Celebrity Encounters - Norman Reedus

by Maria Ingmire

Many of my celebrity encounters have been at Dragon Con, but I have been to some other conventions. Last year, for example, I won free passes to Wizard World’s Comic Con (not to be confused with “San Diego Comic Con” as they are run by different companies.) 

This particular convention was very poorly attended. I suspect that it competed with too many other geeky events such as MomoCon, which had been the weekend before, and the renaissance festival, which was going on the same weekend.  

Also, Wizard World’s Comic Con was not advertised well; many people had no idea that the convention was happening. A smaller crowd at a con can be a good thing. There were far fewer people in the lines for photo ops and autographs, even with some big names like Karen Gillan and Stan Lee as guests. 

Since our passes into the convention were free, my teenager and I had spending money to buy a photo op.  Her first and only choice was Norman Reedus because Daryl is her favorite character on The Walking Dead.  Now, you’re probably wondering how a show about zombies has come to be a bonding experience for my daughter and me. Hey, at heart The Walking Dead is a series about family, and what part families play when society has lost all else.  The blood and gore - and people getting eaten - can’t hide that this is serious drama. 

If Daryl ever dies, there will be pandemonium on the Internet.

We decided to get our photo op on the first day we were there, Friday. While standing in line to meet Norman, we saw him being hustled into the room by handlers. I was very disappointed because he was wearing a ball cap and sunglasses. My daughter was just excited to see him walk by.  The frantic pace of the line at a photo op leaves a fan with very little time to enjoy the experience of meeting a celebrity, so it’s important to recall the details. 

Norman was very friendly to us. I think he saw right away that we were mother-daughter fans.  He kept calling my daughter “Adorable!” He also looked at me and said, “Adorable!” once or twice. In all fairness I should mention that both my daughter and I are barely five feet tall. Munchkins. Hobbit-sized.  He grabbed our shoulders and helped push us into place. Then there was a flash before we shuffled off. But wait. The photographer called out, “We have a blink! We have a blink!” Like it was a red alert. Norman gestured us back over, laughing. “Come here, Blinky! Come back here, Blinky!” Could I just say that he was incredibly charming during all this? 

I totally forgive him for the hat and sunglasses, even though I’m not sure anyone but my daughter and I can tell who this is in the photo.