Brendon's life pre-Buffy actually centered not on acting, but rather sports. A native of Los Angeles, he played baseball in both high school and college, though he ended up not making a career of it.

"I wasn't having fun anymore," he explains. "So I decided to hang up my spikes, if you will. And I actually was on the baseball field in college, and I was playing right field -- [the position] where I played -- in practice, and I walked off the field, dropped out of college, and started acting. But after a few years, I quit for three years, and then I got fired off a PA [Production Assistant] job, and then I thought, 'Well, what the hell, I'll act again,' and I got the part on Buffy."

He wouldn't recommend trying that at home, though. While others may advise perseverance and study to hopeful actors, Brendon offers advice of a more practical nature.

"I would go out there [to Los Angeles] before you make the move. I would go there for like ten days, and check it out. It's different. And if you want to do it, then all the advice I can give you is: have fun, and don't be that self-conscious. Just do what you want to do."

But despite his realistic view of the industry, Brendon doesn't find it too difficult to suddenly be a star who's recognized on the street.

"Kelly [Brendon's identical twin] feels that more than me," Brendon admits. "And he actually gets a lot more requests for autographs and stuff."

But there is life outside of Buffy (believe it or not), and Brendon's got aspirations of his own that extend outside his thespian leanings.

"I want to develop things, I think," Brendon reveals. "I'm probably [going to be] opening up a production company and doing stuff like developing scripts, and writers."

Of course, that doesn't mean a complete end to acting, though there are some roles that Brendon refuses to touch.

"I wouldn't be [in a film] with a soccer-playing dog. Or a basketball-playing dog. Or any type of talking monkeys. Things like that. It varies; it depends on the script. I won't do porno." But that statement comes with additional commentary, and that grin surfaces again: "And I just came to that decision like two days ago!"

We welcome your opinions on this article. Please send questions or comments to letters@the11thhour.com