Firefly-alum and geek icon Nathan Fillion will have a cameo appearance on an upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory.
Fillion will join the ranks of James Earl Jones, LeVar Burton, and (of course) Wil Wheaton in playing himself on the episode, scheduled to air on Feb. 19. In the episode, Leonard and Raj will spot the Castle star in a restaurant and spend time debating whether or not the actor is, in fact, Nathan Fillion.
Two photos released from the episode prove that Leonard and Raj decide in the affirmative — and take some selfie-action. What Fillion’s reaction will be upon being approached by the super-geeks remains to be seen.
Captain Mal looks like he’s having a great time.
Nathan Fillion isn’t the first actor from Firefly, Joss Whedon’s renowned (and tragically truncated) space-western television series, to appear on The Big Bang Theory. The season 2 episode “The Terminator Decoupling” featured fellow alum Summer Glau, attempting to extricate herself from the attentions of Howard, Raj, and Leonard.
Like Glau (who also appeared in Joss Whedon’s similarly short-lived series Dollhouse, and starred in Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles), Fillion has several other geek-friendly projects under his belt. He appeared as a major antagonist in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and co-starred in Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog as the dashingly despicable hero, Captain Hammer.
If you can’t keep all that in mind, don’t worry — we’re sure that Leonard and Raj will recap all of Fillion’s nerd-tastic exploits when they meet him in person.
Not that we’re jealous, or anything.
The Big Bang Theory season 8, episode 14, “The Troll Manifestation,” will air on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 8:00 p.m. on CBS.