<p id=”par-1_50″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>Actor</a> Nathan Fillion was very close to Joss Whedon, who helped give him <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nathan-fillion-named-firefly-turning-point-career.html/”>his big break with <em>Firefly</em></a>. Even though the sci-fi show didn’t last long, Fillion and Whedon would work together on a few other projects over the years. But one Whedon project was initially a nightmare for Fillion.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-nathan-fillion-had-a-hard-time-filming-this-joss-whedon-movie”>Nathan Fillion had a hard time filming this Joss Whedon movie</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/joss-whedon-nathan-fillion.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Nathan Fillion posing at the premiere of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in a suit.” class=”wp-image-3703467″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Nathan Fillion | Michael Tran/FilmMagic</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_52″>The 2013 feature <em>Much Ado About Nothing</em> differed greatly from <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nathan-fillion-shared-found-working-neil-patrick-harris-daunting.html/”>Whedon’s and Fillion’s usual collaborations</a>. <em>Much Ado </em>was based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, with Fillion playing the character Dogberry. The movie was a bit of a passion project for Whedon, who was genuinely interested in the original story.</p>
<p id=”par-3_75″>“I love <em>Much Ado,</em>” Whedon once told <a href=”https://collider.com/joss-whedon-nathan-fillion-much-ado-about-nothing-interview/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Collider</a>. “It’s hilarious, and it’s accessible, but it’s also very dark. And it has a lot to say about love, not all of it good, and how we behave. It poses a lot of interesting questions. It doesn’t resolve all of them, even though it has a happy ending. It’s this open debate about the way we behave and the way we’re expected to. It’s fascinating to me.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_26″>But Fillion didn’t share Whedon’s enthusiasm for his adaptation. So much so that it might’ve been the only Whedon film that he didn’t want to do.</p>
<p id=”par-5_30″>“I tried to chicken out,” Fillion once admitted to <a href=”https://parade.com/20644/walterscott/nathan-fillion-i-tried-to-chicken-out-of-performing-shakespeare/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Parade</a>. “Reading Shakespeare is one thing; performing it is another. Joss Whedon talked me down, and I’m so glad he did.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_21″>However, even after getting the role, it took Fillion a while to adjust to the language and dialogue in <em>Much Ado</em>.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Nathan Fillion on the MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING red carpet” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/-BXzoYgiGaI?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<p id=”par-7_27″><strong>“</strong>I was trying to memorize my dialogue, and I was having night terrors because it was so difficult,” Fillion said in a resurfaced interview with <a href=”https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2013/06/qa_with_nathan_fillion_actor_i.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Oregon Live</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-8_24″>But it didn’t take too long for Fillion to adapt. He simply had to return to the basics to truly prepare for the movie.</p>
<p id=”par-9_100″>“I was afraid to do this project for much the same reason that I’m afraid to watch Shakespeare, which is that I will not understand it,” Fillion said. “That was stopping me from literally learning my lines. I didn’t understand what I was saying until I sat down and studied, like back in school, what was being said and what the pictures were that he was painting, and if I could comprehend what I was supposed to be doing. In much the same way as when I watch Shakespeare being done well — I got it. It was so easy.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-nathan-fillion-felt-joss-whedon-helped-him-get-into-shakespeare”>Nathan Fillion felt Joss Whedon helped him get into Shakespeare</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-3″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Much Ado About Nothing Official Trailer #1 (2013) – Joss Whedon Movie HD” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/AAMsDP_DMHE?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/joss-whedon-vowed-never-zack-snyder-justice-league.html/”>
Joss Whedon Vowed He’d Never Do What Zack Snyder Did in His Films </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-10_45″>Fillion developed a stronger appreciation for Shakespeare in general thanks to his involvement in <em>Much Ado</em>. He initially felt that the stories from the famous playwright were too high-brow for people who shared Fillion’s sensibilities. But Whedon proved that Shakespeare really could be for everyone.</p>
<p id=”par-11_138″> “In the right hands and deftly handled, Shakespeare can be understood by every man — and when I say ‘every man,’ I mean me,” Fillion said. “I always considered Shakespeare to be a little hoity-toity and snotty and requiring a higher education and really not my cup of tea. ‘Oo! Shakespeare! I’m a big fan!’ — I’m not that guy. But thank God that Joss Whedon is, and thank God that he included me in this project because now I get it. Now I get why people love Shakespeare. Now I get why the themes he’s talking about are so relatable.”<br><br>Fillion also felt that filming <em>Much Ado </em>was a testament to Whedon’s own infectious passion and work ethic. The director was <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/joss-whedon-actor-fcking-secret-weapon-avengers-age-ultron.html/”>filming <em>Marvel’s</em> <em>Avengers</em></a><em> </em>when he decided to adapt the Shakespearean comedy, which seemed to impress Fillion.</p>
<p id=”par-12_40″>“What does that tell you about a man’s love for what he does and his love for Shakespeare, when his idea of a vacation — a two-week vacation — is to shoot 12 days of a Shakespeare movie?” Fillion said.</p>