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This upcoming weekend it is time for one of our favorite comic cons again... On the 5th and 6th of April, the FACTS mothership will land at Flanders Expo in Ghent (Belgium) for the weekend. We will be there on Saturday and now we will tell you all about the amazing actor/actress guestlist!

Whoop whoop! This upcoming weekend it's time for the Winter edition of Heroes Dutch Comic Con in Utrecht and we are so excited.  Dutch Comic Con had their first edition in March 2015 and we have been there for every edition since! It is to be expected that around the 50.000 fans of everything pop culture will make their way to the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht for a weekend full of entertainment. As usual we focus on the actors guestlist and today we have got our first article for you. Let us tell you all about the first three names on the list...

Last weekend the halls of Flanders Expo were the place to be for everyone into movies, series, cosplay, comics, anime, board/video games and much more. Yes it was time for the Fall edition of FACTS. The first edition of FACTS took place in 1993 in 'Café Het Tonneke' in Ghent. About 40 comic book enthusiasts were there at that first edition. Last weekend more than 40.000 people made their way to Flanders Expo to indulge themselves in the world of comic con. We were there on Saturday and we is I (Liv) and close friend Nicole (Carola was still on holiday in Tokyo). It was Nicole's first time at a comic con and I think I got her hooked. Let me tell you all about our day at FACTS. One things is for sure, one day is not enough to see it all, but we did our best.

John Adedayo Bamidela Adegboyega was born in Camberwell, South London (U.K.) on March 17, 1992 as the third child of Nigerian parents Abigail and Samso Adegboyega. He has two older sisters named Grace and Blessing. John's father (Samson) is a Pentecostal minister, while his mother (Abigail) works as a caregiver for disabled children. John grew up in a loving family and always felt supported by his parents and sisters. 

Young John went to Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Peckham, London. It was here that John took his first steps in acting, when he played a leopard in a school play at the age of 5. From that very first moment, John knew he wanted to become an actor. At the age of 9, while acting in another school play, John was noticed by Theresa Early. She was the artistic director of Theatre Peckham, which served as a learning theatre for young people in South London ( a rough area in the city at that time). Theresa was very impressed by the presence the boy had and offered him a place at the Peckham Theatre Drama School. John spent almost all of his free time here from age 9 until 14. In 2003, John started his secondary education at the Westminster City School. During this time he also played in school productions. Sometimes he even skipped school to spend time at the Peckham Theatre. Theresa Early noticed this and told him he shouldn't do that and that he had to go to school. Early remembers young John to be a very eager student. He was very focused and full of energy. It was very difficult to keep him away from the Peckham Theatre. Luckily his parents were very supporting of his all consuming hobby.

 After Westminster City School, John enrolled at South Thames College, where he studied for a National Diploma of Performing Arts from 2008 until 2010. After graduating at South Thames, he went to Identity School of Acting in a Hackney, where he further honed his craft. John did specialised courses in screen acting, audition technique, improvisation, Meisner and so on. While he was on stage at the Tricycle Theatre in North London (he had a small role in a production called "Category B"), he was noticed by writer/director Joe Cornish. He was looking for young and unknown actors for his first feature film. Cornish noticed that same presence that Early noticed years before. Cornish also mentioned that John caught his eye with a really expressive face. The following screen test was even more impressive and John was cast fo the role of Moses in the 2011 movie "Attack The Block". Cornish later mentioned that they kind of casted the rest of the gang around John, who impressed everyone with his  talent and charisma. "Attack the Block" revolves around a group of London teenagers that gang up to defend their building against invading aliens. Cornish wanted to cast a group of young and unknown actors to give them a break at carrying a feature film at a young age. The movie was well received, especially in the USA and one of the most notable fans of the movie was director J.J. Abrams. In 2011, John was in Los Angeles when he ran into Abrams, who told him that he was going to contact him for a role in the future.

In the meantime John landed a role (as Donnie) in the HBO pilot of "Da Brick", which unfortunately was not picked up. Also in 2011, he played drug dealer Jamal in the British drama movie "Junkhearts". In 2013, John played the role of Ugwu in the movie "Half of the Yellow Sun", a film adaptation of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel with the same name. In April of 2014, John's life changed forever when it was announced that he would play a starring role in the much awaited Star Wars sequel "Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens" (co-produced, co-written and directed by J.J. Abrams). In later interviews, John revealed that he had only $60 on his bank account, when Abrams called him about the audition. He then had to spend $43 to get to the audition, which left him with only $17. Luckily this all paid off, when he landed the role of Finn (a stormtrooper going rebel) in "The Force Awakens" (2015), "The Last Jedi" (2017) and  "The Rise of Skywalker" (2019). During these 5 years, he also did some other projects, like: "Imperial Dreams" (2014, as Bambi), "The Circle" (2017, as Dismukes), "Pacific Rim: Uprising" (2018, as Jake Pentecost) and "Watership Down" (2018, as Bigwig). 

Warwick Ashley Davis was born on February 3th, 1970 in Epsom, Surrey, England (UK) as the son of Susan and Ashley Davis. He was born with a rare bone disorder called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, which results in dwarfism. When Warwick was 11 years old, his grandmother heard an advertisement on the radio, searching for people under 120cm to audition for a role in "Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of The Jedi". She told Warwick, who was a big fan of the "Star Wars" movies and he went to the audition. It was Davis's youthful curiosity and his fascination for the set and especially R2-D2, that caught the eye of director Richard Marquand. He was cast as one of the Ewoks, but when Kenny Baker (who was originally playing the role of Wicket) fell ill, George Lucas had to pick another actor to play the role of the iconic Ewok. He 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". As a fan, he had some of the action figures of the franchise, but not all of them. While filming "Return of the Jedi", Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) bought Warwick every action figure he did not own yet. Warwick reprised his role as Ewok 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, the actor talked about the fact that he based some of Wicket's movements on the movements of his dog, who also tilted his head from side to side when seeing something interesting.

A few years later (in 1987), Warwick was called to London to talk to Ron Howard and George Lucas. It was a meeting about their new project called "Willow", which was basically written for Warwick. In the movie, the young actor would star in the titular role opposite Val Kilmer. It was his first opportunity to show his real face. While it wasn't the box office hit that was expected, the movie quickly gained a lot of cult following and grew out to be one of the iconic fantasy movies of the 80s. A year later, Warwick played the role of the talking mouse Reepicheep in the BBC TV adaptation of C.S. Lewis' novel "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and the white owl named Glimfeather in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair". In 1993, Warwick stepped into the world of horror after landing 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).  In 1999, Davis returned to the "Star Wars" universe, with a grand total of 4 different roles in "Episode I - The Phantom Menace". He played Weazel (a gambler), Wald (Anakin's Rodian friend), Yoda (in some of his walking scenes)  and a street trader. 

In 2001, Davis becomes a part of another big 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. Besides this, Warwick also plays the role of the goblin Griphook in the last two installments. From 2011 until 2013, Warwick played a fictional version of himself in the British mockumentary sitcom "Life's Too Short", which was written and directed by Ricky Gervais. In 2014, Warwick hosted the show "Weekend Escapes with Warwick Davis", in which he and his family travelled around Britain. In 2015, Warwick returned to the "Star Wars" universe, with the role of 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". Subsequently, 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".

Kyle William Soller came into this world on July 1st, 1983 in Bridgeport, Connecticut (US). He was born as the third son of a pharmacological lecturer at the University of California (father) and a former concert pianist (mother). Kyle has two older and two younger brothers.

While he was born in Bridgeport, Kyle grew up in Alexandria, Virginia (US). Growing up in a family with five boys ánd being the middle child, made Kyle a risk-taker from a young age. The young boy could be found in the hospital up to five times a year, mainly for stitches. In a later interview, Kyle talks about a game that he and his brothers used to play. The game involved him running up a hill, while rocks (as big as grapefruits) were being thrown at him (well that sounds like fun). During his eventful youth, Kyle always balanced his love for the arts, with his love for sports. At one point Kyle was in a baseball accident, which caused him to break both of his wrists and it was at that point, that sports became less important. In his teens, Kyle made some trips to New York and on one of those trips, he did a summer course at Parsons School of Design. This course, inspired him to enroll at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg (Virginia), where he majored in art history. On his trips to New York, Kyle also went to stage plays and quickly developed a fascination for British acting and the importance of stage-acting in the UK.

In the summer between his second and third year at the College of William and Mary (in 2004), Kyle went to London to do a summer course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). When he was back in the US, he got an offer from RADA to enroll full-time. While he only had one year left in his arts study at William and Mary, Kyle decided to chase his dreams and move to London. He completed his studies at RADA in 2008 and in his last year he met his future wife Phoebe Fox (they married in 2010). Following his graduation at RADA in 2008, Soller did various plays. His breakthrough came in 2011, when he starred in various plays at the Young Vic and at the Royal Court Theatre. These stage performances earned him the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer. A year later, Soller stormed the stages of West End and New York and he also landed a role in the 2012 movie "Anna Karenina", which starred Keira Knightley and Jude Law. He played the role of Korsunsky. 

n 2013, Kyle played the role of Mr. Schwimer in one episode the BBC comedy series "Bad Education". Although, his preference lies in stagework, he got more and more movie and TV roles in the years that followed. He played in movies and series, like: "The Keeping Room" (2014, as Henry), "Fury" (2014, as Medic), "An Inspector Calls" (2015, as Gerald Croft) and "You, Me and the Apocalypse" (2015, as Scotty McNeil). Also in 2015, Kyle joined the cast of the period drama "Poldark" playing Francis Poldark. He played this role during the first two seasons. In 2017, Kyle played the role of Porter in the horror movie "Marrowbone" and later that year, he returned to his beloved stage, when he auditioned for the role of Eric Glass in the play "The Inheritance". He got the role and nailed it, which resulted in an Olivier Award for Best Actor in 2018. In 2019, Soller played the role of Zack Massingham in "Brexit: The Uncivil War", which also starred Benedict Cumberbatch.  From 2019-2020, he voiced Dante in the animated TV series "101 Dalmatians". In 2022, Kyle stepped into the "Star Wars" universe with the role of bad guy Syril Karn in the Star Wars series "Andor", which serves as a prequel for the 2016 movie "Rogue One". The second season of the popular show is set to premiere on April 22nd. Two years ago, we had a chat with Kyle in Ghent and he talked about the second season, which according to him would be spectacular (that was all he could say). We can't wait...

Joonas Viljami Suotamo was born on 3 October 1986 in Espoo (Finland) as the son of Viljami and Sonja Suotamo. There isn't much information to be found about his family. Joonas grew up in Espoo and from a young age he showed a passion for the arts. As he was growing up, he used to watch the "Star Wars"  movies on VHS tapes over and over again. Joonas was a big fan of especially Luke Skywalker and dreamed about being the hero that flies around in a spaceship (little did he know...). He developed a love for storytelling and movies growing up. Young Joonas also took part in local theatre productions and was interested music, movies and sports. Because of his height and talent he was invited for the national youth basketball team. He caught the eye of some recruiters for U.S. University teams and earned himself a basketball scholarship at Pennsylvania State University. He studied and pursued a degree in film and video, while playing as power forward/center for the Penn State basketball team called the Penn State Nittany Lions. Joonas graduated in 2008 and returned to his homeland Finland, to fulfill his mandatory military service (eventually reaching the rank of second lieutenant).  He also played pro basketball in the top leagues in Finland. After this he worked as a substitute teacher and as an insurance seller.

In 2015, his life changed forever, when he was asked to serve as a body double for Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) in the long awaited "Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens". After this first movie of the new trilogy, Mayhew had to retire as Chewbacca (due to health issues) and passed the torch over to Joonas completely. To ensure the continuity of the character, Mayhew remained to be a Chewbacca consultant until his death in 2019. Joonas played the role of Chewbacca in "Star Wars - Episode VIII; The Last Jedi" (2017), "Solo: a Star Wars Story" (2018) and  "Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019). In 2022-2023, Joonas played the role of The Scourge in "Willow" (with Warwick Davis). In 2024, Joonas returned to the "Star Wars" universe with his role of the wookie Kelnacca in the series "The Acolyte". Fun Fact: Whenever Joonas was dressed as Chewbacca in the "Star Wars" movies, he would carry around candies in his satchel.

There isn't much to be found about Matt Denton's early life, but his love robotics and electronics was sparked by his love for sci-fi movies. When he was 7 years old, he went to see "Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back". The scene that stood out to him the most was the scene of the AT-AT's walking in the snow. As he was also a big fan of Lego Technics, he combined the two things and built a Lego AT-AT and other walking machines. For a little while he did not know what to do with this passion for robotics and so on, but at one point he started an apprenticeship (of 4 years) at Marconi Defense Systems (the defence arm of the GEC). During this apprenticeship, Matt studied Electronics and Computer Engineering and he obtained an Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) and a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in these subjects. Towards the end of his apprenticeship, someone gave him a book about the making of the "Star Wars" movies and he saw that they used electronic engineers. That's when he decided he wanted to work in film and TV, but he had no idea about the industry and how it all worked. He just began to write to TV companies, but received a whole lot of rejections. He found out that this was not the way (see what I did there) to search for work in the business. Getting rejection after rejection was almost enough for him to give up completely, but he decided to take another path. 

He enrolled at Portsmouth University and started a BEng (Bachelor of Engineering) course in computers and electronics. Since he was already experienced in the field, the university enabled him to start in year 2. Matt, however decided to start in year 1.  During the summer between his first and second year, he started working for an FX company and worked on a TV show called "Space Precinct". He dropped out of school and made his move into the world of movie and TV. He worked as the 'electronics and software guy', which means that someone else builds something and Matt decided what electronics should go in it to make it move.

At one point he got a call from Jim Henson's Creature Shop and they gave him some work on a movie called "Buddy". This experience blew his mind and opened up his eyes about what was possible. It also made him aware of the fact that he had yo 'up his game'. He convinced the people at Jim Henson's to use his control system for the movie "Lost in Space" (1998). Now he had a control system that was used in a movie and his career took off. In 1999 Matt founded his own company named Micromagic Systems, which supplies puppet control, robotic and animatronic systems to TV shows and movies. in the years that followed Matt worked on movies and like: "Animal Farm" (1999, electronics designer), "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" 92004, animatronic model designer) and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2004, performance supervisor), "The Wolfman" (2010, animatronics model designer)  and "The World's End" (2013,  animatronic supervisor). During his time on the Harry Potter movies, Matt worked together with animatronics engineer Josh Lee and at one point he gave Matt a call. He said he was starting work on a big movie, but couldn't tell him what it was. He did, however, invite him over to come and have a look. This was how Matt became electronic and control systems supervisor on the new "Star Wars" movie: "The Force Awakens", which led him to developing and engineering the popular droid BB-8. 

After this he became a household name within the "Star Wars" universe and over the last decade he worked on "Star Wars: Rogue One" (2016), "Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi" (2017), "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018), "Andor" (2022)  and "The Acolyte" (2024).

Denis Stamper Lawson was born on September 27, 1947 in Glasgow, Scotland (U.K.) as the second child of watchmaker Laurence Lawson and Phyllis Stamper. His older sister Carol is the mother of famous actor Ewan McGregor, which makes Denis his uncle. When Denis was 3 years old the family moved to a small village called Crieff. Denis grew up in this picturesque town and attended Crieff Primary School. From a young age, Denis showed a passion for the arts. and Denis always knew he wanted to become an actor. After his 11-plus examination (which is a standardized examination to determine the admission to secondary schools)  he attended Morrison's Academy. This was a big step in his educational journey, because the college is known for the emphasis on academic, artistic and sporting excellence. His further journey to become an actor was not without problems, because his audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London (somewhere in the mid 60s). Denis moved to Dundee and took on a job as a carpet seller.During his year as carpet seller, he honed his craft in the Dundee amateur theatre. Eventually Denis was accepted for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (RSAMD) in Glasgow.

In 1969, Denis started his career with a small role in the West End production of "Metamorphosis". In 1973, he played Launcelot Gobbo in the TV movie "The Merchant of Venice". In the following years he played some one episode roles in TV series and he combined this with his work in theater. At one point in the mid 70s, he and a whole lot of other actors went to the audition of a new sci fi movie, directed by George Lucas. Denis had heard that George Lucas graded people with marks out of 10 when he met them. He got about 3 out of 10, so he did not get the job. Later on Denis recalled that it wasn't even a standard audition. Normally you would have to read out some lines, but he just talked with George. Well it was a missed chance, but as actors do, he went to work on other films in France in 1976 ( one of these was tv movie "The Man in the Iron Mask" from 1977) and all of a sudden he got a call. He was told that George Lucas wanted him for a role after all. He had to get to the studio to film 3 days later and at that point no one had a clue about the huge success the "Star Wars" franchise would grow out to be. Denis got the role of X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles and filmed the scenes over a few weeks. He said they had a lot of fun and that he was completely amazed by the movie, when he saw it for the first time. He didn't think a lot of it, not even when he heard that it was supposed to be the first film of the first trilogy of three trilogies. Denis went back to his other work and did a lot of theatre work at the time. He returned to the role of Wedge for "Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Star Wars - Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi" (1983). Eventually, he would also voice the character in some games and in 2019 (42 years after his first X-WIng flight) he reprised the role of Wedge Antilles in "Star Wars - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker".

But we would be selling Denis Lawson short if we would only talk about his role in the "Star Wars" franchise. Over the last 50 years, Mr. Lawson showcased his talent in over a 100 screen productions and a whole lot of stage production. We will now list you some of the movies and TV series he worked on: "Rock Follies of '77" (1977, as Ken Church), "Armchair Thriller" (1978, as David Cooper), "Local Hero" (1983, as Gordon Urquhart), "Kit Curran" (1986, as Kit Curran), "The Ambassador" (1998-1999, as John Stone), "Bob Martin" (2000-2001, as Greg), "Bleak House" (2005, as John Jarndyce), "Jekyll (2007, as Peter Syme), "Criminal Justice" (2009, as DCI Bill Faber), "Marchlands" (2011, as Robert Bowen), "New Tricks" (2012-2015, as Steve McAndrew), "Holby City" (2002-2019, as Tom Campbell Gore) and most recently he played the role of Walter Sullivan in 2 episodes of Father Brown. You can meet this British acting royalty at Comic Con Holland.

Brian Muir was born on 15 April 1952 in England. He is one of the most well respected and famous sculptors in the film industry. His work in sculpting began with an apprenticeship in woodwork and  the Elstree Studio in London. He worked on some very prestigious commissions, like a plaque for the London Stock Exchange (unveiled by the Queen). In 1976, he was called back to the Elstree Studios to work on a new sci-fi movie named "Star Wars -"Episode IV: A New Hope". He used Ralph McQuarrie's concept art to create on of the most iconic designs in movie history: Darth Vader's helmet and armor. He also worked on other designs, like the Stormtrooper armor and the final touches on C-3PO's  full suit. After this he worked on a whole lot of iconic movies in the history of film, like: "Alien", "Indiana Jones and The last Crusade", "The Princess Bride", "The Dark Crystal", "Octopussy", "License to Kill", "Lost in Space", "Goldeneye", "Harry Potter" movies, "Guardians of the Galaxy" and a whole lot more....

At the moment there isn't any information to be found on prices for autographs or pictures.