I just had the best weekend of my life. Here's a quick list of all the people I met this weekend: Nathaniel Buzolic, Patricia Quinn, Colin Ferguson, Niall Matter, Rob Paulsen, Billy Boyd, Katee Sackhoff, Lee Arenberg, Anthony Michael Hall, Aaron Douglas, Chloe Dykstra, Chris Hardwick (SQUEEE!!), Tara Strong, Jamie Bamber, Nichelle Nichols, Kenton Duty, Michael Trucco, and Adam Baldwin (yes, he actually made it to a Dragon*Con!). The definition of "met" here spans from quick introductions to conversations several minutes long.
Missi and I found Nathaniel Buzolic (Kol in
The Vampire Diaries) in the Hyatt lobby walking the floor and he was kind enough to let us take a quick picture.
We also had a substantial conversation with him, and he was totally flirting with us
Patricia Quinn (you know, the original Magenta?) had a table in the Walk of Fame, but she also went to the Lips Down on Dixie shadowcast of
Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday night (well, Sunday morning - it started at 1:30a) and helped to introduce the movie. We couldn't afford a picture with her, but she hugged Missi in the Walk of Fame.
A little further down the table from Patricia were Colin Ferguson (
Eureka's Sheriff Jack Carter) and Niall Matter (Zane Donovan from
Eureka). We weren't able to get a picture with Colin, but our friend Scott had partied with them last year and we talked to Colin for a couple minutes - he's an awesome person. I did manage to get a picture with Niall thanks to some generosity from Scott, though. Niall was really nice, if maybe a little overwhelmed.
Can I just say, I HAD ZANE'S ARM AROUND ME (and my arm was around him)
As we continued going around the Walk of Fame, I noticed that Rob Paulsen didn't have a line at his table, and we were able to walk right up to him. If I had kept my wits about me, I would have gotten a picture with him, but I have to admit this was the one celebrity over whom I completely fangirled. Missi and I shamelessly squeed right in front of him, and he totally went along with it. I imagine that being the voice of Yakko, Pinky, the original Raphael, the new Donatello, and countless others will often inspire that reaction.
At the end of that table was Billy Boyd (Perregrin "Pippin" Took from the
Lord of the Rings trilogy). Again, we couldn't afford a picture with him (not to mention an autograph) but we did talk to him for several minutes. Missi asked him if he was actually singing on the
Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and he said yes, then told us to check out his band Beecake. He was then kind enough to write the band name on a post-it and put it ON MY BADGE. Not only did I shake his hand, but Billy Boyd pretty much touched my stomach. I was very proud of the lack of shit flipping that happened.
I may not have his autograph, but I got his handwriting for free!!
After Billy, we got in line to see Katee Sackhoff (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace from
Battlestar Galactica). She is AMAZING - I wish I could have afforded a picture with her to show you, but she has lost weight since Starbuck and was
really sweet too.
We got to talk to Lee Arenberg (Pintel from the first three
Pirates of the Caribbean movies and Grumpy from
Once Upon A Time) twice - once on Friday in our first tour of the Walk of Fame, and again on Monday when we went back. The second time we went up to him, Missi got a picture with him.
He may play grouches, but he is such a sweet man!!
Just before we left the Walk of Fame on Friday, Missi and I noticed that Anthony Michael Hall (the Geek from the Brat Pack movies - The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, etc) didn't have a line at his table. Now, he looks NOTHING like he did in the 80s - it's not that he looks bad, because he doesn't, but with aging his appearance has completely changed. We talked to him for a couple minutes about how much we enjoy his John Hughes movies, and as we walked away I mentioned his episode on Community (he was the bully who beat Joel McHale's character up). He is a very nice guy.
On Friday night, Missi and I were walking around the Marriott lobby and happened to see Aaron Douglas (Crew Chief Galen Tyrol from Battlestar Galactica). With a little coaxing from Missi (I hadn't wanted to interrupt his conversation) I went up and talked to him. Again, I forgot to get a picture with him (which I regret) but at least I met him! And he's a really cool dude.
On Sunday night, Missi talked me and our friend Matt into going to an Adult Themes in SciFi panel. While we were waiting in line, I happened to notice Chloe Dykstra (host of Just Cos on the Nerdist YouTube channel) coming down the escalator. I didn't get a picture with her since she was a panelist and had to get in to the room to get ready, but she was sweet enough to stop, say Hi and shake my hand.
And, since Chloe was a panelist, guess who showed up midway through the panel and sat in the back of the room?? CHRIS FUCKING HARDWICK. Chloe mentioned him a couple times, but only referred to him as "my boyfriend" - that, and the fact that he stayed in the very back of the room and didn't say anything (he would text Chloe when he had an opinion) led me to believe that he was trying to keep a low profile. He wasn't there as a celebrity, and I'm positive he was only there for Chloe. Nevertheless, after the panel, I went up to him and said, "Hi, I know you're trying to keep a low profile, but would you mind taking a picture with me??" And, in brilliant Chris fashion, he replied, "Oh, yeah! Of course!"
I HAVE A PICTURE WITH CHRIS HARDWICK!!!!
Even though I kept very calm, cool and collected while I was talking to him, as we walked away I noticed I was shaking, and kept flipping my shit whenever I thought of it the rest of the night. It took me a full extra hour to fall asleep because I was so wired.
On Monday morning before we left, Missi and I went back to the Walk of Fame. Since a lot of people had gone home Sunday night and we got there right as it opened, there was not a huge crowd inside. Missi and I got to say hello to Tara Strong, another amazing voice actress - she's really popular with the Bronies right now (don't get me started on THAT term) but you may also know her from Powerpuff Girls (Bubbles), The Fairly Oddparents (Timmy) and hundreds of others. She is a genuinely sweet, caring person and I am so honored to have met her.
After Tara Strong, Missi and I went to get in line to see Michael Trucco, but I noticed that Jamie Bamber didn't currently have a line because he had just arrived. As we were waiting for him to get settled and finish talking to his people, I realized that I had the opportunity to be an awesome best friend. When we got up to the table, I paid the price of a photo and then filmed Jamie asking Jenna why she wasn't at Dragon*Con (she had had a myriad of unfortunate situations which prevented her from coming). I then posted it on her FB wall when I got back to internet that afternoon.
The texts she sent me as she was watching the video
After we left Jamie, Missi noticed Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from the original Star Trek). This woman has aged BEAUTIFULLY - Missi got a headshot that was taken years ago, and she looked exactly the same. Such a gorgeous woman, and very sweet.
Missi then noticed Kenton Duty on the other side of the room. I know him as Young Jacob from LOST, but she's a nanny and recognized him from the Disney Channel show Shake It Up! She then got her turn to be a hero and got an autograph for the two little girls she takes care of.
We then went back to Michael Trucco's line (which was very short) and met him. Though he is most known for his role as Samuel T. Anders on Battlestar Galactica, I also remember him from an episode of Tru Calling - in the first season, he plays a firefighter who failed to save a little girl (and himself) so he asks Tru to help him. She thinks he is asking for himself and gets attached to him, but he was asking for the little girl and ends up dying anyway. That episode always breaks my heart, and that is what I chose to talk to him about. Which I think threw him off a little bit (which I love doing). One of my favorite things to do with celebrities is talk about one of their lesser known works, because they just don't expect it. But he was a really really sweet guy, and I am so glad I was able to meet him.
Oh, and did I mention I got a picture with him too?? SO AWESOME.
After Michael Trucco, our last stop was ADAM BALDWIN. For those who don't know, Adam has a really bad habit of announcing that he's going to be at Dragon*Con, and then having to cancel at the last minute for one reason or another. This has happened for years. So when we heard that he actually WAS at Dragon*Con, we knew we had to meet him. He unfortunately wasn't doing pictures and we couldn't afford an autograph, but he did seem to be hitting on Missi. She told him that we would love to get an autograph, but that we were poor and just couldn't afford it. So he offered to gift her one!!
The quote he used just convinces me further that he was hitting on her...
All in all, Dragon*Con was an amazing experience, and I fully plan on going every year from now on - come hell or high water - and each year I'm going to make sure it is even better than the last one.
{Also, I am going to have multiple posts about Dragon*Con, because I saw a lot of awesome cosplay and went to a couple really great panels, and if I tried to fit all of it in one post, it would be WAAYYY too long. Stay tuned!}
