Nicholas Brendon
| Nicholas Brendon | |
|---|---|
 Brendon in San Diego Comic-Con 2011. |
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| Born | Nicholas Brendon Schultz April 12, 1971 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Tressa di Figlia (2001–2007) |
| Website | |
| http://www.nickbrendon.com/ | |
Nicholas Brendon (born April 12, 1971, as Nicholas Brendon Schultz in Los Angeles, California), is an American actor best known for his character Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003).
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Early life [edit]
Nicholas Brendon was born Nicholas Brendon Schultz on April 12, 1971 in Los Angeles,[1] three minutes after his identical twin brother, Kelly Donovan.[2]
As a youth, he aspired to become a professional baseball player, but he "lost the passion for it" at 20.[3] Instead, he decided to pursue acting in an attempt to overcome his stuttering problem,[4] which had first become apparent at age 7 or 8, and had made him so fearful of speaking or interacting with strangers that he did not begin dating until 21 or 22. Brendon comments, "Every day I still have to remind myself to slow down and concentrate. Constant repetition of tongue-twisters was like lifting weights for me, but patience and persistence have paid off."[5][6][7]
He gave up acting after two years because he "couldn't stand the politics in Hollywood." Brendon returned to school to study medicine, which didn’t work out; he also tried his hand at a variety of odd jobs, including plumber's assistant, veterinary janitor, day care counselor, waiter, and production assistant for the television show Dave's World.[8][9]
Career [edit]
At the age of 25, Brendon decided to return to acting. He signed with a manager and obtained the role of Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer three months later.[10] He appeared in all but one of the 144 episodes in the series, and even shared the screen with his twin, Kelly Donovan, when his character was split in two in the fifth-season episode "The Replacement".[11]
After the series ended in 2003, Brendon joined the cast of the Fox television pilot The Pool at Maddy Breakers. The series was not picked up by the network. In 2004, he co-starred in his first ABC Family movie, Celeste in the City. The following year, he returned to Fox as part of the cast of 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. That same year, he reunited with his former Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Charisma Carpenter in the ABC Family TV movie Relative Chaos.
From July 26 through August 30, 2006, Brendon co-starred with Noah Wyle in the play Lobster Alice at the Blank Theatre Company in Los Angeles. He subsequently appeared in the Blank Theatre’s annual Young Playwrights Festival[12] and its productions of The SantaLand Diaries (November 20 - December 20, 2009),[13] and Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them.[14]
In 2007, Brendon began appearing on the TV series Criminal Minds in the recurring role of FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch.[15] He has appeared in episodes in each season since, through the seventh-season finale.[16]
On September 29, 2010, he premiered his web comic Very Bad Koalas, co-created with animation director/producer Steve Loter. The comic follows the journey of two sheltered and innocent koalas experiencing a variety of people and places while on the run from the law in a 1958 Cadillac El Dorado.[17]
On October 28, 2010, Brendon began a four-episode arc on ABC's Private Practice playing Lee McHenry, a mentally disturbed man who assaults Charlotte King.
Charity work [edit]
Brendon has done work for the Stuttering Foundation of America, which approached him around 2001,[6] and made him its honorary chairperson for its National Stuttering Awareness Week in May 2001,[5] May 2002[18] and May 2003.[19]
Personal life [edit]
On April 25, 2004, at a Buffy fan convention in Cleveland, Ohio, he announced that he had voluntarily entered rehab for alcoholism.[20]
In the early morning of March 17, 2010 Brendon was tasered and arrested by Los Angeles police, who confronted Brendon in response to a call about an intoxicated individual. Brendon allegedly swung his fists at the officers and attempted to run away, and after being subdued, was arrested for felony vandalism. Brendon was initially held on $20,000 bail.[21][22][23] Brendon was later charged with four misdemeanors, including one count of resisting arrest, two counts of battery against a police officer, and one count of vandalism.[24]
In May 2010, Brendon checked himself into the SOBA Recovery Center in Malibu to address his addiction to alcohol and sleeping pills.[25] On June 19, 2010, Brendon pleaded no contest to all four charges and received a one-year suspended jail sentence, was placed on probation for 36 months, and was required to perform 10 days of community service.[26]
Filmography [edit]
Movies [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest | Basketball Player One | Dimension Films |
| 2000 | Psycho Beach Party | Starcat | Sundance Film Festival |
| 2002 | Demon Island | Kyle | First Look Home Entertainment |
| 2007 | Unholy | Lucas | Anchor Bay Entertainment |
| 2008 | Blood on the Highway | Chase Sinclair | BOH Productions |
| 2009 | A Golden Christmas | Michael | Maple Island Films |
| 2009 | My Neighbor's Secret | Brent Keller | Lifetime Television |
| 2010 | The Portal | Paul | Tiger Entertainment |
| 2012 | Big Gay Love | Andy | Margin Films |
Television [edit]
| 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 | TV-Movie ABC Family |
| 2005-2006 | Kitchen Confidential | Seth Richman | 13 episodes |
| 2006 | Relative Chaos | Gil Gilbert | TV-Movie ABC Family |
| 2006–2007 | American Dragon: Jake Long | Huntsboy #89 | Voice Role 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Fire Serpent | Jake Relm | Syfy Pictures Original Movie |
| 2007–present | Criminal Minds | Kevin Lynch | Recurring character |
| 2009 | Without a Trace | Edger | Episode: Undertow |
| 2010–2011 | Private Practice | Lee McHenry | All In Season 4 Episode: All In The Family (Brief appearance) Episode: Did you hear what happened to Charlotte King? Episode: Can't Find My Way Back Home Episode: Blind Love |
| 2012 | Hollywood Heights | Dan Testa | Episode: Loren and Kelly Clash |
Video games [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Xander Harris | Voice Role |
| 2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds | Voice Role |
Awards and nominations [edit]
- 1998 Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actor - Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Nominated
- 1999 Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actor - Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Nominated
- 2000 Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Supporting Actor" - Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Nominated
References [edit]
- ^ "Nicholas Brendon News, Pictures and Videos". TMZ.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Donovan, Kelly (November 15, 1999). "Oh, Brother!". People. Text "Archived at nickbrendon.com" ignored (help)
- ^ "Tough Talk". People 56 (16). October 15, 2001.
- ^ "Goodbye Buffy". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ^ a b Moran, W. Reed (May 15, 2001). "Nicholas Brendon faces down stuttering demon". USA Today.
- ^ a b Biegel, Alan (June 20, 2011). "An interview with Nicholas Brendon". Non-Sport Update.
- ^ Carney, Kat (November 25, 2002). "Actor gets the word out on stuttering". CNN.
- ^ "Nicholas Brendon". BuddyTV. July 17, 2007
- ^ "Biography". NickBrendon.com. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "Talking Confidential". Back Stage. 2005.
- ^ "Oh, Brother! Nicholas Brendon, Kelly Donovan To Attend Philadelphia Comic Con!". Wizard World. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "About the Young Playwrights Festival"
- '^ Bacalzo, Dan (October 20, 2009). "Buffy the Vampire Slayers Nicholas Brendon to Star in Blank's Santaland Diaries". TheaterMania.
- ^ Jette, D. (February 12, 2010). "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them at the Stella ADler Theatre". LA Theatre Review.
- ^ "Nicholas Brendon back on 'Criminal Minds'". NickBrendon.com. May 5, 2009
- ^ "Listings - Criminal Minds on CBS". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "About Very Bad Koalas". verbadkoalas.com. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- ^ "Back for 2002, Brendon Has Yearlong Impact on Stuttering Awareness" (Press release). Stuttering Foundation of America. Summer 2002. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "Don't Take Speech For Granted: Stuttering Awareness Week, May 12-18" (Press release). Stuttering Foundation of America. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Susman, Gary (June 20, 2011). "Blood Alcohol". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Moody, Mike (March 18, 2010). "'Buffy' star Nicholas Brendon 'arrested'". Digital Spy.
- ^ "Nicholas Brendon Arrested". Hollywood Crush. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
- ^ "'Buffy' star Brendon arrested". Canoe. March 17, 2010.
- ^ Vena, Jocelyn (March 17, 2010). "'Buffy' Star Nicholas Brendon Arrested, Tased By Police". MTV.
- ^ "'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' star Nicholas Brendon enters rehab, report claims". Fox News. May 11, 2010.
- ^ "Actor Nicholas Brendon gets probation". UPI. June 20, 2010.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nicholas Brendon |
- Official website
- Very Bad Koalas
- Stuttering Foundation site
- Nicholas Brendon at the Internet Movie Database
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