Comic Con Manchester 2023: The Guests p.1 - The Walking Dead

In the weekend of July 29-30, Monopoly Events sets up camp in Manchester for the 2023 edition of Comic Con Manchester. Last year, we were there for the weekend and this year Liv returns to Bowlers Exhibition Centre for one day (Sunday). The guests list of this edition is out of this world and in the upcoming weeks, we will tell you all about it. Of course, there are some worries regarding the SAG strikes in Hollywood, but the organization of Comic Con Manchester assures us that everything will be OK! So put away your worries, sit back and let us tell you all about the "The Walking Dead" part of this year's guestlist. None less than 9 actors and actresses of the post-apocalyptic horror series will be in Manchester! Some of them we already met, others are on top of the want-to-meet list ;)... Let's get started!

We already saw this next guest at Walker Stalker Con London in 2016, but unfortunately, we did not get the chance to meet her. In "The Walking Dead" she started out as part of Abraham's group and eventually grew out to be a strong independent woman and mother. I am of course talking about Rosita Espinosa and she is played by American actress Christian Serratos.

She was born Christian Marie Bernardi on 21 September 1991 in Pasadena, California (U.S.). Her mother (Alicia Serratos), a marketing agent and jewelry designer, is of Mexican descent. Her father, a set construction worker, is of Italian descent. Christian grew up in Burbank and during her early childhood she served as an extra on "The Drew Carey Show" and the sitcom "Coach".  At the age of 3, Christian started figure skating and she grew up competing on a pretty high level. She was also trained in ballet and jazz. At one point her coaches were talking about The Olympics. Eventually she stopped competing at the age of 10 and even now she still skates for fun. Christian signed with Ford Modelling Agency, when she was 7 years old and she started to get an interest in the theatrical acting division of the agency, when she was 8 years old. Christian loved acting so much, that she stopped modelling. In 2004, Christian made her television debut with the role of Suzie Crabgrass in "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" and she played this role for 44 episodes from 2004 until 2007. During this time, she also had some minor roles in other TV series and movies. 

In 2008, she landed her first big movie role as Angela in the first of the "Twilight" movies ("Twilight"). She reprised her role in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009), "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (2010), "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" (2011) and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" (2012, credit only). In 2014, she landed the role that made her name rise to worldwide fame. She joined the cast of the immensely popular AMC show "The Walking Dead" for the second half of season 4. Over the seasons that followed, she managed to become one of the main characters of the show, which ended in 2022 (after 11 season). Christian played the role of Rosita for 129 episodes. In 2020-2021, she played the title role of Selena Quintanilla in 18 episodes of the musical drama "Selena - The Series".

Next up is a 'royal' guest ... At Comic Con Manchester you get the chance to have an audience with the King ... King Ezekiel that is! Ezekiel is portrayed by American actor Khary Payton and we already met him a few years ago. I will tell you about that meeting later, but first let me tell you some more about this wonderful man.

Khary was born in Augusta (Georgia, U.S.) on May 16, 1972, to Victor (a pediatrician) and Gwendolyn (an artist) Payton. Even at a young age, Khary had an interest in the performing arts. He went to high school in Athens and during his time in high school he was the winner of Showtime's Kid Talent Quest. After winning this talent show, Khary knew he wanted to be an actor. He enrolled at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas (Texas), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theater Studies. During his teenage years Khary also started doing stand-up comedy and after his time in college he spent a lot of time performing Shakespeare. At first his father, was not happy with Khary wanting to become an actor. However, when Khary was in his early 20s, his father came and saw him play in "Hamlet". He has been his biggest fan ever since (until his death in 2021). When Khary was in his 30s, he started doing a lot of voice over work, as well as some acting in movies and TV shows. One of the voice roles, Khary is mostly known for is the one of Cyborg in "Teen Titans" (2003-2007), "Teen Titans Go!" (2013 - present) and the "Teen Titans" movies. 

Our own experience:

We met Khary Payton at Comic Con Brussels 2020 (right before Covid hit Europe). Unfortunately, he did not do a panel at that day, but we did get some awesome selfies. Khary was very nice and talkative. He was in front of his signing table, so he could really interact with his fans and so he did. When it was our turn, he gave us both a big hug and we talked about Ezekiel's story arch. He really took his time and the selfies turned out great!

In 2016, we went to London for Walker Stalker Con and they had a huge guest list. One of the guests was Alanna Masterson, who plays the role of Tara in "The Walking Dead". Unfortunately, it was so crowded, that we had to do our best to just catch a glimpse of her. Now Alanna is coming to Manchester and hopefully I will get to see more of her this time...

Alanna Masterson was born in Long Island (New York, U.S., on June 27, 1988) to mother Carol Masterson and father Joe Reaiche. Her father was a professional rugby player of Australian/ Lebanese descent. Alanna has four (half) brothers, who are all (famous) actors/producers. Her oldest (half)brother is Danny Masterson, who is mostly known for his roles as Hyde in "That 70s Show" and Jameson Bennett in "The Ranch". Christopher Masterson, is mostly known for his role as oldest brother Francis in "Malcolm in the Middle". The youngest brother of the three is Jordan Masterson and he is known for his roles in movies and TV shows, like: "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Last Man Standing.  And then there is Will Masterson, who is the least famous one of the brothers. 

Next up Austin Amelio, who is mostly known for his role as Dwight in "The Walking Dead" and "Fear The Walking Dead". Dwight is the bad guy; you love to hate and over the time grows out to be the anti-hero of the show...

Austin Amelio was born on 27 April 1988, in Austin, Texas (U.S.). There is not much known about his early life. In interviews, he talks about his dad being a businessman and about his mother taking him to Broadway musicals. Austin was born and raised in Texas, but at one point his father's work took the family to first California, then to Singapore and eventually back to Austin. He discovered his love for acting at a young age, as well as his love for skateboarding. He grew up in the world of skateboarding and the creative lifestyle surrounding it. During his college years he decided he wanted to take his acting ambitions to another level and after college, he decided to attend a three-year course at conservatory, studying Meissner's technique (a very well-known acting technique). From that moment Austin started booking jobs and he did a lot of theatre and improv. Eventually, he ended up getting the role of Nesbitt in "Everybody Wants Some!!" from Texas filmmaker and living legend Richard Linklater (known from movies like: ""Dazed and Confused", "Before Sunrise", "Before Sunset", "Before Sunset" and "Boyhood"). Austin's star rose and in 2015 he embarked on his "The Walking Dead" journey, when he joined the cast in the sixth season. He played the role of Dwight in 36 episodes of the show, before he switched over to the spin-off "Fear The Walking Dead". He has been playing the role of Dwight in "Fear" since 2019... (for 53 episodes and counting).

The seventh "The Walking Dead" guest making her way to BEC arena is Scottish actress Pollyanna McIntosh, who played the role of Anne/Jadis in 24 episodes of "The Walking Dead" and in 6 episodes of "The Walking Dead: World Beyond".

Pollyanna McIntosh was born on 15 March 1979 in Dunbartonshire, Scotland (U.K.) to David and Judith McIntosh. David was also an actor and he is best known for his role as Lucifer, alongside Richard Burton in the 1967 movie "Doctor Faustus". In the early seventies he retired as an actor, because he wanted to spend more time with his family. He became a businessman. Back to Pollyanna: from ages two to five she and her family lived in Portugal, before moving back to Edinburgh. Eventually the family ended up in Columbia, so Pollyanna spent a lot of her childhood in South America. She developed an interest in acting from a young age and she debuted as an actress at the age of 16. Pollyanna started out as an actress/director in London's independent film and theatre. 

The 9th and last "The Walking Dead" guest that is coming to Manchester is none other than the man in the orange suit. He had a big role in the last season of the show and he is portrayed by American actor Michael James Shaw. 

Born on 16 September 1986 in New York City (New York, U.S.) as the son of John Henry Shaw and Rogenia Shaw. He has two siblings (a brother and a sister). Shaw was raised in Florida, where he attended the Vanguard High School in Ocala. Following his graduation in 2005, he enrolled at Howard University in Washington D.C., where he earned his Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. Eventually he was one of the just 18 students that were accepted into Juilliard's (performing arts conservatory) in New York City, where he earned his MFA (Master's Degree in Fine Arts). Ever since kindergarten, where he had his first starring role (as the Big Bad Wolf) in the kindergarten production of "The Three Little Pigs Opera", Shaw had been into the performing arts. During his time in elementary school, high school and college, he performed in local theatre productions. After some roles in short films and an uncredited minor role in "The Wire", Shaw got his first break in television, with the role of Papa Midnite in 3 episodes of "Constantine" (2014-2015) and this was followed by a recurring role (as Agent Mike) in 14 episodes of the TV show "Limitless". This last show gained him wide recognition. In 2018, Shaw became a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when he portrayed the role of Corvus Glaive in "Avengers: Infinity War". A year later he reprised the role in "Avengers: Endgame". From 2019 until 2022, he played Aiden Shaw in the action adventure "Blood & Treasure" and he also played the role of Mercer in the last season of "The Walking Dead".