How did Nathan Fillion first get into Pixar Animation Studios? Through the friend of a friend. Someone he works with on the ABC detective series “Castle” grew up in Emeryville, Calif., the Bay Area home of Pixar, Fillion said in a recent phone interview. And that guy had a friend who worked at Pixar. So Fillion organized a tour of

Nathan Fillion is a cult favorite, not a huge star but in certain circles, an important and much-loved one. That is not damning with faint praise. Fillion, 42, is part of the Joss Whedon stable of actors, meaning he appeared in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and starred in “Firefly.” He also starred in Whedon’s online project, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.”

Nathan Fillion’s roles paint the picture of a fearless actor, but appearing in a film of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” had him thinking twice. He was finishing up the fourth season of the hit ABC show “Castle” and about to film the relatively small role of Dogberry for director Joss Whedon. Mr. Fillion had ridden the Whedon juggernaut since

IGN: I’d once heard Clark Gregg describe Joss Whedon as a “contemporary pop mythologist.” Nathan Fillion: Oh that’s good, I like that. IGN: Isn’t that great? He really is that, and what’s interesting is that, in many ways, that’s what Shakespeare was in his day. There really are several similarities between the two men and the kind of work they do;