Last Sunday I went to Wales Comic Con and had a blast!
The guests from The Hobbit were Adam Brown (Ori), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), Ken Stott (Balin), John Bell (Bain son of Bard) and Mark Atkin (Thorin’s size double). Royd Tolkien (Tolkien’s great- grandson) and Justin Nicholls, who played Gondorian Rangers in The Return of the King, were also there.
Adam Brown by Evie Bowman
I headed over to The Hobbit corner of the hall to say ‘Hi’ to the cast and was lucky enough to spend some time with each of them. Adam, who recently completed the London Marathon, told me that he’d rather do a marathon than run across the New Zealand countryside dressed as a dwarf because of the heat of the costumes. Apparently, although they had the water cooling system available to them, they often ended up not wearing it because it was one more layer.
Graham told me about the 26 mile Edinburgh Kiltwalk he’s doing on 11 May, 2014 to raise money for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation. Graham has a McTavish hunting kilt, by the way.
This was Ken Stott’s first UK Con and he said he was enjoying embracing the fandom. He’d really had fun at HobbitCon, his first ever Con, the weekend before too.
I was delighted to meet John Bell. John had been my very first interviewee when I joined Middle-earth News so I have a real soft spot for him. Then he’d been a boy but now he’s quite grown up and able to enjoy being kissed by Evangeline Lilly at the Berlin premiere. Lucky lad!
Being on The Hobbit has changed Mark Atkin’s life as he’s decided to give acting a go as a career and is now at drama school. Mark talked to me about what it was like to be Richard Armitage’s size double, watching him in a scene and then being called on set himself to mimic Thorin’s actions.
John Bell photo by Evie Bowman
It was terrific to meet everyone and they were all so friendly as, indeed, was the Con itself.
Here are some pics from the day.
Ken Stott by Evie Bowman
Graham McTavish by Evie Bowman
Mark Atkin by Evie Bowman
Royd Tolkien and Justin Nicholls by Evie Bowman
