Nathan Fillion Once Shared He Found Working With Neil Patrick Harris Daunting
Actor Neil Patrick Harris once collaborated with Rookie star Nathan Fillion for a special project. And for Fillion, working with Harris was an experience he wasn’t likely to forget.
Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris worked together on ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’
Fillion and Harris participated in the very unique web series Dr. Horrible. It was created by Firefly showrunner Joss Whedon, who knew both Harris and Fillion very well. The internet show was a musical about an aspiring supervillain played by Harris, and his arch nemesis Captain Hammer who was portrayed by Fillion. The writer’s strike that occurred during that time period created the perfect opportunity for Whedon to bring his unorthodox project to life.
“More than a year ago — one of those vague ideas that float around in my head — I thought it would be fun to do a sort of podcast musical diary of myself as a supervillain,” Whedon once said according to Live Journal. “Then, during the [writers’] strike, everybody said ‘Okay, I guess we have to create Internet content, to show that it can be done, sans studio,’ which also involved the desire to do something other than picketing.”
Both Harris and Fillion were more than excited about working with Whedon on the series. Fillion didn’t even need to know what Dr. Horrible was about, he was already on board thanks to Whedon’s involvement. Which Fillion joked frustrated the Buffy creator.
“Joss was like ‘My brothers and I are working on this thing.’ And I said, ‘I’m in, dude, I’m in.’ And he said, ‘Wait a second, let me tell you, it’s about this villain played by Neil Patrick Harris.’ And I said, ‘I’m in, man, let me work with him.’ And he said, ‘And he’s plagued by this hero Captain Hammer, who’s a real jerk, and that would be you.’ And I said, ‘I’ll do it.’ And he said, ‘Wait a second, it’s a musical.’ And I said ‘Brother, I’m in, let me do it, don’t make me beat you,’” Fillion remembered.
But while performing with Harris, Fillion was both impressed and a bit intimidated by his co-star’s versatility.
“So much talent packed into that little frame, that guy is incredibly talented. It’s a little daunting being in a project with Neil Patrick Harris,” Fillion once told MyFM1013.
Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris later reunited for a ‘Dr. Horrible’ revival
The 2008 web series wouldn’t be the last time Fillion and Harris portrayed their characters. A decade later, the stars would reunite in a spiritual sequel. An episode of the Netflix show Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events would pay tribute to Whedon’s passion project. Harris, who played the show’s title character, insisted on bringing Fillion on the series, who’d play Jacques Snicket.
“I was a big proponent of Nathan’s casting,” Harris said in a 2018 interview with TV Line. “I think [Patrick and Nathan] come from the same world actor-wise. I could totally see them being siblings. And Nathan [possesses] great style. He has great focus and force and intention, which is what you needed for [the role of Jacques].”
Harris also confided that he was interested in doing a direct sequel to Dr. Horrible with Fillion. But he admitted that the chances of a true revival seemed unlikely.
“Nothing would make me happier,” Harris said. “But I have no information. I haven’t seen Joss in ages. And everyone’s wonderfully busy with other things. So unless the writers want to strike again, which is when we did the first one, I’m not sure when it would ever happen.”
“Plus, I’m no spring chicken,” Harris added. “So, at a certain point, Dr. Horrible isn’t Billy the Internet geeky kid anymore. I’m a grown man. So they’ll probably have to cast Nick Jonas in it.”
