With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to break out the decorations and start binge-watching your favorite scary movies and shows. What better way to start than with a heavy helping of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ?
The show remains a classic and still holds up, even after all these years. To celebrate this delectable TV offering, have a look at these 10+ Buffy the Vampire Slayer behind the scenes secrets fans didn’t know!
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Anthony Stewart was destined to play Giles.
Stewart was the first actor cast in the series. He brought a certain type of sex appeal to the character that was missing from previous auditions.
Joss Whedon cast him on the spot.
The vampire makeup wasn’t fun for anyone.
It would take over an hour for the makeup crew to be able to apply the facial prosthetic.
According to David Boreanaz, the worst thing about the whole process was taking it off.
Joss Whedon knows his vampire lore.
The show chose to adhere to classic vampire mythos, as opposed to creating their own. Vulnerability to garlic and silver are classic vampire traits.
Another area the show got right is that the only way to kill a vampire is by beheading or a steak through the heart.
The show is a sequel to the *Buffy The Vampire Slayer* movie, written by Joss Whedon.
Joss’ original concept centered around his love for horror movies. He imagined a blond girl being attacked by a monster in an alleyway, emerging victorious after killing it.
From there on, Buffy was born!
Joss Whedon had his own language.
One of the things that Sarah Michelle Gellar struggled with early on was Joss Whedon’s use of Valley-Girl slang .
She would constantly have to ask Joss the meaning behind the words she was saying.
Pop punk band Nerf Herder wrote the theme song.
At the time, Nerf Herder was just gaining notoriety and Alyson Hannigan was a fan. She was the one who turned Joss Whedon onto the band.
To this day it remains as one of the most rocking theme songs in TV history.
The role of Willow was recast with Alyson Hannigan
Finding the perfect person to play Buffy’s best friend was incredibly stressful. When the time came to shoot the pilot, it was done knowing that Willow wouldn’t be sticking around.
Luckily, Alyson Hannigan came along and knocked everyone dead.
David Boreanaz was naked on and off set.
David used to love getting a reaction from the crew and castmates. He would often walk on set, completely naked , for no other reason than to get a laugh.
According to Sarah Michelle Gellar, he used to do it all the time.
Ryan Reynolds was offered the role of Xander.
Ryan admits that he absolutely loved the show. His only reason for declining the role was the fact that he himself had just recently left high school.
The young star was the victim of bullying and wasn’t eager to revisit the place he loathed so much.
David Boreanaz was discovered by a friend of the casting director.
David lived on the same street and she would always see him out walking his dog.
She called casting director Marsha Shulman , describing David as the most beautiful, mysterious, fantastic man that she’d ever laid eyes on.
The production team built a very macabre set piece.
Joss Whedon quickly grew tired of having to do all of the graveyard scenes at night, in an actual graveyard .
When the show’s second season came along, the crew decided to build their own.
One character in particular was incredibly difficult for Joss Whedon to kill off.
Joss describes himself as “The Jason Vorhees of the writing community.”
During a Reddit AMA, Whedon admitted that of the many characters he’s killed off (and there were a ton) the most difficult was Buffy’s mother.
Originally, Sarah Michelle Gellar auditioned to play Cordelia!
And Charisma Carpenter had her eyes set on Buffy! After seeing both young women read, production decided that they’d found their Buffy.
They offered the part to Sarah and Charisma was cast as Cordelia.
The scariest episode for Sarah Michelle Gellar might surprise you.
Sarah called the musical episode of Buffy one of the most difficult and daunting tasks she’s ever had to undertake as an actress.
She calls herself a perfectionist and felt that she didn’t have adequate time to prepare.
Sarah Michelle Gellar announced that the show was over before the cast even found out!
Alyson Hannigan only found out when she read the cover story and interview with Sarah; she was absolutely devastated by the news.
Not exactly the gentlest way to tell someone they don’t have a job anymore.
