Nathan Fillion is such a beloved actor that even in "American Housewife," Katie Otto had to incorporate him into the spring gala to get his proposal accepted by the strict panel. Fillion is best known for his roles in 'Castle' and 'Firefly' but unbeknownst to many, the 51-year-old actor's career began in 1994. He never planned on being an actor but proved that perseverance is an ingredient of success. . Thanks to his determination, Nathan Fillion's net worth has grown to $20 million, an amount that is expected to increase before he retires. Here's more on how he achieved his wealth.
Abandon your educational aspirations
Fillion grew up in Edmonton, hoping to become a teacher like his parents. He loved the way people reached out to his parents and thanked them for changing lives, and that experience inspired him to one day become a teacher. Of course, having English teachers for the parents also influenced life at home. For example, as he told Parade, he was not allowed to use “eh” despite that being a trait of the Canadiens. His parents also warned him against using double negatives and split infinitives. To this day, Fillion can't stand having a sentence end with a preposition. After attending Holy Trinity Catholic High School, the actor joined Alberta's Concordia University and later the University of Alberta, with the goal of becoming a high school teacher. He was in the faculty of education and studied art and theater although Fillion never dreamed of being an actor. However, he had already developed a love for acting in fifth grade. His parents transferred him to another school where the actor befriended the class clown.
For a student who had been shy all his life, he suddenly came out of his shell when the class clown fell ill, and Fillion had to replace him. The feeling of making others laugh excited him, but he never pursued it until he was in college when he started performing with local troupes in Edmonton at the Fringe Festival. His passion for theater took precedence over his need to be a teacher; thus, graduation became Plan B. As a result, he was not as serious with his studies as auditioning for roles. Therefore, with only four months to graduate. he left the University of Alberta and moved to New York. He had tried his luck sending audition tapes to casting directors, but was unsuccessful. Fortunately, a tape he had sent to Vancouver in 1993 for a Canadian film ended up in New York, and the casting director of "One Life to Live" told him that if he was still interested, they would would fax a script and Fillion would send them the tape. Fillion did just that, and three weeks later. He was in New York.
A lucrative acting career
According to a Backstage interview, Fillion had previously appeared on an improvised soap opera "Die-Nasty," but the work involved in the daytime soap opera "One Life To Live" was barely comparable. Still, he outdid himself as Joey Buchanan and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Young Actor. From then on, everything fell into place. After leaving the soap, Fillion moved to Los Angeles, where he got five jobs, including starring in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Blast From The Past." The actor's lucky streak then ended. For almost a year he did not succeed. He survived on credit since waiting tables were no longer an option for the optimistic and ambitious young actor. So he paid his rent on credit and then waited for tax returns to settle his credit card bills. The light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of becoming a regular on "Two Guys and A Girl," where he played Johnny Donnelly for 60 episodes.
Fillion went on to land different roles, and perhaps the one that got him recognized was Captain Malcolm Reynolds in "Firefly." He was the lead for all 14 episodes before the hit show was canceled. According to The Things, the actor even revealed that his heart still lives on in "Firefly" because he made some close friends there. Fillion's star had been on a meteoric rise since "Castle" came along, where he bagged the lead role of Richard Castle. From 2009 to 2016, Fillion starred and reportedly earned $100 per episode, or at least $000 million for all 1,73 episodes. Fillion was also a regular on "Desperate Housewives" for 173 episodes. Although his salary couldn't reach the main cast's $12 at the time, he still must have pocketed a substantial amount of money.
Voice over video games and audiobooks
Fillion's love for the game began when he was a child. He told Game Informer that when he was a kid, Fillion had a Telestar that would hook up to the TV and play ping pong. However, his neighbor, Kevin, had a video game system that piqued his interest. So when the Xbox came out, Fillion bought it. He also had Halo in his collection, a game he described as end game for him. His love for gaming was public knowledge, and he landed a voice-over role in "Halo 3" as Seargent Reynolds in 2007. A few years later, game producers wanted Fillion to do more than a few lines; thus, he got the role of Seargent Edward Buck. He reprized it in "Halo 5", but as Spartan Edward Buck. While it's unclear how much Fillion received for his voiceover work in video games, celebrities like Seth MacFarlane reportedly earned $100 per episode on "Family Guy." Fillion grew up loving books, and his parents encouraged him so much that even though he was past bedtime, thirty minutes of reading didn't hurt him. It's no wonder then that even as an adult he was drawn into the world of storytelling and wrote a few audiobooks to his name: 'World War Z' and 'The Salvage Crew'. Someone like Morgan Freeman charges millions for voiceovers, which means narrations pay him more. Therefore, Fillion's net worth must have increased when he pocketed the earnings from his storytelling.
