Firefly

Nathan Fillion, who stars as Capt. Mal Reynolds in the upcoming SF movie Serenity, told SCI FI Wire that he doesn’t feel a lot of pressure in his first major feature-film lead role, based on his character from Fox’s canceled TV series Firefly. "I don’t feel a lot of that pressure," Fillion said in an interview during a break in filming at Universal Studios in Los Angeles last summer. "My schedule is much the same as it was on the series: I’m here a lot. But I get to perform with everybody in the cast. I get to have great scenes with all of these great characters that I fell in love with. I don’t feel a great deal of pressure. You know what? I’m starting to feel the thing, now that it’s wrapping up, [where] I just really hope people enjoy this movie. I really hope they do. I hope folks that aren’t fans-that weren’t fans of the series-will catch this and maybe go get the DVD collection and [see] what [they were] missing."

Serenity picks up the story of the short-lived Firefly, about the ragtag crew of a transport spaceship 500 years in the future as they eke out a living in the wake of a galactic civil war. Fillion’s Reynolds is the captain of the ship and a war-weary veteran of the losing side in the civil war. "I’m here having a great time with some very talented actors, with a very talented director [Firefly creator Joss Whedon], who are all my good friends. I’m in a very safe place here. I don’t come to work feeling, ’There’s a lot of pressure on me.’ I come to work saying, ’What do we get to do today? Who am I going to get to hang out with today? Who’s on the guest list, the call sheet, today that I get to hang out with?’"

Fillion added, "Joss has told me he’s under a little more pressure. But you know what? I don’t see it. I think when we were doing the series, I saw him working on three series [Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly]. We didn’t see him near as often as we would have liked, because he’s great to have around. He’s a real warm presence on a set. His presence on set is calming. He’s very specific in what he wants. He’s very confident in his choices, and it’s nice to have him around." Serenity is slated for release in April 2005. Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.