Nathan Fillion was a shy comic book kid. Now, he's a Green Lantern in Superman

Nathan Fillion knows what it's like to be a fan, as well as a person at the centre of intense fandom.

In an interview with Q's Tom Power, the Edmonton-born actor says he was a shy comic book kid who loved Spider-Man, the X-Men, Batman and Superman. Now, he's playing Guy Gardner — one of the characters known as Green Lantern — in the latest Superman blockbuster.

"Having a love for it myself, I don't feel like I have to service fans out there, I feel more like I have to service me because I'm one of the fans," Fillion tells Power. "I am the fan with the fortunate experience of not only having a front row seat, I'm actually in the catbird seat."

Fillion's character in Superman is one of many Green Lanterns in the intergalactic peacekeeping force known as the Green Lantern Corps. As a Green Lantern, his responsibility is to enforce the law and resolve planetary issues, but he's a deeply flawed man.

"He's a jerk," Fillion says. "He has a chip on his shoulder. He has had a very tumultuous life growing up. He doesn't like the idea of being passed up or overlooked. He is a sexist. He is a narcissist. He is egomaniacal. He is self-centered."

The actor reportedly fought to keep the character's iconic blonde bowl cut from the original comics. For his performance, he took inspiration from Sophia Petrillo, Estelle Getty's character on The Golden Girls.

"She had a stroke and that part of her brain that filters out 'maybe I shouldn't say this' had been damaged," he explains. "As was Guy Gardner. He was in an accident. He was hit by a bus and spent some time in a coma at one point. And I said, 'I'm going to take that and say there was a click in there to an already damaged guy. Now, he just doesn't have that filter anymore.'"

Growing up in Edmonton, Fillion never could have imagined that he'd one day be sharing the big screen with one of the superheroes he admired.

"I didn't know acting was a thing," he says. "I didn't know people would pay you to act. I had no idea what that was all about. I just wished I could be a superhero. I wished I could fly."

Looking back, he credits his love of comic books for leading him to where he is today.

"I am a fan," Fillion says. "I am a fan of comic books. All the stuff I got in trouble for when I was a kid, daydreaming and drawing in the margins of my binders when I should have been studying, it's all prepared me for this moment."

The full interview with Nathan Fillion is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Nathan Fillion produced by Catherine Stockhausen.