# Damn, Xander's dead. (Nicholas Brendon) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640 "2026-03-21T02:04:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/1 "2026-03-21T02:04:08Z")
> **[Nicholas Brendon, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Star, Dies at 54](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nicholas-brendon-dead-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-1236543090/)** > > Best known for playing the lovable sidekick on the groundbreaking drama, he also had a recurring role in 'Criminal Minds' and starred in the film adaptation of Charles Busch's 'Psycho Beach Party.' ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/2 "2026-03-21T02:12:13Z")
Very sad news. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/3 "2026-03-21T02:14:42Z")
I liked Psycho Beach Party! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/4 "2026-03-21T02:25:00Z")
The Zeppo is such a fun episode. I hope drugs and alcohol weren’t a factor. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/5 "2026-03-21T02:46:15Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I hope drugs and alcohol weren’t a factor. He’d had a lot of legal issues over the last 15 years, as well as issues with alcohol and drugs. But, it sounds like the bigger, more recent, issues he’s had have been health-related, including serious issues with a back injury (which led to at least temporary paralysis in his lower body), and a heart issue. He hadn’t had a movie or TV role since 2021, and I might suspect that his health was a big part of why. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/6 "2026-03-21T03:00:55Z")
Andy Hallet, who only appeared on Angel, also died very young. For him, it was a dental problem. I believe he waited for the Angel finale to go get his tooth taken care of. Infection ran to the heart. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/7 "2026-03-21T03:06:09Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Andy Hallet, who only appeared on Angel, also died very young. Also another Angel cast member, Glenn Quinn, who died of a heroin overdose. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/8 "2026-03-21T03:11:18Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Also another Angel cast member, Glenn Quinn, who died of a heroin overdose Yeah, Quinn was basically an addict who landed the show. I wasn’t as sad about his death since he died only a small number of episodes in. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/9 "2026-03-21T03:27:51Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Also another Angel cast member, Glenn Quinn, who died of a heroin overdose. We’ve also lost national-treasure Paul Reubens and out of nowhere death Luke Perry, both in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/10 "2026-03-21T03:53:14Z")
Very sad. I just saw the one-man play [Buffy Revamped](https://www.buffyrevamped.co.uk/) a couple days ago in Chicago. Weird coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/11 "2026-03-21T11:48:34Z")
And Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, died at 39. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/12 "2026-03-21T12:03:56Z")
The BuffyVerse has had some very bad luck with cast longevity (see also Babylon Five) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/13 "2026-03-21T12:16:37Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yeah, Quinn was basically an addict who landed the show. I wasn’t as sad about his death since he died only a small number of episodes in. IIRC, he got fired for his drug use, and died a short while later. His character was given a heroic exit from the show, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/14 "2026-03-21T13:14:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > IIRC, he got fired for his drug use, and died a short while later. His character was given a heroic exit from the show, at least You are correct. I actually associate his show death with his actual death. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/15 "2026-03-21T13:24:15Z")
Ooops…re-post ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/16 "2026-03-21T13:27:18Z")
Oh my - very sad. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/17 "2026-03-21T14:16:42Z")
I just saw him in _Coherence_. A strange surreal movie about a comet and a dinner party. Highly recommended if you like weird unsettling films. Nicholas Brandon is the only actor I knew. He was good in it, though he was playing a character with an alcohol problem, so he might have been playing himself. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/18 "2026-03-21T14:20:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Mahaloth](#): > > > > Yeah, Quinn was basically an addict who landed the show. I wasn’t as sad about his death since he died only a small number of episodes in. > > IIRC, he got fired for his drug use, and died a short while later. His character was given a heroic exit from the show, at least. It’s been a long time since I read up on it so forgive me if I get it wrong. I believe that they have never said he was fired for drug use. At the time and after it the producers said it was a planned exit. No one actually believed it and it’s felt that there was genuine affection for the actor so they gave him a dignified exit. As far as I know Whedon has always said Quinn wasn’t fired and he knew his role was going to be limited. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/19 "2026-03-21T17:07:45Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > As far as I know Whedon has always said Quinn wasn’t fired and he knew his role was going to be limited. I do think David Fury, though, said it was difficult on set with Glenn Quinn. > [@](#): > > Fury also confirmed what many suspected: The death of Doyle (Glenn Quinn) on “Buffy” spin-off “Angel” last season was not planned from the start of the series. > > “Joss has bandied about, ‘I love the idea of putting a character in the main credits as one of the stars of the show and then kill him right off the bat,’” Fury said. “But in the case of Doyle, he didn’t want to kill off Doyle. It just became a situation. The work situation became difficult… It’s hard enough to make a television show without the headaches.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640/20 "2026-03-21T17:29:56Z")
I have no doubt it was at least one of the reasons but most of the cast and crew liked him and didn’t want to badmouth him either when he was alive or after. It’s been long speculated about with fans. To bring it back to the subject, Nicholas Brendon was written out of _Criminal Minds_ in the middle of a lot of his legal troubles. It wasn’t quite so dramatic as being killed off in a heroic act but they eased the character out. He wasn’t one of the mains so it wasn’t that hard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-xanders-dead-nicholas-brendon/1028640.md?page=2)