Nathan Fillion
Fillion at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International.
Born | (1971-03-27) March 27, 1971 (age 42) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Occupation | Actor
Years active | 1993?present

Nathan Fillion (/ʔ f ʔ l j[unsupported input]/; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.

He has acted in traditionally distributed films like Slither and Trucker, Internet-distributed films like Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, voice acted in video games Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, television soap operas and sitcoms, and in the theatre.

## Early life[edit]

Fillion was born in Edmonton, Alberta, the younger son of Cookie and Bob Fillion, both of whom are retired English teachers.[1] He has an older brother, Jeff,[2] and attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta, and the University of Alberta, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Society. According to Fillion, he is descended from Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Anderson Early.[3]

## Career[edit]

### 1994?2009[edit]

After working in several theatre, television and film productions, including Theatresports with Rapid Fire Theatre and the improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, Fillion moved to New York City in 1994 where he acted in the soap opera One Life to Live as Joey Buchanan, for which he was nominated in 1996 for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series. In 1997, he left the series to pursue other projects (but would return for a brief guest appearance in 2007).[4]

After moving to Los Angeles, he played a supporting role in the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, and was cast as James Frederick "The Minnesota" Ryan in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Fillion had a recurring role as Caleb in 2003 in the final five episodes of the final season of Joss Whedon's series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In 2002, Fillion starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the Joss Whedon science fiction television series Firefly, for which he won the Cinescape Genre Face of the Future – Male award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy Horror Films, USA. Fillion also won the Syfy Genre Awards in 2006 for Best Actor/Television and was runner-up for Best Actor/Movie.[5] Fillion called his time on Firefly the best acting job he ever had,[6] and compares every job he has had to it.[7] Although the show was cancelled, it was adapted to the big screen; he reprised his role as Mal in Whedon's movie Serenity (2005).

Fillion lent his voice to the animated series King of the Hill in 2001, the video game Jade Empire (as the voice of Gao the Lesser), and the animated series Justice League Unlimited (as Vigilante in the episodes "Hunter's Moon" and "Patriot Act") in 2005 and 2006. Fillion starred in James Gunn's 2006 horror film Slither. For his starring role as Bill Pardy, he garnered a 2006 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nomination in the category of Dude You Don't Wanna Mess With.[8]

Fillion starred in the romantic comedy film Waitress, written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2007, and opened in theaters on May 2, 2007. Waitress grossed $22,125,001 in worldwide sales as of May 13, 2008, and $29.22 million in rentals as of January 28, 2008.[9][10] Fillion starred in White Noise 2: The Light. He made one appearance in the 2006?2007 season of the television show Lost, as Kevin, Kate's ex-husband.

In October 2006, Fillion signed a talent holding contract with the Fox Broadcasting Company, and in December 2006, The Hollywood Reporter[11] confirmed that Fillion was cast as Alex Tully in the series Drive, which debuted on Fox in the spring of 2007. Drive was created by Fillion's longtime friend and former Angel and Firefly writer Tim Minear. Ivan Sergei played Alex Tully in the original pilot episode of Drive. The first two Drive episodes premiered on April 13, 2007, in Canada (April 15, 2007 in the United States). However, the show did not deliver the ratings Fox desired, and on April 25, 2007, the network announced that the series was cancelled.[12][13] The final two produced episodes were supposed to air back-to-back on Fox in July 2007 but did not actually become available until July 15 when they were posted on the Drive MySpace page.[14]

He reprised his 1990s role as One Life to Live's Joey for the series' 9,999th and 10,000th episodes, aired August 16 and 17, 2007.[15][16][17]

Fillion joined the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives at the beginning of the fall 2007 season as Dr. Adam Mayfair. His first appearance was in the episode "Now You Know", which aired on September 30, 2007.

He voiced the role of a Marine Sergeant in the Xbox 360 game Halo 3, alongside fellow Firefly stars Alan Tudyk and Adam Baldwin. At one point early in the first mission, he identifies himself as "[Sergeant] Reynolds" over the radio, referring to his character's name from the TV series Firefly. All three actors are given personalities in the game that match those of their characters from Firefly. He provides the voice and portrayed likeness for Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck in the Halo 3 expansion, Halo 3: ODST,[18] a role he briefly reprised in Halo: Reach.

### 2009?present[edit]

In March 2009, the first episode of the ABC television series Castle aired, in which Fillion stars as the title character Richard Castle, a mystery novelist who helps the NYPD solve crimes. In May 2009, ABC green-lit the production of the series for a second season.[19] In 2009, Fillion was nominated for Satellite Award for Best Actor ? Television Series Drama for his performance in Castle. On March 30, 2010, ABC announced that Castle had been renewed for its third season with a 22-episode full-season order.[20] Castle was renewed for a fourth season on January 10, 2011,[21] and for a fifth season on May 10, 2012.[22]

BuddyTV ranked him #10 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2009",[23] #19 in 2010[24] and #20 in 2011;[25] named his character's relationship with the other main character as #18 (and the Best Flirting Relationship) on its list of "Love Is All Around: Best TV Relationships of 2010"[26] and #13 (and the Best Delayed Relationship) on its list of "The Best Relationships of 2011";[27] and named Castle as #6 on its list of "The 11 Best Returning TV Shows of 2011".[28]

Fillion was featured in a spoof porn web video on Spike called "Nailing Your Wife", part of the PG Porn series.[29]

Fillion made a brief cameo appearance in the season 5 episode "Revolving Doors" of the web series The Guild.[30]

In late September 2011, Fillion guest starred as the Action Sports 1 anchor in the web series Husbands.[31] He will be playing Dogberry in the upcoming independent film Much Ado About Nothing, based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, written and produced by Joss Whedon.[32][33]

In 2012, he appeared in the episode "The Daly Superheroes" of the web series "The Daly Show." [34]

## Charity work[edit]

Fillion co-founded the non-profit organization Kids Need to Read with author PJ Haarsma in 2007 to help inspire kids' imaginations by getting more books into underfunded libraries.[35]

## Awards and nominations[edit]

See also: List of awards and nominations received by Nathan Fillion

## Filmography[edit]

Nathan Fillion at Paleyfest 2012, in March 2012

Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
1994 | Strange and Rich | Walter Hoade |
1998 | Saving Private Ryan | Pvt. James Frederick 'Minnesota' Ryan |
1999 | Blast from the Past | Cliff |
2000 | Dracula 2000 | Father David |
2003 | Water's Edge | Robert Graves |
2004 | Outing Riley | Luke Riley |
2005 | Serenity | Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds |
2006 | Slither | Bill Pardy |
2007 | White Noise: The Light | Abe Dale |
2007 | Waitress | Dr. Jim Pomatter |
2008 | Trucker | Runner |
2009 | Wonder Woman | Steve Trevor (voice) | DTV
2010 | SUPER | The Holy Avenger |
2011 | Green Lantern: Emerald Knights | Hal Jordan (voice) | DTV
2012 | Justice League: Doom | Hal Jordan (voice) | DTV
2012 | Much Ado About Nothing | Dogberry | Post-production
2013 | Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters | Hermes | Post-production; scheduled for August 16, 2013

Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
1993 | Ordeal in the Arctic | Master Warrant Officer Tom Jardine | TV movie
1994?1997 | One Life to Live | Joey Riley Buchanan | TV Soap Opera
1996 | Spin City | Guy (uncredited) | Episode: "A Star Is Born"
1997 | Total Security | Troy Larson | Episode: "Das Bootie"
1998 | Maggie Winters | Ronald | Episode: "Mama's Got a Brand New Bag"
1998?2001 | Two Guys and a Girl | Johnny Donnelly | 60 episodes
1999 | Outer Limits, The The Outer Limits | Michael Ryan | Episode: "Star Crossed"
2001 | King of the Hill | Frisbee Guy (voice) | Episode: "Luanne Virgin 2.0"
2002 | Pasadena | Rev. Glenn Collins | 3 episodes
2002?2003 | Firefly | Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds | 14 episodes
2003 | Alligator Point | Bill | TV movie
2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Caleb | 5 episodes
2003 | Miss Match | Adam Logan | 6 episodes
2004 | Hollywood Division | Det. Tommy Garrett | TV movie
2005 | Justice League | Various (voice) | Episode: "Hunter's Moon"
2006 | Justice League | Various (voice) | Episode: "Patriot Act"
2006 | Lost | Kevin Callis | Episode: "I Do"
2007 | Drive | Alex Tully | 6 episodes
2007 | One Life to Live | Joey Riley Buchanan | TV series
2007 | Robot Chicken | Various (voice) | Episode: "Losin' the Wobble"
2007?2008 | Desperate Housewives | Dr. Adam Mayfair | 12 episodes
2009 | Robot Chicken | Various (voice) | Episode: "We Are a Humble Factory"
2009?present | Castle | Richard Castle | Main character
2010 | Venture Bros., The The Venture Bros. | Brown Widow (voice) | Episode: "Bright Lights, Dean City"
2011 | Robot Chicken | Various | Episode: "Some Like It Hitman"
2012 | Robot Chicken | Hal Jordan, Mr. Freeze, others | Episode: DC Comics Special

Web Series
Year | Title | Role | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
2008 | Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog | Captain Hammer | Internet miniseries
2008 | James Gunn's PG Porn | Chris | Episode: "Nailing Your Wife"
2011 | The Guild | Himself | Episode: "Revolving Doors"
2011 | Husbands | Anchor | Episode: "Being Britney!"
2011 | Morning After, The The Morning After |  | Episode: "1.173"
2012 | The Daly Show | Himself | Episode: "The Daly Superheroes"

Video games
Year | Title | Role
--- | --- | ---
2005 | Jade Empire | Gao the Lesser (voice)
2007 | Halo 3 | Sergeant Reynolds (voice)
2009 | Halo 3: ODST | Gunnery Sergeant Buck (voice)
2010 | Halo: Reach | Gunnery Sergeant Buck (voice)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Serenity star was 'a geeky kid'". Canada.com. 2005-12-30. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
2. ^ "Nathan Fillion Biography – Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. 1971-03-27. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
3. ^ "Hour long Podcast interview with Nathan Fillion June 2008 Nathan talks about Early, Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible, Casle pilot filming...just about everything. Recently he announced that he is an avid reader of Popular Science and Dwell magazines". Jimmyaquino.typepad.com. 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
4. ^ Rancilio, Alicia (March 16, 2009). "Nathan Fillion proud of his soap opera roots". Yahoo! News. Associated Press.
5. ^ "Syfy Portal Awards". Archived from the original on 2006-11-07. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
6. ^ Fillion, Nathan. Here's How It Was: The Making of Firefly (Firefly: The Complete Series (DVD)).
7. ^ "Nathan Fillion". Kevin Pollak's Chat Show. Season #2.42. February 13, 2011. 96:40 minutes in.
8. ^ "Nathan Fillion nominated at Fango Chainsaw Awards 2006". Fangoria. August 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
9. ^ "'Waitress': Summary". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
10. ^ "'Waitress': DVD/Home Video". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2006-12-15). "'Drive' time for Fillion at Fox". The Hollywood Reporter.
12. ^ Schneider, Michael (April 25, 2007). "Drive runs out of gas". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
13. ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 25, 2007). "Fox cancels Drive". TV Guide. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
14. ^ Posted on July 16, 2007 (2007-07-16). "5.0". Timminear.net. Retrieved 2010-08-04. Text "Comments (13)" ignored (help)
15. ^ "Fillion back to OLTL", Soap Opera Digest, Vol. 32, No. 31, July 31, 2007, page 5.
16. ^ "One Life to Live recap (8/16/07)". ABC.com (Internet Archive). August 16, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
17. ^ "One Life to Live recap (8/17/07)". ABC.com (Internet Archive). August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
18. ^ Robinson, Andy (2008-11-17). "Halo 3 Recon goes open-world". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
19. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 15, 2009). "ABC's pilot pickup spree". Variety.
20. ^ "Castle Renewed for Third Season". tvguide.com. March 30, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
21. ^ "'Modern Family', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Castle', get early pickups; so do 3 other shows". Zap2It. Retrieved January 10, 2011. .
22. ^ Matt Mitovich (May 10, 2012). "Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Castle, Grey's and More Renewed by ABC". TVLine.com. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
23. ^ "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2009". BuddyTV. 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
24. ^ "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2010". BuddyTV. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
25. ^ "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2011". BuddyTV. 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
26. ^ "Love Is All Around: Best TV Relationships of 2010". BuddyTV. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
27. ^ "The Best Relationships of 2011". BuddyTV. 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
28. ^ "The 11 Best Returning TV Shows of 2011". BuddyTV. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
29. ^ "Nailing Your Wife". Spike.com. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
30. ^ "Revolving Doors". Watchtheguild.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
31. ^ "HUSBANDS 3: Being Britney!". Blip. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
32. ^ "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING". MuchAdoTheMovie.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
33. ^ "Joss Whedon on his secret film of 'Much Ado About Nothing': 'This is the best vacation I've ever taken' ? EXCLUSIVE". Ew.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
34. ^ SheltonFilms.com. "The Daly Superheroes". Retrieved April 10, 2012.
35. ^ Horn, Steven (2007-08-16). "Nathan Fillion Interviews PJ Haarsma". Comics.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-08-04.

## External links[edit]

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to API.

- API at the Internet Movie Database

Authority control | VIAF: 44593716

Persondata
Name | Fillion, Nathan
Alternative names |
Short description | Actor
Date of birth | March 27, 1971
Place of birth | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date of death |
Place of death |