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Jonathan Levinson
Buffy the Vampire Slayer character
Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson
First appearance	"Inca Mummy Girl" (1997)
Last appearance	"Storyteller" (2003)
Created by	Joss Whedon Matt Kiene Joe Reinkemeyer
Portrayed by	Danny Strong
In-universe information
Affiliation	The Trio
Classification	Sorcerer
Notable powers	Powerful magical abilities

Jonathan Levinson is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Danny Strong.

Character development

Strong described the early development of his character in an interview with the U.K. Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine. He described his character as the "Kenny of Buffy. Except that he never dies." Strong had initially auditioned for the role of Xander, but lost out to Nicholas Brendon. He first appeared in the unaired Buffy the Vampire Slayer pilot in a bit part simply named "Student", and subsequently appeared in a number of episodes. He said that often he appeared in scenes that could have been done by other characters but that "They'll have Jonathan do it, to keep the continuity of the world".

Writer/directors David Greenwalt and Marti Noxon both stated in the DVD commentaries for "Reptile Boy" and "What's My Line", respectively, that Danny Strong was the actor that they would call on whenever they needed a good victim, both citing his good "victim face". Eventually the character grew out of this frequent use.

Explaining the potential appeal of the character, he said, "I think everyone is sort of like Jonathan. Either they're like Jonathan or they're trying to cover up their Jonathan qualities. Either they're awkward and shy, or they're doing everything they can not to appear awkward and shy. I'm not really very shy, but I certainly can be awkward at times."

Appearances

Jonathan made 34 canonical Buffyverse appearances.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Jonathan appeared as a guest in 28 episodes:

• Season 2 (1997–98): "Inca Mummy Girl", "Reptile Boy", "What's My Line, Part 2", "Bad Eggs", "Passion", "Go Fish"
• Season 3 (1998–99): "Dead Man's Party", "Homecoming", "The Wish", "Earshot", "The Prom", "Graduation Day, Part 2"
• Season 4 (2000): "Superstar"
• Season 6 (2001–02): "Flooded", "Life Serial", "Smashed", "Gone", "Dead Things", "Normal Again", "Entropy", "Seeing Red", "Villains", "Two to Go", "Grave"
• Season 7 (2002–03): "Conversations with Dead People", "Never Leave Me", "First Date", "Storyteller"

Jonathan appeared in 6 issues:

• Season 10 (2014, 2016): "Return to Sunnydale, Parts 1 & 2", "In Pieces on the Ground, Part 3", "Own It, Parts 2, 4 & 5"

Notes and references

1. ^ Springer, Matt, "Big Man on Campus", from Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #13 (UK, September 2000), page 20-21.
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer second season DVD set. 20th century Fox (region 1, 2002), disc two and three.

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters
• Buffyverse characters who use magic
• Fictional characters from Los Angeles County, California
• Television characters introduced in 1997
• Fictional attempted suicides
• American male characters in television
• Fictional adolescents
• Fictional characters from the 20th century