- Nathan Fillion
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Nathan Fillion 
Fillion at the 2005 premiere of SerenityBorn March 27, 1971
Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaOccupation Actor Years active 1993–present Nathan Fillion (pronounced /ˈfɪljən/, as in million; 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-over work like the video games Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, television soap operas and sitcoms, and in the theatre.
Contents
Early life
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
1994-2009
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 the final season of Joss Whedon's series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and auditioned for the role of Angel in early 1996.[citation needed]
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 has claimed his time on Firefly to be the best acting job he ever had.[6] 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.[7]
Fillion starred in the romantic comedy film Waitress, written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival January 21, 2007 and opened in theaters on May 2, 2007. According to Box Office Mojo, Waitress grossed $22,125,001 in worldwide sales as of May 13, 2008, and $29.22 million in rentals as of January 28, 2008.[8][9] 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[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13]
He reprised his 1990s role as One Life to Live's Joey for the series' 9,999th and 10,000th episodes, aired August 16, 2007 and August 17, 2007.[14][15][16]
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,[17] a role he briefly reprised in Halo: Reach.
2009-present
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.[18] 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.[19] ABC is promoting the series by releasing the Richard Castle novels Heat Wave (Hard Back ISBN 978-1-4013-2382-0, Paperback ISBN 9781401310400) and Naked Heat (Hard Back ISBN 978-1-4013-2402-5; Paperback ISBN 9780786891368) online and worldwide in hardback and in paperback.[20] Castle was renewed for a fourth season on January 10, 2011.[21]
Fillion was featured in a spoof porn web video on Spike called "Nailing Your Wife", part of the PG Porn series.[22]
In late September 2011, Fillion guest starred as the Action Sports 1 anchor in the comedy web series Husbands.[23] 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.[24][25]
Charity work
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.[26] While speaking at schools around the country, Haarsma discovered that many libraries cannot afford to purchase new books and children pleaded with him to get a copy of his book.
Awards and nominations
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Nathan FillionFilmography
Year Title Role Notes 1993 Ordeal in the Arctic Tom Jardine TV movie 1994 Strange and Rich Walter Hoade 1994–1997, 2007 One Life to Live Joey Buchanan 1996 Spin City Guy (uncredited) Episode: "A Star Is Born" 1997 Total Security Troy Larson Episode: "Das Bootie" 1998 Saving Private Ryan Pvt. James Frederick 'Minnesota' Ryan 1998 Maggie Winters Ronald Episode: "Mama's Got a Brand New Bag" 1998–2001 Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Johnny Donnelly 60 episodes 1999 Blast from the Past Cliff 1999 The Outer Limits Michael Ryan Episode: "Star Crossed" 2000 Dracula 2000 Father David 2001 King of the Hill Frisbee Guy (voice) Episode: "Luanne Virgin 2.0" 2002 Pasadena Rev. Glenn Collins 3 episodes 2002–2003 Firefly Captain Malcolm Reynolds 14 episodes 2003 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Caleb 5 episodes 2003 Water's Edge Robert 2003 Miss Match Adam Logan 6 episodes 2003 Alligator Point Bill TV movie 2004 Hollywood Division Det. Tommy Garrett TV movie 2004 Outing Riley Luke Riley 2005 Jade Empire Gao the Lesser (voice) Game 2005 Serenity Captain Malcolm Reynolds 2005 Justice League Unlimited Vigilante Episode: "Hunter's Moon" 2006 Justice League Unlimited Vigilante Episode: "Patriot Act" 2006 Lost Kevin Callis Episode: "I Do" 2006 Slither Bill Pardy 2007 Robot Chicken Various Episode: "Losin' the Wobble" 2007 White Noise 2: The Light Abe Dale 2007 Waitress Dr. Jim Pomatter 2007 Halo 3 Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds (voice) Game 2007 Drive Alex Tully 6 episodes 2007–2008 Desperate Housewives Dr. Adam Mayfair 11 episodes 2008 Trucker Runner 2008 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Captain Hammer 3 episodes 2008 PG Porn Chris Episode: "Nailing Your Wife" 2009 Robot Chicken Various Episode: "We Are a Humble Factory" 2009 Wonder Woman Steve Trevor (voice) Video 2009 Halo 3: ODST Gunnery Sergeant Buck (voice) Game 2009–present Castle Richard Castle 2010 Halo: Reach Gunnery Sergeant Buck (voice) Game 2010 The Venture Bros. Brown Widow (voice) Episode: "Bright Lights, Dean City" 2011 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Hal Jordan (voice) 2011 Super The Holy Avenger 2011 The Guild Himself Episode: "Revolving Doors" 2011 Husbands Anchor Episode: "Being Britney!" 2012 Much Ado About Nothing Dogberry Post-production References
- ^ "Serenity star was 'a geeky kid'". Canada.com. 2005-12-30. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=a995c60a-4eba-425e-bc46-8ff015781340&k=35179. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "Nathan Fillion Biography — Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. 1971-03-27. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1804371996/bio. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "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. http://jimmyaquino.typepad.com/comicnewsinsider/2008/06/cni-one-shot-na.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ Rancilio, Alicia (March 16, 2009). "Nathan Fillion proud of his soap opera roots". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_en_tv/tv_people_nathan_fillion_4.
- ^ "Syfy Portal Awards". Archived from the original on 2006-11-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20061107100529/http://www.syfyportal.com/news.php?id=2895. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
- ^ Fillion, Nathan. Here's How It Was: The Making of Firefly (Firefly: The Complete Series (DVD)).
- ^ "Nathan Fillion nominated at Fango Chainsaw Awards 2006". Fangoria. August 28, 2006. http://www.whedon.info/article.php3?id_article=17655. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ "'Waitress': Summary". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=waitress.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ "'Waitress': DVD/Home Video". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=homevideo&id=waitress.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2006-12-15). "'Drive' time for Fillion at Fox". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i0123c6f82e9d75a960daf0920816a410.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (April 25, 2007). "Drive runs out of gas". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963779.html?categoryid=14&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 25, 2007). "Fox cancels Drive". TV Guide. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Exclusive-Fox-Cancels/800013604#comments. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ Posted on July 16, 2007 (2007-07-16). "5.0". Timminear.net. http://www.timminear.net/archives/drive/000147.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "Fillion back to OLTL", Soap Opera Digest, Vol. 32, No. 31, July 31, 2007, page 5.
- ^ "One Life to Live recap (8/16/07)". ABC.com (Internet Archive). August 16, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20080423053654/http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/2007/20070816.html. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ^ "One Life to Live recap (8/17/07)". ABC.com (Internet Archive). August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20080423053649/http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/2007/20070817.html. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ^ Robinson, Andy (2008-11-17). "Halo 3 Recon goes open-world". Computer and Video Games. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=201842. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 15, 2009). "ABC's pilot pickup spree". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003771.html?categoryid=14&cs=1.
- ^ "Castle Renewed for Third Season". tvguide.com. March 30, 2010. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Castle-Renewed-Season-1016784.aspx. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ "Richard Castle novel 'Heat Wave'". Castletv.net. http://castletv.net/pre-order-heat-wave-novel. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "'Modern Family', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Castle', get early pickups; so do 3 other shows". Zap2It. http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/01/modern-family-greys-anatomy-castle-get-early-pickups-so-do-3-other-shows.html. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
- ^ "Nailing Your Wife". Spike.com. http://www.spike.com/video/pg-porn-pg-porn/3041858. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "HUSBANDS 3: Being Britney!". Blip. http://blip.tv/husbands-the-series/husbands-3-being-britney-5570984. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
- ^ "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING". MuchAdoTheMovie.com. http://muchadothemovie.com/documents/MuchAdoPressRelease.pdf. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
- ^ "Joss Whedon on his secret film of 'Much Ado About Nothing': 'This is the best vacation I've ever taken' -- EXCLUSIVE". Ew.com. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/10/24/joss-whedon-sean-maher-amy-acker-much-ado-exclusive. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
- ^ Horn, Steven (2007-08-16). "Nathan Fillion Interviews PJ Haarsma". Comics.ign.com. http://comics.ign.com/articles/813/813133p1.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
External links
Categories:- 1971 births
- Actors from Alberta
- Canadian expatriate actors in the United States
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian soap opera actors
- Canadian television actors
- Canadian voice actors
- Living people
- People from Edmonton
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