Nicholas Brendon was an American actor, writer, photographer, and painter (Nicky would likely say “T, don’t forget to add SINGER!!!” even as just a wink to his momma). He was born three minutes after his identical twin brother, actor Kelly Donovan on April 12, 1971 in Los Angeles, California. He attended Chatsworth High School, where he was a starter on the baseball team and dreamed of one day playing for the LA Dodgers. Those dreams shifted when he injured his arm about a year after graduating, setting him on a different path — one that would lead him to a lifetime of entertaining and creating.

Nicky got his big break when he landed the role of Xander Harris on the hugely successful TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer which ran from 1997 until 20033 and built a devoted cult following along with a large fan base for Brendon himself. He and his brother Kelly appeared together on screen in the episode "The Replacement," in which Xander contends with a seemingly sinister double.

Brendon’s first major feature film role came with Charles Busch’s satire Psycho Beach Party (2000). He went on to star in the ABC Family original movie Celeste in the City (2004) and the following year joined the cast of Kitchen Confidential, based on the book by chef Anthony Bourdain. In 2006, he voiced Huntsboy #89in the second season of the animated series American Dragon: Jake Long, and that same year reunited with his former Buffy co-star Charisma Carpenter in the ABC Family TV movie Relative Chaos.

From July 26 through August 30, 2006, Brendon co-starred with Noah Wyle in the play 'Lobster Alice' at the Blank Theatre Company in Los Angeles. He subsequently appeared in the Blank Theatre's annual Young Playwrights Festival and its productions of ‘The SantaLand Diaries’ (November - December 2009) and 'Why Torture is Wrong, and The People Who Love Them.‘

In 2007, Brendon began appearing on the hit TV series Criminal Minds in the recurring role of FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch, a part he played through the show’s tenth season. In September 2010, he premiered his web comic 'Very Bad Koalas', co-created with animation director/producer Steve Loter, following two sheltered and innocent koalas on the run from the law in a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado. That October, he took on a four-episode arc on ABC’s Private Practice playing Lee McHenry, a mentally disturbed man who assaults Charlotte King.

In 2014, Brendon played a pivotal role in Carter Covington's MTV series Faking It as Jackson Lee, a mentor to Gregg Sulkin's character Liam Booker. That same year, he joined a summit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book writers for Dark Horse, alongside Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson, Drew Greenberg, Andrew Chambliss, and incoming Buffy writer Christos Gage. He is credited as co-writer on several issues of the show’s canonical comic series, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Ten, Vol. 1 reaching the New York Times Best Seller List. 

He continued acting in film and television, including the critically acclaimed Coherence; Redwood, which won Best Thriller at The National Film Awards UK; The Nanny; Dark/Web; and, in a starring role, Douglas Wynter in Yesterday Is Almost Here.

In February 2021, Nicky suffered a severe spinal injury requiring urgent surgery to prevent paralysis from Cauda Equina Syndrome. The aftermath brought additional surgeries and health complications, and he ultimately retired from acting to focus his energy and creative talents on writing and painting.

Even while facing these health challenges, he was looking forward to the future at his new home. He was excited to watch Dodgers spring training, celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef and cabbage, and was looking forward to watching the canopy of leaves fill in over his back deck. He passed away on March 20, 2026 — sadly too soon, but thankfully having made it to the first day of spring.

*A sincere thank you to Gavin Rodrigues for creating the original oil on canvas painting of Nicky shared above.