Fillion was born on March 27, 1971, in Edmonton, Alberta, the younger of two sons of Robert "Bob" Fillion and June "Cookie" Early,[3] both retired English teachers.[4] Both sides of his father's family were part of the Quebec diaspora in Fall River, Massachusetts,[5] and his mother had a Norwegian maternal grandfather and a Finnish maternal grandmother.[3][6]
In 2002, Fillion starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the Joss Whedon science fiction television series Firefly,[12] 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.[13] Fillion called his time on Firefly the best acting job he ever had,[14] and compares every job he has had to it.[15] After Firefly's cancellation, Fillion reprised his role as Mal in Whedon's film Serenity (2005).
Fillion starred in the romantic comedy film Waitress, written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2007, and opened in theatres on May 2, 2007. 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.[18]
In October 2006, Fillion signed a talent holding contract with the Fox Broadcasting Company, and in December 2006, The Hollywood Reporter[19] 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 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.[20][21] 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 DriveMySpace page.[22]
Fillion reprised his 1990s role as One Life to Live's Joey for the series' 9,999th and 10,000th episodes, aired August 16 and 17, 2007.[23][24][25]
Fillion joined the cast of ABC's Desperate Housewives at the beginning of the fall 2007 season (season 4), portraying Dr. Adam Mayfair. His first appearance was in the episode "Now You Know", which aired on September 30, 2007. His final appearance was the final episode of season 4, in 2008.
Fillion voiced the role of an ODST Gunnery 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, portrayed likeness, and motion capture performance for Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck in Halo 3: ODST,[26]Halo 5: Guardians, and a brief appearance in Halo: Reach.
2009–2018
Fillion at the 2014 Phoenix Comicon
In March 2009, the first episode of the ABC television series Castle aired, in which Fillion starred as the titular character Richard Castle, a mystery novelist who helps the NYPD solve (frequently bizarre) murders. In 2009, Fillion was nominated for Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama for his performance in Castle. The show was cancelled by ABC in 2016, with the final episode airing on May 16 of that year.[27]
BuddyTV ranked him No. 10 on its list of "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2009",[28] No. 19 in 2010,[29] No. 20 in 2011[30] and No. 39 in 2012;[31] No. 7 on its list of "The 15 Best Drama Lead Actors of the 2011–2012 TV Season";[32] named his character's relationship with the other main character as No. 18 (and the Best Flirting Relationship) on its list "Love Is All Around: Best TV Relationships of 2010",[33] No. 13 (and the Best Delayed Relationship) on its list of "The Best Relationships of 2011",[34] No. 15 on its list of "The Special Relationships: TV's Top 50 Love Stories of the Past Decade",[35] No. 1 on its list "Love... Or Not: The Top 12 Will-They-or-Won't-They Couples of 2012"[36] and No. 2 on its list "Lip Smacking Good: The Best Kisses of 2012";[37] named Castle as No. 6 on its list of "The 11 Best Returning TV Shows of 2011",[38] No. 11 on "The 15 Best Dramas of the 2011–2012 TV Season"[39] and No. 12 on "The 12 Best Dramas of 2012".[40]
Since 2011, Fillion has appeared as the recurring Space Western character Cactoid Jim in performances of the podcasted live show The Thrilling Adventure Hour, a stage show premised on the idea that actors are performing as characters in a radio show. The character of Cactoid Jim first appeared as part of the recurring segment "Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars", but was soon given his own segment, called "Cactoid Jim: King of the Martian Frontier". Fillion has advertised his participation as a guest star on The Thrilling Adventure Hour by means of including filmed elements of the live show on the DVD set for season 4 of Castle.
In 2012, he appeared in the episode "The Daly Superheroes" of the web series The Daly Show.[46] On February 17, 2013, Fillion hosted the 2013 WGA West Coast Awards.[47]
In 2014 he appeared in the video game Destiny as the character Cayde-6. Over the next few years, his role became larger with expansions to the game. Fillion returned to the role in the 2017 sequel Destiny 2, and featured prominently in the game until the release of Forsaken, where the character was instead voiced by Nolan North until the character's death. On May 24, 2023, it was revealed that he would be returning to voice Cayde-6 for The Final Shape.
In 2015 and 2016, Fillion worked with Alan Tudyk on a web series called Con Man, loosely based on their experiences on the convention circuit after Firefly.[48]
In 2017, Fillion was cast in the recurring role of Gary West on the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet.[49] In the same year, Fillion was cast in the recurring role of Jacques Snicket on the second season of the Netflix comedy drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events.[50]
In February 2018, Fillion was cast to star as John Nolan in the new ABC TV series The Rookie, which was created by former Castle executive producer Alexi Hawley.
On July 16, 2018, Fillion and director Allan Ungar released a live action short film based on the Naughty Dog franchise Uncharted. The short immediately went viral and was praised for its witty humour, action, and ability to stay true to the source material. Fans and critics took to social media and began campaigning for Netflix to turn it into a series while referring to it as one of the best adaptations of a video game.[51]
Nathan Fillion in Metascifi, artist's impression 2014
Fillion has been associated with the public artist Martin Firrell since 2009. He is the subject of two works of contemporary public art by Firrell: Complete Hero[57] (digital projections of text and video portraiture to the West and North elevations of the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London, 2009)[58] and Metascifi (a digital app investigating American television science fiction series for ideas and strategies for living well).[59]
Fillion was the 'face' of Complete Hero. The artist explained the choice of Fillion as follows: "I wanted to make a piece of work that looked at all kinds of heroism, not just the usual derring-do of white square-jawed men. But I thought it would be interesting to start with a white, square-jawed man and Nathan Fillion agreed to take part."[58]
In Metascifi, Fillion discusses the deeper significance of his Firefly character Captain Mal Reynolds, reflecting on some of the universal preoccupations of any human life: death, love, evil, intimacy, power, vulnerability, violence and freedom.[59]
For August 7 and 8, 2021, Edmonton City Hall was renamed the Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavilion after a petition from fans with over 27,000 signatures and support from Fillion's costars in The Suicide Squad.[60]
Philanthropy
In 2007, Fillion and author PJ Haarsma co-founded the non-profit organisation Kids Need to Read, to help inspire children's imaginations by getting more books into underfunded libraries.[61]
Fillion's association with Charity: Water garnered over $60,000 worth of donations in 2019.[62]
Joshua Carter Jackson is an American-Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayals of Pacey Witter on The WB's teen drama Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013), a troubled married man on Showtime's The Affair (2014–2018), and Christopher Duntsch in the Peacock crime drama series Dr. Death (2021). For the last of these, he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor. His other credits include When They See Us (2019), Little Fires Everywhere (2020), and Doctor Odyssey (2024).
Firefly is an American space Western drama television series, created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as an executive producer, along with Tim Minear. The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters living aboard Serenity. Whedon pitched the show as "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things."
Alan Wray Tudyk is an American actor. His film work includes roles in 28 Days (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), voice and motion capture for Sonny in I, Robot (2004), and 3:10 to Yuma (2007). He starred in the black comedy horror film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010). Tudyk has also appeared in the films Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), 42 (2013), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Trumbo (2015). He has voiced characters in every Walt Disney Animation Studios film since 2012.
Jewel Belair Staite is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Kaylee Frye in the series Firefly (2002–2003) and its follow-up movie Serenity (2005), and as Jennifer Keller on science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis (2007–2009). Staite also starred as Catalina in Space Cases (1996), as "Becca" Fisher in Flash Forward (1996–1997), as Raquel Westbrook in the Canadian drama The L.A. Complex (2012), and as Caroline Swift in AMC's crime drama The Killing (2013–2014). Since 2021, she has starred as Abigail Bianchi in the Canadian legal drama series Family Law.
Adam Baldwin is an American actor. He made his film debut in My Bodyguard (1980). He later appeared in Full Metal Jacket (1987) as Animal Mother, and in the television series Firefly and its continuation film Serenity as Jayne Cobb. His roles include Stillman in Ordinary People (1980), Colonel John Casey in Chuck, and Mike Slattery in The Last Ship.
Summer Glau is an American actress best known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy television series: as River Tam in Firefly (2002) and its continuation film Serenity (2005), as Tess Doerner in The 4400 (2005–2007), as Cameron in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009), and as Isabel Rochev / Ravager in Arrow (2013–2014).
Sean Maher is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Simon Tam in the science fiction television series Firefly and follow-up movie Serenity.
Ronald N. Perlman is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in Quest for Fire (1981), Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986), Vincent in the television series Beauty and the Beast (1987–1990), for which he won a Golden Globe Award, One in The City of Lost Children (1995), When the Bough Breaks (1994), Johner in Alien Resurrection (1997), Koulikov in Enemy at the Gates (2001), Hellboy in both Hellboy (2004) and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Clay Morrow in the television series Sons of Anarchy (2008–2013), Nino in Drive (2011) and Benedict Drask in Don't Look Up (2021). As a frequent collaborator of Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, he has had roles in the del Toro films Cronos (1993), Blade II (2002), Pacific Rim (2013), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Pinocchio (2022). He also starred in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and two Stephen King adaptations, Sleepwalkers (1992) and Desperation (2006).
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, colloquially known as Master Chief, is the protagonist of the Halo video game series and its spin-off media. The character first appeared in the 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved, a science fiction first-person shooter that became a long-running franchise. The character also appears in spin-off Halo media such as the 2012 film Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, the 2022 Halo television series, and several graphic novels and books.
Logan Wade Lerman is an American actor. He appeared in commercials in the mid-1990s, before starring in the series Jack & Bobby (2004–2005) and the movies The Butterfly Effect (2004) and Hoot (2006). Lerman gained further recognition for playing the title character in the Percy Jackson film series, d'Artagnan in 2011's The Three Musketeers, starred in the coming-of-age dramas The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Indignation (2016) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017), and had major roles in the 2014 films Noah and Fury. In 2020, he returned to television with the series Hunters.
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Firefly franchise. Mal is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity. In the series, Mal is a former Browncoat sergeant and the captain of the "Firefly-class" spaceship Serenity. The character was named at No. 18 in TV Guide's Greatest Sci-Fi Legends list in 2004.
Joseph Morgan is an English actor. He is known for playing Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson on The CW's The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals in which he is the lead. He has portrayed CJack60/Elliot in the Peacock series Brave New World, and Brother Blood in the HBO Max series Titans. He recently starred as James Ackerson in the Paramount+ series Halo (2024).
Stana Katić is a Canadian actress and producer. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series Castle (2009–2016) and FBI Special Agent Emily Byrne in the psychological thriller series Absentia (2017–2020).
Pablo Tell Schreiber is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on The Wire, William Lewis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2013–2014), Mad Sweeney on the Starz series American Gods (2017–2020), and as George "Pornstache" Mendez on Orange Is the New Black (2013–2017), for which he received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He stars as Master Chief in the Paramount+ live-action series Halo (2022–2024) which is based on the franchise of the same name.
Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as "Crazy" Steve in Drake & Josh and Spencer Shay in the teen sitcom iCarly and its revival series of the same name, winning three Kids' Choice Awards for his performances. He also did voice work in T.U.F.F. Puppy as Dudley Puppy, for which he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Since 2004, Trainor has worked primarily on the Nickelodeon network. Outside of this, he has had recurring and guest roles on young adult-oriented shows on the Disney Channel and Netflix as well as in the more mature shows Crossing Jordan and 2 Broke Girls.
Nathan Karl Kress is an American actor and television director. Kress began his career at the age of three, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film Babe: Pig in the City (1998). He resumed acting seven years later on the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2005), and thereafter had regular appearances on several Nickelodeon productions, including Toplin on the sitcom Drake & Josh (2007). Kress rose to prominence for portraying Freddie Benson on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly (2007–2012), which earned him five Young Artist Award nominations. He reprised his role in the revival series of the same name (2021–2023). He also subsequently voiced Wedge Antilles in the Disney XD animated series Star Wars Rebels (2016–2017) and the voice of JJ Jameson in the Netflix animated series Pinky Malinky (2019).
Timothy Mark Pimentel Eigenmann, known professionally as Sid Lucero, is a Filipino actor and model. He won the 31st Gawad Urian Best Actor award for his role in Selda.
Elisha Ann Cuthbert is a Canadian actress. As a child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids. She made her feature-film debut in the 1997 Canadian family drama Dancing on the Moon. Her first major lead role came in the 1998 drama film Airspeed alongside Joe Mantegna. In 2001, she starred in the movie Lucky Girl, for which she received her first award, the Gemini Awards.
Firefly is an American space Western media franchise created by Joss Whedon and produced by Mutant Enemy Productions. The franchise includes the TV series Firefly, the film Serenity, and other media.
Uncharted is an action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the Uncharted franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across the world to uncover various historical mysteries. The series features historical fiction, elements of fantasy and folklore, and fictional characters alongside real-world historical figures and events. In the main series, players control Nathan Drake; in the expansion, players control Chloe Frazer.
↑ Adalian, Josef (March 10, 2003). "Fillion fills 'Buffy' role". Variety. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
↑ "Nathan Fillion". my.charitywater.org. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Nathan Fillion (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 18, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
↑ "2007 EDA Award Nominees". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
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