Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Born on March 27, 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta, Nathan Fillion began his acting career by performing in numerous theater productions, as well as working on various projects on both the small and big screens. He was the son of retired English teachers, and he was educated at Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta, and the University of Alberta.
Upon relocating to New York City, Fillion landed the role of Joey Buchanan in the popular soap One Life to Live , and his portrayal earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor.
Nathan Fillion left the soap opera in 1997, and when he headed to Los Angeles, he was made a part of the supporting cast of the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl. Additionally, Fillion also appeared in the war movie Saving Private Ryan, where he shared the big screen with actor Tom Hanks, and was the title character in the short-lived sci-fi series, Firefly. His work on Firefly won him a Cinescape Genre Face of the Future-Male award and a 2006 SyFy Genre Award for Best Actor/Television.
Fillion's other acting credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Slither, Waitress and White Noise 2: The Light. He has also been active in voicing numerous animated characters. Some of his work in the field includes those in King of the Hill, Justice League Unlimited and an episode of Robot Chicken. He has also lent his voice in video games like Jade Empire and Halo 3. In 2006, Fillion was cast as Alex Tully, the lead role in the Fox series Drive. About a year later, the series was cancelled due to low ratings. Fillion joined the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives at as Dr. Adam Mayfair, a gynecologist.. He gained a lot of popularity starring on Joss Whedon?€™s Dr. Horrible?€™s Sing-Along Blog, where he was cast as Captain Hammer. Also in 2008, he started working on the ABC television series Castle, where he plays the mystery novelist Rick who helps the NYPD solve crimes.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
-Nathan has a tattoo of an Egyptian glyph on his right hip.
-Nathan was trained to be a teacher, but left four months before qualifying. 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.
-In Firefly, Nathan did his own stunts, getting multiple bruises and a sprained ankle.
-Sometimes, Nathan wears a kilt.
-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.
-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).
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.
1. "Castle" ... Richard Castle (10 episodes, 2009)
2. Wonder Woman (2009) (V) (voice)... Steve Trevor
3. "PG Porn" .... Chris (1 episode, 2008)
... aka "James Gunn's PG Porn" (USA: complete title) - Nailing Your Wife (2008) TV episode .... Chris
4. "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" .... Captain Hammer (3 episodes, 2008)
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5. "Desperate Housewives" .... Dr. Adam Mayfair (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
6. Trucker (2008) .... Runner
7. "Robot Chicken" .... Flash / ... (1 episode, 2007)
8. Halo 3 (2007) (VG) (voice) .... Sergeants
9. "One Life to Live" .... Joey Buchanan (2 episodes, 1994-2007)
10. "Drive" .... Alex Tully (6 episodes, 2007)
11. Waitress (2007) .... Dr. Pomatter
12. White Noise 2: The Light (2007) .... Abe Dale
13. "Lost" .... Kevin (1 episode, 2006)
14. Slither (2006) .... Bill Pardy
15. "Justice League" .... Spy Smasher / ... (2 episodes, 2005-2006)
16. Serenity (2005) .... Mal
17. Jade Empire (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Gao the Lesser
18. "Miss Match" .... Adam Logan (6 episodes, 2003-2004)
19.Outing Riley (2004) .... Luke Riley
20. Hollywood Division (2004) (TV) .... Det. Tommy Garrett
21. Water's Edge (2003) .... Robert
22. "Firefly" .... Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
23. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" .... Caleb (5 episodes, 2003)
24. Alligator Point (2003) (TV) .... Bill
25. "Pasadena" .... Rev. Glenn Collins (3 episodes, 2002)
26. "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" .... Johnny Donnelly (60 episodes, 1998-2001)
27. "King of the Hill" .... Frisbee Guy (1 episode, 2001)
28. Dracula 2000 (2000) .... Father David
29. "The Outer Limits" .... Michael Ryan (1 episode, 1999)
30. Blast from the Past (1999) .... Cliff
31. "Maggie Winters" .... Ronald (1 episode, 1998)
32. Saving Private Ryan (1998) .... Pvt. James Frederick 'Minnesota' Ryan
33. "Total Security" .... Troy Larson (1 episode)
34. "Spin City" .... Guy (1 episode, 1996)
35. Strange and Rich (1994) .... Walter Hoade
36. Ordeal in the Arctic (1993) (TV) .... Master Warrant Officer Tom Jardine
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!