Why Seth Green’s Oz Left Buffy The Vampire Slayer

As the supernatural drama “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” gained in popularity over its 12-episode first season, the show inevitably wanted to get a bit bigger for its second installment. That included adding in new characters, some of whom had a tinge of the fantastical, even if they weren’t vampires. To that end, consider Daniel Osbourne, better known as Oz. As played by Seth Green, Oz quickly became a valued member of the Scooby Gang while also falling in love with Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), the charmingly nerdy member of the group and best friend of Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Oh yes, and, as it’s soon revealed, Oz is a werewolf, too.

Oz was a big part of the show for its second and third seasons, falling further for Willow while attempting to tamp down his lupine sensibilities once every full moon. Unfortunately, he only made it into a few episodes of season 4 before “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon and his fellow writers twisted the knife for poor Willow, revealing that Oz was cheating on her with a female werewolf (who’d made him realize he should be “the wolf all the time,” as opposed to trying to hide his powers). Considering how abruptly Oz was written out, just six episodes into a 22-episode fourth season, you may well wonder what prompted Green to leave the series (aside from two appearances later in season 4, including one in a dream sequence). Thankfully, there is an answer, so let’s dig in.

First, it’s worth reminding ourselves that when Green joined “Buffy” in its second season, some audience members may have recognized him from a number of other big projects — most notably, the 1997 comedy hit “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” in which he played the callow teenage son of the nefarious Dr. Evil, a part Green played as though he was in a drama. (That film arrived in theaters just a couple months after “Buffy” premiered its pilot episode.) Green continued to be in high demand throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s in movie roles, which were understandably hard to turn down in favor of his charming but supporting turn on “Buffy.” As Green relayed in an interview with The AV Club back in 2007, one of those roles was in the Mob movie “Knockaround Guys,” co-starring Vin Diesel and Dennis Hopper. But if he wanted to appear in “Knockaround Guys,” he would have to take some time off of playing Oz.

Green, though he spoke effusively of the show, didn’t seem terribly heartbroken about that notion, saying, “I felt like we hadn’t done anything that we had talked about. I felt like the character’s potential versus what we actually were doing was in drastic opposition.” In retrospect, it’s not difficult to see his point, at least in terms of how his character interacted with the rest of the Scooby Gang. Oz was not often a main player, and he didn’t feel quite like a damaged romantic leading man the way Angel (David Boreanaz) or Spike (James Marsters) eventually would. In that same interview, Green compared Oz’s purpose to just standing around in big ensemble scenes and hopefully having one line to contribute. (“Knockaround Guys” hasn’t exactly stood the test of time the way “Buffy” has, but the point still stands.)

Continuing, Green said that he suggested to Whedon that Oz could merely take a brief break (in spite of being listed as a series regular), only for the showrunner and his writing staff to simply write the character out entirely. Now, it’s true that by sending Oz off into the metaphorical woods, “Buffy” opened the door for Willow to fall for the Wiccan Tara (Amber Benson) and, eventually, head down a dark path of magic. But it’s also a little odd that the “Buffy” creatives were so willing to cut ties with Oz, unless they too felt a lack of dramatic urgency with the character and thought Green was giving them a well-positioned out. We can only imagine how the “Buffy” sequel series, which is still developing at the time of writing and reportedly has an Oscar-winning director at the helm, will handle supporting characters like Oz.

Oz, as mentioned earlier, was still part of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as the Scooby Gang made their freshman year foray into college in season 4. However, because the character spent so little time with the gang, he always felt like a remnant solely of the high school years. He helped further humanize the bookish Willow, creating a solid secondary relationship for fans to hold onto aside from the operatic romance between Buffy and Angel. But he also felt like something of a creative third or fifth wheel in spite of the fact that he’s a werewolf. Green wasn’t wrong to note that Oz may not have seemed like a fully fleshed-out character, whatever his potential might’ve been. Indeed, the novelty of Oz being a werewolf seemed to dissipate quickly (especially since most of the show’s lengthy arcs never ventured further into lycanthropy).

In the end, though, Green managed to fashion a pretty fancy career for himself after “Buffy” (one firmly ensconced in nerd culture, no less). Whether he’s voicing Chris Griffin in the long-running cartoon comedy “Family Guy,” appearing in the “Austin Powers” movies, or providing the voice of the acerbic Howard the Duck in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Green has proven to be a reliable comic presence both in live-action and animated form. His time on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” may have been relatively short, and the film in question that inspired him to leave the series may not have been amazing. (Though, to be fair, surprisingly few actors actually appeared on every episode of “Buffy.”) But Oz’s brief time among the Scooby Gang was almost more special because he didn’t linger too long beyond his creative sell-by date.