.... Agreed! On all counts ...
Bad encounters with cast members
- Thread starter indycar
- Start date
Having seen them mentioned earlier :
Brent Spiner was fantastic when I met him, especially good with my young son. Chatty, funny and friendly.
Robert Picardo, who I was 'looking after' at a signing session along with Robert Duncan McNeill, was great company - they both were. I got to be 'minder' for Nichelle Nichols once too. I've geard stories about her, but I found her courteous, elegant and rather engaging. She's a class act !
Marina ? She was great - funny, a bit crude, certainly opinionated, but great.
Brent Spiner was fantastic when I met him, especially good with my young son. Chatty, funny and friendly.
Robert Picardo, who I was 'looking after' at a signing session along with Robert Duncan McNeill, was great company - they both were. I got to be 'minder' for Nichelle Nichols once too. I've geard stories about her, but I found her courteous, elegant and rather engaging. She's a class act !
Marina ? She was great - funny, a bit crude, certainly opinionated, but great.
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I've found that celebrities often react well when you engage them with something out of the ordinary. Asking Leonard Nimoy to do a Vulcan salute would likely get you a frown and a "move along...NEXT!" But at a book signing, when I asked him how he enjoyed working in THE OUTER LIMITS, he was engaging and happy to talk a little about it.
The same thing happened when I got George Takei's autograph at a book signing. Instead of hitting him with inane STAR TREK stuff, I brought up his work in TWILIGHT ZONE and asked him about that. Again, his eyes lit up and he was most delighted to talk about something else besides STAR TREK.
One more, not STAR TREK related. I got to meet Russell Johnson once and brought in my TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION and had him sign the entry in that book for "Back There", his time travel episode. He was thrilled not to have to talk about GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.
The same thing happened when I got George Takei's autograph at a book signing. Instead of hitting him with inane STAR TREK stuff, I brought up his work in TWILIGHT ZONE and asked him about that. Again, his eyes lit up and he was most delighted to talk about something else besides STAR TREK.
One more, not STAR TREK related. I got to meet Russell Johnson once and brought in my TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION and had him sign the entry in that book for "Back There", his time travel episode. He was thrilled not to have to talk about GILLIGAN'S ISLAND.
Yes, "converse" with them.
Always good advice. At Shore Leave a few years point, Malcom McDowall seemed generally pleased when I brought up TIME AFTER TIME instead of killing Kirk. And Robert Picardo seemed amused when I recalled that he played the werewolf serial killer in THE HOWLING . . ..
...Holy shit. Do you know how many times I've seen that movie and have never noticed that's him?!
A year or so ago, I met Shatner at Brisbane Comic-con. He wasn't rude or anything, just exactly as perfunctory/polite as you'd expect a total stranger to be.
I had a reasonably long conversation with Karl Urban at Supernova. Mostly because (thanks to a comment from the idiot friend I was with) we had to reassure him that 'In reality you look a lot like Jensen Ackles' is a good thing. I think the fact the same friend got him to sign a better copy of this photo-
-Might have given him a heads up that she wasn't taking things too seriously.
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I've had a few bad experiences...
But I come back to the conclusion/realization that they're people and it happens.
It sucks when its your one and only experience with them and you're let down. I guess I've gotten to the point where I'm more forgiving? IDK. I used to hold a grudge about such but now, especially with interactions like Twitter - where you can see them have a good day or a bad day on a regular basis - I've become a lot more "real" about the whole thing.
One of my worst experiences was with Rene Auberjonsis (Odo) back in the summer of 2000. He was in "The Patriot" that summer with Mel Gibson and a young Heath Ledger, and at the convention he was quite snooty/snobby and stand-offish. There was a bomb threat (fake) during the convention (RNC was that weekend in the same city) and while actors like Armin Shimmerman and Robbie McNeill palled around with the crowd to keep everyone happy in the summer sun, Rene stood off in a corner engulfed by an entourage of people in stark contrast.
But I'd met Rene just a year before, and he'd been personable and pleasant and humble. And I've had a number of interactions with him on Twitter and he's been as variable as any human being with moods and feelings and such. So now it's easier for me to accept and remember they're just people who happen to be famous and not expect them to be perfect.
Now if I ever saw one being a real jerk? I'd probably say something. But I've never seen anyone be an unforgivable bastard. I've seen them be a bit rude, be a bit distant, or aloof, or have an odd sense of humor or this or that... but I've met most of the cast of the first four shows and I've never seen any of them be drop-dead middle-finger nasty to the point of anyone needing to call them out for it. And more important? I've never even heard a story of one being so outrageous as to need a good verbal thrashing. Heard some bad encounters; lots of them! But none so bad they can't be chalked up to this or that.
The best thing to do if you're able and you have a bad encounter? Meet them again (if you get the chance) and you'll likely have a very different experience.
But I come back to the conclusion/realization that they're people and it happens.
It sucks when its your one and only experience with them and you're let down. I guess I've gotten to the point where I'm more forgiving? IDK. I used to hold a grudge about such but now, especially with interactions like Twitter - where you can see them have a good day or a bad day on a regular basis - I've become a lot more "real" about the whole thing.
One of my worst experiences was with Rene Auberjonsis (Odo) back in the summer of 2000. He was in "The Patriot" that summer with Mel Gibson and a young Heath Ledger, and at the convention he was quite snooty/snobby and stand-offish. There was a bomb threat (fake) during the convention (RNC was that weekend in the same city) and while actors like Armin Shimmerman and Robbie McNeill palled around with the crowd to keep everyone happy in the summer sun, Rene stood off in a corner engulfed by an entourage of people in stark contrast.
But I'd met Rene just a year before, and he'd been personable and pleasant and humble. And I've had a number of interactions with him on Twitter and he's been as variable as any human being with moods and feelings and such. So now it's easier for me to accept and remember they're just people who happen to be famous and not expect them to be perfect.
Now if I ever saw one being a real jerk? I'd probably say something. But I've never seen anyone be an unforgivable bastard. I've seen them be a bit rude, be a bit distant, or aloof, or have an odd sense of humor or this or that... but I've met most of the cast of the first four shows and I've never seen any of them be drop-dead middle-finger nasty to the point of anyone needing to call them out for it. And more important? I've never even heard a story of one being so outrageous as to need a good verbal thrashing. Heard some bad encounters; lots of them! But none so bad they can't be chalked up to this or that.
The best thing to do if you're able and you have a bad encounter? Meet them again (if you get the chance) and you'll likely have a very different experience.
I've found this to be very true in my own experiences. When I met Bruce Campbell at a signing session after a midnight screening of Evil Dead II, I told him how much I enjoyed his straight dramatic performance in a two-parter of Homicide: Life on the Street (Which is true. It was that performance that made me into a fan of his).
When I met Sherilyn Fenn at a convention a few years ago, I told her how much I liked an obscure romantic comedy she did with Jeremy Piven, and we bonded a bit over her daughter being around the same age as my nieces.
Celebrities are just people like anybody else. I try not to let my expectations get in the way & just try to engage them the same way I would with anybody.
At a small convention in my home city about 20 years ago, the actor who played Chewbacca (yes, I know, not Trek), Peter Mayhew, was bitter and didn't seem to want to talk about anything other than a lawsuit he was part of against Lucas regarding actor pay for the OT. Thankfully, Aron Eisenberg (Nog - he was there on short notice because Roxann Dawson couldn't make it.)
At Dragon*Con 2011, James Darren (Vic Fontaine) was visibly drunk on the DS9 panel we attended and made lewd comments to Nana Visitor and Nicole de Boer - both of whom were clearly irritated but very gracious in ignoring him to keep the panel on track.
At X-Con in Myrtle Beach last year, Tim Russ seemed like he had had his soul sucked out. When he got up on stage, he was drier in his delivery than Tuvok and kept focusing his responses to questions on how terribly tedious and boring the actual making of Voyager (and TV in general) was, as opposed to how it looked on screen. This was just before "Renegades" came out, so I've kind of wondered if the cynicism that *had* to be involved in producing *that* had anything to do with his attitude. But I don't really hold his attitude against him - I really just hope he's gotten to feeling better about life.
At least Russ showed up, and didn't stand up a panel to go party in the beach's clubs like Nicholas Brendon (Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) did. But Brendon is having his own issues. And maybe I should wish Tim Russ *had* gone clubbing - might have been good for his spirits.
At Dragon*Con 2011, James Darren (Vic Fontaine) was visibly drunk on the DS9 panel we attended and made lewd comments to Nana Visitor and Nicole de Boer - both of whom were clearly irritated but very gracious in ignoring him to keep the panel on track.
At X-Con in Myrtle Beach last year, Tim Russ seemed like he had had his soul sucked out. When he got up on stage, he was drier in his delivery than Tuvok and kept focusing his responses to questions on how terribly tedious and boring the actual making of Voyager (and TV in general) was, as opposed to how it looked on screen. This was just before "Renegades" came out, so I've kind of wondered if the cynicism that *had* to be involved in producing *that* had anything to do with his attitude. But I don't really hold his attitude against him - I really just hope he's gotten to feeling better about life.
At least Russ showed up, and didn't stand up a panel to go party in the beach's clubs like Nicholas Brendon (Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) did. But Brendon is having his own issues. And maybe I should wish Tim Russ *had* gone clubbing - might have been good for his spirits.
Shatner - publicly rude, obnoxious, and egotisitcal.
Roxanne Dawson - very cold, stand offish, almost seemed to make a pointed effort not to speak to anyone.
Peter Weller - a very odd guy indeed. And, he really does walk like he did when he wore the Robocop suit. Very unnerving when you see it.
Roxanne Dawson - very cold, stand offish, almost seemed to make a pointed effort not to speak to anyone.
Peter Weller - a very odd guy indeed. And, he really does walk like he did when he wore the Robocop suit. Very unnerving when you see it.
I had good experiences with Alexander Siddig and Andy Robinson, who seemed to genuinely like each other. Roxann Dawson was super nice. She was much shorter in person than I expected. I had the opportunity to have an extended conversation with Andy Robinson's wife outside in the parking lot where she'd gone for a smoke break. We talked about his first major role as the Scorpio killer in Dirty Harry and how he was instantly recognizable by his voice. We also talked about Andy's growing up years in Rhode Island, where I'm originally from and where he'd gone to school, as my aunt had some friends who'd gone there along the same time he did.
I did get to witness some Shatner jerkiness though not directed at me. It was in a small conference room question and answer session. He called on a young man whose appearance was the stereotype of a geek/dweeb/dork - thick dirty coke bottle glasses, pudgy, pocket protector, the whole nine yards. You could tell that talking to Shatner was a dream come true for him. But one of the first things out of Shatner's mouth was to tell the guy that he could stand to lose some weight! I wanted to call out and tell Shatner that he ought to look in the mirror first before giving advice to others.
I did get to witness some Shatner jerkiness though not directed at me. It was in a small conference room question and answer session. He called on a young man whose appearance was the stereotype of a geek/dweeb/dork - thick dirty coke bottle glasses, pudgy, pocket protector, the whole nine yards. You could tell that talking to Shatner was a dream come true for him. But one of the first things out of Shatner's mouth was to tell the guy that he could stand to lose some weight! I wanted to call out and tell Shatner that he ought to look in the mirror first before giving advice to others.
Kenny Baker was dismissive the one time I saw him at a Con. Wouldn't engage unless you paid him for an autograph. By contrast, just last March Nana Visitor became the most famous person to compliment my silvery (mostly)salt and pepper hair. She also enjoyed my observations about how her son Django's name is pronounced, and where it came from. She named him for jazz musician Django Reinhardt, but the name dates back centuries in eastern Europe.
I have been to a gazillion cons and met many Trek actors. One or two seemed high to the detriment of being good speakers but every one of them was friendly to varying degrees except Brent Spiner. Brent Spiner was a total dick to several people asking perfectly fine questions.
I was planning to get a pic with Brent and to have him sign a Warehouse 13 photo but after hearing that I decided fuck him, and didn't. So he lost a tiny bit of money being a dick. The flip side of that is there have been a few people i had no intention of getting autographs from who were so funny and interesting I got one anyway.
I was planning to get a pic with Brent and to have him sign a Warehouse 13 photo but after hearing that I decided fuck him, and didn't. So he lost a tiny bit of money being a dick. The flip side of that is there have been a few people i had no intention of getting autographs from who were so funny and interesting I got one anyway.
Are you saying that there were Trek actors who were high when they were up on stage? Never heard that one...
Well I certainly hope that was the reason they were acting like that.. 
I remember Kate Mulgrew autographing my Voyager cast print at Destination Star Trek London con back in 2012. I think she was having bad day...that is all.
I will say that the best one's to meet are Avery Brooks and Scott Bakula. Avery will personalize everyone's experience with him and will banter you to pieces
I will say that the best one's to meet are Avery Brooks and Scott Bakula. Avery will personalize everyone's experience with him and will banter you to pieces
I once encountered Patrick Stewart on a tube train on the way to watch a very minor band called The Veridian System. Exchanged a few words and he said that I should not bother going. When I asked why, wondering if he thought or knew the band was rubbish, he replied that "The last time I went to see the Veridian System, Riker crashed the Enterprise and I had to get the Farragut home" which caused myself and a few others nearby to giggle.
On non-trek related people, once ended up accidentally shaking hands with the Queen and also met Tony Green in a bar - some UK members may remember he was the "ref" / "scorer" in Bullseye
On non-trek related people, once ended up accidentally shaking hands with the Queen and also met Tony Green in a bar - some UK members may remember he was the "ref" / "scorer" in Bullseye
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