You're right, that's pretty much the photo op fee at conventions. Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
Only Kendra Wall. She was working at the Star Wars portion of Tomorrowland's shops and did not have her Ewok plushie. I ended up finding out that I did not have a backup on my photo with her. And would also eventually find out that she no longer works there. So I never got to have a chance to replace that photo.
He’s also a lot more fit. For a good long while he was not looking so good. That’s one of the major reasons I am forever greatful for the sequels. They got Mark back into shape. Next time I go to Celebration I am meeting Hamill I don’t care how much it costs.
Kenny Baker is the only one I can remember off hand. Even as a kid, I knew Mark Hamill was not "Luke Skywalker", so I really had little interest in meeting the "stars" of Star Wars or really any movie. Most of the celebrities I have met have been musicians and the majority of them are celebrities only to a niche community as opposed to the general population. And more often than not I'd just leave them alone or at worst say "love your stuff" as I or they were leaving. The strangest thing is that no matter how well you can recognize a celebrity in a professional video or photo, you almost always are unsure that the face to face person is actually them. They almost always look smaller and/or less regal to the point of doubt.
here is the funny story of how I met Sam Witwer. I was at celebration and I was heading down from the elevator when in popped Witwer. So after a floor passes I finally talk to him saying how I really enjoyed his work as Maul, The Son, and Palpatine. Needless to say, I think that will be the most interesting time I have in an elevator.
I've met Ron Falk, Matthew Wood, and both Prequel Obi-Wans (Ewan McGregor and James Arnold Taylor). I've always been quite shy about asking for photos and autographs, so I just shook their hands and exchanged a few phrases.
I didn't meet any in person, but I did ask Jake Lloyd a question during a Q&A podcast once. He was talking about how much he liked reading science fiction and I asked him if he liked the Dune novels. He doesn't.
I have commented on Mike Quinn's posts and even occasionally chatted with him on FB, and he's the guy who plays Nein Nunb in all the Star Wars films... Same goes for other supporting actors like Christopher Patrick Nolan (the guy who shouted "NOW!" before releasing the Tantive IV's escape lever, at the end of Rogue One), Derek Lyons (medal bearer during the presentation ceremony - A New Hope), Harry Fielder (Colonel Grenwich in A New Hope), and Sandeep Mohan (Snowtrooper in The Last Jedi)... Too bad I'm in faraway Malaysia, which means while I can comment with these people, I've not had the chance to meet any of them face-to-face yet!
I've not met any SW actors, but I've met Conan O'Brien and Bill Clinton who have undoubtedly met many SW actors. That's all I got.
My university organised a panel discussion where Hayden Christensen was a panelist in 2008; needless to say, it was jammed with Star Wars fans (including myself). The funny thing was that it was tacitly understood that out of good manners, Star Wars was not supposed to be brought up because it was a promotional event for his film Jumper, and the elephant in the room was that the audience couldn't care less about Jumper and were there because of Star Wars. I have never seen a better display of good manners in my life.
Ewan Macgregor, a few years before he became famous. He was at Guildhall the same time I was at the Royal College of Music and I used to go over to their student bar to meet mates and accompany productions. I knew one of his crowd, sadly now deceased, so bumped into him on a couple of occasions, albeit superficially. Peter Serafinowicz, voice of Darth Maul and now better know as The Tick. I was in the audience at a comedy interview podcast hosted by a comedian friend and got to chat to him afterwards. He's a genuinely funny guy. His TPM stories are hysterical. Michael Sheard. You all know him as Admiral Ozzil but to me he'll forever be the legendary Mr Bronson from Grange Hill. Met him at a birthday bash years ago. Lovely man. A few friends of mine, including my old roomate, were (and some still are) in the LSO when they recorded the prequels soundtracks. I was very envious of their connection to something I'd love to have been a part of! Not actors but it's a connection.
I used to work security at SW Days or conventions in the UK; was a bodyguard to a SW actor at an event once; and worked a merchandise stall once. The people in this thread, saying Jeremy Bulloch is nice, I fully agree with, as the day I was bodyguarding, I say that we 'bonded' as he was telling me about the time that he did that as well. When I worked the stall, I cannot recall if I met anyone from SW, however, on the stall, I was working alongside Kenny Baker's son for several hours. For general security, my favorite anecdote was that it was my birthday one time, and being in the privileged position of not having to queue up because I was working there, I rushed around getting about eight SW autographs before I had to take up position guarding a particular spot, however I had forgotten someone. The event organiser, got all the guests, including the person I had missed, to sign a birthday card for me. So that was awesome.
Peter Mayhew. I thought he was wonderful. Loved the young fans so much. He sat and talked to each one, making sure they felt heard and seen, signing anything they wanted.
I've met many actors and authors from the world of science fiction (even astronauts, and tech guys from NASA), but never anyone from Star Wars. I used to go to conventions quite often, but haven't been to one since the '90's.
I met James Earl Jones at a lecture he was giving about confidence at my college. I shook his hand and got to say a few words with him. Even though I was the 1000th person to come up to him, he was cordial as I gushed about how awesome he was as the voice of Darth Vader. Unfortunately, this was in the 90s before the era of the Smart Phone so I don't have a video of it.
Peter Mayhew and Jeremy Bullouch at a NYC sci fi convention. I just waved at them. They were signing autographs but were done for the day. I saw Harrison Ford, he was about 20 feet away from me at a buffet table. He was filming The Devil's Own near where I grew up.
I've met several more since the last time I posted here, my list: Live action: Carrie Fisher (twice) Billy Dee Williams Peter Mayhew Anthony Daniels Hayden Christensen Ian McDiarmid Aland Tudyk Gwendolyn Christy Voice Actors/Video Game: Ashley Eckstein (twice) Steve Blum Vanessa Marshall Freddie Prinze Jr. Donald Faison Jennifer Hale All at conventions - have photos and/or autographs from all. All of them have been super great to meet and very friendly but the ones that really stood out us being super friendly and enthusiastic were Ashley Eckstein, Donald Faison, Alan Tudyk, and the very funny and wonderful Carrie Fisher. Should be able to update this list again in a few weeks .
Went to C2E2 in Chicago a few weeks ago, was hesitant due to Covid but they ran the con very well and it felt very safe, wearing a mask the whole time I didn't even get Con-crud. Anyways, it was very Star Wars heavy this year so adding to my list: Hayden Christensen for a 2nd time. Got a photo and an autograph this time - he was so nice and seemed so happy to see everyone. Briefly talked to me about how excited he is for people to see Kenobi. Jim Cummings - very nice man, told me how much he enjoys being Hondo and he seemed really excited about Hondo being at the Disney parks. Got an autograph and a photo with him and he gave me a free Winnie the Pooh (another of his many, many credits as a voice actor) keychain for my daughter. Giancarlo Esposito - was very excited to meet him as I've been a fan of his for a long time and consider his portrayal as Gus in Breaking Bad as one of the best performances of a villain in TV history. Unfortunately I had to miss his panel, as I needed to head home for my daughter's dance recital (yes that took precedent) but did get a photo and autograph with him. He was a little less talkative than some of the others but was very nice and seemed very appreciative. He very clearly loves being Moff Gideon. Matthew Wood - so I was supposed to get a photo and autograph with him on Friday but he had to cancel. I figured he had a good excuse but it messed up my schedule and then he ended up being a bit late Saturday too so I was a little annoyed. Turns out it was worth the wait. He ended up being one of the best actors/celebs I've met at a con. He didn't have a super long line and he ended up talking to me for a very long time. Turns out, he had to miss Friday because he was wrapping sound on Book of Boba Fett, which is a pretty good reason! We chatted a lot about his job; he talked about how busy he is now and how different it is now as when he was working for George he had like 1 movie every 3 years and now he'd just finished season 1 of Book of Boba Fett, was working on Andor, Kenobi, and season 3 of Mandalorian. We also talked about my daughter getting into Star Wars and he asked about that and was thrilled she liked the prequels. I got a Grievous photo and a battle droid photo signed and he was really happy I was getting a battle droid photo signed because he loves voicing them. He said one of the reasons is because they don't have moving mouths so if he thinks of a better line in post he can just re-record his voice and put it in without having to re-shoot anything. I could have talked to him for another 8 hours and if I ever have the opportunity to meet him again I'll definitely do so.