Heroes Comic Con Belgium '23 - The movie- and TV guests

This upcoming weekend it's time for the second edition of Heroes Comic Con Belgium. From Friday September 22nd until Sunday September 24th, Brussels Expo will be transformed into a Valhalla for everyone who loves movies, TV, cosplay, games, comics and everything else that says pop culture. Just like last year the event will be combined with Heroes Made in Asia Belgium 2023 and a ticket for one grants you entrance to both events. Today we will be focusing on the movie and TV guests of Heroes Comic Con Brussels and we can assure you that things are gonna get hot in Brussels this weekend. We will also be there on Saturday and Sunday and we couldn't be more excited about the awesome line up of the event...

Excited is truly an understatement with regards to this next guest. He's among the guests we "truly desire" to meet and this weekend it is going to happen! Tom Ellis will be a guest at Heroes Comic Con Belgium 2023. This Welsh actor is mostly known for his amazing portrayal of Lucifer Morningstar in "Lucifer", but that is not all he is known for. Let us tell you all about the man behind the devil...

Thomas John Ellis was born on 17 November 1978 in Cardiff, Wales (UK) as part of a fraternal twin (his twin sister is called Lucy ... go figure). Tom has two other sisters called Annwen and Naomi. Ellis' mother Marilyn was a music teacher and his father Christopher was a Baptist minister (go figure). Shortly after Tom's birth, the Ellis family  moved to Sheffield, England (UK). It was here that Tom attended High Storrs School and during his time in high school he also played the French Horn in Sheffield's Youth Orchestra. Tom's mother was a music teacher and all of the Ellis children got an instrument to play at the age of 5. Tom started out on the trumpet, but at the age of 8/9 his parents decided that he should swap to the French Horn. 

Tom enrolled the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Studies. He made his acting debut in the TV show "Kiss Me Kate" (2001) and his cinematic debut in the 2001 black comedy movie "Buffalo Soldiers". The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix and Ed Harris (among others) and Tom plays a minor role as Squash. In later interviews Ellis talked about his role in the movie as the most humbling experience in his life. He took a friend to the cinema to watch him in his first movie. He only had a few lines in the movie, but when his scene came up, it wasn't Tom's voice, somehow they dubbed his voice. In the following decade, Tom slowly makes a name for himself by playing minor roles in (mostly) UK TV series and movies, like: "Holby City"(2003), "Vera Drake" (2004), "Doctors" (2005), "Midsomer Murders" (2005), "Waking the Dead" (2005), "No Angels" (2005-2006, 4 episodes as Justyn), "Eastenders" (2006, 29 episodes as Dr. Oliver), "Casualty" (2007), "Doctor Who" (2007) and "Monday Monday" (2009, 7 episodes as Steven). His breakthrough role is the one of Gary Preston in the BBC sitcom "Miranda". He played Gary in 20 episodes of the show from 2009 up until 2015. During his time on "Miranda", Tom keeps on working steadily, with roles in TV shows like: "Merlin" (2010, 4 episodes as Cenred), "Sugartown" (2011, 3 episodes as Max), "Silent Witness" (2012, 2 episodes as Father Jacobs), "Once Upon a Time" (2013, 1 episode as Robin Hood) and "Poirot" (2013, 1 episode as D.I. Bland).

In 2014, Tom gets a leading role as the title character in the action/drama show "Rush". He plays the role of William P. Rush for 10 episodes. Unfortunately the show got canceled after only one season, but it did launch his career in the US. A year later, Tom got the script for a new show called "Lucifer", about the Devil taking a holiday in the City of Angels. He loved the script and nailed the audition. Tom later stated that he didn't know that it was based on the comic by Neil Gaiman and that he was glad he didn't. If he had read the comic before the audition, he would have been too nervous to do it. But he got the role and the rest is history, although the show's success did not come easy. There were a lot of setbacks before and during filming of the first seasons. The biggest setback, however, came when FOX cancelled the show after season 3. Tom says he was gutted after that, but luckily the show had a very persistent fanbase and #SaveLucifer became trending. Netflix picked up the show and it grew out to be one of the top shows. As said earlier, Tom's father is very religious, but he didn't mind his son playing the devil. Tom stated in an interview that he doesn't think his father even watches the show a lot, because it is not his cup of tea. According to Tom his father is more of an "Inspector Morse" kind of guy. In 2021 (after 6 seasons and 93 episodes), the show came to a conclusion. Luckily, we haven't seen the last of Tom Ellis yet. There are some new projects coming up, among them is "Washington Black" (which is currently in post-production). 

This second guest, also portrayed Lucifer in one of her more recent roles, but that is not all we know her for. She is mostly known for her role as Brienne of Tarth in "Game of Thrones" and we met her last June at Heroes Comic Con Utrecht. Yes! Gwendoline Christie will be a guest at Heroes Comic Con Belgium this weekend.

Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie was born on October 28th, 1978 in Worthing, West Sussex, England (UK).  While we can't say for sure, it seems like her parents split up when Gwendoline was still very young. Her father worked in sales and marketing, while her mother was a stay-at-home mom. She is said to have two older half brothers. Gwendoline grew up in a small town near the South Downs National Park, which is situated in the South East of England (east of Southampton). Young  Gwendoline already knew she wanted to become a gymnast and a ballet dancer. She did rhythmic gymnastics and was even training on a semi-professional level, until she sustained an injury. She strained all the muscles in her spine. The reason for this was probably the combination of her height and the heavy training. The doctors told young Gwendoline, that she would never dance at a high level again. This was the moment she decided that she wanted to become an actress. Due to her height and unique interests, Gwendoline was different from other kids in elementary school. She was bullied a lot, but she did not let that get her down. 

At the age of 12, Gwendoline joined a drama club and by the time she went to high school she learned to stop caring about other people's opinions of her. She had a dream to become a professional actress and there was nothing that could stop her. At first her parents were not that investested in Gwendoline's dream, but that changed when they saw her playing the role of Lady MacBeth in a production of "MacBeth" (she was only 15 years old at that time). It was at this moment, that they saw how much she wanted to become an actress and above all how talented she was. From that moment they supported her in realising her dream. In her early 20s, Gwendoline attended the Drama Centre in London, where she developed and honed her acting skills. It was here, that she met (her later mentor) actor Simon Callow. In a later interview, Gwendoline opened up about how she came in contact with Callow, when she told an administrator at the school that she was very skilled in doing paper work. While Gwendoline only did this as an attempt to avoid helping other students to disassemble a stage, the administrator brought her into contact with Callow (who was looking for an assistant). She started with organizing Callow's CD collection (he had 4000 CD's). After she graduated from Drama Centre, she became his dog sitter and research assistant. Simon Callow grew out to be her mentor. 

Finally, at the age of 33, all of her hard work paid off. Gwendoline landed the role of fan favorite Brienne of Tarth in the second season of "Game of Thrones". Months before this news, there was a lot of turmoil on all of the "Game of Thrones" fansites, about who was the best candidate for the role  Of Brienne and her name of came up multiple times. This online support pushed Gwendoline to try out for the role and in the months before the actual audition, she already began training at the gym to get into warrior shape. She had already read all of the "Game of Thrones"books earlier on, so she knew she had to work hard to get into the shape she needed to land the role. The rest is history: Gwendoline got the role and nailed it! For the more emotional side of Brienne (who is getting laughed at for her butch appearance), Gwendoline could draw from her own experiences of being bullied for her height. Eventually she played the role of Brienne from 2012 until 2019 (in 42 episodes of the show). Over the last decade Gwendoline rose to prominence, but not only for her role in "Game of Thrones". From 2012 until 2015, Gwendoline played the role of Lucy/Lexi in the British sci-fi series "Wizards vs. Aliens". In 2015, she joined the cast of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2", when she landed the role of Commander Lymes. Also 2015, she got the role of the first female baddie in the "Star Wars" franchise. Gwendoline played Captain Phasma in "Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens" and two years later she reprised this role in "Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi". Recently she landed roles in two big Netflix releases. In "The Sandman", she plays the role of Lucifer Morningstar and in "Wednesday" she plays Principal Weems. 

Our own experience:

In June of this year, Gwendoline Christie was a guest at Heroes Comic Con in Utrecht and I (Liv) could not wait to meet her. I went for a photo op and Gwendoline was so nice. She mentioned that she loved my shirt. We also attended her panel and had a great time at it. She talked about all of her work and you can find our registration of her panel on our YouTube channel. We are so excited to see her again this upcoming Saturday in Brussels.

All hail to the queen! The Evil Queen that is! The next guest is mostly known for her role as Regina Mills/The Evil Queen in "Once Upon a Time" and more recently for her role as Lisa Tramell in the second season of the popular series "The Lincoln Lawyer". We are talking about the amazing Lana Parrilla and she will be making her way to Brussels this upcoming weekend!

Lana Maria Parrilla was born on 15 July 1977 in Brooklyn, New York (United States). Her father (Sam Parrilla) was of Puerto Rican ancestry and  a popular professional baseball player (he played Major League for 11 seasons). Her mother (Dolores Dee Azzara) was a bank professional of Sicilian ancestry. Her mother was also a painter and according to Lana her mother was the biggest influence on her artistic instincts, as Lana was very close to her mother when she was a child. Another big influence on dream to become an actress was her aunt Candice Azzara (a popular Broadway actress in her time, but she also acted in a lot of movies and series). Lana's parents divorced when she was just 3-years-old. After the divorce, Lana lived with her mom for a few years. At the age of 10, she moved in with her father. Not long after that, Lana was bitten by a dog (that's what left the scar on her lip) while protecting her cat. From this point on her father became a bit over protective of her. He did not want her to go to acting school alone.

Lana was only 16 years old (1994), when something terrible happened. Sam Parrilla (Lana's father) was shot in his chest following a car accident. The girl who shot him was only 15 years old. Sam didn't survive the injuries and passed away. He was only 50 years of age.  Following this terrible tragedy, Lana finished high school and she moved to L.A. to study acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. It was here that she surrounded herself with people who inspired her. When she finished this school, she started auditioning for acting jobs. In the early days of her career, Lana played in movies like: "Very Mean Man", "Spiders" and "Frozen Stars". Her TV debut came in 1999, when she got a role in the sitcom "Grown Ups". A year later, in 2000, she got a recurring role as Angie Ordonez in the fifth season of the comedy series "Spin City". This recurring role got her into the attention of several agencies and in 2001, she left "Spin City" and got a role in the short-lived, but critically acclaimed crime series "Boomtown. Lana played the role of Paramedic Teresa and she won an Imagen Award for her performance. Lana's popularity rose. Unfortunately the show got canceled, just a few episodes into the second season. Lana fought against unemployment by accepting guest roles in shows like "JAG", "Six Feet Under", "Medium" and a recurring role in "NYPD Blue". In 2005, Lana was approached for a guest role in the series "24", starring Kiefer Sutherland, but when the producers saw her performance they offered her a full role as Sarah Gavin in 12 episodes.  In the years following Lana kept making a name for herself and in 2007 she got a small role in "Lost" (just like her two "OUAT" colleagues Rebecca Mader and Emilie de Ravin). In the years leading up to the role that changed her life, Lana kept on playing roles in mostly TV shows. In 2011, Lana was cast for the role of Regina Mills/The Evil Queen in "Once Upon a Time". The show was a big success and gained a huge following. In 2018, the "Once Upon a Time" story came to an end, but Lana is far from finished. In 2021, she played the role of Rita Castillo in 10 episodes of the show "Why Women Kill" and more recently she played the role of Lisa Trammell in the second season of "The Lincoln Lawyer". Fun Fact: Lana has a very distinctive tattoo on her wrist. The inspiration for this tattoo (a feather) came in one of the darkest periods in Lana's life, after she moved from New York to Los Angeles. She was sitting on a park bench, full of doubt about the choice she made. She asked for a sign that she was on the right path. A feather drifted by...throughout the years that followed she would always see a feather in times of doubt and struggle. This inspired her to take this feather tattoo, as she sees it as her symbol of strength and a reminder to have faith.

Rebecca Leigh Mader was born on the 24t April 1977 in Cambridge, England (United Kingdom). Without her knowing, her grandmother entered Rebecca in a beauty contest, while she was still in school and working in a supermarket. Rebecca came in second, but she was offered a modeling job. In later interviews, Rebecca stated that she never had a good time in school, she was bullied for the most of her time there and couldn't wait to finish it. Rebecca traveled the world modeling, but being a model was never her dream...Ever since she was young, Rebecca wanted to become an actress and she saw modeling as a necessity to get her into the acting world. During her time as a model, she dreamed of going to New York, but her agency told her that her portfolio wasn't strong enough to take that step. At first, Rebecca listened to her agents, but at one point she had enough of it and she decided to just do it. She made her way to New York (with only £250 in her pocket) to chase the American Dream and that dream was to become an actress! 

Rebecca did a lot of modeling jobs for big brands (like L'Oréal, Wella and Colgate). These modeling jobs paid the bills and in the meantime, she kept on chasing acting roles. Her modeling agency (in New York) had a small acting department and she started auditioning. In 2003, she got her first break, when she stepped into the world of soap operas. Rebecca played Morgan Gordan in "All My Children", Margaret Cochran in "One Life to Live" and also in "The Guiding Light". In the years that followed, Rebecca made guest appearances in multiple TV shows. In 2006, she got a role as series regular in Fox' "Justice". With this role in her pocket, she could officially stop modeling and she was (in her own words) thrilled! Also in 2006, she played the role of Jocelyn, opposite Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, in "The Devil Wears Prada". After one season "Justice" was canceled and Rebecca went back to auditioning. Eventually, she landed the role of Dr. Charlotte Lewis  in the popular TV series "Lost". At that time "Lost" was one of the biggest shows on television, so she knew this job was a big deal. Rebecca later stated that she really needed the role in "Lost", because at that point in her career she almost wasn't able to make ends meet anymore, so getting the role was a "drop-to-the-knees, burst-into-tears" moment. In 2012 Rebecca got a recurring role on "No Ordinary Family"  (as Victoria Morrow) and in 2013 she played in other shows like: "Fringe" (as Jessica Holt) and "Work It" (as Grace Hudson). Rebecca also made her stage debut in "The Third Date" at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. In December 2013 it was confirmed that Mader was going to play the role of Zelena in "Once Upon a Time", which she sees as one of the most fun roles she played. And what fun we have, watching her play it. Zelena is the character, you love to hate. SInce 2016, Rebecca is happily married to Marcus Kayne. They have a son named Milo and a daughter named Bailey.

Warwick Ashley Davis was born on 3 February 1970 in Epsom, Surrey, England (UK) as the son of Susan and Ashley Davis. Warwick was born with a rare bone disorder called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, which results in dwarfism. When he was 11 years old, Warwick's grandmother heard a radio advertisement calling for people under 120cm to audition for a role in "Return of The Jedi". She told Warwick, who was a big fan of the "Star Wars" movies and getting the role of an Ewok was a dream come true. He was cast as an extra Ewok, but when Kenny Baker (who was originally playing the role of Wicket) fell ill, George Lucas had to pick another actor to play him. Lucas picked Warwick and this was the beginning of a wonderful journey. Fun Fact: I already mentioned that Warwick was a big "Star Wars" fan before he got the role in "Return of the Jedi" and he had some of the action figures of the franchise. While filming "Return of the Jedi", Mark Hamill (who plays Luke Skywalker) bought Warwick every action figure he did not own yet. Warwick reprised his role as Wicket in TV movies: "Star Wars: Ewok Adventures - Caravan of Courage" (1984) and "Star Wars: Ewok Adventures - The Battle for Endor" (1985). In later interviews, Warwick stated that he based some of Wicket's movements on his dog, who also tilted his head from side to side when seeing something interesting.

In 1987, Davis was called to London to talk to Ron Howard and George Lucas. This meeting was about their new project called "Willow", which was basically written for Warwick. In the movie he would star in the titular role opposite Val Kilmer and it was his first opportunity to show his real face.  A year later, he played the role of Reepicheep in the BBC TV adaptation of C.S. Lewis' novel "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and Glimfeather in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair".

In 1993, Warwick steps into the world of horror with the titular role in the first installment of the "Leprechaun" movies (the total movie series consists of 6 movies, brought out from 1993 until 2003). Davis returned to the "Star Wars" universe in 1999, with a grand total of 4 different roles in "Episode I - The Phantom Menace". In 2001, Davis becomes a part of another great movie franchise with his role as Professor Flitwick in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". He reprised this role in all of the following 7 following movies. In the last two installments, Warwick also plays the role of the goblin Griphook.

From 2011 until 2013, Warwick plays a fictional version of himself in the British mockumentary sitcom "Life's Too Short", written and directed by Ricky Gervais. In 2015, Davis returns to the "Star Wars" universe, with the role of blarina Wollivan in "Star Wars: Episode VII - A Force Awakens"and in 2016, he plays the role of rebel fighter Weeteef Cyubee in "Star Wars: Rogue One". A year later (in 2017), Warwick continues his "Star Wars" journey with the role of Wodibin in "Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi" and voicing Rukh in "Star Wars Rebels". In 2018, he reprises an earlier role as Weazel in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and in 2019 he reprises the role of Wicket in "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker". In 2019, Davis also plays the role of Lickspittle in "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil". Recently, he reprised the role of Willow Ufgood in the TV series "Willow". The series serves as a sequel to the 1988 movie.

Any "Outlander" fans here? Whoop whoop, we are very excited about this next guest, because of his roles in "Outlander", "The Hobbit" trilogy and "House of The Dragon" to name some. But Liv is also a big fan of the "Uncharted" game franchise and this guy voices ( and does the motion capture for) the source of all Evil Zoran Lazarevic in the second game and Charlie Cutter in the third and fourth one. We are talking about Graham McTavish!

Graham McTavish was born on 4 January 1961 in Glasgow, Scotland (UK) to Alec and Ellen McTavish. When Graham was still a child, the Tavish family left Glasgow and throughout his life Graham has lived all over the world. When he was still in school, he used to write comedy sketches with a friend. When the original actor of one of the school's plays fell ill, Graham's drama teacher asked him to take over the role and he did. Following high school, McTavish went on to attend Queen Mary University in London, where he studied English literature. During his time here, he played in three Shakespeare plays a year and all of this earned him his equity card. He also earned a degree in English literature.

In the early days of his career, McTavish did a lot of theatre work in London and Dundee.

He made his television debut in an episode of "John Silver's Return to Treasure Island" in 1986. In the years that followed McTavish had minor roles in TV shows and movies, like:  "For Queen & Country" (1988), "Erik the Viking" (1988), "Highlander" (1996) and more. In 1998 he played Rengal in the TV movie "Merlin and in 1999 he played the role of Ackerman in 5 episodes of "Red Dwarf". From 2000 until 2012, McTavish does a lot of TV, movie and voicework. Among his projects are: "Ali G InDaHouse" (2002, as police officer), "Family" (2003, as Tony Bishop), "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" (2003, as Submarine Captain), "Empire" (2005, as General Rapax), "Rome" (2005, as Urbo), "The Bill" (2005-2006, as Pete Larson), "Rambo" (2008), as Lewis), "Prison Break"(2008, as Ferguson), multiple "Call of Duty" games (as the voice of Archer and additional voices) and many more. In 2010, he gets a recurring role as Mikhail Novakovich in "24". His actual big break comes in 2012 when he gets the role of Dwalin in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". He reprised this role in the two sequels "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" (2013) and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014). In 2014, he lands the role of Dougal MacKenzie in "Outlander". McTavish's star is rising and in 2015, he lands a role in another Sylvester Stallone movie, when he plays Tommy Holiday in "Creed". In 2016, Graham joins the cast of "Preacher" and plays the role of The Saint of Killers in 42 episodes of the show (until 2019). In 2018, he enters the DC Extended universe, with his role as King Atlan in "Aquaman". In 2019, he plays the recurring role of Father Kinley in "Lucifer". Over the last few years, Graham McTavish has become a household name in the entertainment business and he confirms his status with roles in two of the biggest shows of the moment. Graham plays the role of Sigismund Dijkstra in "The Witcher" and the role of Ser Harrold Westerling in "House of the Dragons". McTavish is a jack of all trades and he also does a lot of voicework. Check out his IMDb page for all of his work. We sure as hell can't wait to meet the lad.