Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz and More ‘Buffy’ Stars Remember Nicholas Brendon: ‘He Carried Something Real’
Fans and family members aren’t the only ones remembering “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Nicholas Brendon — his coworkers on the hit series have also offered their own tributes. As David Boreanaz wrote on Instagram, “Some people leave a mark without trying.”
Boreanaz shared a photo of himself and Brendon from the “Buffy” era and shared, “There are people you work with and then there are people you share time with. Nick was the latter. Some moments stay small on paper. A laugh between takes. A look that says we got this. The quiet understanding of showing up and doing the work together.”
He continued, “But those are the things that last. He carried something real. Not perfect, not polished, just real. And in this business that matters more than most things.”
“We don’t always get to choose how long someone stays in the story, only that they were here,” Boreanaz added. “And he was … Rest easy Brother. Some people leave a mark without trying.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred as the titular character in the series, also offered a tribute to Brendon.
“‘They’ll never know how tough it is to be the one who isn’t chosen. To live so near to the spotlight, and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes, because nobody’s watching me,’ I saw you Nicky. I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky,” Gellar wrote, quoting a monologue Brendon delivered in the show.
“My Sweet Nicky, thank you for years of laughter, love and Dodgers,” wrote Alyson Hanigan on Instagram. “I will think of you every time I see a rocking chair. I love you. RIP .”
Emma Caufield, whose character was engaged to Brendon’s on the series, shared a reel featuring the pair in her Instagram Story and captioned it, “My heart is heavy. I can’t put into words just yet how hard this has hit me. Let this clip of us giving it all be a place holder. Rest Nicky. Rest. I love you.”
“I will miss the version of the man I once knew – someone who was so warm and loving. He was cuddly, funny, silly, self-deprecating, and supremely talented. I loved every scene we had together back in the day. He always kept me on my toes, never delivering a line the same way twice, forcing me to become a better actor by listening,” Charisma Carpenter wrote on Instagram.
“I will always remember him in my mind’s eye, in his trailer with the door wide open, in his rocking chair, smoking a cigarette and listening to music. From his trailer, which my window faced on the lot, I could hear all the bands that exemplify the 90s but are also, for me, tied up in the memory of Nicky. Bands like: Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers, STP, Foo Fighters, OMC, Green Day, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Sublime, Creed, Barenaked Ladies, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cranberries, Lauryn Hill, Blink-182, 311, Blur, Garbage, Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls. I miss those days and cling to those memories of him today.”
“I offer my condolences to his family, his closest friends – who were with him to the end – and to the fans around the world who found comfort in his work,” she concluded. “May he be at peace now.”
Brendon’s family said the actor died in his sleep of natural causes.
“We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon,” his family said in a statement first shared by The Hollywood Reporter. “He passed in his sleep of natural causes. 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.”
Brendon was diagnosed with cauda equina syndromea, a condition that occurs when the bundle of nerves below the end of the spinal cord is damaged, and underwent two surgeries in 2021. In 2023 he revealed he had suffered a heart attack and been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
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