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Alexander ("Xander") LaVelle Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is a friend and helper of the title character. One of his remarkable qualities is that, unlike most of the series's regular characters, he has no supernatural powers or special training of any kind. The character is portrayed by actor Nicholas Brendon.

Xander's main role on the series is to provide comic relief. He resorts to sarcastic comments and sophomoric humor to relieve tension, a characteristic that often annoys those around him (especially Rupert Giles). In this respect, Xander provides a dose of realism to the series, as people do tend to use humor to handle stress. Another comic aspect of Xander is his tendency to poke fun at himself, revealing a low self-esteem. Xander's insecurity and immaturity not only reflect the common stereotype of the teenage boy, they also serve to strengthen the Buffy character by making her appear more mature and capable.

Despite Xander's weak self-image and sarcastic personality, he proves time and again to be a loyal supporter of his friends and a courageous member of the gang. In fact, on several occasions his caregiving and compassion are key to averting apocalypse. For instance, at the end of season one in the episode "Prophecy Girl" it is Xander who revives a drowned Buffy, allowing her to defeat The Master. In season two Xander's plan defeats the Judge, an evil demon, and in season three's "Graduation Day" he leads the attack by Sunnydale High's students on the Mayor's vampires. In season four's "Primeval", when the gang imbues Buffy with their strengths so that she can defeat Adam, Xander gives her his "heart". And at the end of season six it is Xander's love of his friend Willow that thwarts her plan to destroy the world.

Though he is quite good-looking, Xander tends to be unsuccessful romantically, nursing crushes on Buffy and Faith and frequently becoming involved with women who turn out to be evil. His most successful relationships were with Cordelia Chase and Anya Jenkins, both of whom are honest about their feelings to the point of rudeness. Unfortunately by the end of the series he has lost one of his eyes.

From early on in the series, it was implied that Xander had a bad home life, with alcoholism and verbal (and possibly physical) abuse in his family. When his parents were finally shown in season six at his aborted wedding to Anya, this impression was confirmed.

Professionally, Xander has pursued a variety of odd jobs, including selling candy, bartending with fake ID, delivering pizza and operating an ice cream truck, before settling into a career as a carpenter and contractor.

Around the second season of the show it had been decided by Joss WhedonJoss Hill Whedon (b. June 23, 1964) is a writer, director, executive producer, and creator of several television series. He has also written several film scripts and two comic book series. He attended Winchester College before receiving a film degree from, the show's executive producer, that one of the characters was going to eventually be openly homosexual. It was determined that this would either be Xander or the character Willow; as such, personality changes were made to make each of them relatively sexually ambiguous, regardless of the gender of the characters with whom they were romantically linked. To this end, Xander confronted LarryLarry Blaisdell was a fictional character on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. He was present in seasons 2 and 3. At first his character fit the " jock" stereotype and gave Xander Harris a hard time. When Xander attempts to talk to Larry a, to find out whether the high school football player was a werewolfA werewolf in folklore and mythology is a person who changes into a wolf, either by purposefully using magic in some manner or by being placed under a curse. In fictional treatments starting in the 19th century and in popular modern superstition this tran. In the process, Larry confessed that he was a homosexual and shared his understanding with Xander that Xander was also gay. (Likewise, the show's writers suggested that Willow might be a lesbian by having her discover that her alter ego in another dimension, a vampire double, seemed "sort of gay.") (Ultimately, Willow was the character chosen; however, Xander's character remained somewhat emasculated, jilting his bride-to-be, for example, at the altar, accepting a subservient role as Dracula's toadying servant, and, in general, playing second fiddle to Buffy, Willow, and the show's other female characters.)