Nowadays we know it Hilary Swank as an Oscar-winning actress who thrilled audiences Clint Eastwood‘S Million Dollar Baby And Kimberly Peirce‘S Boys don’t crybut in 1992 she was a “nobody” when she started out in a small vampire comedy called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No, we don’t talk about it Sarah Michelle Gellar-led television series (although both were created by Joss Whedon), but rather the strange film it was based on. Back then, Swank played “Valley Girl” Kimberly Hannah, a far cry from some of the meatier roles in the actress’ filmography.

Yes, that’s Hilary Swank in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

Before Charisma Zimmermann Was BuffySwank’s Kimberly, who was the house bully Cordelia Chase in the TV series, helped fill the semi-hostile role (although Kimberly was probably a bigger friend to Buffy than Cordelia ever would be). Known for her witty comebacks like “Oh please, it’s been five minutes” and “Get out of my facial!”, Swank’s performance here is, well, pretty hilarious, even if it’s a little rough around the edges. Although she is far from some of the more dramatic roles of her future, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a time capsule This reminds us that everyone has to start somewhere. When she thinks about her time BuffySwank explained how she felt at this stage of her career. “I was really nervous because I didn’t want to screw anything up,” she explained in an interview. “Suddenly I had the opportunity to live my dream. I lived a high life, working day and night.” Sounds like a dream to us.

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“Your parents are upper class. Middle class.”

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 SwansonWhen Buffy Summers returns to the high school gym after a blood-sucking mess, Kimberly falls over herself. Screaming that Buffy’s return will kill them all, She quickly falls unconscious and is left to fend for herself. It’s about what she deserves after offering Buffy to the vampires – who she had originally mistakenly invited – and it’s about as satisfying as the death of any bloodsucker. Because who doesn’t love a good comeuppance? Swank’s actual performance during the Knockout leaves a little to be desired, but considering she’s pretty amazing in the rest of the film, we can’t complain too much.

Swank’s Buffy character is the worst, but it launched her Hollywood career

It’s hard to believe that this is the same Swank who would win her first Oscar just seven years later. But that is exactly the case. After a groundbreaking role in BuffySwank later played the lead role The next karate kid (She still won’t make a cameo appearance Cobra Kai) and would later be cast as Carly Reynolds in the later seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1999 she landed at Swank Boys don’t cry role (which won her the Best Actress award) and just five years later she secured her second role Million Dollar Baby. Since then, Swank has starred in many different feature film productions and landed her own single-season television series in 2022. Alaska Daily.

Swank hits all the classic teen comedy beats and plays the role of a lovable antagonist. It’s clear that this underrated 1992 vampire comedy was a bigger win for the actress than she perhaps imagined. It’s almost a shame that 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 overall. Seeing her and Charisma Carpenter’s Cordelia compete would definitely have been special, but by the time the WB/UPN series premiered in 1997, she was already well on her way to becoming a Hollywood star.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be viewed in the US on Paramount+

Release date

July 1, 1992

director

Fran Rubel Kuzui

Duration

86 minutes

writer

Joss Whedon

Watch on Paramount+