Nathan Fillion
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Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and
Richard Castle Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series ''Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion. The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books a ...
on '' Castle''. , he was starring as John Nolan on '' The Rookie''. Fillion has acted in traditionally distributed films like '' Slither'' and ''
Trucker A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
'', Internet-distributed films like '' Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'', television soap operas, sitcoms and theater. His voice is also featured in animation and video games, such as Hal Jordan/
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
in various
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
projects, the
Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones afte ...
games ''
Halo 3 ''Halo 3'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the ''Halo'' franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001's '' Halo: Combat Evolved'' and continued in ...
'', '' Halo 3: ODST'', '' Halo: Reach'', ''
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
'' and ''
Destiny 2 ''Destiny 2'' is a free-to-play online-only multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. It was originally released as a pay to play game in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It became free-to-play, utilizing th ...
'', along with the
343 Industries 343 Industries is an American video game developer located in Redmond, Washington, part of Xbox Game Studios. Headed by Pierre Hintze, the studio is responsible for the ''Halo (franchise), Halo'' series of military science fiction games, origin ...
game '' Halo 5: Guardians'', and
Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...
in
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...
's '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' (2017) and '' M.O.D.O.K.'' (2021). Fillion first gained recognition for his work on '' One Life to Live'' in the contract role of
Joey Buchanan Joey Buchanan is a fictional character from the American daytime serial ''One Life to Live''. The character is the son of original protagonists Victoria Lord and Joe Riley Sr. Casting The role of Joey Buchanan was originated by child actor Ryan ...
, for which he was nominated for the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given annually from 198 ...
, as well as for his supporting role as Johnny Donnelly in the sitcom ''
Two Guys and a Girl ''Two Guys and a Girl'' (titled ''Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place'' for the first two seasons) is an American television sitcom created by Rick Wiener, Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. The series started as a short-run (13 episodes) mid-sea ...
''.


Early life

Fillion was born on March 27, 1971, in
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, the younger of two sons of Robert "Bob" Fillion and June "Cookie" Early, both retired English teachers. Both sides of his father's family were part of the
Quebec diaspora The Quebec diaspora consists of Quebec immigrants and their descendants dispersed over the North American continent and historically concentrated in the New England region of the United States, Ontario, and the Canadian Prairies. The mass emigrati ...
in
Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
, and his mother had a
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
maternal grandfather and a
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
maternal grandmother. Fillion was raised in Edmonton's
Mill Woods Mill Woods is a residential area in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located in southeast Edmonton, Mill Woods is bounded by Whitemud Drive ( Highway 14) to the north, 91 Street to the west, 34 Street to the east, and Anthony Henday ...
neighbourhood and completed his secondary and post-secondary education in Edmonton, attending Holy Trinity Catholic High School,
Concordia University College of Alberta Concordia University of Edmonton, is a publicly funded independent academic institution in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; accredited under the Alberta ''Post-secondary Learning Act''. Concordia offers arts, science, and management undergraduate degre ...
, and the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
, where he was a member of the
Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...
. He has been a U.S. citizen since 1997.


Career


1994–2009

After working in several theatre, television, and film productions, including
Theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...
with
Rapid Fire Theatre ''Rapid Fire Theatre'' (RFT) is an improvisational theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. History The origins of the company stretch to 1981, when Edmonton's Theatre Network became the third company in the world to regularly prod ...
and the improvised soap opera ''
Die-Nasty ''Die-Nasty'' is a live improvised soap opera, running weekly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 1991. ''Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up s ...
'', Fillion moved to New York City in 1994 where he acted in the soap opera '' One Life to Live'' as
Joey Buchanan Joey Buchanan is a fictional character from the American daytime serial ''One Life to Live''. The character is the son of original protagonists Victoria Lord and Joe Riley Sr. Casting The role of Joey Buchanan was originated by child actor Ryan ...
, for which he was nominated in 1996 for a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given annually from 198 ...
. In 1997, he left the series to pursue other projects (returning for a brief guest appearance in 2007). After moving to Los Angeles, he played a supporting role in the sitcom ''
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place ''Two Guys and a Girl'' (titled ''Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place'' for the first two seasons) is an American television sitcom created by Rick Wiener, Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. The series started as a short-run (13 episodes) mid-sea ...
'', and was cast as James Frederick "The Minnesota" Ryan in
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
's ''
Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...
''. In 2002, Fillion starred as Captain
Malcolm Reynolds 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 s ...
in the
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
science fiction television series '' Firefly'', for which he won the Cinescape Genre Face of the FutureMale 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. Fillion called his time on ''Firefly'' the best acting job he ever had, and compares every job he has had to it. Although the show was cancelled, it was adapted to the big screen; he reprised his role as Mal in Whedon's movie '' Serenity'' (2005). In 2003, Fillion had a recurring role as
Caleb Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' ...
in the final five episodes of
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
's series ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
''. Fillion lent his voice to the animated series ''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'' in 2001, the video game ''
Jade Empire ''Jade Empire'' is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare, originally published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2005 as an Xbox exclusive. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows personal computers (PC) and published by 2K Games in 2007. ...
'' (as the voice of Gao the Lesser), and the animated series ''
Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...
'' (as
Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
in the episodes "Hunter's Moon" and "Patriot Act") in 2005–06. He portrayed Green Lantern/Hal Jordan in '' Green Lantern: Emerald Knights'', '' Justice League: Doom'', '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'' and '' Justice League: Throne of Atlantis'' and ''
The Death of Superman "The Death of Superman" is a Crossover (fiction), crossover story event featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry O ...
''. Fillion starred in James Gunn's 2006
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
'' Slither''. For his starring role as Bill Pardy, he garnered a 2006 ''
Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...
'' Chainsaw Awards nomination in the category of ''Dude You Don't Wanna Mess With''. Fillion starred in the romantic comedy film ''
Waitress Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending ...
'', written and directed by
Adrienne Shelly Adrienne Levine (June 24, 1966 – November 1, 2006), better known by the stage name Adrienne Shelly (sometimes credited as Adrienne Shelley), was an American actress, film director and screenwriter. She became known for roles in independen ...
, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
on January 21, 2007, and opened in theaters 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 Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', as Kevin, Kate's ex-husband. In October 2006, Fillion signed a talent holding contract with the
Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
, and in December 2006, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' confirmed that Fillion was cast as
Alex Tully ''Drive'' is an American action drama television series created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen, produced by Minear, Queen, and Greg Yaitanes, and starring Nathan Fillion. Four episodes aired on the Fox Network in April 2007. Two unaired episod ...
in the series ''
Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...
'', which debuted on Fox in the spring of 2007. ''Drive'' was created by Tim Minear.
Ivan Sergei Ivan Sergei Gaudio (; born May 7, 1971) is an American actor known for his work in television. His best known roles are Dr. Peter Winslow in ''Crossing Jordan'' and Henry Mitchell in ''Charmed''. Life Ivan Sergei Gaudio was born in Hawthorne, N ...
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. 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. Fillion reprised his 1990s role as ''One Life to Live'' Joey for the series' 9,999th and 10,000th episodes, aired August 16 and 17, 2007."Fillion back to ''OLTL''", ''
Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...
'', Vol. 32, No. 31, July 31, 2007, page 5.
Fillion joined the cast of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
'' 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 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
game ''
Halo 3 ''Halo 3'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the ''Halo'' franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001's '' Halo: Combat Evolved'' and continued in ...
'', alongside fellow ''Firefly'' stars
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
and
Adam Baldwin Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in '' Full Metal Jacket'' (1987) as Animal Mother, as well as in the television series ''Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 ...
. At one point early in the first mission, he identifies himself as " ergeantReynolds" 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'', '' Halo 5: Guardians'', and a brief appearance in '' Halo: Reach''.


2009–2018

In March 2009, the first episode of the ABC television series '' Castle'' aired, in which Fillion starred as the titular character
Richard Castle Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series ''Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion. The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books a ...
, a mystery novelist who helps the
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
solve (frequently bizarre) murders. In 2009, Fillion was nominated for
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama The Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama is one of the annual awards given by the International Press Academy The International Press Academy (IPA) is an American association of professional entertainment journalists, ...
for his performance in ''Castle''. The show was cancelled by ABC in 2016, with the final episode airing on May 16 of that year.
BuddyTV BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...
ranked him No. 10 on its list of "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2009", No. 19 in 2010, No. 20 in 2011 and No. 39 in 2012; No. 7 on its list of "The 15 Best Drama Lead Actors of the 2011-2012 TV Season"; 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", No. 13 (and the Best Delayed Relationship) on its list of "The Best Relationships of 2011", No. 15 on its list of "The Special Relationships: TV’s Top 50 Love Stories of the Past Decade", No. 1 on its list "Love... Or Not: The Top 12 Will-They-or-Won't-They Couples of 2012" and No. 2 on its list "Lip Smacking Good: The Best Kisses of 2012"; named ''Castle'' as No. 6 on its list of "The 11 Best Returning TV Shows of 2011", No. 11 on "The 15 Best Dramas of the 2011-2012 TV Season" and No. 12 on "The 12 Best Dramas of 2012". Fillion was featured in a spoof porn web video on
Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
called "Nailing Your Wife", part of James Gunn's ''
PG Porn ''James Gunn's PG Porn'' is a web series created by brothers James Gunn, Brian Gunn, and Sean Gunn. It consists of a series of pornography spoofs, with a humorous event occurring just before the supposed commencement of pornographic sexual acts. E ...
'' series. Fillion made a brief cameo appearance in the season 5 episode "Revolving Doors" of the web series '' The Guild''. In late September 2011, Fillion guest starred as the Action Sports 1 anchor in the
web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
''
Husbands A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...
''. He played
Dogberry Dogberry is a character created by William Shakespeare for his play ''Much Ado About Nothing''. He is described by ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' as a "self-satisfied night constable" with an inflated view of his own importance as the leader of ...
in the
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
''
Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' (2012), based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, written, directed and produced by
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
. Since 2011, Fillion has appeared as the recurring Space Western character Cactoid Jim in performances of the podcasted live show ''
The Thrilling Adventure Hour ''The Thrilling Adventure Hour'' was a staged production and podcast in the style of old time radio that was held monthly at Largo, a Los Angeles nightclub located in the former Coronet Theatre. The show ran from March 2005 to April 2015. Each ...
'', 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''. On February 17, 2013, Fillion hosted the 2013 WGA West Coast Awards. In 2014 he appeared in the video game ''
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
'' as the character
Cayde-6 Cayde-6 is a character from Bungie's ''Destiny'' video game series. He first appears in the 2014 video game ''Destiny'' as a supporting non-player character with a leadership role within the player-aligned Guardians, protectors of Earth's last ...
. 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 ''Destiny 2'' is a free-to-play online-only multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. It was originally released as a pay to play game in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It became free-to-play, utilizing th ...
'', and featured prominently in the game until the release of '' Forsaken'', where the character was instead voiced by Nolan North up to his death. In 2015 and 2016, Fillion worked with
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
on a web series called ''
Con Man A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
'', loosely based on their experiences on the convention circuit after '' Firefly''. In 2017, Fillion was cast in the recurring role of Gary West on the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
horror-comedy series ''
Santa Clarita Diet ''Santa Clarita Diet'' is an American horror-comedy streaming television series created by Victor Fresco for the streaming service Netflix, starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Fresco serves as the showrunner, and is an executive prod ...
''. 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 ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their p ...
''. 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 Allan Ungar is a Canadian film director, producer, and screenwriter known for directing the true crime drama ''Bandit'', the ''Uncharted Live Action Fan Film'', and the Netflix action thriller '' Gridlocked''. Career When Ungar was 23 years o ...
released a live action short film based on the Naughty Dog franchise ''
Uncharted ''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game 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 wo ...
''. The short immediately went viral and was praised for its witty humor, 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.


In popular culture

Fillion has been associated with the public artist
Martin Firrell Martin Firrell (born 4 April 1963 in Paris, France)''Creative Review'', "One to Watch". London: Centaur Publishing, 2005, Vol. 25, Issue 1, p. 18. is a British public artist. Firrell uses language to engage directly with the public, pr ...
since 2009. He is the subject of two works of contemporary
public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
by Firrell: ''Complete Hero'' (digital projections of text and video portraiture to the West and North elevations of the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London, 2009) and Metascifi (a digital app investigating American television science fiction series for ideas and strategies for living well). 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." 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. For August 7 and 8, 2021, the
Edmonton city hall The Edmonton City Hall is the home of the municipal government of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Designed by Dub Architects, the building was completed in 1992. It was built to replace the former city hall designed by architects Kelvin Crawford Sta ...
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''.


Philanthropy

In 2007, Fillion and author
PJ Haarsma Philip-Jon Haarsma (born June 5, 1964), more commonly known as PJ Haarsma, is a Canadian-born producer and science fiction author best known for his creation of the ''Rings of Orbis'' universe, which encompasses '' The Softwire'' series of books ...
co-founded the non-profit organization Kids Need to Read, to help inspire children's imaginations by getting more books into underfunded libraries. Fillion's association with Charity: Water garnered over $60,000 worth of donations in 2019.


Filmography


Film


Television


Web


Video games


Audiobook


Podcast


Accolades


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fillion, Nathan 1971 births 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian male film actors Canadian male soap opera actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male video game actors Canadian male voice actors American people of Scandinavian descent Living people Male actors from Edmonton Science fiction fans Canadian people of French descent Canadian people of Norwegian descent Canadian people of Finnish descent 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors Male actors from Alberta American male soap opera actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American people of French-Canadian descent American people of Norwegian descent American people of Finnish descent University of Alberta alumni Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States People with acquired American citizenship Shorty Award winners