Hey Nathan Fillion, Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich?

Nathan Fillion has a trustworthy face. Some of it is that square, square jaw. Some of it is the twinkly eyes. Some of it, surely, is just the Canadian blood in him. Whatever the cause, it's a face which, in conjunction with his actual skills as an actor and some damned fine comic timing, has made him one on TV's most reliably likable figures. It's part of what made Firefly so special, and such an enduring favorite of people who like sci-fi, or westerns, or quips, or plain old good television. It's the reason that so many people, including in all likelihood your mom, loved Castle, ABC's author-meets-cop procedural, which ran for the better part of 200 episodes.

And it's why The Rookie, ABC's newest cop-show-with-a-twist, is worth checking out, even if cop-shows-with-a-twist aren't your thing. Fillion plays John Nolan, a guy who, [00:01:00] after helping cops stop a crime in process, moves to Los Angeles to become the L.A.P.D.'s oldest rookie. Fillion's unsurprisingly great in the role (as is co-star Afton Williamson), thanks in no small part to the affability and charm he's trotted out for decades now. And that trustworthy chin doesn't hurt, either.

We asked him if a hot dog is a sandwich. He'd never lie about an issue this important.

The Takeout: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Nathan Fillion: No, a hot dog's in its own category. A hot dog is a sausage.

TO: And a sausage is not a sandwich?

NF: No, I don't think so.

TO: Okay. If you took a hot dog, or a sausage of any kind, and cut it in half and put it in between two pieces of bread, is it then a sandwich?

NF: First of all, never do that. There are some things that should never happen, and I think that's one of them.

TO: Noted.

NF: If someone said, "hey, we're selling hot dogs here," and there were sandwiches on the menu, I'd say, "that's not a hot dog." And vice verca. If they were selling sandwiches, and they also have hot dogs, it would in a special section of the menu. And I think we all know that, deep down.

TO: I think that's very sensible, thank you so much.

NF: My pleasure. Thanks for the weird question!