Nicholas Brendon, who received critical and popular acclaim for his portrayal of sensitive, wisecracking "Xander Harris" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, turned to acting when his aspirations of playing professional baseball were squelched by a serious arm injury.

Nicholas first appeared on television in a handful of commercials and series guest spots. Feeling slightly disenchanted with Hollywood, he took a personal hiatus to play the "real life" roles of production assistant, plumber's assistant, veterinary janitor, food delivery guy, script delivery guy, day care counselor and waiter.

He was fired from all but one of the aforementioned positions.

During his seventh year in the F&B (Food and Beverage service, for the layman), Nicholas decided to give acting another go; after two months of auditioning, he landed the role of Xander and hung up his apron for good. During his hiatuses from the show he starred in the motion pictures Psycho Beach Party and Demon Island. After Buffy wrapped, Nicholas tackled the roles of "Dana" in the 2004 ABC Family movie Celeste in the City, "Seth" in the 2005 Fox series Kitchen Confidential and "Gil" in the 2006 ABC Family movie Relative Chaos.

Offscreen, the LA native enjoys quality time with his loved ones, Dodger games and cooking. He also devotes himself to awareness efforts on behalf of the Stuttering Foundation of America. Nicholas, whose fans have raised more than $5,000 for the SFA through his official Web site, served as honorary chairperson of the charity's Stuttering Awareness Week from 2000-2003. He's the first person to serve in the role for three consecutive years.