Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion began his acting career by taking a number of small roles in television, film, and theater, but larger roles were hard to find in his birthplace of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In 1994, he moved to New York City and landed the role of Joey Buchanan on the soap opera "One Life to Live" for which he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Younger Actor" in 1996.

In 1997 Nathan left the series and the city to seek out other opportunities in Los Angeles. He got a small but memorable part in Speilburg's "Saving Private Ryan," and a recurring role in the sitcom "Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place." When his series went off the air in 2001, Nathan moved up to a lead part when he was cast as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the short-lived but critically acclaimed series "Firefly."

"Firefly" was cancelled after only eleven episodes had aired, but creator Joss Whedon vowed to find a new home for the series and immediately began courting television networks and movie studios. Meanwhile, Nathan was given a chance to display his range as an actor when he was cast as the murderous preacher "Caleb" on the final season of Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Thanks to enthusiastic support of the "Firefly" concept by executives at Universal Pictures (and bolstered by amazing sales of the DVD set) Fillion was cast to play Malcolm ("Mal") Reynolds a second time in a big-screen adaptation entitled "Serenity" which was released in 2005.

Nathan has also been cast in a comedy/horror called "Slither" which is slated to be released in 2006.

Hobbies: beach volleyball, drawing, roller blading, his unicycle, writing children's literature

1. Nathan Fillion: (as Malcolm Reynolds) The Alliance said they were gonna waltz through Serenity Valley. And we choked 'em with those words. We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.

2. Nathan was trained to be a teacher, but left four months before qualifying.

3. Nathan's worst Firefly moment was when everyone found out it was going to be cancelled because "it was just so not right and so unfair."

4. Nathan's favorite cheese is medium cheddar.

5. Nathan garnered the role of Bill Pardy in the James Gunn horror film Slither in 2005.

6. Nathan's first role on a major television series was that of Joey Buchanan on the soap opera entitled One Life to Live.

7. Nathan moved to New York City in 1994.

8. Nathan Fillion: talking about the cancellation of Firefly) I broke the cardinal rule of don’t fall in love with what you’re doing, because the rug can get yanked out from underneath you, and when it did, I was heartbroken.

9. From a line in the series Firefly, Nathan is often referred to by fans as "Captain Tightpants."

10. Nathan Fillion: (responding to a question about his underwear) Same as every other man out there. They are old, got holes, and worn through to the point of transparency. I occasionally buy new ones but I never throw any away. If a man says he throws out his underwear, he is lying. It's as simple as that. They don't get trashed, they just sometimes fall off or ignite.

11. Nathan originally planned to be a High School English teacher, like several other members of his family. He majored in Art and minored in Drama to round out his curriculum. However, when he started acting on the side to help pay for school he was hooked.

12. Nathan won the Cinescape "Genre Face of the Future Award" in 2003 for his portrayal of Macolm Reynolds on Firefly.

13. Nathan claims to be a distant relative of Civil War general Jubal Early. He mentioned this to Joss Whedon, who then wrote a character with the same name into the Firefly episode "Objects in Space."

14. In Firefly, Nathan did his own stunts, getting multiple bruises and a sprained ankle.

15. Nathan's older brother's name is Jeff.

16. One of his old jobs was to sing telegrams.

17. Nathan auditioned for the role of Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Joss Whedon didn't remember him when casting him in the role of Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly.

18. Nathan is the voice for Gao the Lesser in the video game Jade Empire.

19. In 1996, Nathan was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Young Actor.

20. As of this writing, Alan is the fourth of six actors to play the role of Joe Buchanan, Jr. ("Joey") on One Life To Live.

21. Nathan is from Alberta, Canada.

22. He is one of three actors, along with Adam Baldwin and Gina Torres, to cross over to either Buffy or Angel to play a big bad after Firefly was cancelled. He played Caleb, the evil preacher, in the seventh season of Buffy.

23. Nathan is 6' 1" tall.

"Oh I'm going to that special hell." --Mal

“I just did one in London. It was a lot of fun. I did a nude scene in 'Firefly' and a fan said to me, 'Hey, Nathan. You know that nude scene you did? You should do more.' And I said, 'That's really creepy sir.'”
-- Nathan on Conventions