The cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are remembering their co-star Nicholas Brendon, who has passed away at the age of 54.
Co-star Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg on the hit series, posted a heartfelt farewell on Instagram on Friday.
“Thank you my sweet Nicki for all the years of laughter, love, and Dodgers,” she captioned a still from season six of the series. “Every time I look at the rocking chair I think of you. I love you. Rest in peace 💔😢”
Emma Caulfield, who played Brendon’s on-again, off-again girlfriend on the show, said on her Instagram Story: “My heart is heavy. I still can’t express how much this has affected me.”
She then shared a clip of herself and the actor “giving it their all” in season six’s famous musical episode, adding: “Rest, Nicki. Rest. I love you.”
The actor’s death was announced by his family in a social media statement on Friday.
“We are saddened by the loss of our brother and son Nicholas Brendon,” the statement said. “He passed away in his sleep from natural causes. Most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and the characters he brought to life over the years.”
“In recent years, Nikki has developed a passion for painting and art. Nikki loved sharing her enthusiastic talent with her family, friends, and fans.”
“He was passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create. Those who truly knew him understood that his art was the purest reflection of who he was as a person.”
“It is no secret that Nicholas had a difficult past, but he was on medication and treatment to overcome his diagnosis and was optimistic about his future at the time of his death.”
The message concludes by asking the public for privacy as the actor’s surviving family “mours his death and honors the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart.”
Before his death, the “Criminal Minds” alum had been hospitalized in 2022 following a “heart incident” and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
“Nicki is doing well now, but about two weeks ago she had to be rushed to the hospital due to a cardiac event (tachycardia/arrhythmia),” her sister captioned a now-deleted merry-go-round on her Instagram account, which showed the beloved actor in an ambulance and in a hospital room.
“Some of you may remember that he had a similar incident last year after his second spinal surgery (on Cauda Ema), but this time. He is trying to get some more rest and is concentrating on his medical appointments.”
The actor also underwent spinal surgery in recent years to deal with paralysis in his legs and genitals, but his manager claimed the paralysis was worsened by sleeping on concrete in his prison cell after his arrest for prescription fraud in 2021.
In a 2017 interview with The AV Club, the actor who played Xander Harris on Buffy spoke out harshly about the cast.
When asked who he would play if he wasn’t cast as Xander, he jokingly replied, “Buffy, and for a reason I can’t say.”
He added, “It’s just that everyone did such a great job. It was one of those shows where I felt like they were perfectly cast.”
