Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor Nicholas Brendon has passed away at the age of 54. The news was announced in a statement posted on Brendon’s Facebook page.
“We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes,” reads the statement. “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,” the post continues. “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.”
Brendon rose to fame playing Xander Harris on all seven seasons of the hit WB series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan. He also had a recurring role on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, and appeared in the short-lived Fox series Kitchen Confidential, based on the book by chef Anthony Bourdain.
Outside of TV, he appeared in several films, including the 2000 comedy Psycho Beach Party, which also starred Lauren Ambrose and Amy Adams, and the 2002 horror film Demon Island.
Brendon was frequently in the news for legal troubles: He’d been arrested multiple times, with his first arrest happening 2010. Charges he faced over the years included resisting arrest, battery, felony vandalism, malicious injury and more. He also dealt with substance abuse issues, and went to rehab for addiction to alcohol and sleeping pills.
Brendon is the second member of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer cast to die in recent years. Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn Summers, passed away in 2025.
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