Nicholas Brendon on Getting His Xander Up

E!Online Interview
April 2001

Nicholas Brendon describes his character as "the normal one," but if you've seen his portrayal of Xander, you know he's anything but. He's goofy; he's lovable--he's in love with a humanized demon. And from what we hear, his offscreen life is even more exciting these days.

Congratulations. We heard you just got engaged. How did you propose?
Thank you. I bought a ring, and I took her to Sausalito, in Northern California, and we got a hotel room that overlooked the water. I sang a song we like--it's called "And We Danced," by Mark Paisley. And we kind of act out things sometimes, so we did. In the song, he takes a diamond ring out of his pocket, and I did, and she cried, and we were engaged.

Sounds romantic. Now let's talk Buffy a bit. When you first started the show, did you think you'd make it this far?
I didn't think about anything except for the fact that I'd gotten a job. I had only been acting for about three months, so I was just beside myself when I got the male lead. It was like, Criminy! Can I do it? I freaked out a lot. And then once we started going, we got in our groove, and you do kind of forget that it's a big deal--that today's a milestone.

"The Body," the episode in which Buffy's mother dies, is phenomenal. What was it like shooting it?
It was actually great, because Joss did such a great job writing it. I thought it was going to be much more somber, but it really opened people up. I've never lost anyone yet, like that, but it did really affect people, and it was a lot warmer on the set than I'd anticipated. People were kind of reminiscing and going through that. It was a blessing.

Any hints on what's coming up for Xander?
Hang on a sec. Hey, Joss! Can I tell them what's coming up? Yes? Okay, Joss is drunk. He's drunk on love.

No, but Xander, he's growing up. I think things are being set up; there's some stuff coming up that's shocking. And that's all I can say because, um, Joss is right behind me. Otherwise I'd tell you everything. [Laughs.]

From Maria in London: How do you feel about fans coming up to you?
As long as they don't have any sort of weapon, I'm good with it. My twin brother gets a lot of that, because I'm working a lot, and he goes out a lot more. So, we've kind of gone through how to sign my name, so if there's, like, a kid who has really mustered up the courage to ask, he'll do it for me.

From Adam Lee in Ontario, California: Have we seen the end of any Buffy/Xander romantic storyline?
Never say never. Hey, man, I'm just stoked to be having a girl right now. I mean, I'm talking having--like biblically having--a girl right now. So, I'm not complaining. I'm not going to be giving any suggestions to Joss, or I might be out on the streets again: "Will act for food."

From Josie in Palo Alto, California: What do want to happen to your character next season?
I want him to be a sculptor. I can make bowls--you know, do the wheely thing. And wear a lot of sexy white T-shirts. I would like for him to not talk for a while and just do sign language, but he's signing with, say, a Scottish accent. People think that might be easy, but signing in a Scottish accent while molding clay--that's pretty tough.