Actor Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander Harris in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was hospitalized following a second “cardiac incident.” Nicholas’s sister broke the news about the 51-year-old actor’s health incident via Instagram on August 16. She shared photos of Nicholas on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance, in a wheelchair in the hospital, and sleeping on a hospital bed. In her caption, Nicholas’s sister explained what happened and clarified that he’s “doing fine now” after the health crisis.
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“Nicky sends his love and wanted me to apologize that he hasn’t been going live as much lately and to give everyone an update. Nicky is doing fine now but he had to be rushed to emergency about two weeks ago because of a cardiac incident (tachycardia/arrhythmia),” his sibling wrote. She reminded fans that Nicholas “had a similar incident” last year following his “second spinal surgery” for Cauda Equina Syndrome, where the nerve roots in the lumbar spine are compressed and thus cut off sensation and movement.
Nicholas’s sister concluded her statement by saying that the actor is “trying to get a little more rest and has been concentrating on medical appointments.” Nicholas’ health issues reportedly worsened last year, which is when he got spinal surgery, after he briefly served time in Indiana’s Vigo County Jail following his arrest for allegedly obtaining prescription drugs by fraud in August 2021.
At the time, Nicholas was pulled over by cops for “driving erratically” and he handed them a California ID belonging to his twin brother Kelton Shultz, according to the arrest report obtained by HollywoodLife. Authorities searched Nicholas’s car and found drugs (including a prescription for amphetamine salts) that were prescribed to Kelton, not Nicholas. He was held at Vigo County Jail but was released by the court. The Criminal Minds star was charged for failure to identify and obtaining a prescription by fraud. He took a plea deal in February 2022.
Nicholas has had several run-ins with the law. In October 2017, he was involved in an alleged domestic violence dispute with his girlfriend in Palm Springs. The incident led to Nicholas being arrested and charged with violating a protective order and felony inflicting injury on a spouse or cohabitant. He was released the next day on $50,000 bail, but was still charged with domestic violence.
Back in 2015, Nicholas allegedly attacked his girlfriend and was arrested several times that year. He went to rehab three different times for substance abuse, depression and alcoholism. He later spoke about his struggles on a Dec. 2015 episode of Dr. Phil, where he revealed that he had attempted suicide several times.