Just when we thought we couldn’t love Nathan Fillion anymore, our phone rings. As it turns out, watching TV twenty-four-seven does have its privileges. As evidence by the voice on the other line being none other than CASTLE star Fillion himself, who was kind enough to take the time to answer five questions on failure, flaws, fatherhood, future and of course, Felicia Day.
FILLION ON FIREFLY
For reasons that remain a mystery to us, Nathan Fillion has yet to star in a breakout hit. Which is why we started off our interview by asking if he was a little apprehensive about jumping back into series television after the disappointments that were FIREFLY and DRIVE. “Not at all, I mean geez, I’m an actor who wants to be acting. I want to be doing fun material, good material with talented people and I don’t care if it’s TV, or if you’ve had a sour experience,” explains the always upbeat Fillion in his traditional classy style. “If you’ve had a girlfriend that broke your heart are you going to stop dating girls forever? No you’re going to move on and keep doing your thing.”
FILLION ON FLAWED CHARACTERS
Simply put, he loves them. Which it turns out is what attracted Fillion to the role of mystery novelist turned detective Richard Castle in the first place. “People have flaws. I have them. I’m a little too perfect and a little too modest and you know what, I have to live with that!” jokes the actor in his trademark sarcastic tone. “I think one of Castle’s flaws is that he enjoys himself perhaps a little too much, and as an actor, that spoke to me. Just like [FIREFLY’s] Malcolm Reynolds spoke to me. I’m not a dark haunted brooding man, but there was something about him [Mal] that I could connect with, a sense of justice perhaps. Whereas Castle plays to more of my boyish, playful side. Castle is living an adventure everyday and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
FILLION ON FATHERHOOD
“Castle just lucked out.” explained Fillion when asked about what has become the highlight to many fans of the show, his character’s relationship with his fictional TV daughter. “Alexis turned out fantastic and incredible and I don’t think it was due to Castle’s parenting skills in anyway. She’s so very much the parent because Castle wasn’t much of one. But Castle does love her, cares for her and protects her and he is adamant about that.” Pauses Fillion, who then takes a moment to acknowledge actress Molly C. Quinn who plays his fictional TV daughter, “What a wonderful actress Molly is. She brings such a real life person to what you could say is written on the page as maybe being a little too perfect.”
FILLION ON THE FUTURE [of DR. HORRIBLE]
“I do know Joss [Whedon] has gotten as far as to come up with a title for a sequel so you know he has got ideas running around in his head,” said Fillion when asked the obligatory DR. HORRIBLE sequel question. “Of course, nothing is in stone, we haven’t filmed anything yet as everybody is a bit busy, right now. But there are whispers.” Whispers that come as no surprise to Fillion, who earned critical acclaim playing Captain Hammer in the beloved online video experiment.
“We were talking about doing a sequel the very first day we started filming DR. HORRIBLE and I think in this day there ought to be a broadway musical,” adds Fillion. “You combine DR. HORRIBLE with the musical commentary of DR. HORRIBLE and I think you have a complete musical right there heading for broadway, let’s go!”
FILLION ON FELICIA DAY
But don’t expect to see Nathan Fillion’s name in lights anytime soon. “Felicia Day is a much better singer than we allowed her to be,” admitted Fillion when asked if fans might one day see him heading to Broadway. “If I came to New York City to see a Broadway Show I’d want my money back after hearing me sing.” 
Don’t miss a brand new episode of CASTLE airing tonight at 10PM on ABC