High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and main protagonist in the Firefly franchise. Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity. In the series, Reynolds is the captain of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity. The character was named #18 in TV Guide`s "Greatest Sci-fi legends" list in 2004.