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Nowadays, we know Hilary Swank as an Academy Award-winning actress who wowed audiences in Clint Eastwood‘s Million Dollar Baby and Kimberly Peirce‘s Boys Don’t Cry, but back in 1992, she was a “nobody” getting her start in a little vampire comedy called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No, we’re not talking about the Sarah Michelle Gellar-led television series (though both were created by Joss Whedon), but rather the strange motion picture on which it was based. Back then, Swank played Valley Girl Kimberly Hannah, who was a far cry from some of the meatier roles in the actress’s filmography.
Yes, That’s Hilary Swank in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Before Charisma Carpenter was Buffy‘s resident bully Cordelia Chase on the TV series, Swank’s Kimberly helped fill the semi-frenemy role (though, Kimberly was probably more of a friend to Buffy than Cordelia ever would be). Known for her witty comebacks like “Oh please, that’s so five minutes ago” and “Get out of my facial!,” Swank’s performance here is, well, it’s pretty hilarious, even if it’s a bit rough around the edges. Although a far cry from some of the more dramatic roles of her future, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a time capsule that reminds us that everyone has to start somewhere. When reflecting on her time on Buffy, Swank explained how she was feeling at this stage of her career. “I was completely nervous because I didn’t want to mess up,” she explained in an interview. “I’d all of the sudden got this opportunity to live my dream. I was living the high life, working in the day and working in the night.” Sounds like a dream to us.
But perhaps our favorite Kimberly moment (aside from her memorable one-liners, of course) from the vampire comedy is when she meets her end. After Kristy Swanson‘s Buffy Summers walks back into the high school gym after some bloodsucking mayhem, Kimberly flips. Screaming how Buffy’s return will get them all killed, she’s quickly knocked out and left to her own devices. It’s about what she deserves after being the one to offer Buffy up to the vampires — who she mistakenly invited in the first place — and is about as satisfying as any bloodsucker’s death. After all, who doesn’t love a good comeuppance? Swank’s actual performance during the knockout leaves a bit to be desired, but given that she’s pretty killer in the rest of the movie, we can’t complain too much.
Swank’s ‘Buffy’ Character Is the Worst, But It Kicked Off Her Hollywood Career
It’s a bit hard to believe that this is the same Swank who, only seven years later, would win her first Oscar. Yet, that’s exactly the case. After a breakout role in Buffy, Swank would go on to star in The Next Karate Kid (she still won’t have a cameo appearance on Cobra Kai) and later be cast as Carly Reynolds in the later seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1999, Swank landed her Boy’s Don’t Cry role (earning her a Best Actress win) and only five years later nabbed her second for Million Dollar Baby. Since then, Swank has starred in plenty of different feature film productions, and, in 2022, landed her own single-season television series, Alaska Daily.
Swank hits all the classic teen comedy beats, and playing the part of a lovable foil, it’s clear that this underrated 1992 vampire comedy was a bigger win for the actress than she may have even imagined. It’s almost a shame she never made her way back to the franchise for the television series, which was not only more successful than the original film, but better all-around. Seeing her and Charisma Carpenter’s Cordelia square off would’ve been something to see for sure, but by the time the WB-turned-UPN series first premiered in 1997, she was already on track to becoming a Hollywood star.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.
- Release Date
- July 1, 1992
- Director
- Fran Rubel Kuzui
- Runtime
- 86 minutes
- Writers
- Joss Whedon
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