entertainment
Brandon played Xander Harris, a close friend of the main character Buffy, in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which ran from 1997 to 2003.
Nicholas Brendon starred in the film “Cohesion”. Image courtesy of the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival
Nicholas Brendon, the actor best known for his role as the lovable sidekick in the hit TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has died. He was 54 years old.
Brendon’s family announced the death in a statement posted on his social media accounts on Friday. They said he died in his sleep of natural causes, but they did not say where or when it happened.
Brandon played Xander Harris, a close friend of the main character Buffy, in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which ran from 1997 to 2003. The supernatural series, which began on the WB network and then moved to UPN, was about vampire slayers, led by teenage Buffy, who battled a wide array of demons, werewolves and other dark forces while also navigating life in high school.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” based on the film of the same name, never won many awards, but it has been cited by many critics as one of the most influential shows in television history.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy on the show, posted a photo of herself with Brendon on Instagram on Saturday.
“I saw you Nikki,” she wrote. “I know you’re at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky.”
Brendon also appeared on the TV show “Criminal Minds” between 2007 and 2014 and alongside Bradley Cooper in the Fox comedy series “Kitchen Confidential,” an adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s memoir that aired for only one season in 2005.
Brendon appeared in the films “Redwood” in 2017, “The Nanny” in 2018, and “Christmas Slasher” in 2024.
Brendon also wrote several issues of the Buffy comic book series.
Although Brendon is famous as an actor, his family said in their statement that in recent years he found his passion for drawing and art.
“He was passionate, sensitive and endlessly driven to create,” the statement read. “Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of his personality.”
Brendon announced in 2023 that he had suffered a heart attack. He also underwent two spinal surgeries due to a rare nerve compression condition called cauda equina syndrome, which can lead to pain and weakness in the lower body.
Brendon has also spoken publicly about his battle with depression and appeared on two episodes of “Dr. Phil” in 2015 to discuss his struggles with alcohol, mental health, and a series of arrests for public intoxication, vandalism, and domestic violence.
Although Brendon had “struggled in the past,” he was taking medication and therapy to manage his diagnosis and was “optimistic about the future,” his family said.