Nathan Fillion facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nathan Fillion
Fillion at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1971-03-27) March 27, 1971 (age 54) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Citizenship	Canada United States of America
Education	Concordia University of Edmonton University of Alberta
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Notable work	One Life to Live Two Guys and a Girl Firefly Castle The Rookie

Nathan Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He is famous for playing Captain Mal Reynolds in the TV show Firefly and its movie Serenity. He also starred as Richard Castle in the TV series Castle. Since 2018, he has been playing John Nolan in The Rookie. He is also an executive producer for The Rookie.

Nathan Fillion has acted in many movies like Slither and Trucker. He also appeared in online films such as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. He has been in TV soap operas and sitcoms too. You might also recognize his voice from video games like Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Destiny, and Destiny 2. He also voiced characters in animated shows like M.O.D.O.K..

Fillion first became well-known for his role as Joey Buchanan in the soap opera One Life to Live. For this role, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award. He also gained recognition for his part as Johnny Donnelly in the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl.

Early Life and Education

Nathan Fillion was born on March 27, 1971, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the younger of two sons. His parents, Robert and June Fillion, were both English teachers. His family has roots in Quebec and also Norway and Finland.

He grew up in Edmonton and went to Holy Trinity Catholic High School. He also attended Concordia University College of Alberta and the University of Alberta. He became a U.S. citizen in 1997.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Roles and Breakthrough

Nathan Fillion started his acting career in theater and TV shows. In 1994, he moved to New York City. There, he joined the soap opera One Life to Live as Joey Buchanan. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for this role in 1996. He left the show in 1997 but returned for a short visit in 2007.

After moving to Los Angeles, he played Johnny Donnelly in the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. He also had a small role in Steven Spielberg's famous movie Saving Private Ryan.

Becoming Captain Mal Reynolds

In 2002, Fillion took on the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the science fiction TV series Firefly. Fans loved his character. He won an award for "Face of the Future" for this role. Fillion has said that working on Firefly was the best acting job he ever had. Even though the show was cancelled, it was made into a movie called Serenity in 2005. He played Mal Reynolds again in the movie.

In 2003, Fillion also appeared in the last five episodes of another Joss Whedon series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He played the villain, Caleb.

Nathan Fillion at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Voice Acting and Other Films

Nathan Fillion has lent his voice to many animated projects and video games. He voiced characters in King of the Hill in 2001. He also voiced Vigilante in Justice League Unlimited from 2005 to 2006. He has voiced Hal Jordan in several animated movies, including Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and Justice League: Doom.

In 2006, Fillion starred in the horror film Slither. He also appeared in the romantic comedy Waitress in 2007. He had a guest role in the TV show Lost in 2006.

He also voiced a character named Sergeant Reynolds in the Xbox 360 game Halo 3. He later voiced Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck in Halo 3: ODST, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo: Reach.

Starring in Castle and Beyond

In March 2009, Nathan Fillion began starring in the ABC TV series Castle. He played Richard Castle, a mystery writer who helps the NYPD solve crimes. The show was very popular and ran for many years. It was cancelled in 2016.

Nathan Fillion at the 2014 Phoenix Comicon

Fillion also appeared in the independent film Much Ado About Nothing in 2012. This movie was based on William Shakespeare's play and was directed by Joss Whedon.

Since 2011, Fillion has been part of a live podcast show called The Thrilling Adventure Hour. He plays a character named Cactoid Jim.

In 2014, he voiced the character Cayde-6 in the video game Destiny. He continued this role in Destiny 2 in 2017.

From 2015 to 2017, Fillion worked with his Firefly co-star Alan Tudyk on a web series called Con Man. The show was inspired by their experiences meeting fans at conventions.

In 2017, he had a recurring role as Gary West in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet. He also played Jacques Snicket in the Netflix show A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The Rookie and Future Projects

In February 2018, Nathan Fillion was cast as John Nolan in the ABC TV series The Rookie. He plays a man who becomes the oldest rookie in the LAPD. He is also an executive producer for the show.

In 2018, Fillion and director Allan Ungar released a short film based on the video game Uncharted. Fans and critics loved it and hoped it would become a full series.

More recently, Fillion has appeared in several films directed by James Gunn. He played T.D.K. in The Suicide Squad (2021) and Master Karja in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

In 2023, he was cast as the DC Comics superhero Guy Gardner/Green Lantern in James Gunn's upcoming 2025 film Superman. He had previously voiced a different Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, in animated movies. Fillion is also expected to play Guy Gardner in a future DCU series called Lanterns.

He is also set to star in an upcoming film called Skincare.

Giving Back: Philanthropy

Nathan Fillion cares about helping others. In 2007, he co-founded a non-profit organization called Kids Need to Read with author PJ Haarsma. This group helps get more books into libraries that don't have a lot of money. Their goal is to inspire children's imaginations through reading.

In 2019, Fillion also helped raise over $60,000 for Charity: Water, an organization that provides clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Saving Private Ryan	Pvt. James Frederick "Minnesota" Ryan
1999	Blast from the Past	Cliff
2000	Dracula 2000	Father David
2005	Serenity	Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds
2006	Slither	Bill Pardy
2007	White Noise 2: The Light	Abe Dale
	Waitress	Dr. Jim Pomatter
2009	Wonder Woman	Steve Trevor	Voice, direct-to-video
2010	Super	The Holy Avenger
2011	Green Lantern: Emerald Knights	Hal Jordan / Green Lantern	Voice, direct-to-video
2012	Justice League: Doom
	Much Ado About Nothing	Dogberry
2013	Monsters University	Johnny Worthington III	Voice
	Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox	Hal Jordan / Green Lantern	Voice, direct-to-video
	Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	Hermes
2014	Party Central	Johnny Worthington III	Voice, short film
	Guardians of the Galaxy	Blue Alien Prisoner	Voice, cameo
2015	Justice League: Throne of Atlantis	Hal Jordan / Green Lantern	Voice, direct-to-video
2017	Cars 3	Sterling	Voice
2018	The Death of Superman	Hal Jordan / Green Lantern	Voice, direct-to-video
	Night Hunter	Matthew Quinn
2019	Reign of the Supermen	Hal Jordan / Green Lantern	Voice, direct-to-video
2021	The Suicide Squad	Cory Pitzner / T.D.K. (The Detachable Kid)
2023	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	Master Karja
2024	Deadpool & Wolverine	Wade Wilson / Headpool	Voice
2025	Superman	Guy Gardner / Green Lantern	Post-production

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Web

Video games

Awards and Nominations

Nathan Fillion has been recognized for his acting with several awards and nominations:

See also

In Spanish: Nathan Fillion para niños