Joss Hill Whedon came into this world on 23 June, 1964. One might say that Joss' career path was inevitable. A third generation writer, his father Tom Whedon and Grandfather John Whedon were both notable TV writers, their credits included Leave It To Beaver, The Donna Reed Show and Benson.

Joss grew up in Manhattan, New York, moving to England for 3 years where he attended Winchester College all-boys school to study for his A-Levels. He later attended Wesleyan University where he received a degree in film studies. He then moved to Los Angeles, CA shortly thereafter and landed his first writing job as a story editor on Roseanne, even writing several of the episodes. moving on to become co-producer and writer on the short lived show Parenthood. Joss' big break came in 1994 when he agreed to a 10 week assignment rewriting the movie Speed. The skill he demonstrated led to further script doctoring jobs on the likes of Waterworld and Twister.

It was around this time that Joss sold his first film script, namely Buffy The Vampire Slayer the movie. However, during filming it soon became clear to Joss that his vision of Buffy wasn’t being taken seriously, leading to him walking off the set. Disappointed with his first attempt to break in to movies, Joss shelved Buffy and moved onto other writing projects, including the hugely successful Toy Story.

Then in 1997 Joss was approached by casting agent Gail Berman, her intention was to revive Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but this time as a TV series. This time Joss would be given full control of the show. The resurrected version of Buffy became an overnight success.

Joss' career now started to take off and in 1997 he was approached to write the 4th installment of the Alien franchise, Alien: Resurrection. Then, in 1999, with the success of Buffy, Joss, together with fellow Buffy writer David Greenwalt, set about creating the spin-off to Buffy, Angel, with David Boreanez as the lead role. In 2000 Joss was also asked to revise the script for X-Men, which he reportedly completely re-wrote, although his final draft was sidelined by the studio.

Then in 2002 Joss started on Firefly, a futuristic tale set 500 years into the future, of a renegade war veterans trying to survive while avoiding warring factions. This latest project didn’t receive well and after only 12 episodes, the show was cancelled. The next year saw the end of Joss’ much beloved Buffy and shortly thereafter, the cancellation of Angel. With the 'Buffy-verse' in mourning and through much speculation of more spin-offs, it came as a surprise to some that Joss choose to resurrect Firefly, this time in movie form and re-titled Serenity.

Just before starting on Serenity, Joss along with writer Brett Matthews and in association with Dark Horse comics, have produced a number of Serenity prequal comicbooks, with more on the horizon. Joss is currently working with comicbook artist and writer John Cassaday, in association with Marvel^TM Comics, to produce a series of Astonishing X-Men comics. One of Joss' own ideas from these X-Men books, the idea of a cure for mutations, was the main story arc behind the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand.

Joss currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Kai Cole and son Arden.

Quotes and other notable facts

Joss had appearances in Buffy, Angel and Firefly.

Created two Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off comis books called 'Fray'. Set in New York 200 years into the future.

Joss was always ahead of the game, writing much of Buffy and Angel atleast one season ahead of where they were.

Reported as saying about Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), 'If we hadn't have found Sarah when we did, the show may never have happened.'

Saying about the WB's cancellation of their contract for Angel, Joss says 'We put a lot of that heartbreak into the script, into the show, so it would hurt as much to watch as it did to have it taken away from us. I would not have been as brutal about the ending had we had another season.'

About Buffy and Angel. 'Redemption is something you have to fight for in a very personal, down-dirty way. Some of our characters lose that, some stray from that, and some regain it.'

Joss' vision of Buffy. 'I'd rather make a show 100 people need to see, than a show that 1000 people want to see.'

Writer, Producer and Director Credits

2006 – Wonder Woman

2005 – Serenity

2003 – Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds (uncredited)

2002 – Firefly

2001 – Atlantis: The Lost Empire

2000 – Buffy The Vampire Slayer (VG) (uncredited)

2000 – Titan A.E. (screenplay)

1999 – Angel (creator)

1997 – Alien: Resurrection

1997 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer (creator)

1995 – Toy Story

1992 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie)

1990 – Parenthood

1988 – Roseanne

For a full list of Joss' credits check out the International Movie Database (IMDb).

Despite the cancellation of all of Joss' current projects, Joss and his shows still maintain a loyal following, all waiting with baited breath for Joss' next project.