By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
On the hit TV show Buffy the Vampire SlayerCharisma Carpenter played Cordelia Chase, a member of the Scooby Gang led by Slayer who regularly fought monsters and other things that go bump in the night. When Carpenter left the series for the Angel spin-off, she fought even more scary creatures alongside Buffy’s former boyfriend. What most fans of this Joss Whedon franchise don’t realize is that Charisma Carpenter fought a monster in real life, surviving a 1991 attack that easily could have killed her and her friends.
Charisma Carpenter Attack
It all started when the future Buffy The actor was swimming with a few friends at Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego. Everyone had nothing on their minds other than some serious fun in the sun, and they had no way of predicting the horrible event that was about to occur. Charisma Carpenter and her friends quickly had to survive an attack from the last person they expected: a police officer.
The officer in question was Henry Hubbard Jr., a 29-year-old police officer who wasted no time in threatening this trio of beachgoers. He pointed a gun at Charisma Carpenter but did not attack her directly with it; instead, he used the gun to try to coerce her into tying up her two friends. Incredibly, she refused to do so (tell her, Cordelia!), which gave one of her cronies enough time to jump and overpower Hubbard.
As fierce as she is Buffy the Vampire SlayerIt’s still crazy to think that Charisma Carpenter is just as strong-willed in real life, surviving what could have been a horrific attack because she refused to comply with an armed assailant. Years later, the actor explained that his reaction was the result of an important lesson he was taught at a young age. “One of the things I was told when I was 10 was that whatever they do to you when they find you alone, it will be 10 times worse than if they had to do it there ” she said.
Incidentally, Charisma Carpenter’s quick thinking did more than save her and her friends…it also deprived Hubbard of the ability to attack future victims. She kept her police-issued flashlight, prime evidence that helped convict this officer of the violent attack on the future. Buffy star. He was ultimately sentenced to 56 years in prison for a series of assaults on the Los Angeles beach that included rape, robbery, and attempted murder, and he likely would have continued to attack others if Carpenter and his friends didn’t. They didn’t help lock him up.
After the attack
As for Charisma Carpenter, she refused to let this attack define her life or who she is. Not only did she later kill him (so to speak) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer And Angelbut she would later be the host of the aptly named series Investigation Discovery. I survived evil. That show featured other survivors telling their own heartbreaking stories, and Carpenter’s own experience helped her bring those stories to life while providing victims with much-needed closure.
With certainty Buffy fans, this is all probably old news, but it’s something I just learned recently. Honestly, I didn’t think I could respect Charisma Carpenter more after watching her effortlessly become the best part of every show she stars in, but knowing that she survived a violent attack in real life takes my respect to the next level. Move over, Buffy. There’s a new Slayer in town and she knows exactly how to protect her friends every time a monster moves.
Source: TV line
