Shepherd Book

Shepherd Book
Firefly character
Derrial Book is portrayed by Ron Glass, pictured here
First appearance	"Serenity"
Created by	Joss Whedon
Portrayed by	Ron Glass
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Preacher
Relatives	Unknown; "never married"
Religion	Christian
Homeworld	Unknown

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.

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.

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."

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.

Book's character during the series is that of 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: