BUFFY BONUS

Nicholas Brendon talks Snoopy Dances, butt monkeys and more.

January 10, 2001

Nicholas Brendon is spinning gold. Or at least, that's what he keeps telling us.

"Hey you came to me!" he chuckles, after eliciting a few groans with an off-color joke, the likes of which I can't print in this space. "It's gold, it's gold. I'm spinning gold for you!"

Indeed. It's Saturday night at posh Pasadena eatery Il Fornaio, and the WB stars have come out to shine and chat it up with TV critics. Elsewhere in the joint, Nic's Buffy co-stars are also holding court -- bubbly Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn) easily charms with animated conversation, while Amber Benson (Tara), glam in a slinky black off-the-shoulders number, turns heads and causes many a photog to run out of film.

At the moment, though, it's all about Nic, who is expressing his pleasure at Xander's newfound maturity. If you'll recall, former sad sack sidekick Xand told all of us at the beginning of this season that he's "nobody's butt-monkey," and that has carried through. "Yeah, [it's happening] slowly," says Nic. "Which is what life is, you know, it doesn't happen all of a sudden. I've still got some butt and some monkey in me, but my character's evolving nicely."

In person, the charming Nic has the same sarcastic good humor as his character -- though he comes across as more of a smooth operator, somewhat akin to the "Good Xander" in this season's The Replacement. "Oh, you are a doll!" he exclaims, as someone pops a beverage into his hand. "Who's a living, breathing porcelain doll? Is it you?" He also manages to tell a few more screamingly funny jokes I can't print -- but we'll just leave that alone for now.

And speaking of "The Replacement," that episode afforded Nic the opportunity to work with fellow actor and twin bro Kelly Donovan. Nic says that he had a blast showing Kelly the ropes. "It was fun to work with Kelly for eight days," he says. "I just showed him around. It was nice to be there for him, and he was really, really open to that... [I'd say], 'Dude, there's your mark, and I'll let you know what's going on here,' and by the end of the episode, I think he [was] a seasoned veteran. 'Cause we work 14-hour days, you know?"

It was also this key episode that showcased a newfound talent of Nic's -- The Snoopy Dance, an uncanny, 'toon-style interpretation of the famous beagle's wiggly-jiggly dance of joy. "They gave me a tape about a half an hour before I had to do it, and I checked it out," Nic explains. "They gave me three dances, and I picked the one I wanted to do, and I just did it. It was fun! I'm very physical with my acting, and I want to do a sitcom eventually, and kind of go over the top for a while."

As for Xander's deepening relationship with grumpy demon chick Anya (Emma Caulfield), Nic says that the secret of their evolving dynamic is fairly simply: "We're just gonna keep having sex, man."

OK, then.

Other Brendon bits: Nic hopes to one day open a chain of restaurants, is headed off for a European vacation in June, and finds A&E highly digable ("Anything with Bill Kurtis is good, and Law and Order").

But the burning question remains: will we be getting any more Xand Evil Twin-type episodes, a la "The Replacement?" "Not as far as I know," he says, laughing. "I'll pitch it. And then they'll pitch me out of the office."

From IGN SCIFI