Neil Patrick Harris memorably teamed up with Nathan Fillion for the three-part musical web series called Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog back in 2008. They played archenemies, with Harris as the wannabe supervillain Dr. Horrible and Fillion as the egotistical and charismatic Captain Hammer. Their characters never would have wanted to work together after the events of Dr. Horrible, but the same can't be said for the two actors. Fillion landed a role in the second season of Harris' Netflix show A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Harris explained why he was on board with the casting of Fillion:
It's really fun to work with actors who can play in a sandbox, but don't toss sand everywhere. You still have to hit your marks every time and monitor the crew and respect schedules and be a worker. And Nathan's a worker through and through.
Working with Nathan Fillion on Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog obviously left Neil Patrick Harris with a favorable impression of his worth ethic and acting chops. A Series of Unfortunate Events is a show that has a lot going on, and it might not work with actors who aren't ready to buckle down and get the job done. Coming in to the second season meant that Fillion would enter a story already in progress; Harris clearly believed that he was capable of fitting in without complicating filming.
Nathan Fillion's scenes with Neil Patrick Harris in A Series of Unfortunate Events will certainly be quite different from their scenes together in Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, although I know I wouldn't object if they broke into song at some point. Fillion is on board to play a character by the name of Jacques Snicket, who is the younger brother of Lemony Snicket (played by Patrick Warburton) and the former classmate of Count Olaf (Harris). Something tells me Count Olaf won't have any thoughts on freeze rays vs. ice beams, and Jacques Snicket might not combine threats with lacy, gently wafting curtains. We can't have everything.
Neil Patrick Harris also spoke in his chat with TVLine about why Nathan Fillion is a good fit for the role, saying this:
I was a big proponent of Nathan's casting. I think [Patrick and Nathan] come from the same world actor-wise. I could totally see them being siblings. And Nathan [possesses] great style. He has great focus and force and intention, which is what you needed for [the role of Jacques].
It should be fun to see Patrick Warburton and Nathan Fillion as siblings. Although the two don't look to strikingly similar, they can both have grandiose acting styles at times that could make for some very interesting scenes. We can only wait and see. The second of the three planned seasons of A Series of Unfortunate Events will premiere on Friday, March 30 at 12:01 a.m. PT.
For more streaming options, take a peek at our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule. The odds for a Dr. Horrible sequel aren't looking too great at this point, so A Series of Unfortunate Events may be the only way to see Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris together for the foreseeable future. Don't forget to take a look at our midseason TV premiere guide while you're here.
