David Boreanaz Remembers “Brother” Nicholas Brendon After His Death

News Moderator - Tomas KauerMarch 22, 20262 Mins read4 Views

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Nicholas Brendon, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Actor, Dead at 54

For David Boreanaz, it was all about the small moments with costar Nicholas Brendon.

Following Brendon’s death on March 20 at age 54, his former Buffy the Vampire Slayer costar honored the actor with a touching tribute reflecting on their time on set.

“There are people you work with and then there are people you share time with. Nick was the latter,” Boreanaz wrote in a March 21 Instagram post. “Some people leave a mark without trying.”

Boreanaz—who played Angel on the series—remembered how they’d laugh together between takes or share “a look that says we got this,” recalling his appreciation for how the pair had a “quiet understanding of showing up and doing the work together.”

“He carried something real. Not perfect. Not polished. Just real,” Boreanaz continued. “And in this business that matters more than most things. We don’t always get to choose how long someone stays in the story only that they were here. And he was.”

He concluded, “Rest easy Brother.”

Indeed, Boreanaz feels lucky to have been part of Joss Whedon‘s iconic supernatural show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, previously sharing how he was only supposed to be in six of 12 episodes.

“It happened so quickly, but in order for things to happen quickly when you recognize them, you have to be ready; when it hits, it’s quick,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. “When Buffy hit, I was in the right spot at the right time, but I had been struggling for years just to get in the door. I couldn’t even do a commercial, like a gum commercial without freaking out.”

But following the success of Buffy, he added, “You have to go through the pain to get to the other end, and then once you get to the top, you’re not down—you gotta climb other mountains.”

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And Brendon climbed those mountains right alongside him, playing Xander on the series from 1997 to 2003 before taking on roles in shows like Criminal Minds and Private Practice, as well as films including Coherence and Attack of the Morningside Monster. He’s also slated to appear in the upcoming projects Best Sheep and Once in a Blue Moon, per IMDb.

However, in recent years, Brendon had faced multiple health battles, including his diagnosis with cauda equina syndrome, a rare disorder that occurs when nerve roots in the spine are compressed, which can “result in permanent paralysis, impaired bladder and/or bowel control, loss of sexual sensation and other problems” if not treated, per Parkland Health.

Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

Brendon underwent two surgeries in 2021 to manage the condition. He was then hospitalized the following year due to tachycardia—an abnormal heart rhythm—and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.

He died in his sleep of natural causes, his family confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter March 20.

Read on for a look back at Brendon’s life in photos.

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