Heroes (and a Villain) at Dragon*Con 2010

Adrian and Senthil (Pic by eserei27)

Compared to the fast-becoming Hollywood-ized San Diego Comic Con, the more "fan-based" Dragon*Con is one the largest convention that has a big focus on scifi and fantasy. The convention is held in Atlanta, Georgia every year and this year, @eserei27, @darkelegance and @icalynn attended the convention - especially since there were quite a few "Heroes" panels!

Here's @eserei27's account of the very fun yet nostalgic weekend!

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Despite the cancellation of my favorite ever television show (and if you don’t know what show that is, you obviously don’t follow me on twitter), I’ve still had a "Heroes"-filled year. In fact, I’ve been lucky enough to meet a few cast members during 2010, and @syzzlyn has even let me blabber about it here on her blog.

My most recent experience with some of the "Heroes" boys was a few weeks ago at Dragon*Con, where I got the opportunity to meet Adrian Pasdar and Sendhil Ramamurthy, as well as attend some "Heroes" panels to reminisce about the show.

There were a total of four "Heroes" panels this year at Dragon*on. One was a fan panel where the show was discussed, one was a panel with everyone’s favorite Puppet Master, D.H. Lawrence XVII, and the other two panels were Q and A sessions with David, Adrian, and Sendhil. The Q and As were definitely bittersweet. The actors were able to be a lot more candid than they would have been if the show was still on the air, so we got the opportunity to hear about not only what they loved about being on the show, but also about what they did not like.

One of the first questions that was asked was how they felt about the directions their characters took, and if it ever felt like they were playing different characters than they were when they signed on. Adrian mentioned that some days, that’s exactly how they felt.

There were times when they would get the script and they would call each other to see if maybe they overlooked or missed something. Adrian especially seemed pained by the way things turned out. He commented that they were all fans of the show from the first script, and many of the same frustrations that we as viewers had as the show progressed were shared by the cast as well. He did say that the doors were always open to discuss character motivation and plot lines, but ultimately they were the actors, not the writers.

He especially seemed pained when he spoke about Nathan’s death, and about leaving the show. The whole cast was there when Adrian filmed his final scenes (in fact, Sendhil wasn’t even working that day, but came in for Adrian’s final day). Sendhil said that the whole mood on set changed after Adrian left, and it wasn’t as fun as it used to be.

Here's a a video on my YouTube with Adrian talking filming that very touching final scene with Milo Ventimiglia. You can see it here:




Of course, it wasn’t all sad stories and disappointment. They talked about the rest of the cast, some of their favorite moments, and some of their favorite episodes.

David shared about his first time on set. Originally, Doyle was supposed to die at the end of “Dying of the Light”. After Claire was shot in that episode, she was to pick up the gun and kill Doyle. David recalled the day on set when he was pulled aside to “discuss his work” and he thought that he was about to be fired from his first ever acting job! Instead, they discussed the rewrite in the script that would keep Doyle around to play with later in the series.

Sendhil talked about the relationship between Sylar and Mohinder, and how he thought there was a lot more there that could have been explored (which of course made my little Mylar heart happy).

Heroes panel (pic by eserei27)

He also said that in general he wishes he would have been able to work more with Zachary Quinto. And he mentioned that some of his favorite "Heroes" moments where Claire and HRG’s “touching” scenes (emphasis is mine, but I did it for @dref22, so blame her).

Another question that made me smile was when an audience member asked Adrian who his enjoyed working with the most. He paused and thought, then went on about how everyone is great, and how that question is like asking him what his favorite breath of air in his lungs is. And then he goes, “But I always really liked working with Milo.” Hehehe. You can’t fool us, Adrian!

In addition to the panels, we also got to meet the boys in the “Walk of Fame.” It’s basically just a place where all the celebrities are when they’re not at panels. Adrian and Sendhil were sitting next to each other, so we approached them both at the same time. Luckily, the room was not too crowded when we were there, so we had the chance to chat with them for a little bit.

They were both very friendly and gracious. Sendhil couldn’t stop talking about anything and everything. Adrian was a bit quieter, but just as nice. They gave us an update on where the rest of the cast was, and what everyone was up to. It was very obvious that the cast keeps in touch, and they all enjoy each other’s company. They said they missed the show, and each other. We expressed to them how much we miss the show, and how much it all meant to us, and they were very appreciative.

I had a wonderful time at Dragon*Con. These panels, and this experience, were a lot more intimate than the huge "Heroes" panels I’ve attended in the past at Comic Con 2008 and 2009. It was nice that they were able to be so candid with us about "Heroes", what it meant to them, and what it meant to us. I feel extremely lucky that I was there and was able to thank them for giving me what something that ultimately became so important to me. It felt like a goodbye. Bittersweet and full of love.

(PS: @syzzlyn has to add that she is *very* impressed with Adrian's biceps and especially touched by his feelings concerning his last scenes.)


And here are just some fun cosplay shots from the convention! Real cool!

Claire!!

Mad Eye Moody and Snape

Stark Enterprises

Weeping Angel

Mulder and Scully

Thanks to @eserei27 for the poignant fan report, vid and pics!
Thanks to @darkelegance for the last 3 cosplay pics!!