7 Actors Who Almost Played Buffy The Vampire Slayer


Summary

  • Buffy The Vampire Slayer was defined by Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy, making it hard to imagine anyone else in the role.
  • Cordelia Chase played by Charisma Carpenter and Harmony by Mercedes McNab were crucial supporting characters.
  • Katie Holmes and Natasha Lyonne were also considered for the role, showcasing the potential alternate paths for the series.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer was defined by the central role of Buffy, the protagonist and titular vampire slayer who audiences couldn’t get enough of. For seven seasons, Sarah Michelle Gellar played Buffy, and it’s almost impossible to envision another actress taking on the role. While recasting Buffy for a Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot is a fun exercise, it’s unlikely that a new series would retread ground from the original series, as those episodes and seasons are iconic. However, things could have looked very different for the TV show if a different actor had been cast as Buffy.

The series has become one of the most well-known supernatural teen dramas of the past several decades, and much of this is thanks to the expert performances of the cast.

After the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie failed to capture the audience’s and critics’ attention, casting the right actress as Buffy was critical. Of course, the series has become one of the most well-known supernatural teen dramas of the past several decades, and much of this is thanks to the expert performances of the cast. In addition to Buffy and the core players in the Scooby Gang, many forgotten actors who starred in Buffy The Vampire Slayer went on to achieve great fame and success. A few of the actresses who almost played Buffy are among them.

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7

Charisma Carpenter

She went on to play Cordelia Chase in Buffy and Angel.

Cordelia is one of the many Buffy The Vampire Slayer characters who appeared in Angel, and Cordelia’s amazing arc in the series more than makes up for Charisma Carpenter’s loss of the role of Buffy. During Cordelia’s tenure on Buffy, she was frequently at odds with Buffy, as the young women were competitive, and each felt that they deserved notoriety and recognition for their skills. Though Cordelia began as a shallow character who only cared about herself, things changed when she began to help Buffy and the gang fight the forces of darkness.

In seasons 2 and 3, Cordelia faced hardships that brought her character to life and helped the audience realize that she and Buffy aren’t so different.

Since Cordelia and Buffy were treated as foils in the series, it’s not impossible to picture Carpenter in the leading role. The heroism she demonstrates in Angel also shows that the actress has depth and darkness inside her, which would have been pivotal to portraying Buffy. In seasons 2 and 3, Cordelia faced hardships that brought her character to life and helped the audience realize that she and Buffy aren’t so different. Had the roles been reversed and Carpenter played Buffy with Gellar as Cordelia, the show’s trajectory would have likely followed a similar path.

6

Mercedes McNab

McNab was cast as Harmony, the student-turned-vampire, instead.

Similarly to Carpenter, Mercedes McNab auditioned for the part of Buffy but was passed over in favor of Gellar. Unfortunately, she didn’t get as large a role as Carpenter did as Cordelia, but Harmony turned out to be one of the best recurring characters on the show. Though she begins as part of Cordelia’s posse in high school, Harmony still gets a few one-liners in here and there in typical Buffy fashion. Additionally, even though Harmony is written to be less intelligent than her counterparts, McNab plays the role with searing self-awareness.

Though Buffy is often forced to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders, one of her most important characteristics is her sense of humor in the face of hardship. This is a facet of Buffy that McNab would have embodied well, in addition to McNab’s chemistry with Spike in the later seasons. When Harmony returns as a vampire, she starts a relationship with Spike, and the pair have a great comedic dynamic. Though Spike and Buffy have a more combative relationship, their chemistry is just as important.

5

Katie Holmes

She starred in her own teen TV show, Dawson’s Creek.

Joey’s snappy comebacks and cynical attitude that Holmes portrays would have fit in on Buffy.

Premiering a few years after Buffy began, Dawson’s Creek became just as much of a cultural touchstone as the supernatural thriller. Katie Holmes landed the part of Joey, the girl-next-door with a will-they-won’t-they dynamic with the titular character, Dawon. Even though Joey wasn’t the protagonist of Dawson’s Creek, as Holmes would have been in Buffy, she still was a vital part of the show and a fan-favorite character. Joey’s snappy comebacks and cynical attitude that Holmes portrays would have fit in on Buffy. The action-oriented aspects of the show were also in Holmes’ wheelhouse, as shown in Batman Begins.

Though Dawson’s Creek didn’t have any of the mystical elements that were essential in Buffy‘s storytelling, both series took on relevant topics about teenage years and young adulthood at the turn of the century. Though Dawson’s Creek was more frank about these issues as Buffy used metaphors through the demons and darkness of the show, they both exposed audiences to conversations that hadn’t yet been popularized by network TV. Holmes’s career might have veered further into action had she been cast as Buffy. However, Joey is the role that has defined her work and enabled her success.

4

Natasha Lyonne

Lyonne would later helm many of her own movies and TV shows.

Natasha Lyonne might be the most famous actress who was almost cast as Buffy. She established herself as a movie actress with But I’m A Cheerleader and Slums of Beverly Hills in the late 1990s, but her career could have taken a different direction. The TV shows Lyonne would go on to star in, Orange is the New Black and Poker Face, were focused on more adult themes. They saw Lyonne getting to show a more mature side of herself. Had she joined the cast of Buffy, Lyonne might have been in teenage roles for longer.

There are many reasons to be excited about Poker Face season 2, as Lyonne will soon return to the small screen to reprise her role as Charlie, the human lie detector. Poker Face season 1 already demonstrated that Lyonne will not be leaving the spotlight anytime soon, and her sleuthing skills in the series are even better than Buffy’s. Though she would have been hilarious as the slayer, Lyonne was destined for other things, and her commitment to the series might have seen her miss out on cinematic opportunities that have defined her work.

3

Selma Blair

Though she wasn’t Buffy, Blair and Gellar still ended up working together.

It would have been a shame if Selma Blair had gotten the part and Gellar had faded to obscurity because then audiences might not have seen their amazing chemistry onscreen together. In 1999, viewers were treated to the scandalous and thrilling movie Cruel Intentions, which saw Blair and Gellar co-starring in roles completely different from the character of Buffy. In the scheming and convincing world of the film, the two women played off each other brilliantly, making the case that Blair could have been in a supporting role on Buffy to great acclaim.

Many audience members might recognize Blair from her performance as Vivian Kensington, Elle’s rival for Warner’s affections in Legally Blonde.

Many audience members might recognize Blair from her performance as Vivian Kensington, Elle’s rival for Warner’s affections in Legally Blonde. Additionally, she plays Liz Sherman in the Hellboy franchise, which helped her branch out into genre work after starring in many teen dramas. Blair would have brought a unique spin to the role of Buffy, and this would have set the series on a new course, but it would have been intriguing to see what Blair brought to the table. Her smaller roles in other films and TV shows have kept the actress at the forefront of cultural conversations.

2

Julie Benz

Her role as Darla on Buffy and Angel differs from her later turn on Dexter.

Julie Benz has had a great career as a leading woman and a character actress in many genre TV shows like Buffy. Despite being passed over to play the slayer, Benz took on the role of Darla, an ancient vampire who sired Angel and represents his darkest impulses. Though Darla dies in Buffy season 1, she returns in flashbacks and is then resurrected in the later seasons of Angel. The many facets of playing Darla led to her being cast as Rita on Dexter. Playing Rita earned Benz great recognition from critics and audiences.

Unfortunately, Rita suffers a similar fate to Darla and doesn’t last through the end of the series, but her character remains a beacon for Dexter during his darkest moments. Though Benz is only a few years older than Gellar, it’s clear from her other work and performance as Darla that she didn’t have the naivety and innocence required to play Buffy. Buffy is a strong and capable hero, but it was vital that she could also be perceived as a regular teenage girl who was trying to fit in and find her place in the world.

Ethan Rayne, Buffy, and the First Slayer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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1

Elizabeth Anne Allen

Allen would be cast as Amy, a small but pivotal role in Buffy.

Elizabeth Anne Allen was a strong choice for Amy, as she captures the good, bad, and morally ambiguous sides of the character with ease.

The first three seasons see Amy being featured on and off as the teenage witch that the gang relies on. It’s through Amy that Willow is exposed to magic for the first time and begins developing her skills as a witch. However, there’s a brief hiatus for a few seasons when Amy turns herself into a rat and disappears. However, she returns in season 6 for her most important arc, which is getting Willow involved in the dark side of magic. It’s partially because of Amy that Willow becomes Dark Willow.

Elizabeth Anne Allen was a strong choice for Amy, as she captures the good, bad, and morally ambiguous sides of the character with ease. Allen and Alyson Hannigan play off each other well as a team of witches, which speaks to what their dynamic could have been if Allen had been chosen to play Buffy. After Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Allen didn’t get up to much in the acting field, but her brief contributions to the show were very memorable. It’s likely due to her strong presence in her episodes that Amy returned to the cast multiple times.



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