Writer/director Joss Whedon is one of geekdom’s most cherished creators. Known primarily for creating cult classic TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Firefly (2002), and for directing the first two Avengers films, Whedon’s reach actually goes much further than nerd culture movies and TV. Whedon also has a reputation for being one of Hollywood’s most requested and respected script doctors, with a ton of the most popular films of the last few decades having his fingerprints on them, even if he doesn’t have a credit (he worked on the Twister (1996) script, for instance, but his work is uncredited).
Whether you’re a Whedon diehard or just kind of liked that first Avengers movie, we think you’ll appreciate these 10 interesting facts about Joss Whedon.
10. His First TV Writing Job Was On ‘Roseanne’
Whedon moved to Los Angeles in the late 80s and landed his first writing gig not long after on the sitcom Roseanne (1988). Whedon penned four episodes for the show’s 1989-90 season and followed that up with three episodes of Parenthood (1990) before getting the opportunity to write his first movie script in 1992. The movie? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which Whedon would later adapt into a very successful TV show five years later. Considering Whedon graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987, landing a writing job on a major network series only two years after graduation is a pretty significant accomplishment.
Source: Screenshot via The Carsey-Werner Company