Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor who has enshrined his place in the hearts of millions of TV and Film fans all over Hollywood. He has been in the industry for over 25 years, having begun his acting career in 1993. In that period, he has played several loveable characters on screen, including his role as Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly and Richard Castle in Castle.
In over 25 years, Nathan Fillion has appeared in over 80 movies and TV shows, some of which have been voice roles for video games and animations, including his role as Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck in the Halo game series.
Nathan Fillion’s Intriguing Viking Heritage
Nathan Fillion was born on the 27th of March, 1971, to Robert and June Fillion. He was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and he has a brother, Jeff, who is his older sibling. Fillion’s parents are both retired teachers. The Canadian actor has his Viking heritage through his mother; his maternal grandfather is Norwegian, and his grandmother is Finnish. Although a Canadian by birth, he has also held US citizenship since 1997.
He spent his childhood in the Mill Woods area of Edmonton, where he completed his basic education at Holy Trinity Catholic High School. For his higher education, Nathan Fillion attended two universities – the University of Alberta and Concordia University College of Alberta. During his days at the University of Alberta, he was a member of the fraternity, Kappa Alpha Society.
How ‘Firefly’ Inspired His Long and Successful Acting Career
Nathan Fillion’s on-screen debut was in 1993, in Ordeal in the Arctic when he played Officer Tom Jardine. He then starred in another project, his first big-screen project, Strange and Rich in 1994 playing Walter Hoade before he relocated to New York City, where he appeared in the soap opera, One Life to Live, playing Joey Buchanan.
Nathan Fillion’s career did not take off until he moved to New York City in 1994. Before then, he participated in improv theatre. He was part of the theatre group, Theatresports with Rapid Fire Theatre. His relocation to New York signaled a turn in his career, and he began to secure more roles, ranging from film to TV shows, including appearing in the modern classic, Saving Private Ryan in 1998 as Private James Frederick “Minnesota” Ryan. He also played Father David in Dracula 2000 in 2000.
Across both movies and TV shows, Nathan Fillion has made notable appearances in popular and classic projects, such as an appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Caleb and one of his most prominent roles yet, as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly.
Other famous projects of Nathan Fillion include Desperate Housewives, Con Man, Castle, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Modern Family, The Rookie, Big Mouth, and many more.
As a voice actor, Nathan Fillion has played roles across both animations and video games, ranging from superhero animations like The Death of Superman, Reign of the Superman, to video games like the Halo series and Jade Empire.
Throughout his career, he has been the recipient of several awards and nominations, including a Daytime Emmy nomination for his work on One Life to Live.
The Most Impactful Roles of Nathan Fillion’s Career
For a man with more than 88 film and TV credits to his name, there are a ton of impactful roles in his career. However, amidst the many, there are still a few that stand out. His role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly is one of the best of his career. Nathan’s performance in the American space Western drama is heralded as one of the Greatest Sci-Fi Legends in TV history by TV Guide.
Another career-defining role for Nathan was one of his early works, One Life to Live. His performance in the soap opera as Joey Buchanan brought him to the limelight. Not only did it make him famous, but it also earned him his first award nomination – a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series.
Other notable works include Castle, which he starred in as Richard Castle across 173 episodes between 2009 and 2016. His work in video games, like Halo 3, Halo: Reach, and the Destiny series, has also made him an icon of the medium.
Nathan Fillion Is One of the Highest-Paid Actors On Television
When Nathan Fillion was starring on Castle, he was reportedly earning as much as $100,000 per episode. He appeared in a total of 173 episodes during the show. The figure puts him squarely among the highest-paid working actors on TV.
His high earning potential, combined with a long filmography of over 80 movies, TV shows, and video game roles, has earned him a net worth north of $18 million.
A man with the resources and exposure of Nathan Fillion will have other sources of income beyond his primary source. Unfortunately, those are yet to be determined. Some reasonable assumptions include real estate and stock investment.
Nathan Fillion spends some of his significant wealth on philanthropic causes. He helped donate more than $60,000 to Charity: Water in 2019. He also donated $5,000 to Edmonton’s food bank in April 2020.
Nathan Fillion Is Unmarried And We Don’t Know Why
There is no denying that Nathan Fillion is an attractive man. Despite the array of women who would love to become the wife of the gorgeous actor, he has so far remained single and has also never been married.
Nathan Fillion has been in a relationship with fellow actors such as Krista Allen, whom he dated in 2015. He has also been rumored to be involved with Christina Ochoa, Felicia Day, Kate Luyben, Stana Katic, and a few others.
Most of his relationships have been short, with the majority of them lasting less than a year. His longest known relationship was with Perrey Reeves. The two dated between 2005 and 2009. Sadly, like all of his relationships, the reason for the breakup remains private.
See Also: Who is David Eigenberg From Chicago Fire? His Wife, Family, Net Worth
He Has Come Pretty Close To Walking Down The Aisle Though
Since Nathan Fillion became recognized in Hollywood, he has only come close to marriage twice. The first time was with Vanessa Marcil and the second time was with Mikaela Hoover. We don’t know much about his relationship with Vanessa. All we know is the couple were together for eight months before they got engaged. Their relationship later ended sometime in 1996.
His story with Mikaela Hoover was also similar. They began starting in April 2013 and got engaged in November 2013. However, by January 2014, the relationship was no more. Nathan is yet to share a reason for the break up in either case.
