ListNook

ShadowMadness Mar 21, 2026 +137

Didn't even hit me 'til just now but that's now two of the core Buffy cast that have passed away at a young age. Lost Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn) just over a year ago too.

137

Actionquest66 Mar 21, 2026 +121

Lorne and Doyle from ‘Angel’ also died young.

121

AvocadoYogi Mar 22, 2026 +9

Omg! I had no idea about either of them. 😭

9

CaseyChaos Mar 22, 2026 +18

Glenn Quinn had addiction problems >!which is why he was sacked!< and has a dedication at the end credits of one of the episodes. Andy Hallett died a few years after the show ended from some kind of heart defect/failure.

18

AlonnaReese Mar 22, 2026 +13

Hallett's premature death is a valuable lesson in the importance of dental care. He let a chronic toothache go untreated for an extended period of time, and the infection got into his bloodstream, eventually leading to heart failure.

13

CaseyChaos Mar 22, 2026 +2

I wasn't aware of that part of the story. Just heard about the heart problem. Such a shame as he really made the character and forced them to make him a full part of the cast. He could have done some great things.

2

wearingsox Mar 23, 2026 +2

He didn't let it go untreated, he wasn't able to get time off during their busy filming schedule for Angel.

2

snarkerella Mar 21, 2026 +115

This is hard when someone from your generation dies young. I first met Nic at an event almost 30 years ago, where I also met for the first time, James Van der Beek. Having both of them pass a month apart makes it even sadder. RIP

115

AdSpecialist6598 Mar 21, 2026 +25

Having lost quite a few people over the years way too many go before it is their time and it gets harder everytime.

25

Radmode7 Mar 22, 2026 +4

Unfortunately, I think this is a phenomenon we’re stuck growing used to as we get older. We’re not THAT young anymore.

4

snarkerella Mar 22, 2026 +6

True. But passing at 48 and 54, respectfully, is still pretty young.

6

Radmode7 Mar 22, 2026 +3

Absolutely.

3

Shobed Mar 21, 2026 +23

No paywall, [https://archive.ph/ziZO0](https://archive.ph/ziZO0)

23

pepperbet1 Mar 21, 2026 +26

Can y'all help me understand something? Deadline doesn't have a paywall. I read this site all the time. So what is it you're actually seeing that's leading you to say that? Because you're not first person I've seen say it.

26

jennysequa Mar 21, 2026 +46

There’s a popup that blurs the background so people assume paywall. But you can just close it.

46

Life_force_stealer Mar 21, 2026 +4

The archive link worked a lot better for me. That blurring popup thing was a pain in my ass and wouldn't close.

4

DisastrousDaveBerry Mar 21, 2026 +14

What paywall?

14

TiberianSunset Mar 21, 2026 +3

exactly

3

GlamMetalLion Mar 22, 2026 +5

I just started watching Buffy two days before the death. I saw that they were talking about how Kathryn Newton's character style was based on Sarah Michelle Gellar in the pilot, and started watching. What a shame a high quality hd version of the early show doesn't exist, but it's in the dvd master on Hulu. I really like the characters from what I've watched.

5

NoString9289 Mar 24, 2026 +1

Many Buffy fans dislike the Xander character, played by Brendon but, I really liked him esp. with his dear friend Willow and later on acting like a big brother to a character named Dawn.

1

Sprinkle_Puff Mar 21, 2026 +6

David and Charismas tributes are quite beautiful

6

TheJuliettest Mar 22, 2026 +10

David’s is 100 percent chat gpt.

10

Divine_fashionva Mar 22, 2026 +4

Can’t blame him, they famously disliked each other for decades. He would’ve looked bad if he said nothing but he probably didn’t know what to say

4

Monkfich Mar 22, 2026 +2

Can anyone find Emma Caulfield’s post, that’s referenced in the article? I can see her instagram, but not anything about that clip.

2

roguefilmmaker Mar 23, 2026 +2

RIP, loved him on Buffy

2

NoString9289 Mar 24, 2026 +1

I agree, I thought Brendon was very good as Xander and I liked his character

1

thatshygirl06 Mar 21, 2026 +19

He was an abuser, he hurt multiple girlfriends of his. He choked one of them. Im tired of everyone acting like he was such a good guy just because he's dead now.

19

Divine_fashionva Mar 21, 2026 +81

Charisma Carpenter’s statement is perfect She said she misses the old version of him she knew decades ago, and also words her tribute with his victims in mind. SMG’s was short and respectful, she didn’t claim that they were best friends or that he was an amazing person. She would be expected to post something (by annoying fans) so I think she handled it the best way she could

81

theduncan Mar 21, 2026 +21

This is the problem when a cast member that people like from a distance dies, you have to post something, but no one wanted to work with him. The Buffy cast reunion, where he didn't film with the rest of the cast, was really telling that, he was on the outer with all but Emma Caulfield.

21

fre-ddo Mar 22, 2026 +1

Seems a bit nuts that he was invited back

1

singlefate Mar 21, 2026 +40

It's a complicated issue and not so black and white as reddit tends to think it is sometimes.

40

sbNXBbcUaDQfHLVUeyLx Mar 22, 2026 +11

Reddit is incapable of acknowledging that people contain multitudes.

11

[deleted] Mar 21, 2026 -3

[deleted]

-3

bbmarvelluv Mar 21, 2026 +1

Or that Mormon girl

1

kf97mopa Mar 21, 2026 +35

He wasn’t a good guy. He was an alcoholic with a painful spine condition from birth, and also someone who was sexually abused as a child. That made him lash out and hurt those around him when drunk or high. His friends still miss him and they say nice things now that he is dead. Several of them also acknowledge the other sides, but the article doesn’t focus on that.

35

Awkward_Bison_267 Mar 21, 2026 +14

He was not a good guy. HOWEVER maybe the fact that he abused drugs to deal with his spinal cord injuries, partial paralysis and permanent bladder issues was a factor. Context.

14

Tywooti Mar 21, 2026 +14

Plenty of people out there with chronic pain and traumatic histories, abusing drugs, and still not choking women

14

Awkward_Bison_267 Mar 21, 2026 +14

That’s fair. There are also plenty of people without chronic pain and traumatic histories and choking women. Moving on.

14

Significant-Turnip41 Mar 23, 2026 +1

Yes. We should never try to figure out why people become abusive and similar label them good or bad. You make a fine redditors and modern human.

1

cutcss Mar 21, 2026 -8

Ah, plenty of victims of child r*** have not become rapists so it's clearly a flaw on their characters when they become one, genius logic right there

-8

cutcss Mar 21, 2026 -6

In his childhood he was victim of sexual assault for 2 years by a teacher, I think it's a little weird when society let things like that happen and then expect role models out of them

-6

thatshygirl06 Mar 21, 2026 +5

Thats not an excuse to abuse people. There are plenty of people who were abused and they didnt grow up to hurt others. Not your fault, but it is your responsibility. Charles Manson grew up in an abusive household but does that excuse all the horrible things he's done?

5

cutcss Mar 21, 2026 -3

It's proven without doubt that when you are raped I'm your childhood the likelihood that you will become a rapist increases, you can call it "giving a excuse" or whatever dumb moniker you want, but if society wants to stop it from happening it should itself take some responsibility and stop giving leeway to such abuse if it doesn't want it to be repeated by the victims, ask the president what if he was ever stopped in his favorite island, ask the abusers in church of they didn't enjoy the cover up of the church, and the list goes on and on

-3

PrincessBonkers628 Mar 22, 2026 +1

Proven without a doubt how exactly?? Can you please cite your source? And make sure it includes the methodology!

1

cutcss Mar 22, 2026 +2

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213419302121

2

cutcss Mar 22, 2026 +1

https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/tandi440.pdf

1

Champagne_of_piss Mar 21, 2026 +7

Wasn't he a violent misogynist?

7

cutcss Mar 21, 2026

Also a child r*** victim, yes, he was many things.

0

sharkattackmiami Mar 22, 2026 +5

I'm sure that his girlfriend was thinking "I shouldn't be too hard on him, he was abused as a child" while his hands were wrapped around her throat

5

Massive_Weiner Mar 22, 2026 -1

It’s so annoying that people try to frame trauma as some sort of defense for why they do bad things to other people. You would think that someone who experienced that kind of torment would know better than anyone how shitty it feels, and wouldn’t subject someone else to it. But then again, there are a lot of people who have childhood trauma who go on to become caring, empathetic people.

-1

Significant-Turnip41 Mar 23, 2026 +1

It's almost like we as humans like to work out why people behave in version wait rather than boil it down to good versus evil. But hey maybe your right. There's got angels and bad angels and we all are one because God decided.

1

Massive_Weiner Mar 23, 2026 -1

I don’t blame God for the mistakes that *people* make.

-1

Eerazor Mar 21, 2026 +5

Great character. Left before his time.

5

Current--Anything Mar 21, 2026 +19

He was caught stalking his contractor three days ago. Wasn't anything great about this guy

19

colpo Mar 22, 2026 +6

Xander != Nicholas

6

Current--Anything Mar 22, 2026 -6

No shit, Sherlock. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/buffy-alum-nicholas-brendon-accused-of-putting-airtag-on-contractor-renovating-his-home-petitioner-claims-in-court/ar-AA1YV1qU

-6

colpo Mar 22, 2026 +6

Op said great character, not actor. Dumfuck.

6

Current--Anything Mar 22, 2026 -3

Do we understand that the character didn't die? Do we understand that "character" has multiple meanings? No? Clearly not

-3

bicycle_mice Mar 22, 2026 +6

People can still have complicated and sad feelings about losing someone closely tied to a show they loved. I know John Lennon was a f****** a****** but the Beatles are still my favorite band.

6

Current--Anything Mar 22, 2026 -3

You're describing parasocial relationships, which are unhealthy

-3

bicycle_mice Mar 22, 2026 +5

Hahaha people aren’t allowed to be fans anymore? Why go to a concert or live theatre? Project Hail Mary was almost 3 hours of pure charisma from Ryan Gosling but I can’t enjoy seeing him because it’s parasocial to want to hang out with him? Sure many people have unhealthy one sided relationships but enjoying the work of an artist is a meaningful way to connect with the world around you. I met a couple boyfriends because we liked the same bands!

5

Current--Anything Mar 22, 2026 -1

>Hahaha people aren’t allowed to be fans anymore? Nowhere did I say that.

-1

Divine_fashionva Mar 21, 2026 +25

Also abused multiple women and strangled his ex, she ended up in hospital I don’t think his victims will share the left before his time sentiment

25

Varekai79 Mar 21, 2026 +31

Which explains the wording of Charisma Carpenter's statement of condolence.

31

cutcss Mar 21, 2026 -2

In his childhood he was victim of sexual assault for 2 years by a teacher, I think it's a little weird when society let things like that happen and then expect role models out of them.

-2

UVIndigo Mar 22, 2026 +7

There are sadly millions of people living today who were sexually assaulted or physically abused as children and the majority of them don’t abuse others - and most of those who go on to abuse, lack resources for mental health. With all his resources and support, it’s inexcusable. I say this as someone who has had a very positive personal interaction with him that ended with a hug. He chose wrong multiple times despite opportunities and people in his life who wanted to actively help him and was given many second, third and fourth chances by too many people.

7

Divine_fashionva Mar 21, 2026 +8

Whilst it’s horrendous that he was abused, it does not excuse his choice to abuse others. Nobody was expecting him to be a role model. We just expected him to not subject other people to abuse and pain, because he knew firsthand what that felt like

8

Eerazor Mar 21, 2026 +7

Hence the great character ;)

7

NoString9289 Mar 24, 2026 +1

The person said that the "character" was great, not the actor himself.

1

RevoOps Mar 21, 2026 +2

But probably not his ex girlfriend.

2

meglobob Mar 22, 2026 -9

I guess he took the canceled, Buffy 'reboot', a bit too hard... Too soon?

-9

bartelbyfloats Mar 22, 2026 +14

It wouldn’t be funny later, either.

14

[deleted] Mar 21, 2026 -20

[deleted]

-20

Mouse-Direct Mar 21, 2026 +13

Nicholas was not part of the Buffy: New Sunnydale pilot. He was uninsurable due to his addiction history.

13

Divine_fashionva Mar 21, 2026 +9

And domestic abuse charges. He even said the cast stopped talking to him after his arrests, and understandably so

9

[deleted] Mar 21, 2026 +4

[deleted]

4

pepperbet1 Mar 21, 2026 +5

His brother was mostly a double in that, unless they were standing side by side. Aside from a couple of very brief moments, Nicholas shouldered the job of playing both versions of Xander throughout the episode. *despite being twins, they have subtly different likenesses and voices, so it's easy to differentiate on a close watch.

5

Nicholas Brendon's 'Buffy' Co-Stars Pay Tribute After His Death

💬 Send a Message

77 Comments