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Stoker Face? With a new Buffy on the way, it's worth remembering that Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne once turned down the titular vampire slayer role

Poker Face and Russian Doll's Lyonne almost had 'Slayer' to add to her resume, but at the time THe WB offered her the role, she only wanted to do comedy

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Wed Jun 11 2025

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When the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot was announced, one question was on every fan's mind: Who the hell else could play Buffy Summers but Sarah Michelle Gellar? Well, now we know that this generation's slayer will be portrayed by Skeleton Crew's Ryan Kiera Armstrong, and we think she'll do a pretty strong job. But don't be all that surprised that the role is more malleable than you think - in fact, in the days before SMG was cast, another famous face almost wielded the stakes and sarcasm in the halls of Sunnydale High.

According to the actor herself, that was Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne.

The story comes from a Howard Stern Show interview that went down all the way back in 2001, which was subsequently reported on by SyFy Wire in 2023. Lyonne was on the radio program with American Pie co-stars Tara Reid and Alyson Hannigan, the latter of whom got her big break in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"When The WB first started," Lyonne began, "They asked me to do any of the shows. So Dawson’s Creek and Buffy. I don’t think I was offered Felicity though. I was 16 or something like that and I told them the only thing I would want to do was some sort of Carol Burnett sketch show or something like that for The WB, but then I decided that I did not want to be committed when I was 16 years old."

Hannigan, who played the role of Willow in the original series, wasn't 100% convinced that Lyonne was telling the truth, but the Orange is the New Black actor insisted she was. Now, we can't be certain that the real-life Natasha Lyonne is as averse to 'bullshit' as her Poker Face character, Charlie Cale, but we're going to go ahead and trust her on this one.

Poker Face is streaming on Peacock now. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (sans Natasha Lyonne) is streaming on Hulu.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.