He Said, She Said

Teen Magazine
October 2000

We challenged Great Model Search winner Yammile to interview witmaster Nicholas Brendon. Who says models can’t talk?

Yammile: I just got a big break, winning the Teen and Maybelline Great Model Search. What was it like when you got your first big break?
Nicholas: My first break was my elbow. I broke my radial and had two pins in there. It really hurt.
Y: C’mon, really…!
N: Really, getting a break was exciting. You don’t know where your life’s going to go, but it’s nothing but excitement. When I booked Buffy, I had eight days before we went into production. So I had four days of elation and four days of absolute terror because I’d never really acted in front of a camera before. It was a lot of fear, but that really good-feeling fear in your belly, like first love or first dates – you have no idea what’s in store.

Y: What was the first thing you missed about being an anonymous, non-celebrity, normal person?
N: I don’t know if I was ever normal, really. I have an identical twin, and he has to deal with it, too. Once, at an In-N-Out Burger, there was this bus full of teenage girls and they thought he was me and he said, “No, no, I’m his twin brother!” That made the girls so mad they started throwing hamburgers and french fries at his car. He’s not big on my fame thing.

Y: Have you and your brother ever girlfriend-swapped or assumed the other’s identity, like for a big test in school?
N: I only assumed his identity once, when he was a superhero, because he lost his powers tragically. Bad accident…

Y: Got it! Is there any way you take advantage of being a star?
N: I get to work with people like you.

Y: Aw, thanks! What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of high school?
N: Absolute terror, loathing and playing baseball. High school wasn’t a good experience for me.
Y: Oh, sorry! Were you voted most likely to something?
N: Probably most likely to spontaneously combust.

Y: Just out of curiosity, did you vote for me at [Great Model Search]?
N: Yes! They actually asked me point blank who I thought should win, and I said you.

Y: Thank you. If you weren’t actor-guy, what profession would you choose?
N: Maybe…
Y: Male stripper?
N: Male stripper is definitely one of them. Cosmetology, maybe horticulture. Also, astronaut, police detective or some sort of demigod person.

Y: Cool! What would you do for $100 million?
N: For $100 million? I would walk into a McDonald’s, continue into the men’s restroom and eat the blue urinal cake. You got the money?
Y: Eew! I guess we’re not going to McDonald’s! If you got the money, would you spend it on any cosmetic surgery, and if so, what would you have done?
N: I would probably enlarge my pinkie toe. I think it would be kind of cool to have a really, really long pinkie toe, just to hang from trees and freak your friends out. It’d be a party favor, really. Like, if the party’s bombing, it’s like, “No, no, before you guys go, watch this.”

Y: Why don’t you have a special power/skill like all the other characters on Buffy?
N: Well, I do. I’m good with the ladies. Joss Whedon, the creator of the show, wanted somebody who was normal.
Y: But you’re not normal…
N: On the show I am. There’s Xander and there’s Nick. Nick’s a wacky guy; Xander probably couldn’t have handled this photo shoot. He probably would have been humping your leg like a dog. It’s true.

Y: Good thing Xander’s not here! OK, hypothetically speaking, I have the hots for you. What do I do to guarantee you’ll ask me out?
N: Hmmm… nudity is always good.
Y: Drop all the clothes?
N: Yes, throw ‘em down! Actually, as long as a girl’s not foaming at the mouth or saying crazy religious things at me, I’m into it. Also, it helps if you have a CD of Barry Manilow’s Greatest Hits, Volume III.

Y: Can you describe your perfect girlfriend?
N: Oh, 5’8”, Italian, great personality. There has to be some Italian in there.
Y: I’m Italian.
N: Are you 5’8”?
Y: You’re describing me!
N: What are we doing here? This interview is over.

Editor’s note: Nicholas and Yammile were just flirting! Nicholas totally has a girlfriend!