Nathan Fillion was born on March 27, 1971, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His parents, Cookie (Early) and Bob Fillion, were both retired English teachers. Nathan has an older brother, Jeff, and is of French-Canadian descent on his father's side and English, German, Finnish, and Norwegian ancestry on his mother's side.
Nathan attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta, and the University of Alberta in Canada. Before moving to New York City in 1994, he participated in improv theatre and appeared in TV movies and small roles in films.
Nathan's first regular role was on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live, where he played Joey Buchanan from 1994 to 1997. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for this role. During the late 1990s, he appeared in small roles in films like Saving Private Ryan and Blast from the Past.
In 1998, Nathan was cast as Johnny Donnelly on the TV show Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, a role he played for 60 episodes. After the show ended in 2001, Nathan gained critical acclaim and a large cult following for his role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the TV show Firefly.
Nathan has also appeared in numerous films, including Dracula 2000, Alligator Point, Water's Edge, If Dad Only Knew, and Hollywood Division. He has also played roles in TV shows like Pasadena, Miss Match, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In 2005, Nathan reprised his role as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the feature film Serenity. He has also appeared in horror-comedy Slither, White Noise 2: The Light, Waitress, and Trucker.
Nathan has continued to work in TV and film, starring in the short-lived Fox-TV series Drive and appearing on a recurring role as Dr. Adam Mayfair on the TV show Desperate Housewives. He has also appeared in the video game Halo 3 and has been a voice actor on numerous projects.
In 2008, Nathan took his first singing part as Captain Hammer in the Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. In 2009, he was cast as the title character Richard Castle in the TV show Castle, a role he has played for over 160 episodes.
Nathan has also appeared in numerous films, including Super, Much Ado About Nothing, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and Thrilling Adventure Hour Live. He has also voiced characters in video games like Destiny and Halo 5: Guardians.
Nathan has continued to work in TV and film, starring in the TV show The Rookie as John Nolan, a rookie police officer in the LAPD. He has also appeared in numerous films, including Yamasong: March of the Hollows and has continued to voice characters in video games.
