Rick Castle is Ferris Bueller!

I just came to this realization.

I just bought the DVD for Ferris Bueller's Day Off (one of my all-time favorite movies, ever, but one I bought on VHS and saw multiple times in the theaters when it first came out) and one of the Bonus feature featuretts was about the character. They were describing this amazingly charming character who seems to be wish-fulfillment for the audience, while at the same time being portrayed by an actor who, somehow, seemed to be as beloved as the character.

And I thought of Castle/Fillion!

The character of Rick Castle simply has too much going for him: He's handsome, has an adorable family, is ridiculously successful in his career and, because of his career, can fulfill every whimsy he might invent. But he's played by an actor who, one could argue, is just as over-privileged: Nathan Fillion is handsome, funny, fun, smart, is one of Whedon's go-to stars (a fact that, in and of itself, should make all of us fan-boys hate his guts in envy) and seems to be having a genuinely good time being Nathan Fillion.

But it's impossible to dislike the guy. And thus, when we watch Castle, it is equally impossible to hate Castle.

Okay, sure, he has his pick of the hottest women on the planet, including the indescribably tasty Det. Kate Beckett played by the indescribably tasty (and talented) Stana Katic. And, sure, he has more money than God and can get away with anything anywhere with anyone.

But, somehow, we sense that he deserves what he gets. Why? I really don't know. Maybe it's because he appreciates these breaks the way we would like to appreciate them if we had the chance. Maybe it's because we would really like to believe that -- deep down -- we are Castle -- smart, attractive, fun, and talented.

But part of it must surely believe that we just plain LIKE the guy who is playing the role, and we can't begrudge him an ounce of his success, even if we wanted to.

I have never met or interacted with Nathan Fillion, but I came close once...

In 2005, I flew to L.A. to attend the Creative Screenwriting Magazine Expo, where Joss Whedon was a featured guest and Nathan Fillion presented Whedon with an award as a Sci-Fi writer. (This was just after Serenity had been released in theaters.)

I had gone there, mainly, to see The Master talk about his craft. But I had fallen in love with Fillion from his performance on Buffy as a REALLY evil guy, and then (via DVD) his performance as Capt. Mal.

It is, in retrospect, noteworthy to comment on hos Fillion graciously introduced and honored the amazing Whedon -- feeding into all our fan-boy worship of Whedon and not taking an ounce away from it -- and then disappeared into the background as soon as it was Joss's time to take the stage. Then, after the talk, when everyone was standing in line to get Joss's autograph and ask him the questions we couldn't think of during his lecture, Fillion was nowhere to be found.

But then...

...and this was a world-changer for me...

...during the break between lectures, some buddies and I were out in front of the building, taking a smoke break before Robert McKee, or whomever we were going to listen to next, we see Whedon, Fillion and their handler (a little hotty I had never seen before or since) exiting the building.

RIGHT NEAR WHERE WE WERE STANDING!

It was SO COOL! We were about to be mere feet away from Captain Malcom Reynolds and the man who brought him -- and Buffy and Angel and Willow and all those amazing characters -- to life!!!

As they passed, they trio didn't slow for autographs or to make acquaintances or anything. Which was only to be expected. (If they had, they would NEVER have made whatever appointment waited for them next.)

I was an extra for 4 days on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I played one of the hundreds of Vulcans you see in the out-of-focus background at the Khitomer Conference at the climax of the movie.

One day, I'm walking onto the set after lunch, and just as I'm about to cross the threshold from off-set to on-set I can't see the red light -- the device used to let everyone know if a scene is being shot -- so I stop abruptly to get a better look.

I feel someone bump into me from behind.

I turn around, and there is Captain James Tiberius Kirk, in full costume and makeup!!! William Shatner has bumped into me because I stopped shot before entering the stage!!! reflexively (being a Texas, born and raised) I say "Sorry." But Mr. Shatner doesn't acknowledge the apology, or even make eye contact.

But I'm not disappointed by this. See, I have been a film flunky for a large part of my life, even in 1990. I TOTALLY get Mr. Shanter's position: He is an actor doing a job, and he needs to focus on that job entirely. He's on a set with, literally, hundreds of extras, some of whom are pros and many of whom are newbies. If he stops and connects with any one of them (us), he could be sidetracked for hours!

William Shatner isn't just a movie star, he's a living legend! He has spent DECADES of his life being recognized (probably in the most inopportune moments any of us can imagine) and having to figure out what to do in those situations.

So I'm guessing that he has probably been forced to develop some sort of "no eye contact, no acknowledgment" policy JUST TO MOVE AROUND IN THE WORLD. I can walk down the street and smile at everyone I see, because I am (as far as they know, anyway) nobody. But when William Shatner makes eye contact with a stranger, they may try to talk him up for half an hour!

So I didn't feel the least bit slighted or anything when I cause Mr. Shatner to bump into me, and he didn't acknowledge my apology. (We were, after all, there to do a job, right?) I still adore and respect and hero-worship this amazing artist!
BUT...

I tell that story as a preface to why Nathan Fillion is so amazing!

So it's 2005 again, and I'm polluting the air with some of my closest friends outside the Creative Screenwriting Magazine Exposition, and Nathan Fillion, Joss Whedon, and an unknown hotty (presumably a handler for Mrs. Whedon and Mr. Fillion) are exiting the building...

Joss and the hotty exit the front doors in the expected fashion: heads down, eyes averted. (Mind you, even at this point -- well after Buffy, Angel and Firefly, Joss Whedon is a living icon.) But Mr. Fillion...

This may sound homo-erotic, but it felt more spiritual at the time...

I swear to God that Nathan Fillion locked eyes on each of us as he exited the door! But more than that, I could swear that he was trying to communicate telepathically to us! The expression in his eyes seemed to say "I SO appreciate your support of Firefly and Serenity and you guys are SO important to me!"

Now, granted, this memory is 5 years old, and is thereby could is probably distorted by the sand of time. I mean, there is no way he could have known that we are die-hard fans of the work he was a part of, much less his work, specifically.

But allow me to point out that I've been telling this story since that very day. Even if it has grown in its significance to me, it's based on an actual event, which is the eye contact that Nathan Fillion made with us -- a group of wannabe screenwriters -- and the odd, seemingly grateful expression in his eyes as he (and Joss and the hotty) walked past us that day.

How could you NOT want the best for that guy?!!

And to back up my claim, listen to any interview with him! Watch him in the bonus material on the Buffy, Firelfy, Serenity or Doctor Horrible DVDs! He has yet to appear in public in any way that contradicts what I thought I saw in his eyes in that brief 2005 encounter.

So Rick Castle gets to sleep with swimsuit models, makes millions as a Mystery novelist, is best buds with the mayor of New York City and will (eventually) get to see Detective Beckett naked. He also plays with RC helicopters and plays paintball with his daughter and gets distracted when pretty girls appear near him. HE'S US! He's a Fantasy-Fulfillment character!

And the fact that he seems to be played by an actor who ACTUALLY IS US (just, you know, maybe better looking and supremely talented as an actor) just makes it all so much more fun living in his shoes for an hour each week!

To Nathan Fillion, the Ferris Beuller of our day: YOU RULE, SIR!!! THANK YOU!!! :D