Long before he starred on The Rookie, Nathan Fillion landed his breakthrough role as Joey Buchanan in the daytime soap, One Life to Live. But during his time on the hit ABC show – which he joined in 1994 – the actor sported a completely different look, and we can't get over his hair!
Clearly a fan of the 90s curtains trend favoured by Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, Nathan is almost unrecognizable in this unearthed snap. Thanks to his long locks, we had to do a double take, and we were also surprised to see him sporting a pair of glasses – which he rarely seems to wear.
The unearthed snap was actually taken as a promotional photo for his stint on One Life to Live. A milestone moment in his career, Nathan's role on the show would earn him a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series. The 52-year-old also gained plenty of happy memories from his time on the soap.
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During a 2020 appearance on The View, Nathan reflected on his years at One Life to Live, which he starred in from 1994 to 1997.
"Everything I do every day, I learned on that show. I will never speak poorly of daytime [TV]," the A-lister confessed to Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain. Click the video below to see what he had to say...
"I don't know where an actor can go to work and be with people who have been in the business for 25, 35, 40 years," Nathan continued. "And I just said 'I don't know what I'm doing' and they say 'No problem, here's what you do'. They would just take care of you, they were very good people."
During a 2018 interview with TV Insider, Nathan also credited One Life to Live star Erika Slezak – aka Victoria 'Viki' Lord – with convincing his parents that pursuing his acting career in New York was a good thing.
"They were terrified for me... [but she] sat down and talked to them," he said. "As they left the studio, my parents were calm and relaxed. They said,' Okay, these are good people and they actually care about you. This is going to be a great job for you.' I was in an incredibly safe place where I could learn at an incredibly intense rate. I was bumping elbows with the best."
Asked which of his former co-stars he'd love to work with again, Nathan replied "All of them!" before adding: "I want Bob Woods [ex-Bo Buchanan] to be on The Rookie."
Currently, Robert S. Woods is yet to star in the police drama, but we'd love to see an on-screen reunion between the former co-stars!
In the meantime, Nathan is set to reprise his role as John Nolan in the sixth instalment of The Rookie, although a release date is yet to be confirmed. Several publications have reported that a 2024 premiere is far more likely, especially with the ongoing writers' strikes – looks like we'll have to wait and see.