Danny Strong was born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California, and actually developed a friendship with Quentin Tarantino, who was a clerk at Video Archives at the time and got Strong “turned on to all these different movies that 10 year olds don’t see.” Strong would go on to study film and theatre at the University of Southern California, and began his professional acting career on the TV series Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Strong played small parts on the TV series Night Stand, Minor Adjustments, Boy Meets World, and 3rd Rock from the Sun, and in the film Dangerous Minds. In 1997, Strong was cast in the role of Jonathan Levinson on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role which got considerably bigger as the show went on, to the point where his character actually took over the series using magic and headlined one episode in place of Buffy. Besides his work with Joss Whedon – still Strong’s best known work – Strong has appeared in the movies Seabiscuit, Pleasantville, The Prophecy II, Sydney White, and Bad Guys, and on the TV shows Clueless, Nip/Tuck, Seinfeld, Gilmore Girls, Leverage, Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, and Grey’s Anatomy. In addition to acting, Strong has done a considerable amount of screenwriting, with writing credits in the films Recount and Game Change. Danny Strong turns 38 today.