4GAASF: Rules? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Rules.

That's right, this category is dedicated to the original, spontaneous, rule breaking actors and actresses both on and off screen. On screen their characters are everything between the lovable rouge and the fiendishly wonderful villain  to the small, unexpectedly heart-wrenching guest appearance. No matter who they play, you remember them. Off screen these actors defy expectations, enjoying connecting with fans, taking risks, and letting the world see just how totally human they are. It's really no wonder that my final choices have been costars under the direction of the wonderful Joss Whedon (multiple times).

And to be honest, if this weren't restricted to actors and actresses, Joss Whedon would be the hands down winner of the category.

Winners: 

Nathan Fillion 

and 

Felicia Day

Nathan Fillion

SciFy: Where do we start? Well, he started out on a soap opera, but then broke into the SciFy world with the help of the great Joss Whedon by playing The First's right hand man, incredibly creepy and vicious priest Caleb in Season 7 of Buffy. He's also played two more roles for Whedon, as the roughish captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly and Serenity, as well as the boorish prick Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. On top of that, he's got plenty of name recognition outside of SciFy for his role as male lead opposite Keri Russell in a wonderful quirky film called The Waitress and he's now staring as the main character of Castle as a very unusual mystery writer turned police consultant. He's even had smaller roles on Lost and Desperate Housewives. And to give him a little more nerd cred, he's done tons of work with voice acting for video games Jade Empire and Halo3/ODST/Reach (plus a character designed to look like him), as well as an animated series of the Green Lantern.

Phew, my fingers hurt from typing all that. He's had tons of major roles, and his characters are never quite the same. He's a master of both stoic and lighthearted, comedy and drama, characters that are unabashedly evil/good or out only for himself and his crew. Plus he's great to his fans, constantly on Twitter, encouraging (still) their hopes for a returned Firefly, and asking for their help in assisting his desire to play Nathan Drake in the planned Uncharted movie (he's a big fan of the video games). And he's still a huge fan of Firefly; if you don't believe me,

check out all these Firefly references that have appeared in Castle.

Plus he's a major prankster, such as this stunt he pulled off with previous costar Alan Tudyk on his former Firefly cast mates.

...is for Lovers: Have you seen his hair? It's beautiful and perfect. Add a charming smile and any straight woman will swoon. And if that isn't enough, try this on for size. In the Waitress, he was a married OBGYN having an awkward and delicious affair with his very pregnant, also married, pie-making patient. In Firefly, he had an unresolved thing for the ship's most respectable traveler, the Companion (read "space geisha") Inara and his military bonds with Zoe were responsible for destabilizing Zoe and Wash's marriage (unintentionally of course). And let's not forget blatant misogynists Caleb and Captain Hammer. Now, of course, he spends his days as playboy Rick Castle, although certainly a much more human take on the lady-killer role than we would normally see, thanks to the emphasis placed on his role as father and son, as well as his friendship with Detectives Esposito and Ryan.

Felicia Day

        

SciFy: Day is a favorite actress of mine, but unlike Fillion, she's very much restricted to being cult worshiped in the sci-fy community. Also making her break in Season 7 Buffy as potential slayer Vi, she's appeared in Whedon's other projects Dollhouse, as Mag in flash forward episodes Epitath 1 and 2, and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog as love interest Penny. She also pulled off an amazing guest appearance as a patient in House (episode "Not Cancer") as an artist who sees the entire world as ugly. But what makes her amazing is her work online (beyond Dr. Horrible). She's fessed up to being an avid video gamer, and not only does she do voiceovers (Fallout New Vegas), but she's turned this into gold with The Guild, an online show that she created, writes, and stars in, as well as her role as the fairy in the Legend of Neil, a Legend of Zelda parody. I recommend both, by the way, to any gamer, though The Legend of Neil is very NSFW, much cruder humor than The Guild. On top of that, the two music videos (above) produced by the cast of The Guild are pure genius. Right now, she's  working on a series of online episodes with the Dragon Age video game franchise.

...is for Lovers: Ehhhh. Ok, here, you've got me. Day really only has one character when it comes to romance - awkward shy girl. But it's adorable and well done. Oh, and if I remember correctly, her character in Dollhouse was a lesbian but I don't think that was ever an important part of the role. I suppose I should also give her credit for The Legend Of Neil, where it turns out the fairy has to have sex with Neil (Link) to restore his health and it's rather...well, as I said, NSFW and crude.


Honorable Mentions
Ouch, this category is super tough, especially since it's on and off screens. I guess my final choices were the more traditional concept of rogues and rule breakers, since I focused on Fillion and Day's off screen accomplishments as well.

Male: Harrison Ford (Star Wars), Matt Bomer (White Collar/Chuck/Tru Calling), John Barrowman (Doctor Who/Torchwood)

Female: Alex Kingston (Doctor Who)

Images are from here and here