Nathan Fillion

Date of Birth : 27 March 1971

Location : Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Birth Name : Nathan C. Fillion

Height : 6’ 1½" (1.87 m)

Mini Biography

Canadian-born actor Nathan Fillion gained critical acclaim and a large cult of fans when he starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the Joss Whedon TV series "Firefly" (2002), having previously been a regular on "One Life to Live" (1968) and "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" (1998). Fillion had also appeared in small roles in the films Blast from the Past (1999) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Whedon gave Fillion a chance to display his range when he cast Fillion as the twisted preacher Caleb, a villain, in the seventh and final season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997).

When "Firefly" (2002) was prematurely canceled in late 2002, the show’s cast, crew, and many fans were devastated. Whedon vowed to resurrect the series in some way, and Fillion played Captain Reynolds again in the feature-film Serenity (2005). Fillion followed this film with more big screen leading roles in the horror-comedy Slither (2006) and the indie hit Waitress (2007). He also continued to be a force in television, starring in the short-lived Fox-TV series "Drive" (2007) and appearing on ABC’s "Desperate Housewives" (2004). He took his first singing part (and cemented his cult appeal) as Captain Hammer in Whedon’s musical Internet smash "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" (2008). IMDb Mini Biography By: Azure_Girl

Trivia

Wanted to be a high school Drama teacher. In college he majored in art, and minored in drama while pursuing an acting career on the side.

Originally auditioned for the role of "Angel" for Joss Whedon’s first television series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997). However, never met Joss Whedon until he auditioned for Mal in Firefly.

When he won best actor at the 2006 SyFy Genre Awards for his portrayal of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in "Firefly" (2002), the show had been off the air for around 3 years.

Parents are Cookie and Bob Fillion, both of whom are retired English teachers.

Has an older brother, Jeff.

Attended Concordia University College of Alberta and the University of Alberta.

One of four actors from Firefly (2002) who voiced superheroes on Justice League Unlimited (2001). He voiced the western themed Vigilante while Adam Baldwin voiced Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern, Gina Torres voiced Vixen, and Morena Baccarin voiced Black Canary.

Claims to be descended from Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early. When told this, Joss Whedon created a bounty hunter by the name of Jubal Early for the Firefly episode "Objects in Space.".

Auditioned for the role of Michael in Dawn of the Dead (2004).

He considers his time on "Firefly" (2002) to be the most fun he had on a TV series.

Personal Quotes

I’ve always fantasized about being on TV. And I was. Then I fantasized about being in the movies. What could be better than captain of a space ship? I get to ride horses, shoot guns, have adventures ...

My favorite villains are the ones you don’t see coming. What I enjoyed about playing Caleb was that he was so very, very clever, so very, very sweet, and so very, very twisted. I liked that he’s not a typical villain. He’s soft and sweet and righteous, and yet he’s perverted and twisted in his head.

(talking about the cancellation of Firefly): I broke the cardinal rule of don’t fall in love with what you’re doing, because the rug can get yanked out from underneath you, and when it did, I was heartbroken.

(On Firefly fans attempts to save the show) It’s very Jehovah’s Witness. I’m not sure if anyone’s actually going door to door, but it’s not far off.

(When asked about his relationship with Joss Whedon): I’ll tell you this. No one has ever shown the kind of faith in me that Joss Whedon has shown, in both giving me a lead on his sci-fi show Firefly and in letting me play a villain for the very first time. No one’s ever let me play a villain before. So, I would say that I think he’s done great things for my career and certainly my confidence in general.

(about Serenity): There is nothing like a major motion picture to make you feel a little bit better about having your TV show cancelled.

(When asked what he likes about playing a villain): Being able to be evil. You can’t do the evil things that you want to do in real life. You certainly can’t because it’s against the law and society says all that they have to say about being evil. You want to be bad everyday. You want to do the bad evil things that you can’t get away with and now I’m able to be bad and super strong. It’s a fantasy.

(When asked what makes Caleb unique and threatening): His accent. Never trust a southerner. No, I’m kidding. They’re wonderful. You want to believe in his niceness and his charm, but he’s an evil kind of crazy man who’s righteous. Fear the righteous.

(When asked if he would go back and do a Firefly TV series again after Serenity): I hope so. Daddy’s got bills to pay!

[on "Firefly"] - It was my favorite job ever. What wasn’t great about it? I got to wear a low-slung holster. I got to ride horses. I got to have a spaceship. I got to act mean and curmudgeonly. [Creator Joss Whedon] is really good at kicking characters in the nuts so the other characters would have laughs at my expense and that was great too. ... If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet. ... We’re the most story-literate society the world has ever seen. What Joss tends to do is twist story conventions into reality. Whereas the story goes like this, real life goes like this, and that’s what Joss has mastered.