Nathan Fillion Based His Superman Character on a Surprising Sitcom Legend

One of the more intriguing characters in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film is the brash yet endearing Green Lantern known as Guy Gardner, and bringing that beloved character to life is the ever-talented Nathan Fillion. Fans have seen several glimpses of Gardner in the trailers, and Fillion’s take on the character is catching their attention. That will likely only increase when the film actually releases, but you might be surprised who inspired his take on the character. Fillion was speaking with the DC Studios Showcase Official Podcast, and that’s when he revealed which sitcom legend inspired his version of Guy.

Hosts Frankey Smith, Tyler Coates, and Coy Jandreau had a few questions for Fillion regarding bringing Guy Gardner to the big screen, including how he blends Gardner’s braggadocios nature with his more endearing qualities. That’s when Fillion revealed that he looked to Golden Girls’ Sophia for inspiration, who was brought to life by the amazing Estelle Getty.

“You know, I took my inspiration from the oldest cast member from Golden Girls, where she just, whatever she wanted to say, just there was no filter. She just said, Thank you, Estelle Getty. Thank you. Just whatever it is, there it is, he’s just gonna say it. Part of his origin was he was at one point hit by a bus, and was in a coma. So I just say that’s the thing that flipped the switch. That’s the thing that caused a little bit of brain damage. Now he’s just…off a little bit,” Fillion said.

The crew also asked about Gardner’s trademark bowl haircut, which Fillion was intent on bringing to the big screen. “There was some talk about different hairstyles. There was some talk about some different types of things we were going to go. I was team bowl cut the whole way. It’s canon. It’s set. I said, If we don’t do a bowl cut, we’re going to hear about it,” Fillion said.

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Fillion was also asked if there were higher stakes in playing a character that is’t as mainstream, and Fillion actually felt the opposite. “I think if anything else there’s a freedom. I think the real stakes and that kind of stress would probably be on David. You know, you’re playing Superman. Good luck. People have a lot of expectations. But if you’re coming in with something that’s a little fresh for some people, it’s all on you. Like, hey, I get to decide how this is gonna go,” Fillion said.

Smith then asked a question all of us Lantern fans want to know, and that’s about the constructs Guy will use in the film. When Smith asked if we’ll see any constructs in the film, Fillion said, “Absolutely”, but when asked what they are like, Fillion had to tease things a bit more vaguely. “Exactly what you’d expect from Guy Gardner. I mean, if you said, ‘Hey, there’s an emergency. We need a Green Lantern,’ Guy Gardner is the guy you hope you don’t get,” Fillion said. “There’s thousands of them out there, all over the universe. ‘God, please not Guy. Not Guy.’ You got Guy. ‘Damn it! Damn it!’”

Superman soars into theaters on July 11th.

Are you excited for Fillion’s take on Guy Gardner? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Superman and DC with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!