Before Sarah Michelle Gellar brought new life into the titular character of Joss Whedon and was based on his 1992 film about a cheerleader who hunts vampires. Kristy Swanson played Buffy Summers in the original film ,but the TV series served as a reinvention of sorts. Playing Buffy for six years became Gellar's defining role, but that nearly wasn't the case.
Buffy was the main protagonist of Scooby Gang.
The film version of Buffy was shallow and reluctant to train as a Slayer, whereas the TV version learned to embrace her important destiny. Whedon wanted a chance to reinvent the character and better subvert the usual tropes that come with women in horror. When casting for Buffy the Vampire Slayer was underway, Katie Holmes and Selma Blair were two notable names in the running for the lead role. Whedon had a clear vision for what he wanted this new Buffy to embody, and so he kept searching.
Several Actresses Who Auditioned For Buffy Got Other Roles In The Series
Before Gellar became the frontrunner for the role of Buffy, a few other actresses auditioned but wound up acquiring other roles in the series. Julie Benz ended up playing the vampire Darla, whereas Elizabeth Anne Allen portrayed Amy Madison, a witch from Sunnydale and enemy of the Scooby Gang. Mercedes McNab and Julia Lee also auditioned for the role of Buffy and later played Harmony Kendall and Anne Steele, respectively.
Charisma Carpenter auditioned for Buffy before being hired to play Cordelia Chase. The character ended up becoming the embodiment of Buffy's first incarnation, by being the self-centered popular cheerleader. Interestingly enough, Gellar tried out for the role of Cordelia but Whedon realized she would make a better Buffy, so the actresses traded the roles they first auditioned for.
Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gellar's biggest role to date was her time on All My Children, which she won a Daytime Emmy for. 1997 turned out to be a major monumental year for Gellar, since she also appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2. Following the end of the hit-series, Gellar reprised her role on Angel but moved on to other projects in TV and film. With interest still high in the franchise and talk of a reboot, there's always a chance that Gellar's time with the Buffyverse isn't over just yet.