Joss Whedon

Date of Birth : 23 June 1964

Location : New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name : Joseph Hill Whedon

Height : 6’ 4" (1.93 m)

Spouse : Kai Cole (? - present) 2 children

Trade Mark

Plans storylines far in advance for all his television series, allowing for remarkable long-term continuity.

Frequent use of nouns as adjectives, by adding the suffix "-y"

Features tough, strong female characters

Kills off characters who are among his most popular, to keep his audiences surprised.

Supernatural and science fiction themes

Often gives his characters names that are later revealed to be their last names and/or based on an unusual abbreviation for their full name. For example: only after the character Oz had already left "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) did the show reveal that "Oz" was an abbreviation of his full name, Daniel Osbourne; on "Angel," they did not clarify that Doyle was actually the character’s last name for many episodes; "Xander," the name of a main Buffy character, is a much less usual nickname for "Alexander" than the much more common "Alex;" and likewise for the name "Topher," the name of a main "Dollhouse" (2009) character, which is a much less usual nickname for "Christopher" than the much more common "Chris.".

Frequently casts Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk.

Trivia

Attended and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987.

Joss Whedon’s "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) episode "Hush" was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2000 for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series. "Hush" featured 28 minutes without dialogue, as a group of fairy-tale demons called the Gentlemen arrived in Sunnydale to steal voices, and then hearts (literally).

Son of Tom Whedon.

Grandson of John Whedon.

Whedon is married and resides in Los Angeles.

Writing is clearly in his blood, since he could arguably be the world’s first third-generation television writer. His grandfather was a successful sitcom writer in the 1950s and ’60s on "The Donna Reed Show" (1958) and "Leave It to Beaver" (1957), and his father wrote for the likes of "The Dick Cavett Show" (1968), "Alice" (1976) and "Benson" (1979).

After receiving a degree in film studies from Wesleyan University, Whedon moved to Los Angeles and landed his first writing job on the staff of "Roseanne" (1988), working as a story editor and writing several episodes of the top-rated series. He later pulled double duty on the NBC series "Parenthood" (1990), co-producing and writing a number of episodes.

Appeared on-screen in the Jossverse for the first-time in the "Angel" (1999) episode "Through the Looking Glass" as "Numfar" of the Deathwok Clan. A relative of the Host, he is routinely ordered by Lorne’s mother to dance.

Has said that he created Buffy (of the vampire slaying fame) to be an "alternative feminist icon".

Was asked to revise the script for X-Men (2000) and reportedly decided the whole script needed to be totally rewritten. When he handed the studio this draft, they apparently threw it out; they only really wanted him to add a couple jokes here and there.

Lived in the UK for 3 years, from 1980-2, attending Winchester College in Hampshire, where he took his A levels. The character of Rupert Giles is mistakenly thought to be based on a history teacher there, Dr. Peter Cramer. Dr. Cramer’s arrival at the College post-dates Whedon’s departure. The character was named in tribute to his House Matron: Barbara Giles.

Whedon and Cole can be heard doing a demo track for the wildly popular episode "Once More With Feeling" on the episode soundtrack. It was recorded in the front hall of their home.

His wife, Kai Cole, gave birth to their son Arden on December 18, 2002.

Has cited the X-Men character Kitty Pryde (AKA Shadowcat) as a major influence for the character of Buffy.

Brother of Zack Whedon (assistant to Mr. David Milch) and Jed Whedon.

Took him two years to finish writing Buffy comic book spin-off mini-series "Fray" with artist Karl Moline, due to his schedule with his three shows (Buffy/Angel/ Firefly) and the artist’s new job at CrossGen Comics.

Wrote an introduction for Jim Krugeer and Alex Ross’s Marvel Comics’s award- winning graphic novel "Earth X."

His last television project was a show called "Firefly," which offered his unique view of the future.

He recently finished production for "Serenity," a movie continuation of the discontinued show, "Firefly."

His favorite movie is The Matrix (1999).

Considers Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) to be a perfect movie.

The August 21, 1995, draft of the screenplay for Twister (1996) credits Joss Whedon and Jeff Nathanson as writers. Neither writer are credited in the final film.

Has claimed that his script for Firefly episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" is his personal favorite thing he has ever written.

Wrote the plot to the comic book Serenity, which bridged the gap between the Firefly T.V. series and the film. Fellow Firefly writer Brett Matthews scripted it.

Daughter, Squire, born late 2004/early 2005.

In 2007, started writing the comic-book Runaways after Brian K. Vaughan left it.

Rewrote the script for Speed (1994/I) uncredited.

Related to Jed Whedon, video game music composer.

Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof are the godparents of his son Arden.

An active supporter of gay rights.

In X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), the idea of a cure developed by Dr. Kavita Rao, Beast’s interest in it, and the prominent roles played by Kitty Pryde and Colossus, were inspired by Joss Whedon’s story "Gifted" which took place in the first six issues of "Astonishing X-Men".

Was educated at Winchester College, England.