Role on ‘Buffy’ has opened delightful new world for actor
Deseret News
By Scott D. Pierce
Nicholas Brendon is a lucky man. Two years after deciding to make acting his career, and with a skimpy (and highly exaggerated) resume, he landed a role on the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” And, while few expected either “Buffy” or the fledgling WB to survive, the show is a hit and an important building block for the network.
“Things are so perfect right now in terms of the show that it blows my mind away. It’s like, how did I get that lucky?” Brendon said during a recent visit to Utah. “I believe in a higher power, therefore, it had to happen for a reason. But it’s like, ‘Wow!’”
Not only does Brendon have second billing on the coolest show on television (right behind Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar), but playing Buffy’s sidekick, Xander Harris, has had some unexpected benefits. Sure, there’s money and the fame, but how about those Web sites expressing undying love for both Xander and Nicholas? “It’s weird, man,” Brendon said.
“Buffy” is one of the biggest surprises on TV in years. Based on a rather dopey movie, the series is smart, funny and - most surprisingly - realistic. Well, not the parts full of vampires and other monsters, but the teen angst of the high school-age characters certainly rings true.
And Brendon has been allowed more than a bit of freedom in his role. He doesn’t rewrite dialogue, but he has switched it around a bit at times. Executive producer Joss Whedon and the directors sometimes take his suggestions on various aspects of the show. And they allow him to do his own stunts.
That started as a bit of an accident - he was supposed to slide down some stairs but his padding stuck, so he did a backward roll. And then there was the first time he did a fire scene, not knowing in advance he’d be covered in slimy aloe vera one cold morning at 4 a.m.
“Had I known what that entailed, I probably would have said, `Let the stunt guy do it,’ ” he said. “I’ve also made Xander very physical. I’ve made Xander fall down a lot.” (Not that it has always worked out as planned - like the time he broke his elbow.)
And aspects of Nicholas have been worked into the character of Xander. “Somehow I’ve made him dance. There’s actually a Xander dance club on the Internet. I just started doing my wacky dances and they wrote it in. And Joss told me not to work out anymore because he didn’t think Xander would have a good body. But I did, so now at least five times a year my shirt comes off.”
What makes this somewhat surprising is that, basically, “Buffy” is Brendon’s first real acting gig. His official bio says he “has an impressive list of credits in television, film and theater.” But he doesn’t. “My whole resume is pretty much a lie,” he said. “I did one day on `Young and the Restless’ and then, of course, I put on my resume `recurring’ because it looks better. And now I’ve gone from that to being a regular. So it’s out of control. So this is pretty much the first thing that I’ve done.”
Which is not to say that he isn’t perfect for the role of Xander. He’s bright, funny and charming, translating his real-life quick wit onto the screen. Xander started out as sort of an awkward class clown, but he’s much more than that after two seasons - and he says the kinds of things we all wish we could have thought of when we were in high school.
And high school is “still a fresh, horrifying memory for me,” Brendon said. “I wanted to be like Xander and just say things. I got into acting because I had a stutter. I couldn’t talk to people in high school - I was very shy and had an acne problem.”
But one day he was in the back yard of his mother’s house “talking to God” about what he should do with his life and decided to go into acting.
“I did a lot of tongue twisters and started taking acting classes, which was a nightmare,” Brendon said. “A few years later I had (the stuttering) under control. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Of course, he didn’t become an actor overnight. Along the way he was an electrician’s assistant, a plumber’s assistant, a production assistant, a script delivery boy, a receptionist at a talent agency and a pre-med student. And, off and on for seven years, a waiter.
“I was just trying to find myself. Tragically, not. But finally, I did,” he said. And, when he booked the part of Xander, things weren’t exactly going well. The Los Angeles native was living in a little apartment in Sherman Oaks, but he had to hand over his stereo as collateral because he couldn’t pay the rent. Fortunately (sort of) the building had been damaged by the North-ridge earthquake and nine of the 12 units had been condemned. “They weren’t exactly beating down my door to rent the place,” Brendon said.
“I was having to scrounge nickels and dimes under my bed in order to buy a burrito. My girlfriend had just left me for my best friend . . . I was working as a waiter and I’d start to cry. I’d go outside and start bawling, then pull myself together and go back.”
But he maintains that the bad times have made him appreciate the good times - and have prepared him for any trouble that might be down the road. “Sure, things are going well right now and it’s easier to be well-adjusted when things are going well. When things aren’t going so well, maybe I won’t be so enlightened. But it happens. It’s happened before and it will happen again.”
And he’s still unjaded enough to be excited about the whole thing - and sometimes a bit taken aback. Like the first time he was ever asked for his autograph. “The first time I did it I was shaking,” Brendon said. “My voice started to crack, I started to sweat. Because I forgot that I was on TV. That was a hard thing to get used to.” Or the first “Buffy” reruns aired. “This is my first show and it’s, like, every time it’s on you get paid,” he said. “How cool is that?”
