Tell Nathan Fillion that you, your family and, really, anyone with a sense of humour and life, always enjoy watching him – whether it's in the long-running ratings hit Castle, or his work in the less ratings-friendly but cultishly loved realms of the Joss Whedon universe (Firefly and Serenity, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie of Much Ado About Nothing or Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog) – and this charming man will tell you he considers himself a "very, very fortunate man".
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"Never so fortunate as the time a gentleman by the name of Joss Whedon said to me, I'm ready to do a shot at a lead role, 'You're my guy, let's take this journey together'," says Fillion. "If you are watching Firefly and you see a guy that was incredibly awesome, that's because I'm doing something Joss Whedon told me to do."
The self-deprecation is probably a giveaway this low-ego man is Canadian but the enjoyment of his place in the world is something wholly Fillion, a man whose characters, good or bad, usually come with a lust for life and an energetic grab for it. Played by someone completely unafraid to be seen "acting like a total idiot" as he gleefully puts it.
"You know, my brother used to say 'I don't know if I can be upset because you are getting paid to be yourself on TV'," says Fillion. "He says I don't work very hard and I think that might be partly true."
No one really believes he is only being himself but one thing fans love about Fillion is when we see him on Twitter, in interviews, or at fan conventions such as this weekend's Supanova at Homebush, we realise he is the same goofball fan that we are.
"Absolutely. I am first and foremost a guy who was living in western Canada, going to be a high school teacher [who] loved watching TV, loved movies," he says. "I loved it all and here I am, I get to participate. And it's the greatest thing that can happen to a fan: I get to participate."
It explains not only his always accommodating response at conventions but also the affection we will see in Con-Man, the crowd-funded web-series he is developing with former Firefly co-star Alan Tudyk. It is based on their experiences at events such as Comic-Con.
"We have one thing in common: we enjoy these jobs that I do," says Fillion of his fans. "These people are from all walks of life. Some of them are wildly talented in areas that I can't imagine. I think when we come to these cons, if they take anything away, I hope they take away that I'm people, too."
He may be "people, too" but unlike us he has to answer questions like this one: in 2009 he was ranked 10th on a list of TV's 100 sexiest men. In 2010 he was at 19, in 2011 it was 20th and 39th in 2012. What happened?
"That's nature, that's life," Fillion says, amused. "I'm slowly dying."
Supanova is at Sydney Showground, Homebush, from June 19-21.
