When you become famous, it is only right that your hometown pitches in and recognizes you for your achievements. One day, I’d like a statue made in my image or at least a plaque to warn people of my existence, but Edmonton, which claims Superman and The Rookie star Nathan Fillion as one of its own, went a different route to honor the actor. They went bigger than a plaque and more irreverent than a statue by creating a pavilion in the center of the city named after him.
However, there is a catch. Savvy readers will have noticed that “Fillion” and “pavilion” rhyme. That isn’t an accident. The whole thing is a tongue-in-cheek joke on the actor’s name. “This was a little something I think a radio show started in Edmonton,” Fillion explained to the audience of Jimmy Kimmel Live while promoting the new Superman movie. “The Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavillion.” After a pause, the Superman actor added, “If you can’t tell from this photograph, it is painted vermillion.”
You’d think that it was the perfect joke at the expense of one of Edmonton’s residents, but they could have gone even further. “The only thing they missed – One in a Million.”
The Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavilion, in all its vermillion glory, is located in the middle of Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, which Fillion described as a “very popular bit of kind of shopping [area].”
So, if you ever find yourself in Edmonton and fancy seeing how they celebrate actors who hail from the city, you can rest your feet on the Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavilion.
