Date Of Birth
12 April 1971
Biography
Actor Nicholas Brendon Schultz was born on April 12, 1971 in Los Angeles, California. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was forced to give up his ambitions after suffering an arm injury. He decided to try acting when he was 20 years old, to help him overcome his stuttering problem. He played the occasional guest role, first appearing in an episode of Married… with Children, and later appearing in his first film, as a bit player in Children of the Corn III.
Brendon then quit the profession, because he “couldn’t stand the politics in Hollywood.” He decided to return to school and study medicine, but that didn’t work out either. He then entered several odd jobs, before finally deciding to give acting another try. After spending a few days auditioning, he snagged a role in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, taking the role of the eccentric Xander Harris. Initially introduced as comic relief and mere sidekick to the female lead characters (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan), his character was later developed to a more mature one, being given less comedic storylines. He was part of the cast throughout the show’s run.
In 2005, two years after Buffy ended its run, Brendon joined the cast of another television series, Kitchen Confidential. The series, which is adapted from a book written by Anthony Bourdain, saw him play the lead character’s (Bradley Cooper) colleagues, Seth Richman. Originally set to run for 13 episodes, the show suffered from dismal ratings and was cancelled outright after only four episodes. He would then join the cast of the animated Disney series American Dragon: Jake Long, providing the voice for bumbling villain Huntsboy #89. Most recently, he took a recurring role in the crime drama Criminal Minds, as former hacker and Penelope Garcia’s (Kirsten Vangsness) love interest Kevin Lynch.
Place of Birth
Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth Name
Nicholas Brendon Schultz
Gender
Male
Fun Facts
Got into acting as a way to overcome his stuttering problem.
Twin brother of Kelly Donovan. Nicholas is 3 minutes younger. He also has two younger brothers, Christian and Kyle Schultz.
Attended Pasadena City College.
Served as the honorary chairperson of the Stuttering Foundation of America’s Stuttering Awareness Week in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
During the off-season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997) Nicholas often grew a goatee, while brother, Kelly, stays clean-shaven. This often led to fans mistaking Kelly for Nicholas.
He was Marley Shelton’s high school prom date. He bought her 100 roses, wore a tux and drove a black convertible Mustang. Marley said that he “totally did it right”.
Appeared with David Boreanaz (Angel), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), and Mark Lutz (Groosalugg) at the Angel And Buffy Convention held at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, 29 August, 2003.
Named #4 of the Top Ten Sexiest Men of the Buffy / Angel universe in a fan poll by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanzine (2004).
Mother is talent agent Kathleen Schultz.
Enjoys baseball, camping, and spending quality time with family and friends. An early aspiration to play professional baseball was cut short after an arm injury in his teen years.
Was the original choice to play Malcolm Reynolds on “Firefly” (2002), but was unavailable due to his Buffy schedule. The part went to Nathan Fillion instead.
Awards
Nominated for three Saturn Awards
Nickname
Nicky
Height
5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
Quotes
“I want people to say, ‘Nicholas Brendon, he’s supposedly the nicest guy in the world.’ I want to do good work, but more than that, I want to stay a good human being. That’s more important than any character I play.”
[on why “Buffy” never won Emmy Awards:] “It’s because it’s called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997). I mean, we’ve even joked about how we should do an episode where Sarah [Michelle Gellar] is a doctor, I’m a lawyer … get every angle they vote for just to give them a big one of those [raises his middle finger].”
[on preparing to finish the BtVS series:] “It sucks, because with how this year ended, and with what’s gonna happen next year, it’s gonna go out on top. We’re having a lot of fun doing it. This last year was my most fun year doing the show. But that’s life in showbiz, and I’ll just do something else.” [May 2, 2002]
[on Joss Whedon’s decision to end “BtVS” because of handling too many projects:] “Joss always wanted to be attached to it, and as his schedule’s becoming thinner, it’s harder for him to be a part of the show. It was his baby, so if he can’t be a part of it like he wants to, then it’s just not gonna run. It’s gonna be really sad for me after 144 episodes. It was my first job. I went through a lot of changes personally in that time, so it’s gonna be a teary goodbye.” [May 2, 2002]
“We had better music at Sunnydale’s prom than at my real-life prom. And at my prom, I didn’t really have a date, which is sort of what happens to Xander. At my real prom, I kind of ducked out the hotel ballroom and watched a Dodger game until 3 a.m. because it went about 22 innings. And my friends were saying, ‘Oh no! Where’d Nick go?’ I think I was trying to get people to worry about me. That whole teenage angst thing.” [New York Times, May 9, 1999]
I never, ever thought that Xander should be in construction. [At the science fiction and fantasy convention DragonCon in 2006, when asked if there was ever a time when he thought that Xander was written to be “out of character.”]
