Derrial Book (commonly called Shepherd Book and born as Henry Evans) is a fictional character played by Ron Glass in the science-fiction/Western television series Firefly and its sequel movie, Serenity. He is a Shepherd (the literal English translation of the clerical title "Pastor", from the Latin), and provides frequent spiritual advice and perspectives for the crew of Serenity.
Production details
During production of the film Serenity, Book's first name was Meria, and it appears as such in the documentary "Re-Lighting the Firefly". However, by the time the film was completed, Joss Whedon changed his first name to Derrial, which is the way it appears in all printed official works based on Firefly.
Casting
Glass, a veteran actor well known for his role as Detective Ron Harris in the television sitcom Barney Miller, had rarely tackled the science-fiction genre and was hesitant about this role when his agent approached him. However, once he read the script he "...fell in love with it". As Glass noted:
"The thing that was galvanizing for me was the characters, so the environment was secondary. I was happy to see how Book would unfold in that kind of environment and it worked really, really well."
Costume design
Glass stated that Whedon and the costume designer Shawna Trpcic "had a pretty clear idea of how they wanted him to look", and how he appears in the pilot with a distinctly priestly collar and scant possessions "was a strong reflection of the character". For the role in the film Serenity, Trpcic decided to make Book's clothing tighter after seeing his physique.
Character background
Book's character during the series is a preacher, and though Glass discussed with Whedon about making him more Buddhist, Whedon explained that the character of Inara Serra was to be the Buddhist-type and Book more of the "fundamentalist Christian guy". Glass, himself a Buddhist, found it intriguing to play this role:
Whedon conceived the character because he felt that faith was important to people dealing with being that far out in space. As Whedon states, "Shepherd Book is somebody I would probably get along famously with, except we don't agree about anything." He also wanted to give "a voice for the other side".
One of the underlying aspects of the show is Shepherd Book's secret past. He holds some sort of high priority status within the Alliance, and on numerous occasions has demonstrated a depth of knowledge in a number of fields one would not expect a clergyman to be familiar with, including space travel, firearms, hand-to-hand combat, and criminal activity. Glass enjoyed this aspect of the role as well: "Though rather mysterious, it was absolutely clear that he had had a very full life before he went off to the monastery and took on that responsibility. I loved the fact that he could save your soul but he could also kick your ass. That's a really great combination to play."
In the 14th episode of Firefly, "Objects in Space", Simon berates the bounty hunter Jubal Early for assaulting Book, a Shepherd. Early replies, "That ain't a Shepherd." In the DVD commentary Firefly, Whedon states this is due to Early's intuition and ability to quickly size people up. He also comments that Early's methods for dealing with each crew member are custom-tailored to their personalities. Early disposes of Mal in a straightforward manner; Whedon then notes that Early's method for taking out Book is equally straightforward, alluding to a similarity between the two otherwise different characters.
Another hint to Book's mysterious past is shown in the episode "Safe". When Book is accidentally wounded, Mal is forced to seek medical help from an Alliance cruiser. The commanding officer, after tersely dismissing Mal, changes his attitude once one of his officers shows him Book's identification. Though the exact information on the card is never shown, the crew does note that it affords Book urgent and immediate access to the medical facilities on board, as well as free passage for Serenity without the expected inspection. Several other episodes contain allusions to Book's past; in "The Train Job", he is aware of the identity of crime lord Adelei Niska, while in "War Stories", he displays a working knowledge of high-powered weaponry, first to identify sharp-shooters and later to take part in a coordinated assault against Adelei Niska's space station.