While Nicholas Brendon is likely best know for some of the iconic roles he played, Xander (Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997-2003), and Kevin Lynch (Criminal Minds appearing in 21 episodes from Season 3 to Season 10), I will always remember him for his radical honesty in dealing with depression.
Nicholas Brendon dealt with many struggles in his time on this Earth. Born with a stutter that he strove hard to overcome, he became a spokesperson for the Stuttering Foundation of America. He spoke publicly about his difficulties, and about how scary it was to try to get into acting knowing he had this issue. He did say he used acting, and acting exercises (tongue twisters) to help him overcome his stutter. Shortly after Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended he went into rehab for the first time for alcohol abuse in 2004. In 2015 he went into a dual treatment facility for depression and substance abuse. Nicholas Brendon would hold fireside chit chats on Facebook live and other platforms, where he spoke about his struggles with depression, but also talked about hope. I like to think the actor took strength as he was giving strength during these talks. I first learned of his struggles when following him on Twitter where he gave updates on his life that frequently appeared with the hashtag #kickingdepressionintheballsack.
Nicholas Brendon has also been credited by Joss Whedon for being where Tony Stark’s shawarma line comes from in Avengers.
“Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.” -Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) Avengers (2012)
This was evidently something Nicholas Brendon said at the end of his audition for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was brilliant in Coherence (2013) where he played Mike, the host of a dinner party of friends. Mike is a recovering alcoholic in the movie. Since 2020 Nicholas has performed in several films two of which have yet to release.
Most recently Nicholas Brendon would be known for his artwork. He did photography and painting.
With how open he was about everything, hearing about his sudden passing I did fear the worst. While I am saddened to lose an advocate for people in many situations, I was glad to hear that he left this Earth peacefully in his sleep.
Been a real weird week for mixed legacies, with this and Norris.
Agreed
Once upon a time, Xander was the character a lot of young men related to on Buffy. In retrospect, he’s probably too much of a surrogate for Whedon’s darker side, but there was something to seeing a nerdy character who wasn’t always the butt of the joke and even more than a bit competent, and Brendon really got the part right. (Not his fault if the character wasn’t really what we thought he was.)
Looks like life dealt the poor guy a bad hand outside of his mental health issues. My sympathies to his family (IIRC, he had a twin brother, and I know from my own family how hard losing a twin can be).