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Captain on deck! Nathan Fillion calls the shots on the good ship Serenity as captain Malcolm Reynolds - space pirate extraordinaire.
He's being hailed as the next Harrison Ford, he could charm the stripes off a zebra and the man's even freindly with Steven
Spielberg...
You're the hero of Serenity but your character, Mal, isn't really heroic.
I know, what draws people to him in the movie I don’t understand. We're introduced to him and we see he's witty, he's
kind of clever. But he's a no-nonsense guy. He's telling it like it is and he's getting things done. He robs a bank telling
everybody 'what we're taking ain't yours'. But then BAM! He shoots an unarmed guy. And you think, 'I don't I know who this
fella is anymore,' - and that's all within the first 10 minutes of the movie.
Was that what you liked about him?
Yes. I told Joss when we first had the meeting. I said 'Hey I really like Mal, I really like this character, I think I have
an understanding of him and I know I can play him but I'm not him.' I'm a really happy guy and everything I do is really lucky.
Such has been my life. But I can look at Malcolm Reynolds and I can suss him out. When you're pushed and you're pushed and
you're pushed until there's nothing left. Then you either put a gun in your mouth or you press on, and that's what he does.
Though he's not the best fighter in the world…
No, he really gets his ass kicked. He's a fella who's all 'II'll fucking fight you, I'll fucking fight you!' But he won't
win. That's something I really love and appreciate about him. You know, the benefit of Firefly's cancellation, as far as the
movie goes, is that with that series we had 14 episodes to get to know these characters. I know what Mal would do in any situation
because I know his history, I've lived this character. Starting the movie was being home again.
How much of a pain was that first long, tracking shot through the ship?
It took two days! The idea was... hey, I'm a Star Trek fan but when I watch Star Trek and they're walking along corridor B,
I don't know where that is. Every corridor looks the same and every door looks the same. But when you're on Serenity you know
exactly where the characters are. If you look at the ship from the outside you know that's where the kitchen is, that's where
the cargo bay is, that's where the passenger berths are, there's the engine room and there's the bridge. That shot says 'here's
the ship' in through the window, down the stairs and all the way down to the back and into the cargo bay.
So you're a Star Trek fan? Here's a question: Deep Space Nine or Voyager?
I was Next Generation and Voyager. With DS9 I thought they were a bit limited for visitors, that was until they got a warship
and started taking off and doing their thing. Voyager, well there's Seven of Nine. There's that. I had a lot of hope for Enterprise
at the beginning. I sure did love T'pol. Granted she's a sexy broad and whatnot but she did a damned good job of playing a
Vulcan. I thought she'd just be a hot sexy model who knew nothing about Star Trek - not like geeks like me - but she really
honoured the character and really honoured the idea.
How do you compare Firefly to Star Trek?
I love Next Generation - especially Worf, I love Worf - It has some great character development but it's so technology-heavy.
The formula that takes complex technological information and dumbs it down with a metaphor 'oh you mean like too much air
in a balloon?" "exactly!". I think there's a place for technology-heavy stuff but what interests me more is people and characters.
Serenity is a ship full of real people. They're on a ship but it's not about the ship, it's not about the technology but the
fact that the ship is their home. This is where they live. It's there sanctuary. It's dirty, it's rusty and it's falling apart
but they love it and that's where they're free. My sci-fi experience has become more complex since Firefly and my preferences
have become different.
You've come a long way from a walk on part as 'the wrong Ryan' in Saving Private Ryan.
[Deadpan] I actually prefer 'faux ryan'. In the credits I believe I'm Minnesota Ryan. That was my very first movie experience
and man… I mean I was nervous. I was really nervous. Tom Hanks, Ted Danson, Steven Spielberg and Janusch Kaminski, these
people are legends. But they were so supportive and so relaxed, they could tell I was nervous. Steven Spielberg was able to
relax me… to relax a 25 year-old kid who was just so tense and just get me to a place where I could do my job. I'm proud
of the work I did and grateful to Steven Spielberg for the opportunity.
You know, I've seen him a couple of times since and he treats me like an old friend 'hey! How are you doing? What have you
been up to? Why are you wearing this costume?' I was doing Firefly and he was cutting Minority Report. I can't say enough
wonderful things about him.
You've been touted as the next Harrison Ford, is that something you plan to cultivate?
Wouldn't you? I mean there were times in my life when I was desperate for work and I'm thankful that now I can sit back and
relax and wait for something that speaks to me, something where I think 'Ooh I want to play this character, please God get
me this part'. Be that the swashbuckling Han Solo stuff, be that a romantic comedy - whatever.
Your next project Slither is an aliens-meet-zombies horror.
Yes it is. That's another role that spoke to me. The character I play, Bill Pardy, he's a reluctant hero - so it's a real
stretch for me [laughs]. I think Malcolm Reynolds is an anti hero and Bill Pardy is a reluctant hero. But he's really not
very good at it - more reluctant than hero. If the shit were to hit the fan the first person you would go to would probably
not be Bill Pardy. He was the football hero in a small town, life came very easily to him. He skated through life and now,
faced with the end of the world, he doesn't know what to do. He doesn’t bust into the room saying 'I'm gonna save the
world!' he just says 'does this sound like a plan? That could work? Right? Maybe that could work?' he's not certain about
anything, he's just trying. That's one of the things that attracted me to this movie , people in it react to an alien zombie
invasion much in the same way you think people would really react to an alien zombie invasion. They're beside themselves and
all they want to do is run away.
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