Who's your favorite Trek actor at conventions?

[RB_Kandy]

At conventions, of all the Star Trek actors, which one's do you find most entertaining?
I personally think it is Brent Spiner.
I was also very surprised to find Garret Wang to be highly entertaining. His acting may have been stiff, but his real life personality is full of charisma.

 

[Tiberius]

Ethan Phillips is a blast.

Jeri Ryan may have been having a bad day, but she wasn't as much fun as I;d hoped...

 

[Finn]

What were you hoping?

 

[sojourner]

^Waking up in a no name motel in the middle of no where surrounded by the smell of sex, large amounts of narcotics and no body hair.

 

[t_smitts]

Of those I've seen, I really enjoyed Robert Picardo and Michael Dorn, who both had some terrific stories about their acting career.

Picardo had a hilarious first-person tale about the Doctor getting genitalia and an equally hilarious story about working on "Gremlins 2". I got signed photo from him of the "Johnny Cab" robot from "Total Recall". I asked if it was sculpted based on his likeness, and I think said it was. Apparently he also liked Schwarzeneggar as a good governor (not being from California, I have no idea how popular he was in office).

I asked Michael about which guest stars really made an impression on him, he sid Jon Colicos and John Anderson from "Survivors".

I also liked meeting Gerrit Graham (Quinn), though I asked him more about "Gargoyles". He actually didn't remember his role in it that much. He thought he played a gargoyle! (To be fair, for him, it was a few lines in a recording studio 15 years before). He was cool about it, signed my DVD of the show, and even sounded curious about where to get it. (In retrospect, he might've been humoring me).

The Q&A with Ethan Phillips was okay, I guess, but nowhere near the above two. The dual one with Nana Visitor and Chase Masterson wasn't bad, but now I don't think I'll be able to think of Chase without remembering that depressing stalker/lawsuit story.

Jonathan Frakes and Shatner were both in town last year. Unfortunately I got the schedule mised up and missed out on the Frakes Q&A (which is too bad, since he's always struck me as fun guy).

The Shatner one was something like $25 to get into the Q&A itself, which REALLY bugged me! Didn't go to that.

Probably the least interesting was Bruce Hyde (Kevin Riley) about 14-15 years ago. I feel bad saying that because he was actually a really nice guy who remembered my name, but kept talking about a bunch of subjects people really weren't interested in.

 

[Madzilla]

Probably Bob Picardo and Marina Sirtis. Both very friendly, hilarious, full of great stories, and even funnier in combination with their cast mates. Jonathan Frakes, too - I saw a panel with Garrett Wang and Jonathan Frakes at Dragon*Con recently (Garrett is on a lot of the Trek panels as he runs the Trek stuff at D*C), and they were a riot together.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I also liked meeting Gerrit Graham (Quinn), though I asked him more about "Gargoyles".

You should have asked him about CHUD II: Bud the Chud.

 

[Tiberius]

The dual one with Nana Visitor and Chase Masterson wasn't bad, but now I don't think I'll be able to think of Chase without remembering that depressing stalker/lawsuit story.

Chase Masterson is so lovely. I have a DS9 "Niners" jersey, and I'm getting the team to sign it, but when I went to see her I forgot it. But Chase was so nice, going so far out of her way to organise with me to get it signed. Made me an even bigger fan than I already was!

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'll give you my run through. I have seen all these people once, so some may have been having a bad day after a very long flight.

Kate Mulgrew: absolutely the BEST, very funny, expressive, warm, personal and obviously having an very good time being there. I'm not just saying this because I'm a KM fan either, this woman delivers.

Jeri Ryan: Quite reserved and quiet. She did smile and shake my hand when I gave her a compliment as I got a photo signed. Not particularly extroverted, but frankly I was honored to meet her as I've loved 7 of 9 very much.

Many Intiraymi: Friendly and funny but spent most of the session promoting all the things he'd been in since VOY with video clips. I'm never a fan of the promos.

Ethan Phillips: Funny, super warm and personal in the autographs and photos. Hugged every single person who had a pic with him. Seems to be very much enjoying himself, very down to earth.

Garret Wang: I'd rate him second after Mulgrew, excellent speaker. Humorous and personal, also seems to be having a blast. Hung out during the breaks with the smokers and I inserted myself into this group and chatted with him for about half an hour. He was the most regular person, if that makes sense.

Tim Russ: Oh he was lovely, LOVELY.

Brent Spiner: While a good speaker he was also very condescending. One person asked a question about Data and he replied.."you do know this is fiction right?". Repeat several times during a 20 minute Q and A. Yes we know it is FICTION and we just payed a minimum of 90.00 to watch you talk about this FICTION you idiot.

Hallie Todd: Played Lal, Data's daughter in The Offspring. Talked faster than any person I've ever heard speak, 95% of which was about an independent film she was working on and the other 5% was about some huge fight she had with her husband. Seriously bizarre presentation.

Robert Picardo: Everything you ever wanted in a speaker. Opened with singing the opera adapted to be about about Tuvok for the VOY ep.

Tuvok I understand,
you're a Vulcan man
you have just gone without
for 7 years about ..

Just adorable.

Avery Brooks: Very.. interesting. Couldn't understand a word he said. Very disjointed odd spiritual musings with enormous Sisko-esque pauses in between every few words. Looks great. Super nice to the fans. Took twice as long to get his autograph as he spent about 5 minutes saying hello to each person.

Walter Koenig: It was a privilege to meet Walter Koenig. He seemed quite tired (very long flight). His voice is really gorgeous to listen to. He was gracious and full of interesting Trek stories.

Chase Masterson: She's quite the character. Fun, bubbly, different.

 

[Shanndee]

I have only been to 2 conventions, one small Creation con and a large Creation con in Las Vegas.

I have to say that Jonathan Frakes was a total surprise for me. He was so engaging, funny and warm that I was almost blown away. He left the stage to be closer to people in the Q & A session, and he went to the back of the (very large) hall because "people in the back want to take pictures too!". I had never really given him a second thought before, but now I am a fan!

Jeffrey Combs is highly entertaining when he is on stage (especially at the smaller convention where he had more stage time. He and Casey Biggs did a session together and it was almost like watching a comedy duo). He was also very engaging when I got his autograph. I thought I'd have no trouble talking to him, but when I got in front of him I realized that I really had nothing to say! I have to give him credit for carrying the entire conversation when he could have just signed my dvd and moved on to the next person.

 

[RB_Kandy]

I have only been to 2 conventions, one small Creation con and a large Creation con in Las Vegas.

I have to say that Jonathan Frakes was a total surprise for me. He was so engaging, funny and warm that I was almost blown away. He left the stage to be closer to people in the Q & A session, and he went to the back of the (very large) hall because "people in the back want to take pictures too!". I had never really given him a second thought before, but now I am a fan!

Jeffrey Combs is highly entertaining when he is on stage (especially at the smaller convention where he had more stage time. He and Casey Biggs did a session together and it was almost like watching a comedy duo). He was also very engaging when I got his autograph. I thought I'd have no trouble talking to him, but when I got in front of him I realized that I really had nothing to say! I have to give him credit for carrying the entire conversation when he could have just signed my dvd and moved on to the next person.

Ah yes, Frakes is a wonderfully entertaining guy.

I didn't know who Jeffry Combs was at first, though the name did sound familiar. So I had to google him, and holey cow! He played Brunt, Weyoun, and that blue Andorian guy on Enterprise! I can't believe they were all played by him!
In my opinion that makes him a very talented actor. Many actors have great charisma and presence, but they are a one trick pony, they act the same in every roll you give them, But this guy can really put on a different act each time he plays a role.
I just spent like 2 hours youtube-ing him, watching a lot of little interviews.

 

[Tiberius]

^Waking up in a no name motel in the middle of no where surrounded by the smell of sex, large amounts of narcotics and no body hair.

I literally rolled around laughing.

 

[sbk1234]

At conventions, of all the Star Trek actors, which one's do you find most entertaining?
I personally think it is Brent Spiner.

Interesting, since I've encountered Brent Spiner a couple of times in the real world, and my experiences with him have been "eh," at best. Maybe appearing at a convention he's better.

But to answer your question, I'll limit it to some I've actually met, rather than just seen on stage.

Jonathan Frakes was awesome. Friendly, and approachable. And really nice to my daughter, which scores points.

Marina Sirtis, wonderful and funny, and damn sexy, too.

LeVar Burton, soft spoken, but kind. Seemed genuinely concerned when I mentioned that I had a heart attack on his birthday.

Walter Keonig, quiet and soft spoken, but approachable.

John Billingly was nice and warm. A pleasure to speak to.

Conner Trineer was funny. Laughed at my joke about how God made children cute for a reason. (this was in response to his own stories about fatherhood.)

Armin Shimmerman was unbelievably kind and gracious. His line went so slow because he spent time with everyone.

Cirroc Lofton was nice and down to earth.

George Takai was just loving life and having a blast.

Nichelle Nichols was kind and warm, but at times a bit distant. I guess everyone has their days.

Wil Wheaton was surprisingly nice and humble. Good sense of humor.

Majel Barret always made herself accessible to the fans. A very down to earth person.

Gates McFadden I could do without. Very cold and unapproachable. Just wanted to go through the line and get done with it. Not very gracious with the audience.

 

[CaptainStoner]

My conventions started around 1996 and became an annual summer tradition by 2007. After seeing Nichelle Nichols at a book signing, I saw John DiLancie, LeVar Burton, Ethan Phillips, Terry Farrell, Sally Kellerman and Kate Mulgrew at separate conventions. Mulgrew was incredibly witty and consistently funny. Phillips also had many amusing recollections. But in the end, being classically biased, my best experience would have to be James Doohan in '96, at my first convention.

well now, bias or no, tell us of this meeting with the engineer of engineers back in that simpler time period, earth 1996....
I almost met Nimoy, but he was sick. People wrote him various well wishes on small pieces of paper, looked at his exhibit, which was interesting - it would have been a great evening - but glad he is well, and hopefully enjoying the hell out of life like Shatner really seems to...full on, sails to the wind.....

 

[RB_Kandy]

I too wanna hear all about your meeting James Doohan. I seen an old interview with him and he seems like a really interesting guy to talk to, and Scotty is one of my all time favorite characters.

 

[Merlanthe]

I have only been to two conventions that had star trek actors.

The first was the Peterborough convention where they had over half the VOY cast and four from DS9. Rene and Nana were both really nice when i got their autographs. And Rene was really funny onstage as well.
Robert Picardo and Ethan Philips were both hilarious they even did a comedy act together. Both Garrett Wang and Robert Beltran were a lot more funny and likable than i expected given how bland/dead the characters of Kim and Chakotay could be. Jeri Ryan was fantastic.

The second was the Wrexham comicon that took place last sunday and had John Billingsley in attendance along with his wife Bonita Friedericy who were both lovely. I spent a half hour or more chatting away to them and they were giving away free Italian candy

 

[t_smitts]

I have only been to two conventions that had star trek actors.

The first was the Peterborough convention where they had over half the VOY cast and four from DS9. Rene and Nana were both really nice when i got their autographs. And Rene was really funny onstage as well.
Robert Picardo and Ethan Philips were both hilarious they even did a comedy act together. Both Garrett Wang and Robert Beltran were a lot more funny and likable than i expected given how bland/dead the characters of Kim and Chakotay could be. Jeri Ryan was fantastic.

The second was the Wrexham comicon that took place last sunday and had John Billingsley in attendance along with his wife Bonita Friedericy who were both lovely. I spent a half hour or more chatting away to them and they were giving away free Italian candy

I'd LOVE to have a half hour chat with John and Bonita. Admittedly I'd probably want to talk about John's role on "Cold Case" (BIG fan of that show) and Bonita's role on "Chuck" (I liked that she once compared her role in an interview to Vaughn Armstrong's as Forrest).

Actually, I was surprised John never made an appearance on "Chuck". I could totally see him playing some kidnapped scientist, or badguy-in-disguse-type character like he played on "The X-Files".

I hail from Winnipeg, a mid-sized city in what would probably be considered the Canadian equivalent of "fly-over country", so we didn't really get a lot of quality media guests for a long time, but it's finally been improving in the last few years.

In a little over a month, we're getting some good guests including a Patrick Stewart, Walter Koenig, and Alan Oppenheimer (Capt. Keogh), along with some really promising non-trek folks: Bruce Boxleitner (stoked for that one!), Billy Dee Williams, Tia Carrere, Dean Cain, and a couple of Stargate people.

My autograph budget's probably quite slim, but hopefully I can get more than one. (Hopefully you don't have to PAY for Patrick's Q&A either!)

 

[Sector 7]

Many, many moons ago, when I worked on conventions, I met several cast members. The only real jerk in the bunch was Shatner.

I ended up being friends with some of them, including:

George Takei - the most helpful friend one could ask to have in the mean world of Hollywood

Jimmy Doohan - we met several times and swapped war stories over drinks.

Dee Kelley - he and his wife were as lovable as his character was gruff. That Southern charm was genuine in real life.

Majel B. Roddenberry - George Takei introduced us at a convention. She was a much smarter woman than people often assumed. She even championed my project, although it never made it to production.

While having met other Trek actors, I never really got to know them.

 

[1001001]

Gates McFadden I could do without. Very cold and unapproachable. Just wanted to go through the line and get done with it. Not very gracious with the audience.

This shows how everyone has their off days.

Years ago my daughter (who was 8 at the time) and I met her at a convention in Sacramento. I bought my daughter a photo op, and we were first in line. When she went to sit down with Gates, the camera malfunctioned. While waiting to get it going, Gates sat with my daughter and chatted away for about 4-5 minutes. She was very kind and gracious.

Later, when Gates was onstage doing Q&A, my daughter stood up to ask a question. Gates asked everyone to "keep it down" because "my friend _________ has a question." For the rest of the convention, when people saw my daughter, they'd say "there's Gates McFadden's friend!"



I have met tons of the actors over the years, having attended many conventions. Most have been great. Some were okay, and a few...not so much.

The one I found cold and distant was Suzie Plakson. Death stare and one word answers. Maybe she just didn't like me for some reason, but she was not very nice.

Chase Masterson was great. So was LeVar Burton.

One time I remember was with Dominic Keating. He was drinking the whole day. We saw him several times throughout the day, and he was great with the fans. Even a little sloppy, but in a harmless, good-time kind of way.

I had a pretty good conversation with Max Grodenchik one time. Very down to Earth. Decent, nice man.

My daughter and I saw Marc Alaimo, Casey Biggs, and Jeffrey Combs perform scenes from Shakespeare at one convention. They were great.

One of my favorites was Marina Sirtis. She was hilarious. Loud, opinionated, and beautiful. She sat at our table during dinner and went off on Stuart Baird and Nemesis. It was refreshing and funny ("the guy didn't even like Star Trek for Chistssake!"). My wife and I got a picture with her and Frakes together, one of my favorite souvenirs.

Then of course, the Holy Grail (for me)....Kate Mulgrew. She was something else. Larger than life personality. Everything was Big. Big speech, Big answers, Big hugs. A very dynamic person.

 

[Margaret]

I've only met two of them and it was that long ago I can't remember the year. Mark Lenard was lovely very gracious and signed photos for everyone George Takei was the same. This was going back years when fans ran conventions rather than
organisations. I know that now this is not possible but I do miss those days