Nicholas Brendon (born April 12, 1971, as Nicholas Brendon Schultz in Los Angeles, California), is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and Kevin Lynch in Criminal Minds (2007–present). Since 2014 he has been writing on the Buffy Season 10 comic book.