I love that man. (Well, you, too gossi, but I mean Nathan.) I love that he thinks about his role in such a full way. I'm also a little scared because I can "hear" how he would be saying most of that interview. I'm not a stalker, I swear. I also like the explanation for White Noise 2: He likes the people he's working with.

The way he talks about Firefly/Serenity makes me tear up. I don't know of too many casts that get as emotionally involved with their characters as this cast did. It makes it resonate with us crazy fans even more.

But I think it's the editor in me that wants to go fix the story. Keri Russell. Not Kerri or Kerrie. And that Joe Sweden guy. Why does everyone call him Josh?

XanFan32 | March 17, 17:51 CET

I don't know I mean is it terribly difficult to get Joss right?



Well that's a question I never thought I'd see.

war_machine | March 17, 18:02 CET

The title of this piece reflects something I've been thinking about lately. Some fans feel odd calling actors by their first name - or calling Mr Whedon/sir/master by his first name. Many of us have no problem with that. Particularly if they post and sign themselves that way.
But calling Nathan, Nate for instance, seems to take this one step further. Nate is what his friends call him. It is not his professional name. Is this in fact where the line is? It is for me.
Now gossi, (may I call you that?) this is no reflection on you. We know you are a bon vivant, and on first name (and nickname?) basis with many of the stars. But what about the rest of us?
As to the article itself, great interview. I don't remember reading anything as indepth about his acting before.

Lioness | March 17, 18:59 CET

I was wondering the same thing, Lioness. Do his friends even call him Nate? I've never even heard Joss refer to him as that.(But admittedly I don't get to all the interviews).
I don't know...if his friends do call him that, I'm not sure anyone here has that 'right'.

I mean, calling ASH Tony seems ok, because it's quite widespread. I know some people call James Jimmy, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't to his face. But I wouldn't call DB Dave, or Morena Morrie(well, that's just wrong anyway). It all just implies something that's probably not there. And yeah, even if it was there, I wouldn't use it outside of addressing that person. But that's just me...Probably making it a bigger deal than it is, but it just struck me right off the bat.

Also, my first knee-jerk thought was, "Who's Nate?"

[ edited by Rogue Slayer on 2006-03-17 17:28 ]

Rogue Slayer | March 17, 19:27 CET

Your point is well-taken Lioness. Nate seems pretentious. I've never even heard Joss refer to him as Nate. One reason I'm comfortable with the fan base referring to Joss and everybody else by their first names is we talk about them so much it's pragmatic to not say Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion, etc. If we're talking out loud it's extra verbiage and if we're typing it's extra letters we don't have to type. We certainly know who we're talking about when we use their first names--even the writers. Except for the Drews, of course. Also, we can be reasonably certain they don't mind one bit if we use their first names in online discussions. If I met them at a con (maybe someday) I would address them Mr. or Ms. whoever, but I doubt even then they'd mind first names. But a nickname? To me that's going too far in either setting. I must quickly add I didn't bat an eyelash when I saw Nate in the headline. I'm talking about referring to him as Nate our discussions.

[ edited by batmarlowe on 2006-03-17 17:53 ]

[ edited by batmarlowe on 2006-03-17 17:56 ]

batmarlowe | March 17, 19:47 CET

Rogue-Slayer said: I wouldn't call DB Dave.

But calling him "DB" is okay? Would you walk up to him and say "hey DB, how you doin'?" I don't think so. The point being that short-hand like DB, SMG, JW are accepted here, so why not Nate?

I have no problem with "Nate" in general - Nathan, Nate, NF, Cap'n, Mr Tightpants, the Mean Old Man, Mr Filly Cheesesteak, The Turnippy One, Jawless Wonder... it's all good.

That said, I think whedonesque should strive for some measure of consistant style and naming conventions in the headlines, if not the summaries. On that basis, I give thumbs down to "Nate" in this case, but not for the reasons others are giving.

[ edited by AlanD on 2006-03-17 19:06 ]

AlanD | March 17, 21:02 CET

Now gossi, (may I call you that?) this is no reflection on you. We know you are a bon vivant, and on first name (and nickname?) basis with many of the stars. But what about the rest of us?

I'm not, to stress, on first name terms with any of the 'stars'. Except maybe Pluto. Man, they're bitchin'.

Why would I refer to Mr Fillion as Nate? That's what he calls himself. Why to refer to Joss as Joss? That's what he calls himself. (Joss is not Joss' actual birth name).

gossi | March 17, 21:40 CET

Changed Nate to Nathan Fillion, also please tag your posts :) In future, lets generally try to use the full credited-style names in headlines.

zeitgeist | March 17, 21:41 CET

He calls himself Nahan sometimes in his sleep (lie. probably).

gossi | March 17, 21:43 CET

...and that's how the rumour that gossi slept with Nathan got started...

zeitgeist | March 17, 21:44 CET

Rogue-Slayer said: I wouldn't call DB Dave.

But calling him "DB" is okay? Would you walk up to him and say "hey DB, how you doin'?" I don't think so. The point being that short-hand like DB, SMG, JW are accepted here, so why not Nate?

I don't think 'Nate' is just shorthand though. It implies familiarity. I don't think 'NF and DB' can be compared to 'Dave and Nate', unless NF and DB's friends call them by their initials. And I've never seen them mentioned as such by people they probably consider friends.

Why would I refer to Mr Fillion as Nate? That's what he calls himself.

I call myself a lot of things I don't want others to call me! That's the ultimate familiarity....

[ edited by Rogue Slayer on 2006-03-17 19:49 ]

Rogue Slayer | March 17, 21:44 CET

Well, you see, the thing is we don't know what he does and doesn't want people calling him. I've seen him refered to as Captain Tightpants in topic descriptions here before, in person I've heard names like, uhm, Captain etc. That's a little kooky in itself - although understandable. People refer to Nathan as Nathan here because that's what been established over time (plus, it's also his name).

gossi | March 17, 21:57 CET

Probably because DB, SMG, NF are abbreviations and don't suggest a close personal familliarity like 'Nate' does, which was Lioness and Rogue Slayer's point.

Anyway, great interview. Probably one of the more in-depth ones I've read with him. Although I do wish Garth from Dark Horizons would stop writing 'Josh Whedon'. Make it 'Joe Sweden' then or something. At least that one's funny;-)

Nathan is one of those guys that always makes me think it really would be great to just hang out with him. So obviously if I ever see him in the street, I'll run up to him while yelling: "Nathan! Hang out with me! It'll be so COOL! Nathan!" And obviously, all will turn out really well.....;-)

[ edited by EdDantes on 2006-03-17 20:19 ]

EdDantes | March 17, 22:07 CET

Nice interview...

And I agree, calling him "Nate" is going too far, implying too much familiarity. I mean, we don't call Joss, "JoJo the W."

At least I don't.

UnpluggedCrazy | March 17, 22:41 CET

Well *I* do! And he loves it! He says only I can do that! Like when I was having lunch with him and he wanted me to ghost write 'Wonder Woman' and....

Hm. Too much, right? The ghost writing thing? Damn I always do that...

Seriously though. 'JoJo the W' might beat 'Joe Sweden'....

EdDantes | March 18, 00:09 CET

I just wish that we could get writer to write Joss, not Josh!

Otherwise, fun read!

WilliamTheBloody | March 18, 00:12 CET

I am used to calling people I don't know "Mr." or "Ms.," too, but I've joined in and used first names or initials on the black, for the sake of simplicity and speed. I also get the impression that in Hollywood, it's not seen as disrespectful to call people you don't know or have just met by their first names, so, "when in Rome!" ;-)

About the article: great interview, but the writer was not a very good typist (he, or a friend, must have been transcribing a tape recording, I bet). Not just "Josh" and "Kerri/Kerrie," but I also noticed this odd sentence:


Raise your hand if you think Mr. Fillion actually said, "this is almost a diary." ;-)

billz | March 18, 00:22 CET

What a funny, smart man. "... the internet is the applause for film and television because there's no one there to clap when you do a good job." That's just bronze-worthy. I've never really thought about how actors who want/need/are used to the immediate approval of live performance have to function on a sort of delay when they work in TV or film; must be weird for the head, although I guess it's something they get used to. I'm glad to know feedback from fans can help with that.

I have referred to Nathan as 'Nate', once, in the form of a joke, but not meant disrespectfully. If I were ever to actually meet said Mr. Fillion, I'm sure when (or if) I could string more than two words together, 'Nathan' (which is how I think of him) would be one of them. Generally in OL discussions I do use abbreviations for actors' names (DB, SMG, etc.) because we all know who we're talking about in a given thread and it's cumbersome to rewrite them constantly. It seems to be an ingrained feature of the 'verse subculture because I've seen it on every board and forum I've ever visited.

And speaking of Joe Sweden, wouldn't the phonetic pronunciation of the name make it JAH Sweden? Imagine tracking the 'Joss is Jamaican-Swedish' rumor around the interweb. I'm getting excited just thinking about it ;)

Wiseblood | March 18, 01:34 CET

Wouldn't 'Nate the Gynecologist' combine the chumminess with respect for his latest role in a perfect balance that pleases the fans?

futile | March 18, 04:23 CET

EdDantes, since you're ghost writing Wonder Woman, why don't we put our oh so brilliant heads together (not physically) and write a new comic book series:

The Astoundingly and Awe-Inspiringly Alliterative Adventures, Accidents, and Animalistic Behaviors of JoJo the W

I'm in if you're in.

UnpluggedCrazy | March 18, 09:46 CET

I like to call him Nate the tightpanted Gynecologist myself but it's a lot to type.

Ledfeather | March 18, 12:46 CET