Pee-Wee Herman Played A Vampire (Twice) & You May Have Missed It

On July 30, 2023, Paul Reubens passed away at the age of 70. He left behind an iconic career and filmography, with many people reminiscing on how he entertained them as children with his character, Pee-wee Herman, the subject of several films and television series. But while Reubens made a career of interacting with talking furniture, he had numerous other characters under his belt, often with comedic sensibilities. 

After "Pee-wee's Playhouse" ended in 1990, he followed up his legendary character by playing an antagonist in 1992's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Before it was a hit show, it was a less-than-stellar film that took some liberties with the direction writer Joss Whedon wanted to take. But Reubens played the vampire, Amilyn, in the movie, trading in his bow tie for a leather jacket. Amilyn functions as an acolyte to the main vampire baddie, Lothos (Rutger Hauer), but he still has plenty of opportunities to show what a bloodsucker he can be. 

Seeing how many people forget about the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie, it's easy not to know Reubens played a villain in it. In fact, that was the case for Jemaine Clement when it came time to cast famous vampires for "The Trial" episode of "What We Do in the Shadows."

"The Trial" is a standout episode of "What We Do in the Shadows" (and that's really saying something). It sees the main vampires of the series go up against the vampiric tribunal for perceived transgressions, and much to viewers' delight, said tribunal consists of famous vampires from film and television along with the actors who originally played them. Naturally, this includes Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, and Jonathan Brugh, who played vampires in the film "What We Do in the Shadows" is based on. But they also bring in Tilda Swinton from "Only Lovers Left Alive," Evan Rachel Wood from "True Blood," Danny Trejo from "From Dusk Till Dawn," and Wesley Snipes from "Blade." And, of course, Paul Reubens is there to reprise his role from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

For anyone watching the episode, it may have come as a surprise to see Pee-wee Herman amongst the vampires. That went double for Clement, who had forgotten entirely about Reubens' tenure as a vampire. As he told Entertainment Weekly, "I've seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie, but I didn't know Paul Reubens played that character, because he's so in disguise. I didn't realize it was him, but we were excited to get him, because he's such a funny person." The episode also has a bit where the vampiric tribunal discusses other vampires who couldn't make it, like Brad [Pitt] and Tom [Cruise] from "Interview with a Vampire."

They cast a wide net and ended up with one of the funniest bits in modern TV history. And Reubens' involvement served as a good reminder for people to check out the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" if they hadn't seen it yet.