My experience meeting actors at Comic Con Brussels

I went to Comic Con Brussels last weekend thanks to a very sweet community of friends who surprised me for my birthday and made all of this happen! I met the LOTR cast, and despite the chaos of the event, I had a great time! Let’s read why!

The con itself

Even though Dortmund Comic Con is still at the bottom, I do think Dutch Comic Con has moved up a spot and is no longer the penultimate bottom. That place is now reserved for Comic Con Brussels. Despite it being the exact same organisation as Comic Con Holland, of which I’ve attended all editions thus far, this con was terrible in terms of organisation. Like, really terrible. The autographs took forever, and the queues got insanely long. The crew had no idea how to handle it, and some actors hadn’t even had lunch yet, which made them have to leave in the middle of the day even though their schedule said otherwise. On top of that, there was a fast lane opportunity for the photo booth, which I took, but technically, photos go fast anyway. It’s hi, pose, click, bye. Factory work, in other words. But as for the autographs, it honestly annoyed me that they didn’t offer a fast lane. Comic Con Liverpool does that, hell, even Dortmund Comic Con did that. And when I had my last photo, they were really mean and rushed all of us, yelling at us. Very non-customer friendly. And before I even got inside, I was outside waiting in the 10 a.m. queue, apparently, with my 9 a.m. entry ticket. There was no indication, no signs whatsoever, that those with earlier entry can walk around the queue. I wasted 30 minutes outside because I had no idea. Eventually, as the queue didn’t move, I realised something was off, and asking in the queue, realised all those people had 10 a.m. entry. I bought 9 a.m. entry for a reason, and was thus still barely on time inside. The halls were quite easy to find, I’d say, so I can’t really complain about that. But the fast lane ticket needed to be scanned at a special information booth, and it was only near the fast lane banner that you’d know this, which caused many people to hold up the queue because they didn’t have their fast line bracelet. I luckily asked when I got inside, so I was prepared and got mine. But honestly, nothing was really clear and they claimed there’d be a waiting room for photos. Yes, for the normal queue there was, but not for the fast lane queue, and so they yelled at us for standing in the middle of the room, and ushered us to the side, but there were props that made us unable to move. The crew wasn’t that helpful, and honestly very rude, and I’ve met multiple at the editions in the Netherlands. It was clear none of them were prepared for that day. So, yes, I’ve had a lot of stress and anxiety as I almost missed out on a bunch of stuff, but by some miracle I managed to get everything done that my friends paid for. So, with all those complaints out of the way, let’s dive into the day itself, shall we?

The trip and first autograph

I woke up at 4.30 a.m., got dressed in my Frodo cosplay, made sure I had all of my stuff, and left by car at 5.15 a.m. It was a 4 hour drive to Brussels. When we arrived, (I drove the first bit up to the Belgium border, then my dad and I switched seats) my dad dropped me off at the parking lot and I walked straight across towards the Tour & Taxi’s building. As I mentioned above, I stood, unnecessarily, in the queue for quite some time. Once I finally got inside, I headed over to the information booth to get my fast lane bracelet, then I checked who were already signing. I saw Andy Serkis, who plays both Smeagol and Gollum, was already signing, and I was doubting between queueing for him, or waiting for Sean Astin, who plays Samwise Gamgee (and Bob Newby in Stranger Things) to appear. I should’ve chosen the first, as I had the most trouble getting Andy’s autograph throughout the day. But my first photo session would be at 10.30 a.m., and it was already 10 a.m., and seeing the enormous queue for Andy, I knew it wouldn’t work. If only I had gotten inside earlier as planned, hm? Anyway, I instead queued for Sean’s autograph, praying that he’d come out soon so I still wouldn’t miss my photo. Thank goodness he came relatively on time, and so once it was my turn, I told him about the fact that my university tried to ruin me, and that I struggled a lot during that time period, and that Sam’s quote has really helped me to get through those days. He said my name reading the tiny piece of paper in my book, and then he said, ”why do we have to have tough nights? Why?” I said I didn’t know, chuckling nervously, and he said, ”last night it was the fault of the Northern Lights. I get all these messages from my wife, my kids, my brother, and I was asleep here, and they’re in America, telling me to wake up and look out my window. And I woke up and I wasn’t feeling well. It’s the Northern Lights’ fault, let’s blame them.” So I said I wanted to thank him properly by starting Sam’s most famously known quote, and he said, ”this too shall pass.” I thanked him, and then he thanked me in return, saying, ”I wish you only good nights.” Then he jokingly said, ”some people suggest drinking, but that’s out of the question.” The lady next to him laughed at that, and so did I. ”But only good nights,” he said again, and signed those same words in my book, even adding a little smiley. He then blew me a kiss, said ”bless you,” and I asked if I could shake his hand, which he was okay with, and as I left he said, ”nice to meet you, be well.” Sean, thank you for being a beacon in the darkness. Our interaction meant the world to me. What a thoughtful, considerate, honest, and kind man you are. You’re a true light in people’s darkness. I hope you know that.

The first photo

After my autograph with Sean, I rushed to the photo booth. Despite the fact that I had a fast lane bracelet, I still needed to be on time so I could actually use it and be one of the first people to get inside. I had my first photo with Billy Boyd, who plays Pippin Took. As it was my turn, he saw my Frodo cosplay and went, ”yes! That’s what I’m talking about! You look lovely!” Of course, I complimented him in return. I then asked if a hug photo was okay, and he very enthusiastically said: ”yes, of course!” Sadly, due to the beanie I wear and the fact I had to put my chin up a bit to avoid the flash ruining the photo with my glasses, my face looks a bit more fat than it actually is. Even though my mum of course disagrees with me and says it’s not that bad. But the photo turned out so wholesome! His smile is everything to me! I also had to lean in a bit and make myself at his height, but it’s honestly not that apparent, I’d say!

The second photo

I tried to head back to Andy’s autograph queue to see if it had diminished a bit, but it had actually gotten worse. The queue was now so long, they were almost outside of the hall. I thought to myself that I should’ve gone to his queue first, instead of Sean’s, but I kept hope that the queue might get less after my next photo, so I headed back to the photo queue (Billy was of course still busy with the photos, and he and Dominic Monaghan, who plays Merry, were doing their duo shoots) so going to either of them for an autograph wasn’t going to work out either. I waited patiently until they called for Dominic’s solo photos, and I was relatively first to go. When it was my turn, he said, ”well hello, madam,” and I decided to let it slide because it’s Dominic for crying out loud! But I generally don’t like to be called anything associated with the female gender. But his enthusiasm made it acceptable for sure. I asked him if he was okay with a hug, and he was even more enthusiastic to do it than Billy was. And the face he makes is one he mostly always makes, and it resonates just so much happiness and excitement, and I truly love how the photo turned out! Mostly due to his astonishing and addictive exhilaration. And luckily, my face looks less fat here!

The second autograph

After this, I once more checked Andy’s autograph queue, and believe it or not, it had gotten even longer. At this point, I had lost all hope. But I saw that Billy was signing, and his queue was thankfully not that long, so I quickly headed over to his queue before I’d miss my photo with Sean. When it was my turn, he said my name as he saw it on the little note, and he said my name was lovely. I jokingly asked him if he had had second breakfast yet, and he said he’d hope to have one soon, then jokingly replied it was too late for second breakfast already. I asked him if he had a good trip to come here, and he said he did. He then thanked me, saying my name again, and I thanked him in return. He wished me a great day, said thank you once more, and I asked if I could shake his hand, which he too accepted. It was quite a short interaction but that was also because my time was slowly running out for Sean, so I sadly had to keep it a little brief. I wanted to say a lot of things to him, but I just didn’t have the time, sadly. But he signed my book with ”lots of love” and I truly love he did that. He’s so incredibly nice, and I’ve seen amazing interactions of him with other fans, who had a lot more time to talk to him than I did. He’s such a gentleman, so outspoken and so attentive. So, just because we had a short interaction doesn’t sell him short at all. He’s a true gent and I’ve loved seeing the fan interactions as I was in the queue waiting for my turn. Very, very sweet man!

The third and fourth photo

I quickly rushed over to Sean’s queue, which had already begun to move. I was luckily still on time. When it was my turn, he said: ”do you remember me?” I chuckled nervously, even surprised, because OF COURSE I remember you, my dear Sean! I can’t believe he remembered me by saying that! That was a true highlight for me. I asked him if he was okay with a hug photo, and he was! He pulled me into such a tight hug, the tightest I’ve ever had, and his face squished into mine. As you can see by my facial expression, the tightness and the excitement he showed in giving me the hug, clearly knowing I needed that hug from him and him stepping up to do so, made me so surprised that my facial expression is nothing but happy astonishment.

What happened next, made me fall in love with him even more. He said to the photographer, I think we need another photo, and seeing as they had a huge queue to get through, they just let it happen. And I, even in my perplexed state, managed to ask if we could make a heart with our hands, completely taken back by the fact that he wanted to give me another photo. I think he just knew how much I needed that, and how much admiration I have for him in general. Our second photo turned out so cute, and his facial expression is the reason why! I can’t express just how much this man has come to mean to me after this day. I already admired him for years, but now, he’s exceeded my previous level of admiration for the kindness he possesses, and now I’m utterly convinced that this is secretly an angel in disguise.

The third autograph

I checked Dominic autograph’s queue first, but he was most likely on a lunch break as the panel would soon start for the Q&A session. I did stand in his queue because I couldn’t see at first whether he was signing or not as the queue moved quite quickly, but then it occurred to me why that was so. There was a man handing out a piece of paper with a number so people could come back once Dominic would return. Sadly, they stopped handing those out when I had almost reached the end of the queue, and I knew that all those who came before me would still go first, so I once again left the queue and headed back over to Andy, who seemed to be still signing. Sadly, upon arriving, they had closed off the queue, and he was finishing the ones who were still inside the barriers. Then, all of a sudden, they let us inside, only to have us stop again, because Andy hadn’t had lunch yet. And as he quickly finished the remaining queue, we were closed inside the barriers. I couldn’t leave. Looking at the time, my next photo was coming up fast, and I only had 26 minutes left. It’s save to say that I felt nothing but anxiety and stress. As the minutes ticked by, I asked the crew when he’d return, and she said she didn’t know, but she assured me that as long as I’d be in the photo booth within half an hour of the start time, I’d be fine. Well, that didn’t happen. Once he finally returned, the queue still didn’t move that fast, and the seconds ticked by. I grew more and more worried by the second. And after a whole hour of waiting, it was finally my turn. He asked me how I was doing, and I returned the question. Then, I told him I’ve always had a burning question for him, and so that’s how I started our conversation, asking him how he managed to do Gollum’s voice for such long periods of time, asking him if it was hard to do. He said, ”it was certainly wary, but I kept myself topped up on Gollum juice,” which honestly made me laugh, ”it’s a concoction I’ve made,” he jokingly continued. I then asked him if he did special voice warming-up exercises, he said, ”yes I’ve done those a lot to keep it up.” Of course, I had to jokingly ask him if he used honey candy, and that I probably should’ve brought some for him now that the new film has been announced, the one in which he will star as Gollum, and direct too. He said, ”exactly, and I’m super excited, it’s gonna be lovely.” I asked him if he had a good trip here, and he asked me if I live there myself. I said no, I’m from the UK, and he said, ”I thought so,” smiling very brightly at me. Sadly, I had to cut our conversation a bit short there, as I had to rush to my next photo, because he started saying that you never know with people being all over the place. I thanked him and he said, ”thanks, Skye,” and I asked him if I could shake his hand, which he did. I do feel bad that I had to cut our conversation so short, but it was sadly out of my hands with the bad organisation that was surrounding me. But it was amazing meeting him, and he signed my book with ”my precious,” along with my name. In a sense calling me out specifically. That was just a sweet thing of him to do! He’s a true gentleman and he truly takes the time for all of his fans. He’s very considerate and very happy to listen and talk to you. Again, I feel terrible I had to rush away from him, but I still had a very lovely conversation about voice acting!

The fifth photo

I had already met Elijah Wood, who plays the infamous Frodo Baggins, at Dutch Comic Con last November, but my dear friends knew he’s my all-time favourite, and so they bought me a photo with him. I was very late, and as I ran towards the photo queue, I asked the lady, with a red head and out-of-breath voice, if they were still taking the photos. She said I was on time, and I rushed to get inside. I was contemplating getting another hug photo with him, but then thinking back to my heart photo with Sean, I decided to ask him for a heart too. When it was my turn, I could sense he recognised me from last year. His face lit up, and his smile on the photo was so much bigger than the first time for that exact reason! Gosh, I truly love his smile! It was amazing having the opportunity to get a second photo with him! I still can’t resist those beautiful, bright blue eyes!

The sixth photo

I rushed to Dominic’s autograph queue as he was the last autograph I needed for the day. Of course, his queue was barely moving. I grew worried as my next photo with Andy would be in less than 30 minutes, and so I texted my dad, asking him to come as I had an entry ticket left. He said he could be there in 20 minutes, but it’d be rough. The minutes ticked by, and I knew I wasn’t going to make the photo. Of course, my dad texted me at the exact same time as when I asked two lovely ladies standing behind me if they were okay with keeping my spot as I’d rush to get my photo, and if it was okay to tell the staff they were my friends so they’d let me back in the queue as they had closed the queue behind us. I was lucky enough to be standing on the inside as they were closing it off for the day. Luckily, the two girls agreed, and I rushed to the photo. At that time my dad was inside, and I felt bad for having asked him to come, and then in the end, it not being necessary. But he was a good sport about it and I promised him I’d come and find him after I was done with my photo and autograph, as I then had to wait for the last photo anyway. So, I rushed to Andy’s photo queue, and I was just in time. His smile on the photo, and just by standing in front of him, made me melt right then and there. I asked if he was okay with a hug photo, and he said he was. Again, that smile of him as I asked. He was so ready for a hug as he put his head against mine!

The last autograph

I rushed back to Dominic’s autograph queue, and I was lucky to find the girls having barely moved. So, I told the crew member that my friends were inside, and that I had asked permission to another crew member before I rushed to the photo. Luckily they were relatively near the front of the entrance barrier, and luckily she looked my way, and she waved me over. The man let me inside, and I could hear behind me the commotion of letting me in, while others weren’t allowed in. The man had to explain my friends were there and I had been there before, and I thanked the ladies in question I think about a thousand times. I had 1,5 hours left until my last photo, so I was finally able to relax. I talked to both of them the entire time we were waiting in that queue, and we exchanged numbers. Such sweet ladies! One was French, the other from Belgium. We talked about on which music we grew up on, and we had most artists in common! Once it was my turn, he gave me the biggest smile and said: ”hi, how are you?” I said I was good, asking how he was doing, but he was more occupied with pronouncing my name, then saying ”what a lovely name” I had. I told him I had chosen the name myself, telling him it’s not my birth name. He asked me what my birth name is, and I began to blush, chuckle somewhat nervously. He said, ”it’s all right, you can tell. There’s no one else around, it’s just us.” The sweet girls stood literally right next to me, and we were being filmed, so I know he was kinda saying it sarcastically, but meant it in a comforting and very supportive way. I said it’s Demi, and he asked me if it was something akin to Demi Moore. I said it was, and he asked me, ”you don’t like it? Why not?” I told him I’d prefer a more non-binary name, and he knew what I meant. His kind eyes said it all as he realised that transition must’ve been hard. He asked me, ”so when did you change it to Skye?” I said that must’ve been around 2 to 3 years now. He then asked, ”and it’s okay, like, none of your friends are like no, we’re still gonna call you Demi?” I said no, everyone calls me Skye now, and then he asked, ”family as well?” I said yes, they do their best, but there are still people in my life who don’t. I didn’t specify who they were, but he gave me a very serious look, as if he knew, as if he could read my thoughts and looked straight into my soul. He said, ”you should change that person’s name. You should be like, hey, if you don’t wanna call me by my name then maybe I’ll start calling you Dave.” I have to admit that my encounter with him, despite absolutely loving Sean, made my day and was the best interaction of the day. I didn’t need to explain myself to him, and he was so supportive and so accepting of who I am now, and he doesn’t even know me. I can’t even begin to explain how much that meant to me. I felt so loved and wanted for the way I am by standing in front of him. He signed my book with, ”be Merry,” and said to me, ”thank you Skye,” before I asked him if I could shake his hand, which I could. He even squeezed my hand for a second to let me know I was loved. God, it truly meant the world to me. I can’t say that enough. He said, ”nice to see you,” and we parted. Or well, I parted.

The last photo

After this, I headed over to Bernard Hill’s stand, where his memorial was being held. He died on May 5, technically a week before I was gonna meet him in Brussels. I felt upset, because I could’ve met him 2 years ago in the Netherlands, but I was booked with meeting other people. Knowing that now, I regret not having met him back then. It opened my eyes that life is truly short, and that while you can, you should meet the celebrities that you want to meet. Because you simply never know how much time we have on this earth. So, I went over to his stand, stood still for a minute so I could say my goodbyes in silence, then signed his book for his family.

I then went to find my dad and showed him around the con a bit, though I know it’s not his forte. Eventually, he left, and I would queue for my last photo of the day: the Hobbit group photo. As I was queueing, I met the lovely Jay, a Welsh guy, and a German girl, and we had a very long conversation with the three of us as we stood in the queue for an hour. We also exchanged numbers, and I think it’s safe to say that out of all the people I socialised with that aren’t considered celebrities, Jay was my favourite! He shared so many of my thoughts, and he was so enormously kind and I just love Welsh people! Once the queue began to move, the German girl had an idea with an Isengard sign, and I myself had an idea of my own, wanting to whisper into Elijah’s ear, holding the ring I was wearing as a necklace in front of him, having the others try and stop me, and Elijah, but we then realised we were forced to sit down in front of them, and they’d stand behind us. They did that because when they did the photos before ours with Andy included, it took too long, because they went way over time before it was our time. So, when the German girl went first, she was forced to sit down and was just able to show them the photo with her idea, which was a very clever idea of her as they immediately understood the assignment that way. After her Jay went, and then it was my turn. I tried to explain as quickly as I could that I wanted Elijah to hold the ring and the others to try and take it from him, but then I felt a hand on my back ushering me to sit down, yelling in my ear to do so. In the commotion, one of the boys said to me: ”take your time,” in a very sweet voice, clearly not liking the way I was being treated. I can’t for the life of me remember who said it, but whoever did, thank you. I couldn’t see what they were doing behind me, so it was gonna be a surprise. Elijah gave me my necklace back, and Dominic yelled, ”bye Skye!” as I walked away. He remembered my name! That gave me butterflies. I compared my photos with Jay and the German girl, and I honestly love how it turned out! Even though Sean didn’t hear the prompt and was just being his cute self, Elijah held the ring towards the camera so that it was clearly visible (thank you for being so considerate, Elijah!) and Billy and Dominic clearly understood the assignment. I think, despite Sean’s double photo, and despite the fact I was forced to sit down and reshape my original idea, I still love this photo the most out of all the ones I’ve taken!

After this, I was truly exhausted. I had been standing in queues, quite literally, from 9.15 a.m. till 6 p.m., and everything was sore. I didn’t stick around for Andy’s Q&A and just went straight home. Despite the terrible organisation that I experienced, I had the best day ever. I felt so accepted, so loved, so wanted by all of the cast members. I haven’t felt that way since Liverpool Comic Con, and I’m utterly grateful that my friends made this happen for me. I’ll take these memories with me for as long as I live. Thank you LOTR cast, you’ve truly made my day! Who knows, until next time!

Love, Skye Lewis ❤

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