I kind of found a niche for myself after 'Firefly'. I found something that I enjoyed doing and that I did well, but as far as how I seek out a part, it's always different. It's always something that lights you on fire when you read it. It might be just one scene, it might be one line that defines the character for you.
Nathan FillionI kind of fell backwards into acting. I was studying to be a high school teacher. I look now and I understand completely, or actually barely, how much work it is to be a teacher. It's an incredible amount of work.
Nathan FillionI think people imagine that I have about five scripts sitting in front of me and I say, 'I think I'm going to go with the super hero thing and after that I'll wrap it up with some more sci-fi and then do a romantic comedy.' But it doesn't quite work out that way.
Nathan FillionI've always fantasized about being on TV. And I was. Then I fantasized about being in the movies. What could be better than captain of a space ship? I get to ride horses, shoot guns, have adventures.
Nathan FillionI think it's a dance that people want to see. It's a chemistry that people want to see. In the same way that people don't want to see a perfect hero with no flaws who can handle anything, people don't want to see a perfect relationship. There's nothing interesting about that. People want to see you fail.
Nathan FillionI thought what would be really just choice for a revamp and a reboot is 'The Greatest American Hero.' I think I'd be just that kind of perfect not prepared for this kind of thing, but thrust into circumstances he's not prepared for... that's another niche of mine. Unpreparedness. Not knowing what to do. I'm good at being that guy.
Nathan FillionI want to be a working actor; I want to do jobs that excite me and challenge me, and I want to something fun.
Nathan FillionI'm the kind of guy who, I need a watch that tells me what day it is. I need to know it's Friday on my watch. I need to look at it and go, 'Friday today.' Tomorrow I will not know it's Saturday until I look at my watch. My watchband broke, I was crippled. I have no concept of time, I have no concept of dates.
Nathan FillionWhen you slick back your hair, you get a really good idea of just how melon-like your head actually is.
Nathan FillionMy first Comic-Con was when I first met Joss Whedon: He introduced me to that world and I'd never been to a convention before that. He and a bunch of the 'Buffy' and 'Angel' writers were all going down in a big van and he invited me along.
Nathan FillionCastle isn't really affected emotionally by murder. He's thrilled about, 'Oh, my God, I wonder how this happened?'
Nathan FillionI've got a full plate, yes I do. That iPod that's nice. A phone recorder? Nicely done. All right I'm a bit of a tech geek. I have a subscription to Popular Science and I keep up on all this stuff.
Nathan FillionI love doing 'Castle.' We pump out 24 episodes in 10 months, and we work long hours. We do lots and lots of takes, and everyone there is a talent machine. It is a taxing endeavour to say the least, but when you get into a groove, it doesn't matter if you're tired, it doesn't matter if you're sick. You can do it.
Nathan FillionThere's comedy even in tragedy. There's comedy in life. And in 'Castle', we go for that comedy.
Nathan FillionI'm living in Los Angeles, I'm in films and I'm on television, and I'm working with actors and telling stories. I'm living the fantasy. My worst day is a great day.
Nathan FillionI'll tell you what I really enjoy. We all go to the movies, we all watch television, we know what they're about, how they work. When the main character is a cop or a spy, it's very exciting, but I also very much enjoy when the main characters are nobodies - a trucker.
Nathan FillionMy job changes very little because I've found that the more you try to be funny, the less funny you become.
Nathan FillionI'll never look down on and I love running into actors who say 'Oh yeah, I did a soap.' I say 'Tell me which one!' It's like being a member of a secret society.
Nathan FillionI realized, dumb people don't know they're dumb. When people try to make me laugh and they try to be funny, that's when they lose me. I find a lot of comedy in honesty.
Nathan FillionSomebody once said that you can never act and be another person; you're only acting facets of yourself. I think there's a lot of truth in that.
Nathan FillionI was a huge comic book fan as a kid. The only problem I had with comic books is how expensive they got. I didn't have a lot of money, so I had to be very specific about what I wanted to collect. I think they're all somewhere in the basement of my folks' house.
Nathan FillionI have a lightsaber at my front door for home protection. I have an 800-watt electric skateboard that I use to run errands in my neighborhood. It can go about six, seven miles, so depending on how much time I have, and how much I have to carry home, I'll take it really far. I love that thing.
Nathan FillionI've got a fantastic life. I enjoy what I do for a living. I see the blessings; I'm not blind.
Nathan FillionI'm comfortable only when there's a mutual attraction. That's what anyone wants. If I find out she's not attracted to me, it brings down my level of attraction to her. If I'm interested and find out she's not, I tend to cool off.
Nathan FillionWhen I was a waiter I was fired twice from the same restaurant. I guess I was that good of an actor but that bad of a waiter.
Nathan FillionI tried my hand at writing, I tried to write out a little script - and it's not too bad. Mostly, though, it let me understand how incredibly difficult that job is. I can't even imagine doing it on a weekly basis for a series in any way. That's tough. I think I'll try to leave that to smarter people than me.
Nathan FillionI slowly came to realize that this job of being an actor, you spend most of your time looking for work. That is your job. Your job is auditioning. You spend very little of your time actually working.
Nathan Fillion'Desperate Housewives' is an ensemble cast, where I played a tertiary character. I made a lot of great friends, but that show didn't keep me very busy.
Nathan FillionI'm constantly pitching one episode where we see life through Castle's eyes. I think Castle's just a little off as far as his perception goes. A very, very clever man, but I want to see the world as Castle sees it - kind of a rose-colored glasses, all the women find him irresistible, all the guys find him super cool and do whatever he says.
Nathan FillionWhat draws me to roles, I think, are moments - moments that define character, where so much more of the story is told in just a moment - a look, a line, a short scene, but something that speaks a volume, something that speaks to me.
Nathan FillionMy worst day is still a really good day. I complain, but I catch myself and count my blessings. I am truly blessed.
Nathan FillionI have a cat. I'm not a cat-person, but she came with the house that I'm renting. I don't know how many hundreds of dollars worth of bump removals, teeth removals, cleanings and vet fees I've been through. But of course I love her and she's worth it.
Nathan FillionI think I've been really good at surrounding myself with really talented people. I've picked the right coattails to ride on.
Nathan FillionI remember when TiVO first came out I was all about TiVo. I came home and that thing was frozen, and I thought 'This is awful. This is the end of the world'. Then I unplugged it, and I plugged it back in, and still frozen. It was paralyzing. I called them. They said, 'Just unplug it longer.' Fixed. But it also taught me I'm an addict.
Nathan FillionMEN WALK ON THE MOON. To me, this speaks of a time when America wasn't just about the almighty buck. The Russians had put up Sputnik, and the U.S. would not be outdone. I admire that about the American spirit. There's only one spot in history for the first ever of anything.
Nathan FillionMy dinner spot is usually in front of the TV. I'll grill a steak and whip up a salad and watch 'Hoarders.' I love it because a) I'm kind of voyeuristic, and b) every time I see an episode, I go to the one room where all my unpacked boxes wound up, and I throw out a box of stuff.
Nathan FillionI've had a long line of failed television programs, pilots that were never picked up, series that didn't go very long. I've learned that there's really nothing you can do. If it's not in my control, I try not to worry about it.
Nathan FillionWhen people embrace character, it informs their living, breathing moments in a scene so well.
Nathan FillionBasically, after an ABC sitcom I did, I ended up with a holding deal with 20th Century Fox. Absolutely cool. It pays you to be unemployed. And the bigger the entity that gives you the deal, the better.
Nathan FillionNo one wants to see a person on TV who's super-ultra-cool. That's Superman, that's a thing of the past. Heroes are now flawed, and have terrible tempers, you know? They're real people.
Nathan FillionWhat I know of Steve Trevor is everything that I learned from 'Wonder Woman,' the television series with Lynda Carter. And I don't remember much. I do remember his uniform, though.
Nathan FillionWith scheduling and the way projects come up, I take the first thing that interests me and that moves me. If it's going to be fun, if I'm going to have a good time, and I'm going to enjoy the people I'm with, then that's a good enough reason to do it.
Nathan FillionWhen I watch TV I can tell when someone is punching the joke and telling me when to laugh (Iโll decide when to laugh, thank you very much).
Nathan FillionBeing in the industry, I've seen many situations where someone will get the call from the network where they say 'You guys have 5 episodes to wrap it up.' Then all your long-term story arcs gotta get wrapped up in five episodes because that's how many episodes you got left. I would hate to see that happen to 'Castle'.
Nathan Fillion