HOT GALLERY: The Stars of the Cult-Favorite Series Firefly, Then and Now

adam baldwin firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb on Firefly

Jayne was the mercenary you wanted at your side in a fight—as long as he was on your side (and as long as you were paying him enough to keep him there). The “public relations” expert on the ship, Jayne had a slippery notion of loyalty, but he was not without honor. Baldwin clearly relished the role, which he told the A.V. Club he approached “as a Western, with that sensibility. You can shoot someone in the back and rationalize it, because you’re out on the frontier.”

adam baldwin firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo portrait summer television critics association press tour 2007

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb on Firefly in 2002 Adam Baldwin in 2007

Baldwin—who had a long list of credits before Firefly, including Full Metal Jacket and The X-Files—has remained busy, starring and guesting in shows from Stargate SG-1 and Angel to CSI: NY and the much-beloved Chuck, which, unlike Firefly, survived its initial shaky ratings. Baldwin recently made a guest-appearance on his old costar Nathan Fillion’s hit show Castle, a reunion he said was “just like putting on a pair of old boots or a nice, warm coat.”

alan tudyk firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Alan Tudyk as Hoban Washburn on Firefly

The ship’s warm-hearted pilot—and mate to the ship’s first mate, Zoe—Wash had one of the most moving and fully developed backstories on the series: He wanted to travel the stars because on his home planet, the pollution was so bad that he couldn’t see them. Wash was the good guy who often provided some much-needed comic relief. Check out Tudyk’s audition tape for the role—and the same scene as it actually aired.

alan tudyk firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo red carpet disney tca winter press tour 2012

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Alan Tudyk as Hoban Washburn on Firefly in 2002 and Alan Tudyk in 2012

Tudyk has had memorable roles in movies like Dodgeball and I, Robot, and TV shows including V and Joss Whedon’s (only-slightly-less-long-lived) series Dollhouse. He currently appears in the series Suburgatory. Next up for this versatile actor is voice work in Ice Age: Continental Drift and his role as Stephen Douglas in the highly anticipated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

christina hendricks firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo

Christina Hendricks as Saffron on Firefly

Yes, that was Christina Hendricks playing the bombshell conwoman who almost brought down Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion) by posing as his wife in an attempt to commandeer the ship and sell it to pirates. Hendricks had a tantalizing naked seduction scene, but she wasn’t the only one who drouped trou: When Saffron encountered the Firefly crew again in a later episode, Mal ended up hilariously stranded naked in the desert.

christina hendricks firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo red carpet elle style awards 2012

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Christina Hendricks as Saffron on Firefly in 2002 and Christina Hendricks in 2012

Different century, same silhouette: Joan Holloway may not be a stowaway outlaw, but the va-va-voom office manager on Mad Men is certainly still a bombshell. And just like Saffron, there’s a lot more going on there than meets the eye. In addition to starring in one of the most celebrated TV shows ever, Hendricks has appeared in movies like Life as We Know It, The Family Tree and I Don’t Know How She Does It.

gina torres firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Gina Torres as Zoe Alleyne Washburn on Firefly

The tough-as-nails “warrior woman” was Mal’s browncoat comrade who stayed by his side after the war to become his second-in-command on the ship Serenity. Zoe married pilot Wash and the two had a happy marriage, despite Wash’s occasional jealousy of her closeness with Mal.

gina torres firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo red carpet usa network the moth storytelling tour 2012

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Gina Torres as Zoe Alleyne Washburn on Firefly in 2002 and Gina Torres in 2012

In addition to two Matrix movies and the Chris Rock feature I Think I Love My Wife, Torres has starred on numerous TV shows, including 24, Alias, Huge and, most recently, Suits. She may have moved on, but Torres told the New York Post that she had fantasized a future for her Firefly character: Zoe was pregnant when [Serenity Spoiler Alert!] Wash died, and now she’s raising their daughter with the crew. “When you live for a while in someone else’s skin,” she said, “there’s quite a mourning process. I've often thought that if [Firefly had] gone another season, or two, we were so human and so beautifully flawed that all of these things were possible.”

jewel staite firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Jewel Staite as Kaylee Frye on Firefly

The guileless mechanic Kaylee managed to keep the ship afloat, so to speak, with elbow grease and good humor and an intuitive understanding of Serenity’s inner workings. She was attached to the ship—and its crew—in a profound way. “She has no secret agenda,” Staite said about Kaylee. “It's all right out on the table. She wears her heart on her sleeve.” Kaylee was honest—sometimes to a fault, as in her adorably raunchy “’twixt my nethers” line.

jewel staite firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo red carpet sci fi channel ew magazine comic con 2007

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Mark Davis/Getty Images

Jewel Staite as Kaylee Frye on Firefly in 2002 and Jewel Staite in 2007

Staite had a recurring role on another gone-too-soon series, Wonderfall, before moving on to Stargate: Atlantis. She is currently starring in the Canadian series The L.A. Complex, which premieres on The CW on Tuesday, April 24.

mark sheppard firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo

Mark Sheppard as Badger on Firefly

Badger was a smuggler and a lowlife, with a charming brogue and a way of getting Mal and the crew into trouble. In the DVD commentary for the series, Joss Whedon said that he originally planned to play the role of Badger himself.

mark sheppard firefly tv show 2000 2003 photo red carpet entertainment weely syfy party comic con 2009

Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Mark Sheppard as Badger on Firefly in 2002 and Mark Sheppard in 2009

One of his first roles was in the Daniel Day-Lewis IRA drama In the Name of the Father, but scifi fans recognize Sheppard as wily attorney Romo Lampkin from Battlestar Galactica. He has appeared on numerous other series, including Dollhouse, Chuck, Warehouse 13, Doctor Who, Supernatural and Leverage.

morena baccarin firefly tv show 2002 2003 photo

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra on Firefly

The lovely Inara was a Companion, a sort of prestigious space-geisha with a lot more autonomy. Though Inara lived in a shuttle aboard Serenity, she was not a member of its crew and took off on her own when she chose to see a client. Her relationship with Mal was fraught with attraction that was the show’s greatest “will they or won’t they.”

morena baccarin firefly tv show 2002 2003 photo red carpet unicef playlist with the a list 2012

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra on Firefly in 2002 and Morena Baccarin in 2012

Firefly was one of Baccarin’s first roles, but she’s since gone on to appear on The O.C., Stargate SG-1, the failed reboot of the alien-invasion series V and, currently, the riveting thriller Homeland. Baccarin compared the studio’s efforts to retool V when it was clear that the formula wasn’t working to what happened on Firefly: “We didn't have that opportunity on Firefly. We were just shut down, and it was really sad. And then we had a following.” (V was cancelled regardless.)

nathan fillion firefly tv show 2002 2003

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Nathan Fillion as Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly

Mal was a cowboy. He was a captain who loved his ship, a retired soldier who never really left the fight behind, a talker who wasn’t afraid to take action when his impressive negotiation skills fail him. He could curse up a storm in Chinese, and he had a way in a bar fight.

nathan fillion firefly tv show 2002 2003 red carpet paleyfest 2012

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Nathan Fillion as Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly in 2002 and Nathan Fillion in 2012

Firefly was Fillion’s first leading role, after smaller parts ranging from Saving Private Ryan to Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. He’s since gone on to star in Drive, Desperate Housewives, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and, currently, Castle (which has featured several delightful references to Firefly). For a while, there was a fan-driven movement to “Help Nathan Fillion Buy Firefly,” after he made a comment about how he’d restart the series if he could, but alas, it wasn’t to be. Next up for Fillion is the Whedon-directed retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Ron Glass as Shepherd Book on Firefly

Not your typical spiritual leader, Book was a missionary man with a past. He was dedicated to spreading the word but was not unfamiliar with violence. Though he was a moral figure, he often brought moments of levity and downright hilarity.

ron glass firefly tv show 2002 2003 red carpet barney miller television show reunion 2005

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Ron Glass as Shepherd Book on Firefly in 2002 and Ron Glass in 2005

Glass started his career with smaller parts on such classic shows as All in the Family, Good Times, Sanford and Son and Hawaii Five-O before landing Barney Miller. He has since voiced the role of Randy Carmichael on the Rugrats series, and appeared on series like Dirty Sexy Money and CSI: NY.

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Sean Maher as Simon Tam on Firefly

Simon was a successful surgeon in the Alliance before leaving everything behind in order to save his little sister, River, from an academy that was doing unholy things to her impressive brain. Simon and Kaylee developed an attraction that they eventually, after much consternation, acted upon.

sean maher firefly tv show 2002 2003 red carpet the advocate 45th 2012

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Advocate

Sean Maher as Simon Tam on Firefly in 2002 and Sean Maher in 2012

Maher was a series regular on Party of Five and The $treet before joining the cast of Firefly. He has since appeared on The Playboy Club and Make It or Break It, and costars with Fillion in the upcoming Whedon-helmed Much Ado About Nothing.

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Summer Glau as River Tam on Firefly

Super-smart River, a member of a privileged family, became a guinea pig when the Alliance doctors transformed her into a mentally damaged human weapon. Both her intelligence and her instability flared up at times; she had a penchant for surprising everyone—sometimes in a good way.

summer glau firefly tv show 2002 2003 red carpet comic con 2011

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection, Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Wrigley - 5 Gum

Summer Glau as River Tam on Firefly in 2002 and Summer Glau in 2011

Firefly was Glau’s first role; since then, she starred in The Unit and The 4400 before becoming a “scary robot” on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. She also starred in Dollhouse and The Cape and next will appear in Knights of Badassdom with Peter Dinklage and Ryan Kwanten. Glau—like all of us—was sorry to see Firefly go. “They cancelled us right before Christmas,” Glau has said. “We weren’t ready. ... We were heartbroken. We cried and cried. We put our hearts and souls into it, and it was such a good series. And we all knew that things like this don’t come along every day. Stories like this don’t.”