Firefly is a massively popular franchise, despite the fact that it had far less episodes than a lot of television shows. Sean Maher played the doctor of the show, Simon Tam, and we were lucky enough to see him in a panel at Oz Comic Con 2012.
Sean Maher talked about how Simon had changed through the timeline of Firefly, and in Serenity. He seemed quite keen on his development of the character, and cited his favourite episode as being Ariel. Both as a general episode, and due to his character growing.
It sounded like Firefly had the most amazing cast with a hugely family feel. He talked about how his relationship with Summer Glau was actually quite like their off screen one, and in fact fed into it. When the cast all found out about the cancellation of the show they met at Nathan Fillion’s house to sort through that shock and the disappointment at the cancellation of a show that had so much promise. The fact that it had been granted a movie was something that Maher had been skeptical of right up until the table reading, which must have been the most powerful moment and even upon recalling it he seemed to have had some emotion about it.
When asked what character apart from Kaylee that he’d like to have Simon have a ‘will they won’t they’ relationship with, he answered Jayne. Once the initial laughs died down, he assured the crowd that he wasn’t in fact being sarcastic, and upon second thought that relationship would certainly be an interesting one and their chemistry could have certainly gone that way, considering the thin line between love and hate.
Sean Maher also has a role in Joss Whedon’s new project, Much Ado About Nothing, where he plays the villain as Don John, which he really enjoyed because it was the first villain he played. This is definitely a movie to keep an eye out for, if it does happen to be given a theatrical release, although I’m sure that it will find some way to be released, given that it’s a Whedon creation.
Check out the rest of our Oz Comic Con coverage on the rest of the site, including impressions, more panels, and interviews!
One of the most eminent television and movie actors involved in massively popular science fiction franchises, as well as a comic book franchise, is Sir Patrick Stewart. Not only was Sir Patrick Stewart in the panel, but he was accompanied by his son Daniel Stewart. This was one of the few panels that had two people doing the panel at the same time, and they had a fantastic chemistry going between them on the stage, which is no surprise since they are father and son.
Fran Kranz, famous for his role as Topher in Dollhouse, actually did come off as the embodiment of an actor from the Whedonverse. He’s funny and a little self-deprecating, and quite humble. He also had so much to say about the story of Dollhouse, little things that he’d thought that went on behind the scenes and his own narrative of things that hadn’t specifically come up in the show. This dedication to storytelling and commitment to a role is something else that marks him as a Whedonverse actor. And, with a TV show and two movies under his belt under Joss Whedon’s capable hands, he’s certainly a part of the family now.
At the tender age of eleven years old, Willow Shields holds herself far better, and with far more maturity, than I, or anyone I know, did. She speaks with a wisdom and surety that any pre-teen would be jealous of, and manages to still remain confident and well spoken in front of a conference room of people, which is no easy feat.
