Is it just me or does Nathan Fillion seem to be everywhere these days?
I mean, the guy reprised his role as Captain Hammer in that “Dr. Horrible” sketch on the Emmys back on September 20th. The second season of Fillion’s latest show, “Castle,” debuted on the 21st, while the DVD version of the first season of this new ABC series went on sale September 22nd.
And did I mention that – when he’s not shooting episodes of this romantic dramedy – Nathan has been doing book signings around the country to help promote “Heat Wave.” Which is a “Castle” tie-in novel that Hyperion officially published this past Tuesday.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Given how busy this guy is, is it any wonder that – when Nathan made a special trip to Manhattan earlier this month to help promote “Castle” ‘s new season, the first season DVD as well as that tie-in book – he almost slept through his scheduled appearance at the Apple Store in SoHo.
“I was just going to lay down for an hour. But then I made the mistake of setting my phone on vibrate, rather than on alarm,” Fillion explained. “The next thing I know, my publicist is calling. Saying ‘Where are you? You were supposed to be at the event already.’ “
Not to worry, though. The star of “Serenity” caught a break and was still able to make it down to Soho in time for Friday night’s talk. Where a standing-room-only crowd (some of whom had come from as far away as Nova Scotia, driving for 17 hours straight just so they could be in the same room as Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds) peppered this performer with dozens of questions about his colorful career.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Perhaps the funniest moment of the night came when one member of the audience asked if there was any news in regards to a “Serenity” sequel. Remaining perfectly deadpan, Nathan turned to the evening’s moderator. Who then withdrew a dollar from his pocket and handed it over to this ABC star.
Obviously Fillion gets a lot of “Firefly” –related questions these days. Which is why he now has a stock answer. Which is that – when it comes to Hollywood – it’s wise to never say never. After all, when Fox first canceled this series back in December of 2002, Nathan figured that was all she wrote. Which is why he then retreated to his house, pulled down the shades and ate an entire tub of chocolate ice cream.
But then when Joss Whedon said he was going to try and revive this acclaimed scif-fi western as a feature film project, Fillion recalled laughing and – slurring his words for effect here – said “Good luck with that.” So no one was more surprised than Nathan when Joss actually got “Serenity” produced.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Now as to whether Fillion will ever appear in a “Serenity” sequel (or – for that matter – on Whedon’s new TV series for Fox, “Dollhouse”), Nathan pointed out that “Castle” ‘s shooting schedule keeps him pretty busy these days.
“We sometimes wind up shooting for 15 hours straight. And since they’re required to give us 12 hours off before we have to report back to the set … Well, that’s how our end time winds up getting pushed further and further back.,” he continued. “So some days we’ll shoot from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. While the next day we’ll go from 9 a.m. to midnight. The night before I flew out here, we wrapped shooting at 2 a.m.”
Which explains how Fillion almost slept through his scheduled appearance in SoHo. Speaking of which, if you’d like to hear what the star of “Castle” had say while he was being interviewed at the Apple Store, this entire presentation is now available for downloading over at iTunes.
Copyright 2009 Hyperion Press. All Rights Reserved
More importantly, if you’d like to get Nathan to personally sign a copy of “Heat Wave” for you, this “Castle” star will be appearing at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove at Farmers Market on October 19th.
As for the series itself, “Castle” airs on ABC Monday nights from 10 – 11 p.m. ET / PT.
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