Having a speech impediment may be joked about a lot on television, but for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actor Nicholas Brendon, it's something that almost sidelined his entire acting career.

Brendon, who plays Xander in the series, told CNN he started to suffer from a stuttering problem when he was 8.

"I realized it because I couldn't talk anymore," Brendon said. "I noticed I was having a hard time communicating and I became a little shy.

"I always wanted to be an actor, but with a speech impediment, it's kind of tough. I decided to roll the dice and take an acting class, which was very, very nerve-wracking ... my stomach would just be in knots."

In the class, Brendon was able to get himself through nearly a dozen tongue-twisters, and that a lot of his stuttering would come from being frightened -- especially during auditions.

The National Institutes of Health reports that more than 3 million Americans stutter, and while there are treatments for it, there is no specific cure. For Brendon, he has found acting to help out a lot.

"When I'm acting, it's easier," he said. "The lines are on a piece of paper, so it's easier not to stutter. When I'm in life, it's a free fall."

For the last two years, Brendon has been outspoken on stuttering, even serving as the spokesman for the Stuttering Foundation of America.

I would do it every year if they ask me, because stuttering is a very lonely place to be," he said.