Nathan Fillion has been a consistent presence on film and television for a quarter of a century. The son of retired English teachers, Fillion first gained notoriety when his performance as Joey Buchanan on the long-running soap opera One Life to Live got him nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award. While he found consistent roles in shows like Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, it was his starring role as Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly that helped cement him as a cult classic star.
Since then, the actor has anchored network TV shows and brought his unique mixture of swagger, arrogance, and charm to plenty of ensembles. Fillion has delivered many memorable performances, finding chances to deploy his talents for heroic leading men, comedic scene-stealers, and even a few memorable villains. Given his recent scene-stealing turn in Superman and with The Rookie set to return in 2026, it’s never been a better time to be a fan of Fillion. Here are the best Nathan Fillion movies and shows featuring and where you can find them on streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV+, and more!
10. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
One of Nathan Fillion’s first notable (and most memorable) film roles, his brief appearance in Saving Private Ryan as James Frederick Ryan was a great showcase of the charm and comedy that Fillion can bring to any of his roles. He briefly appears in the Steven Spielberg-directed war epic as a soldier named Ryan, whom the main platoon of soldiers mistakenly believes to be the Ryan they’re looking for. '
A painfully human narrative with some of the best action of any entry in the war movie genre, Fillion’s scene is an emotional beat that becomes unexpectedly hilarious when they all realize the truth of the situation. It’s perfectly attuned with the emotional core of the film, and a part of what makes it one of the best movies in Spielberg’s canon.
9. Justice League Unlimited (2004)
Although he only guest stars in a few episodes of Justice League Unlimited, Nathan Fillion leaves a lasting impression in the DC Animated Universe series. Fillion has played plenty of animated characters over the course of his career, with one of his most high-profile being the antagonistic business owner Sterling in Cars 3. However, his best vocal performance for an animated project might be Justice League Unlimited, an underrated classic of the 21st century superhero genre.
Coming not too long after the end of Firefly, Fillion brings back a touch of his space cowboy performance in his guest appearance as Vigilante. The cowboy-themed superhero is a minor background character for much of the epic superhero series, but Fillion’s performance in "Hunter's Moon" and "Patriot Act" lends the character a natural roughness and edge that makes him particularly compelling opposite characters like Hawkgirl and Green Arrow. While he doesn’t appear much in Justice League Unlimited, it’s a great early showcase for how well Fillion fits into a superhero story.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
Nathan Fillion’s collaborations with Joss Whedon are among the better entries in the writer/directors career, with Fillion even making the leap to Buffy the Vampire Slayer before the long-running series came to an end. Fillion appears in Season 7 of the show as Caleb, the mortal champion for the seasons big bad, the First.
Caleb was a chance for Fillion to twist his natural charms for a villainous character, creating a menacing and unsettlingly pleasant preacher with an affinity for cruelty. Caleb is exactly the kind of villain that Buffy the Vampire Slayer always excels at, a compelling urban fantasy riff on the horrors of the real world. Caleb is one of the highlights of the later episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which remains a benchmark of modern television, even if elements haven’t aged the best.
7. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (2008)
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a purposefully goofy tragic love story, using a parody of the superhero genre as an excuse to give Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day a musical showcase. Opposite Harris’ ambitious but sweet-hearted supervillain Dr. Horrible is Fillion’s Captain Hammer.
Fillion turns his swagger up to 11 in the role to create the most aggravating of cinematic jerks, a sexist, self-centered narcissist who seems to target Dr. Horrible less because he’s a villain and more because Hammer finds it funny to bully him. Gifted with powers and popularity that make him impervious to pain, Fillion embodies a level of privilege with Captain Hammer that’s just the right amount of awful to be hilarious. He fully commits to the performance, which helps ensure that the big comedy swings of the story fully land. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is an acquired taste, but fans of wacky comedies, catchy musicals, and Nathan Fillion should make sure to check it out.
6. Castle (2009)
Airing for eight seasons on ABC, Castle is the definition of a crime comfort show. The mystery series focuses on Fillion's Richard Castle, an initially self-centered but gradually heroic mystery novelist who finds himself working with NYPD Detective Kate Beckett to solve murders in New York City.
Castle was a big hit for Fillion, with the actor winning several People's Choice Awards for his performance as Richard. The series is perfect for audiences who are looking to relax with straightforward mysteries and embrace the show's long-term romantic subplot between Fillion's Castle and Stana Katic's Beckett. This is Fillion at his most romantic, especially as the dynamic between him and Katic deepens with time to become the show’s primary overarching throughline. Easy to binge and hard to quit, Castle is a great showcase of Fillion’s talents used to flesh out an initially one-note character.
5. The Rookie (2018)
Nathan Fillion’s The Rookie is a compelling and character-driven riff on the cop procedural that uses the actor’s full capabilities in effective ways. Fillion laid the groundwork for the series's success by bringing the potentially frustrating John Nolan to life. His ability to bounce off an ensemble cast and find different memorable dynamics is key to what makes The Rookie so entertaining, especially as the show embraces that larger cast to strong effect.
The series has gradually become more engaging as the other characters have been given more depth and personality, but it all orbits around Fillion, who deploys all of his likability to create a charming take on a midlife crisis. Even the show’s shift to Nolan becoming a mentor to a new class of students plays to Fillion’s strengths, letting him channel his age in a way that brings new depth to his performance.
4. Big Mouth (2017)
Fillion’s best comedic performance so far has been in Netflix’s Big Mouth, which features him as a recurring gag character. The initial celebrity crush of the intelligent Missy, Fillion, appears as a parody of himself inside the tween’s fantasies. These gags highlight the joke-a-minute tenor of the foul-mouthed but sweet-hearted animated comedy, as well as Fillion’s talent at self-deprecation and playing into his standard acting tropes.
There’s just something hilarious about Fillion representing Missy’s more innocent perspective on romance and desires, especially as she becomes more confident and intrigued by complex concepts. Fillion’s cameos in Big Mouth are among the most entertaining guest spots in the show and come with just the right amount of self-awareness to be hilarious to any of the actor’s long-term fans.
3. Firefly (2002)
Firefly and the subsequent sequel film Serenity were Nathan Fillion’s big break, cementing him as a leading man ahead of his starring roles in shows like The Rookie and Castle. The fusion of Western elements and sci-fi resulted in a cult classic for the ages, all anchored by Fillion’s Captain Malcolm Reynolds.
The outlaw space captain is a deceptively complex character, brought to life by Fillion’s often snarky, sometimes scary, and always engrossing performance. The entire cast and crew of Firefly benefit from the dynamics they find with each other to the betterment of the show’s episodic adventures, but Fillion’s performance as Mal is the standout in a strong cast that, by the time of Serenity, solidifies into one of the 21st century’s biggest fan-favorite sci-fi stories. Firefly proves how well Fillion can fit into an ensemble, especially when collaborators like Gina Torres or Alan Tudyk are on hand to match him.
2. Slither (2006)
A horror sci-fi about an alien race of slug creatures that end up on Earth, Slither is a gross-out horror for the ages that gives Fillion a perfectly ridiculous circumstance to bounce off of. His talent for playing straight-faced characters responding to absurd situations has rarely been utilized as well as it is in Slither, an early collaboration between James Gunn and Fillion that serves as a great showcase of both their skill sets. For Fillion, that means deploying just the right amount of heroic nerve and understated comic timing to make the absurd visuals really land.
Slither is an underrated modern classic of the body horror genre and a perfectly gruesome fusion of sci-fi and horror tropes that Fillion helps ground with his natural charm. It might be the best example of Fillion as a leading man, and this underrated sci-fi flick should have pushed him more into the spotlight.
1. Superman (2025)
Arguably the best use of Fillion’s comedic talents and ability to shift from smug to charming in an instant, Fillion’s performance as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern in Superman is a perfect showcase for what makes the actor such a fun presence in films and TV shows.
As one of the members of the Justice Gang (and the only person who calls the team that), Guy Gardner delivers a bunch of the film’s biggest action set pieces and silliest jokes. However, Fillion also finds a way to bring some gravitas to Guy Gardner during some charged scenes with Superman, showing off the harsher edges that Fillion has always been able to sneak into his best performances. Superman is a genuine highlight of the superhero genre, and it’s the best movie to feature Nathan Fillion in a major role.
Where To Watch The Best Nathan Fillion Movies & TV Shows Online
To discover more about TV shows and movies currently streaming in the US, check out the JustWatch streaming guide! You can filter your search by streaming service, genre, price, age rating, and score. Be sure to build your watchlist and receive helpful notifications on what to watch next based on your preferences!
