10 Actors Who Were Recast After The Pilot Episode

Willow the witch is as essential to the Scooby gang as Giles, Spike and even Buffy herself. And who else could it be but Alyson Hannigan? Riff Regan, apparently.

Regan signed on, got to know the cast and crew and filmed the thirty-minute pilot, which helped Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox sell it to The WB Television Network. Of the many elements that survived into the show proper, Buffy's hair colour, Berryman High School and Regan were not among them.

Whedon and co. altered the character following the test pilot, deciding Willow needed to be more demure, (and, umm, willowy) but perhaps with a darker, saucier core that they could mine in future plotlines - something the personality and presence of Alyson Hannigan seemed destined to bring out.

Hannigan herself was initially indifferent about the role, having not read the script at time of audition, and knowing the Buffy the Vampire Slayer property only by the reputation of the failed 1992 movie - and not by the talents of its creator or cast.

Considering how iconic a role Willow became, and how important this was for homosexual visibility in pop culture, it is lucky for all she changed her mind.

Well, all except one.