The guests of Heroes Dutch Comic Con Summer 2025 - part three

Dean attended Clay High School in South Bend. The school was known for its successful combination of academic programs, with opportunities in the performing arts. At high school Dean was heavily involved in the local student produced TV show "Beyond Our Control", which aired on WNDU-TV (a local South Bend TV station). At the show Dean worked on camera as well as behind the scenes. His time on the show helped him gain confidence, it provided him with experience in producing and editing. It also helped him work on his comedic and improv skills. Norris later mentioned that it was this experience that gave him the idea that working on TV could be a career and not just a hobby. Besides his work on the TV show, Dean also worked on his physical skills, and he earned a black belt in Taekwondo. During his time on high school he participated in theatre clubs, which helped him hone the craft. As for his academic performances: Dean was a straight A student and in 1981 he graduated as the valedictorian of his class. This got Dean accepted into Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he studied Social Studies. During his time on Harvard, Dean was also a member of Hasty Pudding Theatrical (Harvard's student theatrical society, known for its annual burlesque crossdressing musicals). He graduated from Harvard in 1985 with an A.B. (Bachelor of Arts) in Social Studies. After this, Dean went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London, England (U.K.), where he earned his diploma in 1987.

By this time, he was 24 years old, and he had gained a lot of experience on stage, on screen and even behind the scenes. While Dean was doing plays at the ART (American Repertory Theatre) back in Cambridge, he found himself a manager and moved to New York (where his manager was based). Shortly after arriving in the Big Apple, Dean went to an audition for a show called "The Equalizer". He got the job and played the job of Martin in one episode of the show (1987). With the money he earned for the role, Dean decided to take a risk and moved to Los Angeles. Here he was represented by a partner of his New York manager. After some minor roles, luck was on his side again when he auditioned for and landed the role of Tim Cavanaugh in "Lethal Weapon 2". Dean's career took off after this role and he started making a name for himself. In 1990, he played the role of Det. Sgt. Goodheart in the Steven Seagal action movie "Hard to Kill". He also landed a role (as Tony) in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Total Recall" and the role of SWAT Team Leader in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch". Dean had a busy year, because he also played Maddox (opposite Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke) in "Desperate Hours". Because of this steady stream of jobs in only one year, Dean made enough money to focus on acting alone.

In 1991, Norris played SWAT Team Leader in "Terminator 2: Judgement Day". In 1993, he played The Squat Man in the John Grisham movie "The Firm", starring Tom Cruise. Throughout the nineties, Dean could count on a steady stream of jobs in movies and TV shows, like: "NYPD Blue"(1993-1994), "Married With Children" (1994), "The X-Files" (1995), "Money Train"(1995), "Murder One"(1995-1996), "Gattaca" (1997), "Starship Troopers" (1997), "The Negotiator" (1998), "Without Limits" (1998) and "Pensacola: Wings of Gold" (1999). At the start of the new millenium, Dean has become a household name in Hollywood and in the years leading up to his big breakthrough, he keeps on playing in movies and series, like: "The Cell" (2000), "24" (2003), "Tremors" (2003), "American Gun" (2005), "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), "Nip/Tuck" (2006), "Grey's Anatomy" (2007) and "Evan Almighty" (2007).

In 2008, Dean lands the role of Hank Schrader in the groundbreaking TV show "Breaking Bad". He says he knew the script was incredible, when he signed on for the role of Hank, but the audiences weren't convinced for the first couple of years. Eventually the show grew out to be one of the most critically acclaimed shows in TV history. Dean said the show accelerated his career to a different level. He played the role of Hank for 61 episodes from 2008 until 2013 (and in 2 episodes of the "Breaking Bad" spin-off "Better Call Saul" in 2020). During and after his time on "Breaking Bad", Norris kept on alternating between minor (1 episode ) roles in TV shows and longer runs in TV shows, as well as roles on the big screen. We will now highlight some the roles he played over the last two decades.

In 2008, Norris returned to the "Terminator" universe with his role as Nelson in 2 episodes of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". In 2012, Norris played the role of Bill in the Mel Gibson action comedy "Get the Gringo". From 2013 until 2015, Norris plays one of the main roles in the CBS series "Under the Dome". He played the role of councilman James 'Big Jim' Rennie Sr.  in 39 episodes of the show. In 2015, he plays the role of Ben Franklin in 3 episodes of "Sons of Liberty". In 2016 and 2017, Dean plays the role of Colonel Richard Williams in the immensely popular sitcom "The Big Bang Theory". In 2017, he plays principal Tyler in "Fist Fight" and Jay in 5 episodes of "Girlboss". From 2017 until 2022, he play uncle Daddy in 40 episodes of "Claw"., a show about the life and crimes of five women, who all work at a nail salon in Florida.In 2017 and 2018, he played Fenton Glockland in 5 episodes of "Scandal" and in 2018, he plays Det. Kevin Raines in "Death Wish". In 2021, Norris plays the role of Devon Washington in all 10 episodes of the show "Nova Vita". and in 2021-2022 he plays Art in 35 episodes of the show "The United States of A.I.".Most recently Dean played the role of General Halt in the war movie "The Six Triple Eight" (based on a true story). He also played Phil Sarkowski in the 2024 Netflix movie "Carry-On" and Randall Stabler in 19 episodes of "Law & Order: Organised Crime". Of course Dean Norris played in a lot more during his 40 year long career. Although Norris played the role of police or law enforcement officers  more than 40 times throughout his career, he is a surprisingly versatile actor and still going strong...

The next guest on the list, is a guest we already met some years ago. You might have seen him fighting zombies or maybe you know him as Newt Scamander's side-kick Jacob Kowalski....This man has played in some amazing movies and series and besides that he is also a very talented writer of comic books. Yes! We are talking about the one and only Dan Fogler and he is making his way to Utrecht again for Heroes Dutch Comic Con Summer Edition 2025!

Daniel Kevin Fogler was born on October 20, 1976 in Brooklyn, New York (United States) as the second child of Shari Fogler (an English teacher) and Richard Fogler (a surgeon). He has one older brother named Jason. He went to elementary school at Windmill Montessori School in Brooklyn, New York and he continued his education at Poly Prep Country Day School also in Brooklyn. In 1994 Dan graduated and moved to Boston, New England (Massachusetts); where he attended the School of Theater at Boston University.

The year 2016 turned out to be the year of Dan's worldwide breakthrough, when he sets his first steps into J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World. Dan takes on the role of Jacob Kowalski in "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them". In years that follow, Dan will step into Jacob's shoes for two sequels (until now..), being: "Fantastic Beasts and The Crimes of Grindelwald" (2018) and "Fantastic Beasts and The Secrets of Dumbledore" (2022). The "Fantastic Beast" movies serve as prequel to the "Harry Potter" movies. In 2018, Dan gets another big role, when he joins the cast of "The Walking Dead" for the recurring role of Luke, a member of Magna's group. Recently, he took on the role of Francis Ford Coppola in the TV show "The Offer". In 2024, he plays opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in 6 episodes of "Eric" (Dan plays the role of Lennie). Also in 2024, he plays the role of Albert Grossman in the Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown". It is rumoured that Dan will make an ppearance in the upcoming season of "House of the Dragon", we sure as hell can't wait.