Nathan Fillion

Fillion a rising star

Information, please, on Nathan Fillion, the handsome young actor who stars in the new sci-fi thriller Serenity.

Fillion was born in Edmonton, Alberta, 34 years ago. The son of English teachers, he planned to become a teacher himself, but after appearing in high school plays changed his mind and talked his way into the role of a priest on ABC’s One Life to Live. This was followed by a small role in his movie debut, Saving Private Ryan, and then the lead as Capt. Mal Reynolds in the Fox sci-fi series Firefly.

Firefly was cancelled after 11 episodes, but its director, Joss Whedon, persuaded Universal that the show’s impressive DVD sales justified a movie version. This turned out to be Serenity, in which Fillion again plays Reynolds. Now on Hollywood’s rising-young-stars list, the actor will be seen in a horror flick, Slither, next year.