Nathan Fillion Reveals How “The Rookie” Fame Got Him Out of a Speeding Ticket

Madison E. GoldbergTue, July 28, 2026 at 1:26 AM UTC

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Nathan-Fillion-2026-Comic-Con-Rookie-072726-5196d0d618ef4218bbd991048659f91b.jpgCredit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Disney/Mike Taing -

Nathan Fillion shared a humorous story about being mistaken for Jason Bateman during a traffic stop at San Diego Comic Con on Monday, July 27

Fillion’s The Rookie castmates also shared their own experiences of being pulled over by police

The Rookie is set to return for its ninth season, expected to premiere in early 2027

Nathan Fillion is no rookie when it comes to handling speeding tickets.

The Rookie star, 55, joined his cast mates in sharing their stories of being pulled over by police officers for speeding. On the hit ABC show, Fillion plays police officer John Nolan, who becomes the fictional oldest rookie officer in the LAPD. In video captured by PEOPLE at San Diego Comic Con on Monday, July 27, Fillion revealed that an officer who pulled him over recognized he was an actor—but thought he was Jason Bateman.

“I got pulled over once and the officer looked at my ID and said, ‘I recognize you’re an actor,’ ” the Castle alum shared. “I said, ‘Yes… actually, I’m pretty good.’ ”

“He said, ‘If you give my wife an autograph, I’ll let you off with a warning,’ ” Fillion continued to recall. “I said, ‘Great.’ He handed me his phone. I asked, ‘What’s your wife’s name?’ He said, ‘Lily.’ So I wrote, ‘To Lily…’ ”

Before Fillion could sign his own name, he heard the officer on his phone with his wife, telling her he was meeting Bateman, 57.

“Then I heard him say, ‘Hey honey, I’m getting you an autograph, it’s Jason Bateman,’ ” he recalled.

“And I signed it… ‘All my love, Jason Bateman,’ ” Fillion concluded the story, earning plenty of laughs from the audience.

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Fillion previously shared the story during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021.

Fillion’s The Rookie cast mate Deric Augustine revealed he was also once let go on account of being recognized.

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“I recently got pulled over because of my tinted windows, and the officer recognized me from The Rookie,” Augustine, 36, said. “He let me go.”

However, fellow cast member Lisseth Chavez was not as lucky.

“I also got pulled over on PCH… and I still got the ticket,” Chavez, 37, said of being pulled over on California’s Pacific Coast Highway.

The Rookie will soon enter its ninth season, with new episodes expected to premiere in early 2027.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”