Nathan Fillion Played A Forgotten Cop Hero 12 Years Before The Rookie

12 years before Nathan Fillion first played The Rookie‘s John Nolan in 2018, he portrayed a forgotten cop hero. He has been a staple of The Rookie‘s best episodes and across its eight seasons so far. The procedural is a massive hit for ABC and led to two spinoffs, the short-lived The Rookie: Feds and the upcoming The Rookie: North.

Prior to debuting as John Nolan, there were already several memorable TV characters played by Nathan Fillion, including Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly, Rick Castle in Castle, and Caleb in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Given how ingrained these characters are in popular culture, it is easy to forget his appearance in one episode of an all-time great television series.

Nathan Fillion Played Kate’s Cop Husband In Lost Season 3

In Lost season 3, episode 6, “I Do,” which aired in 2006, Fillion was in the flashbacks as a police officer named Kevin Callis, who Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) married while on the run from the law. Kevin was a heroic cop and a loving husband, but he was unaware that Kate, who he knew as Monica, was a fugitive. She was genuinely happy with him for a period of time, wanted to keep their marital bliss alive, and even called US Marshal Edward Mars (Fredric Lane) to stop pursuing her.

Eventually, though, Kate found that she could no longer live a lie, with her lack of a passport and a negative pregnancy test convincing her that she needed to go on the run again. Kate revealed the truth about herself to Kevin, but drugged him so he couldn’t come after her right away, and she left behind the locket that his mother gave her before the wedding. This was Kevin’s last appearance in the series, as he did not appear in any other future episodes or seasons.

Lost Should’ve Brought Nathan Fillion Back In Later Seasons

After playing an important role in one of Lost‘s more underrated episodes, Kevin should’ve come back in the show’s future seasons. In the aftermath of Kate returning to civilization as a member of the Oceanic Six, it would have been intriguing to see how Kevin reacted given their personal history. He could have been on a quest for revenge, wanting justice for Kate deceiving him, especially after she is cleared of her criminal charges, or he could have taken the moral high road and forgiven her for what she did to him.

Beyond bringing an established character back, Kevin’s return could have been a meaningful addition to Kate’s redemption arc. Directly confronting him and owning up to what she did, and this time not drugging him or running away, could have been part of her growth. It also would have provided a parallel to fellow Oceanic Six member Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), whose ex-wife, Sarah Wagner (Julie Bowen), briefly reunited with him when he was in the hospital.

Another option would have been to have Kevin appear in Lost‘s flash sideways, with his presence being part of Kate’s journey to remember her life before she moved on with her loved ones. There were other instances of minor characters, even those who had only been in one episode before, being in the flash sideways.

With Castle beginning in 2009, it may have been logistically challenging to get Nathan Fillion back toward the end of Lost‘s run. At the same time, he is a phenomenal actor, and one episode did not give him enough room to explore the character of Kevin. By returning, he could have brought further depth to the character while also enriching Kate’s story. Despite this missed opportunity, playing a cop in Lost did help set the stage for him taking on the role of John Nolan more than a decade later.