Sometimes you find yourself pulling for an actor like you would for a favorite athlete or politician. (Hey, it could happen.) You know the drill, movie fans: You discover a performer in an early role, you take notice, and you then chart the course of that career as time goes by. Sometimes you're thrilled (like when my beloved Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar) and sometimes you're bummed (like when Jason Lee signs on for not only Underdog, but Alvin and the Chipmunks, too, for cryin' out loud) -- and sometimes you're left wondering just what the hell is going on...Such is my perspective on Canadian actor Nathan Fillion. The way I see it, the guy could (with just a little help) become the next Harrison Ford (or OK, maybe Kurt Russell). On the other side, he could become the next Bruce Campbell -- which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Mr. Campbell has always resided on just this side of "the mainstream," seemingly more than content to dole out his genre-style goodies for the established fans who love the stuff while occasionally popping up in Hollywood flicks. And it's not like Bruce Campbell is having trouble keeping his bills paid.
But with only a handful of TV series and just a fistful of noteworthy movie roles, Mr. Fillion's career seems to be at an impasse: In one direction lies box office superstar. In the other ... legions of adoring fans who'll always make Fillion the most popular guy at the comics convention. Not a bad gig either way, but here's how we've arrived at this point:
1993 - 2002: Lots of random appearances in TV series like Spin City, The Outer Limits and (yep) One Life to Live. A few Canadian indies led to small roles in Saving Private Ryan, Blast from the Past and Dracula 2000. A regular role in Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place got the guy some prime-time exposure, but it seems like the actor's recurring role as Caleb on Buffy the Vampire Slayer is what opened a lot of options for Fillion.
The collaboration with Joss Whedon led to Nathan Fillion's Big Break #1: The lead role on a sci-fi western series called Firefly. Fox botched the broadcast rather terribly, and the series was dead even before it got rolling. (Well, not entirely dead.) Then it was time for a few more indies, a couple more failed TV series, and even some video game work before Big Break #2 showed up in the most unlikely of forms: The Firefly series was about to become a movie called Serenity, and here was Fillion's chance to become Han Solo and Indiana Jones at the same time. And while the fans and the critics certainly adored the movie, it didn't exactly blow the doors down, cash-wise. (Note of correction: I've been informed -- 1,226 times -- that Mr. Fillion did Firefly BEFORE Buffy. So thanks for all the corrections. Even the ones with the word "idiot" in them.)
Big Breaks #3 and #4 come as a pair of genre films: One is the sequel to a surprise hit from a few years back and the other is an old-school tongue-in-cheek sci-fi monster-fest that, I don't mind saying, is a whole freakin' lot of fun. The former is called White Noise 2: The Light -- and it's presently collecting dust somewhere in an office at Universal. The latter is called Slither -- and despite it being a pitch-perfect blend of monster mayhem and Mad Magazine, the flick grossed a number too depressing to repeat. So what does this effortlessly likable actor have to do to catch a REAL break?
He opts to co-star alongside Keri Russell in a charming indie comedy called Waitress. His performance -- and practically the entire lovable little movie -- is overshadowed by the tragic murder of its creator, Adrienne Shelly. Then Nate gets to anchor a heavily-hyped action series on Fox called Drive. The series is canceled before its sixth episode. So I guess you could call those Big Breaks #5 and #6. And I think it's a real shame, too. This is a guy who could step into "action hero" roles and comedic parts with equal amounts of comfort. But since his career so far is peppered mostly with "genre" material, Nathan Fillion could just as easily slip into sort of a novelty role -- the guy the movie geeks really love, but nobody else really recognizes. (Then again, he did just join the cast of Desperate Housewives...)
Frankly I'll just enjoy whatever the guy has to offer next, but I'm hoping the big-time casting directors can look past the guy's box office / Nielsen ratings report and find something cool for him to do. It's not like there's going to be a shortage of comedy / action films any time soon -- and I'd sure as heck rather see Nathan Fillion breaking jaws and cracking wise than 90% of the actors I'm subjected to nowadays.
1. I always thought it was the other way around. IIRC, Nathan Fillion was on Firefly first and then after it was cancelled Joss put him into Buffy. (He also put Gina Torres into Angel) Do I have the timeline wrong?
Posted at 4:04PM on Aug 11th 2007 by Blair M