This is why hollywood won't cast Alyson Hannigan anymore

Not long ago, it seemed like Alyson Hanigan was everywhere. From American Pie and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to How I Met Your Mother, her stock has soared in the last few years. But after How I Met Your Mother went off the air in 2014, Alyson Hanigan seemed to drop off the radar. Now, fans are more likely to see her in a fashion magazine or doing a random blog interview than they are to see her on the silver screen. What happened? Well, this one time, at Hollywood camp

Quick think of an Alyson Hannigan movie not named after a patriotic dessert. Yeah … we couldn't think of one either. While many people were introduced to Alyson Hannigan as the notorious "this one time, at band camp" girl in American Pie, she's mostly known for being one of the main cast in two highly popular television shows, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and How I Met Your Mother. In Buffy, she played the role of Willow Rosenberg, a shy teenage computer geek who grows to become a confident witch with great powers (and not always great responsibility). In How I Met Your Mother, she plays Lily Aldrin, an artistic teacher whose relationship with Marshall Eriksen provides a foil for the perpetually looking-for-love Ted Mosby. Because of just how long she was in the spotlight as part of two highly prominent television shows, it may be hard to re-sell Hannigan to moviegoers as a movie star rather than as someone who shines best on television.

One of the unfortunate truths about Hollywood is that it primarily casts actors by archetype. Age can determine if an actor plays the hapless young victim, the plucky young hero, the grizzled mentor, and so on. As of 2016, Alyson Hannigan is 42 years old, which puts her at a kind of intermediate age. She's no longer young enough to be the teen sidekick she once was with Buffy or to be the newlywed yuppie she popularized on How I Met Your Mother. But she isn't really old enough to play a mentor to younger cast mates, which ultimately makes her very hard to put into a movie. Similarly, Maggie Gyllenhaal reported that, at 37 years old, she was turned down for a role because she was considered too old to be the love interest for the male protagonist … a man who was 55! So, Hannigan must navigate a weird matrix of sexism, ageism, and fan expectation

To see why Hollywood is hesitant to cast Alyson Hannigan as a mother, one need look no further than Winona Ryder. At the age of 42, Hannigan is actually the perfect age to serve as the mother to a plucky young hero. But Winona Ryder, at the age of 45, has some parallels with Hannigan. Specifically, each of them made an impression on fans as a teenage girl in the midst of extremely bizarre narratives. This was the case with Ryder, who America fell in love with when they saw her in such films as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Heathers.

What does this have to do with Hannigan playing a mother? Some fans reacted quite strongly to Winona Ryder playing a mother, first to a young Spock in the 2009 Star Trek reboot and again when she played the frantic mother in 2016's Stranger Things. At the age of 45, Ryder was the perfect age for the role, but many fans freaked out at the tangible reminder that they and Ryder were getting older. Seeing the plucky teenage witch instead chasing down rambunctious teenagers might remind her fans of a certain monster that neither witch nor slayer can conquer: the Grim Reaper.

One of the happier reasons that Hollywood is hesitant to cast Hannigan is that she's keeping very busy as a mother. Hannigan married Alexis Denisof, who played fellow Buffy veteran and Angel costar Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, back in 2003. Since then, Alyson has given birth to two daughters. Hannigan is known for being very active and engaged with her family and has understandably felt the pressure of balancing family life and life as an actor. Knowing that she's actively balancing those two lives more so than other actors may make Hollywood reticent to hire her for the requisite late nights and re-shoots that are part of a major motion picture. This seems to suit her just fine; Hannigan is positively beaming in nearly every photo she takes with her family.

Buffy lasted for seven seasons and spanned two networks, while How I Met Your Mother lasted for a staggering nine seasons. Both shows probably would have benefited by wrapping up about two seasons earlier than they did. But because the same two characters got shoved down our throats for a combined 16 years, she may have worn out her welcome. No one wants to be typecast (except maybe Steven Seagal), but she will forever be associated with those roles. Hopefully, Hannigan will receive (and take) an opportunity to reinvent herself on the silver screen sometime very soon.

While the characters she played on Buffy and How I Met Your Mother are quite different, they both serve as the amusing comic relief. As Willow Rosenberg, Hannigan often offered wry commentary on everything from the state of Buffy's latest relationship to the gender norms that she and girlfriend Tara helped redefine. As Lily Aldrin, she eventually came to embody the humorous voice of a veteran spouse who could poke fun at the often too-serious Ted's quest to find the future mother of his children. Her most prominent Hollywood role in American Pie is also comedic. But she hasn't played any popular serious roles. Most people have never seen whether she's capable of any range at all.

Another reason Hannigan is still associated with those old roles is because of the timeless quality of fandom. While Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003, fans have kept the show alive with fan fiction and comic conventions throughout the world. Both Hannigan and her husband are very popular stars on the sci-fi convention circuit, appearing at events such as the Phoenix Comicon to fans eager to get autographs and pictures with their favorite Buffy characters. This further cements Hannigan with her genre roots, making it harder to sell her as a character in other roles, like a traditional drama or other non-genre film.

Alyson Hannigan seems pretty content to take her career away from Hollywood. In 2016, she took over from Jonathan Ross as the host of the magic competition show Penn and Teller: Fool Us, which involves aspiring magicians trying to fool veteran magicians Penn and Teller. By all accounts, it's going pretty well! Penn and Teller have expressed their enthusiasm for Hannigan's humor and talent, and Hannigan has expressed her love for the famous duo and for magic itself. The show has since been renewed, and Hannigan's continued success in this role may signal that her career is shifting into the kinds of non-scripted evening entertainment that eventually culminates with a role such as her own late night show. She even told Entertainment Weekly that she's "always wanted to play Vegas." Maybe she'll stay there and eventually start a show of her own.

Fortunately, there are several possible paths that lead Alyson Hannigan back to the big screen. One method would be for her to star in a critically successful independent film that showcases something that her mostly comedic television shows only occasionally touched on: her dynamic emotional range. If she offers the kind of powerhouse performance we know she's capable of, then positive critical reviews and fan word-of-mouth would soon have Hollywood rumbling about bringing Hannigan back. Alternately, some of her older work can be introduced to a new generation. For instance, Buffy the Vampire Slayer recently received a controversial high-definition upgrade for broadcasting and streaming, and many fans are hoping that Buffy Blu-rays are right around the corner. Considering that Buffy went off the air in 2003, this would legitimately be a chance for an entirely new audience to fall in love with Hannigan, leading to her triumphant Hollywood return.

A final path back to Hollywood would be for Hannigan to direct her own movie. This is how some of the Star Trek alumni, such as Jonathan Frakes, helped escape the shadow of Trek: by becoming proficient and prolific directors. Hannigan could very well direct her own Hollywood return, be it indie drama or raunchy comedy, and instantly revive her Hollywood career, just like … well … magic!