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Nathan Fillion

 
Nathan Fillion

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Nathan Fillion



 
 
Nathan Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
 known for his lead role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm Reynolds

Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character in the Serenity . Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity ....
 in the television series Firefly
Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American science fiction television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel , under his Mutant Enemy Productions....
 and his role as Joey Buchanan
Joey Buchanan

Joseph Riley Buchanan is a fictional character on American Broadcasting Company's daytime drama One Life to Live....
 on One Life to Live
One Life to Live

One Life to Live is an American soap opera which has been broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network since July 15, 1968....
.

ion was born in Edmonton
Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canada Provinces and territories of Canada of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies....
, Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
, Canada, the son of Cookie and Bob Fillion, both of whom are retired English teachers. He has an older brother, Jeff, and attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School
Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Edmonton)

Holy Trinity Catholic High School is a high school located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in the southern neighborhood of Mill Woods. It borders the Public High School of J....
, Concordia University College of Alberta
Concordia University College of Alberta

Concordia University College of Alberta is a Canada private university in Edmonton, Alberta....
 and the University of Alberta
University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a Public university research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the top universities in Canada....
. According to Fillion, he is descended from Confederate
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
 Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
 Jubal A.






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Nathan Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
 known for his lead role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm Reynolds

Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character in the Serenity . Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity ....
 in the television series Firefly
Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American science fiction television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel , under his Mutant Enemy Productions....
 and his role as Joey Buchanan
Joey Buchanan

Joseph Riley Buchanan is a fictional character on American Broadcasting Company's daytime drama One Life to Live....
 on One Life to Live
One Life to Live

One Life to Live is an American soap opera which has been broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network since July 15, 1968....
.

Biography


Early life

Fillion was born in Edmonton
Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canada Provinces and territories of Canada of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies....
, Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
, Canada, the son of Cookie and Bob Fillion, both of whom are retired English teachers. He has an older brother, Jeff, and attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School
Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Edmonton)

Holy Trinity Catholic High School is a high school located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in the southern neighborhood of Mill Woods. It borders the Public High School of J....
, Concordia University College of Alberta
Concordia University College of Alberta

Concordia University College of Alberta is a Canada private university in Edmonton, Alberta....
 and the University of Alberta
University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a Public university research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the top universities in Canada....
. According to Fillion, he is descended from Confederate
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
 Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
 Jubal A. Early. Fillion has French Canadian
French Canadian

French Canadian refers to a nation or ethnic group of French people Kinship and Descent that originated in Canada, New France during the period of French colonization of the Americas beginning in the 17th century....
 and Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
 ancestry.

Career

After working in several theatres, television and film productions, including Theatresports
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 ....
 with Rapid Fire Theatre
Rapid Fire Theatre

Rapid Fire Theatre is an improvisational theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta. The origins of the company stretch to 1982, when Edmonton's Theatre Network became the second company in the world to regularly produce Keith Johnstone's Theatresports....
 and the improvised soap opera
Soap opera

A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in Serial format on television or radio. Programs described as soap operas have existed as an entertainment long enough for audiences to recognize them simply by the term soap....
 Die-Nasty
Die-Nasty

Die-Nasty is a live Improvisational theatre 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 scenes for the audience in voiceover....
, Fillion moved to New York City in 1994 where he acted in the soap opera One Life to Live
One Life to Live

One Life to Live is an American soap opera which has been broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network since July 15, 1968....
 as Joey Buchanan
Joey Buchanan

Joseph Riley Buchanan is a fictional character on American Broadcasting Company's daytime drama One Life to Live....
, for which he was nominated in 1996 for a Daytime Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 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). After moving to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, he played a supporting role in the sitcom
Situation comedy

A situation comedy, usually referred to as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy programs which originated in radio. Today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative forms....
 Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place
Two Guys and a Girl

Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place was a sitcom created by Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. It ran on American Broadcasting Company for four seasons from 1998-2001....
 and was cast as "James Fredrick Ryan" or "The Minnesota Ryan" in Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. Forbes magazine places Spielberg's net worth at $3.1 billion....
's Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 in film Cinema of the United States war film set during the Invasion of Normandy of Normandy in World War II. It was film director by Steven Spielberg and Screenplay by Robert Rodat....
.

In 2002, Fillion starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm Reynolds

Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character in the Serenity . Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity ....
 in the Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an Academy Award-nominated and Hugo Award winning American writer, television director, executive producer, occasional actor, and creator and head writer of the well-known television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Angel , Firefly , and Dollhouse ....
 science fiction television series Firefly
Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American science fiction television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel , under his Mutant Enemy Productions....
, 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
SyFy Genre Awards

The SyFy Genre Awards, considered one of the first major virtual entertainment awards, is a product of the science fiction and fantasy Web site SyFy Portal....
 in 2006 for Best Actor/Television and was runner-up for Best Actor/Movie. Although the show was cancelled, it was adapted to the big screen; Fillion reprised his role as Mal in Whedon's movie Serenity
Serenity (film)

Serenity is a 2005 in film Space Western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is considered a continuation of the canceled Fox Broadcasting Company Science fiction on television series Firefly , taking place about two months after the events of the Objects in Space....
 (2005). He also had a recurring role as Caleb
Caleb (Buffyverse)

Caleb, played by Nathan Fillion, is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon.He was introduced, according to Joss Whedon, because the mutable, non-corporeal nature of the First Evil "meant that we didn't really have anything to push against....
 in the final season of Whedon's series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fillion considered his time on Firefly to be the most fun he had on a television series.

Fillion has lent his voice to the animated series King of the Hill in 2001, the video game Jade Empire
Jade Empire

Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canada developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox....
 (as the voice of Gao the Lesser), and the animated series Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited is an United States List of animated television series that was produced by and aired on Cartoon Network . Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the previous Justice League animated series....
 (as Vigilante
Vigilante (comics)

Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman himself by one year....
 in the episodes "Hunter's Moon" and "Patriot Act") in 2005 and 2006. Fillion starred in James Gunn's
James Gunn (film maker)

James Gunn is an United States of America writer, filmmaker, actor, musician and cartoonist....
 2006 horror film
Horror film

Horror films are movies that strive to elicit responses of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of the supernatural....
 Slither
Slither (film)

Slither is a 2006 in film horror film-comedy film produced by Gold Circle Films and Strike Entertainment, released by Universal Studios, written and directed by James Gunn , and starring Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Tania Saulnier and Jenna Fischer, and was produced by Paul Brooks and Eric Newman....
. For his starring role as Bill Pardy, he garnered a 2006 Fangoria
Fangoria (magazine)

Fangoria is an internationally-distributed USA film fan magazine specializing in the genres of horror film, slasher film, splatter film and exploitation films, in regular publication since 1979....
 Chainsaw Awards nomination in the category of Dude You Don't Wanna Mess With. Fillion starred in the romantic comedy film Waitress
Waitress (film)

Waitress is a 2007 in film, an United States dramedy written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, who also appears in a supporting role....
, written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly
Adrienne Shelly

Adrienne Shelly , sometimes credited as Adrienne Shelley, was an United States actor, film director and screenwriter....
, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest Independent film cinema festival in the U.S....
 January 21, 2007 and opened in theaters on May 2, 2007. According to Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo

Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic way. Brandon Gray started the site in August 1998 and claims to now receive over one million monthly visitors....
, Waitress grossed $22,125,001 in worldwide sales as of May 13, 2008, and $29.22 million in rentals as of January 28, 2008.

Fillion also starred in White Noise 2: The Light. He has made one appearance in the 2006-2007 season of the television show Lost
Lost (TV series)

Lost is an American Serial television program. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial Oceanic Flight 815 flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the Oceania....
, as Kevin, Kate's ex-husband.

In October 2006, Fillion signed a talent holding contract with the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company

The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox and stylized as FOX, is an United States television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation....
, and in December 2006, The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter is a major trade publication of the entertainment industry in the United States. During the last century it was one of the two major publications ? the other being Variety ....
 confirmed that Fillion was cast in the lead role of Alex Tully in the series Drive
Drive (TV series)

Drive is a short-lived, Emmy Award-nominated television series created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen and produced by Minear, Queen, and Greg Yaitanes....
, which debuted on Fox in the spring of 2007. Drive was created by Fillion's longtime friend and former Angel
Angel (TV series)

Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999....
 and Firefly
Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American science fiction television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel , under his Mutant Enemy Productions....
 writer Tim Minear
Tim Minear

Tim Minear is an United States screenwriter and director. He was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach....
. Ivan Sergei
Ivan Sergei

Ivan Sergei is an United States acting known for his work in television....
 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 Drive's MySpace
MySpace

MySpace is a social network service website with an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos for teenagers and adults internationally....
 page. Fox has since removed Drive episodes from that Myspace. All six episodes are now available for download from Amazon.com and iTunes.

Fillion reprised his 1990s role as One Life to Lives Joey for the series' 9,999th and 10,000th episodes, aired August 16, 2007 and August 17, 2007.

Fillion joined the cast of ABC's
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series, created by Marc Cherry, who also serves as show runner, and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry....
at the beginning of the Fall 2007 season as Dr. Adam Mayfair, a gynecologist. His first appearance was in the episode "Now You Know
Now You Know (Desperate Housewives)

?Now You Know? is the 71st episode of the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. It was the season premiere of the show?s fourth season....
", which aired on September 30, 2007.

Fillion plays the voice of a Marine Sergeant in the Xbox 360
Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the History of video game consoles of video game consoles....
 game
Halo 3
Halo 3

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game is the third title in the Halo and concludes the story arc that began in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2....
. He is joined by his Firefly co-stars Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin

Adam Baldwin is an American actor, not related to the Baldwin brothers. He is known for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Ricky Linderman in My Bodyguard, Knowle Rohrer in The X-Files, and Marcus Hamilton in Joss Whedon's Angel ....
 and Alan Tudyk
Alan Tudyk

Alan Wray Tudyk is an United States actor. He is known for his roles as Simon in the black comedy Death at a Funeral and Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story....
 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 will reprise his role of Sergeant Reynolds as the main protagonist in the Halo 3 expansion, Halo 3: ODST.

The independent feature film
Trucker
Trucker (film)

Trucker is produced by Plum Pictures and is an independently financed film. While he has previously directed documentary films, script writer James Mottern makes Trucker his first movie directing debut....
in which Fillion plays the character Runner was premiered at the New York 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Filming finished on Joss Whedon's
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 43-minute musical film, initially produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr....
on March 21, 2008, which stars Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris is an United Statesn Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actor and magician. Prominent roles in his career include the title character of Doogie Howser, M.D., the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, Col....
 as Dr. Horrible and Felicia Day
Felicia Day

Kathryn Felicia Day is an American actress, known for her work as "List of minor Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters#V" on TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for parts in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical Dr....
 as Penny. The teaser trailer hit the web on June 25, 2008. The episodes aired without commercials on July 15, 17 and 19, remaining available until midnight July 20. It is now airing online with commercials at Hulu, Hulu HD, and Myspace. They are also available for purchase from the iTunes Store, and are now available on DVD from Amazon. Due to problems with the server, the episodes were also made available on iTunes earlier than planned and promptly shot to #1 in the TV Episode download chart and the TV Series chart, despite only one episode having been released at the time. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Soundtrack makes top 40 Album list despite being a digital exclusive only available on iTunes.

Fillion announced in 2008 that he had written a pilot and couple of episodes for a comedy with the working title
Repo Brothers which has been picked up by ABC. Also in 2008, Fillion started working on a TV series for ABC called Castle
Castle (TV series)

Castle is an United States comedy-drama television series starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. The show, produced by ABC Studios, premiered on American Broadcasting Company on Monday, March 9, 2009, at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central....
, in which he plays Rick Castle, a mystery novelist who helps the NYPD solve crimes. In August 2008, ABC green-lit the production of the series, which will air on Monday, March 9, 2009, at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central.

Nathan Fillion made EW's The Must List: What's Hot for the Week of Oct. 5, 2008.

Fillion also is featured in a spoof porn web video on Spike called "Nailing Your Wife", part of the
PG Porn series..

He has been recognized several times for his looks including in 2007 when Fillion was featured in People magazine's Sexy Men issue under the "Domestic Bliss/Guys Worth Running Home to" section. As well, he was listed as one of Entertainment Weekly's "50 Actors We'd Watch in Anything".

Projects

Fillion co-founded the non-profit organization with author PJ Haarsma in 2007 to help inspire kids' imagination by helping to get books into underfunded libraries. Fillion believes strongly in the importance of reading and believes every child deserves the chance to read good books. Haarsma discovered while speaking at schools around the country that many libraries cannot afford to purchase new books and children would plead with him to get a copy of his book. Fillion took the dedication of his fans and put it to good use by directing their energies into something he believed was a worthwhile cause.

Fillion appears in the Martin Firrell
Martin Firrell

Martin Firrell has been described as a cultural activist, placing text in public space to promote positive social change.Firrell has raised questions about the politics of aging, individual liberty, the right to personal idiosyncrasy, cultural diversity, faith, climate change, masculinity, hero worship, and fair and truthful government....
 project
.

Filmography (includes voice work in other media)


External links