Nathan Fillion says playing flawed Green Lantern is a ‘gold mine’

Nathan Fillion has hailed "flawed" Green Lantern a "gold mine" of a character.

The 53-year-old actor will portray the superhero and his alter ego Guy Gardner in James Gunn's upcoming 'Superman' movie and he thinks there is a real "freedom" in playing the galactic peacekeeper because he just doesn't care about his faults.

During an interview with Collider, he said: “The reality is that people have flaws. We all have quirks. We all have vulnerabilities.

“You could have the most wonderful family, but be like, ‘Oh, my God, my dad drives me nuts. He’s got this one thing.’ Everybody’s got something, and I love to lean into those faults and flaws. It’s what makes people real and what allows audiences to relate, because we all know what that is. We all have our own. We witness it in other people.

“Guy Gardner is 90 per cent flawed and doesn’t care. That’s one of his flaws. I think there’s a real freedom in playing that. So, for a guy who likes to play flaws and flawed people, Guy Gardner is a gold mine.”

Nathan's casting was only announced last July but he was first tapped for the role at the premiere party for ‘The Suicide Squad’ in 2021 after James and producer Peter Safran decided the actor would be the perfect fit for Green Lantern.

He recounted: "We were actually at the premiere party after ‘Suicide Squad’ and he [James] was in a huge crowd of people.

"We saw each other in the crowd and I congratulated him, ‘Oh, my God, that was amazing. It’s so great.’ He goes, ‘Hey, did Peter tell you what we’ve got for you next?’ I said, ‘No, he hasn’t said.’

“He looked around like someone was gonna be listening. We were in a throng of people, but he leaned over and said, ‘You’re gonna be Guy Gardner.’”

Nathan had also worked with James on the Marvel movie ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ and is excited to collaborate with the filmmaker again.

He said: “That movie moved me. Those movies make me feel things. And not just crying but feeling joy and feeling connections and feeling the love. It’s about family. It’s so much about family. I just think that’s what James Gunn does best. He says he’s thinking of something else that we’re all thinking of, and he just makes it so much better and he makes the things that matter to us all.”