Veteran actor Nathan Fillion reveals when James Gunn first told him he was playing Guy Gardner in the DCU. Fillion recently chatted with Collider about playing the Green Lantern in Gunn’s Superman movie, filming now. Gardner is a flawed character says Fillion. That’s why he has fun playing him.
“We were actually at the premiere party after The Suicide Squad and he was in a huge crowd of people. We saw each other in the crowd and I congratulated him, ‘Oh, my God, that was amazing. It’s so great.’ He goes, ‘Hey, did Peter [Safran] tell you what we’ve got for you next?’ I said, ‘No, he hasn’t said.’ He looked around like someone was gonna be listening. We were in a throng of people, but he leaned over and said, ‘You’re gonna be Guy Gardner.’”
It’s worth noting this all seems to have happened prior to Gunn deciding he would direct Superman. Gunn did tell the world when Superman was first announced that only one actor had been cast. He also indicated this role was not one normally associated with Superman. So it sounds like it was Fillion playing Guy Gardner.
Fillion who has worked with Gunn more than once previously has plenty of praise for his friend and director.
“I used to collect comic books and had a comic book rack in my room that you could spin. I remembered Guardians of the Galaxy and I remember that I couldn’t relate to it in any way. Just couldn’t get into it for any reason. Spider-Man held something for me. Batman had something that I really liked inside. The X-Men, I couldn’t get enough. But Guardians? Eh. That movie moved me. Those movies make me feel things. And not just crying but feeling joy and feeling connections and feeling the love. It’s about family. It’s so much about family. I just think that’s what James Gunn does best. He says he’s thinking of something else that we’re all thinking of, and he just makes it so much better and he makes the things that matter to us all.”
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“The worst thing to happen to someone in my position, as an actor, is to be forgotten, and people like James Gunn keep doing things that make it impossible for people to forget that we’re out here and we’re telling stories. He’s on an incredible journey and he keeps turning around and saying to me, ‘Come on, let’s go!’”
As to why Fillion is happy playing Gardner? As said up top, he see’s Gardner as flawed and that is exciting to play as an actor.
“The reality is that people have flaws. We all have quirks. We all have vulnerabilities. You could have the most wonderful family, but be like, ‘Oh, my God, my dad drives me nuts. He’s got this one thing.’ Everybody’s got something, and I love to lean into those faults and flaws. It’s what makes people real and what allows audiences to relate, because we all know what that is. We all have our own. We witness it in other people. Guy Gardner is 90% flawed and doesn’t care. That’s one of his flaws. I think there’s a real freedom in playing that. So, for a guy who likes to play flaws and flawed people, Guy Gardner is a gold mine.”
What do you think of his comments as Nathan Fillion reveals when James Gunn first told him he was playing Guy Gardner in the DCU? Thoughts below as always.
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