10 Casting 'What Ifs' From Buffy The Vampire Slayer
8. Danny Strong
Danny Strong has enjoyed a high-profile career since his time on Buffy. He created the multi-award-winning Empire, one of Fox's most popular shows during its run. He also co-wrote the final two entries in The Hunger Games series, films that have made almost $3 billion worldwide. It is his time in Sunnydale, though, for which he is most fondly remembered by Buffy fans. Nobody could have captured the timid geekiness and eventual mean streak of Jonathan Levinson - but that was not the first role that Strong went for.
His first encounter with the show was when he auditioned for the part of Xander in the pilot presentation. However, he wasn't offered that role, and Nicholas Brendon claimed the character instead. In an interview from 2017, Strong reminisces (somewhat jokingly) that "to this day, I say I was robbed. I think I would have made a great Xander".
Strong's take on Xander, based on his performance as Jonathan at least, may have been slightly less brass and outlandish. Perhaps somewhat more timid. It is certainly a stretch to imagine him in any other role asides Jonathan. Likewise, nobody else could have captured Xander's boisterous behaviour quite like Brendon.