Buffy’s Eliza Dushku addresses acting retirement as fans hope for comeback in revival series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Eliza Dushku has addressed her retirement from acting ahead of the highly-anticipated revival of the iconic series. With Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed for the reboot, it looks as though Dushku has no plans to return to the beloved show as Faith Lehane.
Back in 2017, Dushku stepped away from acting to pursue a degree in clinical mental health counselling, with the star now working as a therapist and mental health advocate.
Despite serving as an executive producer on the 2024 Netflix documentary In Waves and War, Dushku said she is unlikely to step in front of the camera again.
Asked if acting is now a closed chapter in her life, Dushku told The Hollywood Reporter: “Oh yeah. Yeah. I will not be in front of a camera again unless it’s in some capacity that is in service of my new work and passion.
“People ask me all the time if I miss it. And I don’t. Again, not because it wasn’t fulfilling. It was, and I did it for 25 years. I’ve met people who point out to me that I have lived these two lives, and I value both of them.”
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“But I think that was part of my story and now I get to do this other life, and it’s beautifully rich,” added the star, who also portrayed Faith in spin-off series Angel.
On the legacy of Buffy, the former actor said that the show was a “rite of passage” for her nieces and nephews, adding that it serves as “a reminder of what it can be like to survive high school and adolescence”.
“It helps people find themselves. Again, that’s one of those roles that I’m so grateful for. I’m so grateful that I could play a part in something so much bigger than me. It’s so iconic and still reaches people in a way that touches humanity.”
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“I’m really attuned to the fact that a piece of my former career and a series like that was therapeutic for so many, and in some way, I was already doing kind of therapeutic work,” she continued.
The upcoming revival of Buffy will see Gellar reprise the iconic role of Buffy Summers, with the actor appearing alongside Ryan Kiera Armstrong as two generations of witches combine to fight evil.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Disney+, Paramount+ and ITVX. Angel can be streamed on Disney+ and ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
