009 | My Neighbor's Secret | Brent Cavanaugh | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Married… with Children | Guy In Ray-Ray's Gang | Episode: Hood 'n the Boyz |
| 1995 | Dave's World | Episode: Do the Write Thing | |
| 1997–2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Xander Harris | 143 episodes |
| 2003 | The Pool at Maddy Breaker's | TV-Movie | |
| 2004 | Celeste in the City | Dana Blodgett/Harrison | ABC Family TV-Movie |
| 2005–2006 | Kitchen Confidential | Seth Richman | 13 episodes |
| 2006 | Relative Chaos | Gil Gilbert | ABC Family TV-Movie |
| 2006–2007 | American Dragon: Jake Long | Huntsboy #89 | Voice Role 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Fire Serpent | Jake Relm | Syfy Pictures Original Movie |
| 2007–2009 | Criminal Minds | Kevin Lynch | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Without a Trace | Edger | Episode: Undertow |
| Video games | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Xander Harris | |
| 2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds | Xander Harris | |
Awards and nominations
- 1998: Nominated, "Best Genre TV Actor" - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- 1999: Nominated, "Best Genre TV Actor" - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- 2000: Nominated, "Best Genre TV Supporting Actor" - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nicholas Brendon |
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