Nicholas Brendon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon has checked into rehab, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

The actor says alcohol and the sleeping pill Sonata were to blame for his confrontation with police in March, an incident that ended with Brendon tased and arrested.

Nicholas says he was looking for his dog and knocked on his neighbor’s door the evening of March 17, a source close to the actor told RadarOnline.com exclusively. “She (the neighbor) said ‘Go away,’ the source says. But Nicholas kicked her door and she dialed 911.

Our source says Nicholas suffered a blackout and doesn’t remember fighting with police. The only thing he remembered was being tased, which he described to our source: “Being tased is like being punched in the side by Rocky Balboa, the pain is so bad it runs up your spine,” he told the source.

Brendon, who played Xander on the popular TV vampire series, told our source “They realized who I was, but I didn’t get any special treatment.” He was charged with felony vandalism and released on $20,000 bail. Recognizing he had a problem, the 38-year-old checked himself in the SOBA Recovery Center in Malibu.

“I’m feeling lucky because alcoholism effected my money management decisions and they are helping me,” Nicholas told the source, adding that he feels “really grateful.”

“I was in treatment in 2005 and unfortunately I had a relapse. In the back of my mind, I always knew I had a problem but it became clear to me when I got arrested,” he told the source.

Brendon also told the source about another up side to the recovery program: “they have acting classes that focus on recovery.”

Brendon is focusing on his recovery and his work on the hit CBS show Criminal Minds and two animated films.