Nathan Fillion
| Nathan Fillion | |
|---|---|
 Nathan Fillion at the premiere of Serenity in 2005 |
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| Born | Nathan Christopher Fillion 27 March 1971 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1993 - Present |
Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian actor, known for his lead role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its film continuation Serenity, and his current lead role as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle.
Fillion has been involved in TV soap operas, the theater, traditionally distributed films like Slither and Trucker, Internet-distributed films like Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and voice-over work such as in the video game Halo 3. He has also been recognized for his looks in People and Entertainment Weekly.
Fillion's public service work includes the co-founding of Kids Need to Read, an organization dedicated to getting more books into underfunded libraries.
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Early life
Fillion was born in Edmonton, Alberta, the 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
Early career and Firefly
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 in the "Outstanding Younger Actor" category. 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 Ryan" or "The Minnesota Ryan" in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.
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] Although the show was cancelled, it was adapted to the big screen; Fillion reprised his role as Mal in Whedon's movie Serenity (2005). He also had a recurring role as Caleb in the final season of Whedon's series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fillion considered his time on Firefly to be the best acting job he ever had.[6] He also auditioned for the role of Angel in early 1996. Fillion has 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 also starred in White Noise 2: The Light.[10] He has made one appearance in the 2006-2007 season of the television show Lost, as Kevin, Kate's ex-husband.[11][12]
In October 2006, Fillion signed a talent holding contract with the Fox Broadcasting Company, and in December 2006, The Hollywood Reporter[13] confirmed that Fillion was cast in the lead role of Alex Tully in the series Drive, which debuted on Fox in the spring of 2007.[14] 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.[15][16] 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.[17] Fox has since removed Drive episodes from that Myspace. All six episodes are now available for download from Amazon.com[18] and iTunes.[19]
Fillion 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.[20][21][22]
Fillion joined the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives at the beginning of the Fall 2007 season as Dr. Adam Mayfair, a gynecologist. His first appearance was in the episode "Now You Know", which aired on September 30, 2007.
Fillion plays the voice of a Marine Sergeant in the Xbox 360 game Halo 3. He is joined by his Firefly co-stars Adam Baldwin and Alan Tudyk who both voice marines. 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 is the voice actor for Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck in the Halo 3 expansion, Halo 3: ODST.[23]
The independent feature film Trucker, in which Fillion played the character Runner, premiered at the New York 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.[24] Trucker was released on October 9, 2009.[25]
On March 21, 2008 Fillion finished filming Joss Whedon's Internet-distributed short Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog starring Fillion as Captain Hammer, Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Felicia Day as Penny.[26] It was first available on the Internet as three episodes (14 minutes each) starting on July 15, 2008.
Later career and Castle
In March of 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.[27] In May 2009, ABC green-lit the production of the series for a second season.[28] On March 30, 2010, ABC announced that Castle had been renewed for its third season with a 22-episode full-season order.[29] The role earned Fillion a Ewwy nomination in 2009 for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. ABC is promoting Castle by releasing a Richard Castle novel Heat Wave online and worldwide in hardback.[30]
Nathan Fillion made EW's The Must List: What's Hot for the Week of Oct. 5, 2008.[31]
Fillion also is featured in a spoof porn web video on Spike called "Nailing Your Wife", part of the PG Porn series.[32]
The Wonder Woman animated DVD in which he voice acted the character Steve Trevor debuted #5 on the 3/08/09 Numbers DVD Sales chart.[33]
Fillion has been recognized several times for his looks including in 2007 when he was featured in People's Sexy Men issue under the "Domestic Bliss/Guys Worth Running Home to" section. He was also listed as one of Entertainment Weekly's "50 Actors We'd Watch in Anything."[34]Sky TV has described him as "TV's Ultimate Cult Hero."[35]
Projects
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. Fillion believes strongly that every child deserves the chance to read good books.[36] 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. Fillion asked his fans to direct their energies into something he believed was a worthwhile cause.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Ordeal in the Arctic | Tom Jardine | TV movie |
| 1994 | Strange and Rich | Walter Hoade | |
| 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 Ryan | |
| Maggie Winters | Ronald | Episode: "Mama's Got a Brand New Bag" | |
| Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | Johnny Donnelly | 1998-2001 (60 episodes) | |
| 1999 | Blast from the Past | Cliff | |
| 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 | Episode: "Someone to Talk To" Episode: "A River in Egypt" Episode: "The Truth Hurts" |
| Firefly | Captain Malcolm Reynolds | 2002-2003 (14 episodes) | |
| 2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Caleb | 5 episodes |
| Water's Edge | Robert | ||
| Miss Match | Adam Logan | 6 episodes | |
| Alligator Point | Bill | TV movies | |
| 2004 | Hollywood Division | Det. Tommy Garrett | |
| Outing Riley | Luke Riley | ||
| 2005 | Serenity | Captain Malcolm Reynolds | |
| Justice League | Various | Episode: "Patriot Act" | |
| 2006 | Episode: "Hunter's Moon" | ||
| Lost | Kevin Callis | Episode: "I Do" | |
| Slither | Bill Pardy | ||
| 2007 | Robot Chicken | Various | Episode: "Losin' the Wobble" |
| White Noise 2: The Light | Abe Dale | ||
| Waitress | Dr. Jim Pomatter | ||
| Drive | Alex Tully | 6 episodes | |
| One Life to Live | Joey Buchanan | 2 episodes | |
| Desperate Housewives | Dr. Adam Mayfair | 2007-2008 (11 episodes) | |
| 2008 | Trucker | Runner | |
| Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog | Captain Hammer | 3 episodes | |
| PG Porn | Chris | Episode: "Nailing Your Wife" | |
| 2009 | Robot Chicken | Various | Episode: "We Are a Humble Factory" |
| Wonder Woman | Steve Trevor (voice) | Video | |
| Castle | Richard Castle | 2009-present (56+ episodes) | |
| 2010 | Super | The Holy Avenger[37] |
References
- ↑ Serenity star was 'a geeky kid'
- ↑ Nathan Fillion Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ↑ http://jimmyaquino.typepad.com/comicnewsinsider/2008/06/cni-one-shot-na.html 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
- ↑ 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". http://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. Whedon,info. 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.
- ↑ "White Noise 2: The Light". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0496436/. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0883770/plotsummary Lost I Do episode plot summary
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0883770/fullcredits Lost I Do episode full credits
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2006-12-15). "'Drive' time for Fillion at Fox". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i0123c6f82e9d75a960daf0920816a410.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770521/ imdb.com Drive page
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ TimMinear.net 5.0
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PGYV4A Drive episodes on Amazon Unbox
- ↑ http://apple.com/itunes/store/tvshows.html itunes
- ↑ "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. 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. 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.
- ↑ New York 2008 Tribeca Film Festival Trucker Schedule
- ↑ http://www.truckermovie.net/ Trucker
- ↑ Whedon, Joss (March 16, 2008). ""March 15, 2008 (The bag is catless)"". Whedonesque. http://whedonesque.com/comments/15781#216963. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219024/ IMDB Castle (2008) (TV)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ http://castletv.net/pre-order-heat-wave-novel Richard Castle novel 'Heat Wave'.
- ↑ http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20230875,00.html EW.com The Must List: What's Hot for the Week of Oct. 5, 2008
- ↑ http://www.spike.com/video/pg-porn-pg-porn/3041858 Nailing Your Wife
- ↑ http://www.the-numbers.com/dvd/charts/weekly/2009/20090308.php
- ↑ http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20190207_15,00.html Nathan Fillion one of EW's "50 Actors We'd Watch in Anything"
- ↑ TV's Ultimate Cult Hero with Photos
- ↑ [http://comics.ign.com/articles/813/813133p1.html Nathan Fillion Interviews PJ Haarsma
- ↑ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=62313 Fillion and Cardellini Join Gunn's Super Cast
External links
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