Brendon

Nicholas Brendon, best known for portraying the loyal, wisecracking Xander Harris in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” died Friday from natural causes after dealing with a congenital heart defect and other health issues in recent years. He was 54.

His family shared news of his passing in a statement posted on the actor’s social media accounts. While it’s “no secret Nicholas had struggles in the past,” they said, he was on medication to manage his diagnosis and “optimistic about the future” at the time of his death.

His siblings and parents asked for privacy as they grieve the loss of “a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart.”

“He was passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create,” the family stated. “Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was.”

Brendon was born in Los Angeles in 1971 and began his acting career in the mid-’90s. He got his big break in 1997 when he was cast as Harris in “Buffy.” Over the show’s seven-season run, Brendon became a central figure, portraying the witty, insecure but dependable “everyman” in the gang’s battles against the forces of darkness.

He starred in his first feature film, “Psycho Beach Party,” in 2000, playing the love interest Starcat in the indie flick that’s now regarded as a cult classic.

After “Buffy” ended in 2003, Brendon continued working in television, making appearances on series such as “Without a Trace,” “Private Practice,” and “Kitchen Confidential.” He also played a recurring role as FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch on “Criminal Minds.”

In 2022, his family shared that he had been rushed to the hospital because of tachycardia, a condition that makes the heart beat abnormally fast, and had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that is common in twins. Brendon has an identical twin brother named Kelly Donovan, who appeared as his stand-in and double in episodes of “Buffy.”

The “Criminal Minds” star also underwent multiple spinal surgeries to manage cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition in which nerve bundles in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or not functioning properly. His serious spinal injury was triggered by a fall in 2021, which required emergency surgery to prevent paralysis, his manager Theresa Fortier said in a statement at the time.

In recent years, he developed a love for painting and the arts and enjoyed sharing his emerging talent with family and friends, his family said.

Former Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.

“I’m enjoying the role across all formats and I’d love to carry that on,” added McCullum.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to be in this position over the past three and a half years. I feel like we’ve made some significant improvements across the various formats.

“Yes, we’ve missed some opportunities, but I think this team has a real opportunity over the coming years to continue to improve and hopefully finish what we started. I’d love to be a part of that.”

Key backed McCullum during the Ashes, but neither ECB chief executive Richard Gould nor chair Richard Thompson have publicly spoken on his future.

At the end of the Ashes, McCullum also received support from Test skipper Ben Stokes, while the relationship between McCullum and Brook has blossomed during the T20 World Cup.

Asked after the semi-final defeat if McCullum should stay in charge, Brook said: “125%. I’ve said plenty of times he’s the best coach I’ve ever had.

“The way he speaks to everybody, he’s got an aura in the dressing room, and everybody looks up to him. The things he’s done over the four years since he took over has changed English cricket for hopefully the best.

“Our partnership has been good throughout the competition and since I’ve taken over. Long may it continue.”

Failures in away Ashes tours have often signalled change in the management of England teams.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former England captain Nasser Hussain said the ECB has to guard against repeating the mistakes of the past, while not ignoring the failures of this latest defeat in Australia.

“What you have to get away from is going to the Ashes, you lose, you get rid of the coach and captain, and you start all over again. I’m never a fan of that,” said Hussain.

“But I’m also not keen on, a couple of months later, forgetting what happened in the Ashes, and how poor England were on and off the field – all the mistakes that were made.

“There is a feeling Brook and McCullum are aligned, but there is a suggestion there was a divergence during the Ashes and that is a concern.

“They’ve made good decisions in the white-ball game that they didn’t in the Ashes. They missed an opportunity there and you can’t just brush over that.”