\n<\/p>\n
Nicholas Brendon, best known for playing the loyal, intelligent Xander Harris on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” died Friday of natural causes after dealing with a congenital heart defect and other health problems in recent years. He was 54 years old.<\/p>\n
His family shared the news of his demise in a statement posted on the actor’s social media accounts. Although it is “no secret that Nicholas has struggled in the past,” she said, at the time of his death he was taking medication to manage his diagnosis and was “optimistic about the future.” <\/p>\n
His siblings and parents asked for privacy as they were mourning the loss of “a man who lived with intensity, imagination and heart.”<\/p>\n
“He was passionate, sensitive and infinitely inspired to create,” the family said. “Those who really knew him understood that his art was the purest reflection of his personality.”<\/p>\n
Brendan was born in Los Angeles in 1971 and began his acting career in the mid-90s. Her big break came in 1997 when she was cast in the role of Harris in “Buffy”. Over the course of the show’s seven seasons, Brendan became a central figure, portraying the witty, insecure but trustworthy “everyman” in the gang’s fight against the forces of darkness.<\/p>\n
She starred in her first feature film, “Psycho Beach Party” in 2000, playing girlfriend Starcat in the indie flick, now considered a cult classic. <\/p>\n
After “Buffy” ended in 2003, Brendan continued to work in television, starring in series such as “Without a Trace,” “Private Practice,” and “Kitchen Confidential.” He also played the recurring role of FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch in “Criminal Minds”.<\/p>\n
In 2022, their family shared that they were rushed to the hospital due to tachycardia, a condition that causes the heart to beat abnormally fast, and were diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that is common in twins. Brandon has an identical twin brother named Kelly Donovan, who appeared as his stand-in and double in episodes of “Buffy”. <\/p>\n
The “Criminal Minds” star had to undergo multiple spinal surgeries to manage cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition in which nerve bundles in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or do not function properly. His manager Theresa Fortier said in a statement at the time that he suffered a severe spinal injury in a fall in 2021, requiring emergency surgery to prevent paralysis.<\/p>\n
His family said that in recent years, he developed a love for painting and art and enjoyed sharing his budding talents with family and friends. <\/p>\n
Former Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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