Nathan Fillion Stormed out the Room After His Worst Audition

6 hours ago

<p id=”par-1_51″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>Actor</a> Nathan Fillion considered <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nathan-fillion-named-firefly-turning-point-career.html/”>the hit television series <em>Firefly</em></a><em> </em>to be his breakthrough role. But long before Joss Whedon cast him in the sci-fi series, he was having a hard time finding roles. During his search for steady work, Fillion found himself auditioning for one program that really tested his patients.</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-nathan-fillion-lost-his-temper-auditioning-for-this-unknown-show”>Nathan Fillion lost his temper auditioning for this unknown show</h2>

<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Audition-Nathan-Fillion.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Nathan Fillion posing in a blue suit at the 2024 Disney Upfront at Javits Center.” class=”wp-image-3752591″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Nathan Fillion | Taylor Hill/WireImage</figcaption></figure>

<p id=”par-2_116″>Fillion took a gamble on himself and his career when he left the soap opera <em>One Life to Live</em>. He starred in the series from 1994 to 1997 as Joey Buchanan, and was a part of the series long enough to amass a following. If he wanted to, he probably could’ve stayed on the show a lot longer, and possibly forever. But he’d left the show to try to branch out as an actor. However, Fillion’s road to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nathan-fillion-felt-perfect-kind-fame.html/”>his perfect kind of fame</a> was a bumpy one. He scored a few small parts here and there, but nothing sustainable. There was even one project he briefly tried out for where he might’ve burned a few bridges.</p>

<p id=”par-3_113″>“It was about 13 pages of script, so many scenes. In Burbank, 90 something degrees and we had to wait outside in the sun,” he told <a href=”https://www.vulture.com/2010/10/the_vulture_transcript_nathan.html”>Vulture</a> about the unnamed project. “They were running an hour and forty-five minutes late. And this casting director was very abrupt and said, You’re doing just scene 4. Half a phone call. I thought, you know, I’ve been here over two hours, working these 13 pages of script. I said, I understand, you’re running behind. But would it be all right if I did Scene 2? I worked really hard on it. She looked like I slapped her in the face. She said, No! We’re doing 4!”</p>

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<p id=”par-4_9″>The interaction pushed Fillion to a rare breaking point.</p>

<p id=”par-5_72″>“I said, ‘You know what?’ And I stormed out of the room and said ‘This isn’t for me!’ I threw my script in the trash can and whipped open the door and <em>slammed </em>it shut. And I remember seeing the looks on the faces of those people—and I’m thinking ‘That was great, I stood up for myself!’ And then, ‘That’s a roomful of people that will never, ever hire me,’” he said.</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-nathan-fillion-wouldn-t-have-left-his-soap-opera-if-it-wasn-t-for-his-co-star-s-sage-advice”>Nathan Fillion wouldn’t have left his soap opera if it wasn’t for his co-star’s sage advice</h2>

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<p id=”par-6_24″>Fillion didn’t exactly leave <em>One Life to Live </em>on a whim. He was motivated to make the life-changing decision thanks to an older co-star.</p>

<p id=”par-7_112″>“I’ve told this story a million times, but Bob Woods, who played my uncle, he said, ‘Have you got a minute?’ He took me into his dressing room. He cracked a beer and said, here’s what’s going to happen. He said producers were going to come to me and ask me to renegotiate my contract. Here’s what you’re going to tell them: You’re gonna say no,” Fillion remembered. “You keep saying no. They’re going to make it difficult for you to say no, but say no. Pack your bags and move to Los Angeles. And try. And if it doesn’t work out? They’ll fire whoever’s in your place and take you back.”</p>

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<p id=”par-8_11″>It was the best decision that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/nathan-fillion-explained-the-rookie-still-earns-title.html/”><em>The Rookie </em>star</a> could’ve made.</p>

<p id=”par-9_35″>“I would not have had the courage to do that unless he had that talk with me. It wasn’t a month later when the producers approached me exactly that way. And I left,” he added.</p>

<p id=”par-10_53″>Fortunately, Fillion’s unemployment didn’t last long, and he was able to find steady work, eventually. His stint on <em>One Life to Live </em>might’ve also helped give Fillion the resilience he needed not to give up. The <em>Firefly </em>star credited the long-running soap for teaching him about the harsh realities of show business.</p>

<p id=”par-11_61″>“I was shocked when I went to L.A. I did three years of the hardest work any actor could do, I was nominated for an Emmy, and no one cares. Daytime prepares you so well: you can change the lines, I’m off the book five mintues later. Isn’t there value in that? You try not to take it personal,” Fillion said.</p>