Happy Goat Horror

Dark bleatings, my beloved tribe! Slightly different (and perhaps, weird?) article for you today. As many of you probably already know, I was a major TWD fan for the longest time. I was still defending the writing choices long after most other avid fans started turning against the show. I’m not going to sit here and pretend I was happy with how they ended the whole thing, nor am I going to pretend that the abomination of “the dumpster” never happened. I acknowledge the many criticisms that people have, and have many of my own. However, I do prefer to talk about positives, and the cast (generally speaking) is most definitely one of the things the show had going for it. For the most part, they are absolutely bloody lovely.

No joke, I’ve met – yes, I just counted – 28 actors from the show, plus 2 special people associated with TWD, and now I’m going to list the 10 that absolutely made my day just a little bit more than the others. And so that you’re not left wondering, let’s clear this up right now – yes, I have spent a, frankly, embarrassing amount of money on these photos and meet and greets. Also, I’m including pictures of me with these people, and you’ll see another fellow in every single one – that’s Mikey, my awesome brother, AKA Gamer Goat.

Honourable mentions go to Greg Nicotero (the mastermind behind the practical effects, and also a writer and director of some of my favourite episodes), and Jay Bonansinga, who wrote TWD novels. Absolutely amazing people, both of them, that gave me so much of their time to talk about writing. They’re only not in the list because they’re not actors on the show.

I’m also not including Melissa McBride (Carol) or Norman Reedus (Daryl), but only because I had photo ops with them but didn’t get to speak to them at their trading tables, so I was only in their magnificent presence for a matter of seconds. They did both seem cool though!

In case you wonder who I’ve met altogether…

Tom Payne (Jesus), Scott Wilson (Hershel), Jon Bernthal (Shane), Laurie Holden (Andrea), Katelyn Nacon (Enid), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori), Michael Rooker (Merle), IronE Singleton (T-Dog), Alexandra Breckenridge (Jesse), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Greg Nicotero, Jay Bonansinga, Emily Kinney (Beth), Christian Serratos (Rosita), Lawrence Gilliard Jr (Bob), Avi Nash (Siddiq), Austin Amelio (Dwight), Seth Gilliam (Gabriel), David Morrissey (The Governor), Josh McDermitt (Eugene), Cailey Fleming (Judith), Khary Payton (Ezekiel), Cooper Andrews (Jerry), Matt Lintz (Henry), Alanna Masterson (Tara), Michael Cudlitz (Abraham), Ryan Hurst (Beta), Melissa McBride (Carol), Norman Reedus (Daryl), and Chandler Riggs (Cooorrraaaalll)

In no particular order, here are my 10 loveliest interactions!

RYAN HURST – BETA

If ever there were a person to epitomise the phrase “gentle giant”, it is this beautiful example of a man. What a lovely, sweet, softly-spoken person he was, and also he gave the loveliest cuddles!

AVI NASH – SIDDIQ

One of the most down-to-earth people out of all those we met, and went the extra mile. It was Mother’s Day when my bro and I were at this particular convention, and she was a Siddiq fan, so he phoned her. Unbelievably… she didn’t answer, so he left her a nice message. Very nice dude and he gave us a lot of his time.

Also, not that this is relevant in any way whatsoever but I feel the need to tell you that he’s very easy on the eyes.

DAVID MORRISSEY – THE GOVERNOR

Another gentle soul who also gave lovely, squishy cuddles! Extremely polite and smiley and just overall, meeting him was a lovely experience.

LAURIE HOLDEN – ANDREA

She was just lovely. For some reason, I was especially nervous meeting her and I think the first thing out of my mouth was “hi, sorry I’m weird”. She was very quick to assure me that I wasn’t (I was though), and then chatty about The Mist, which is what I really wanted to talk to her about.

Sidenote: my brother quickly and graciously adjusted to me being outrageously embarrassing upon meeting the majority of these people. I don’t know what happens to me but my true weirdness just comes out when I find myself in surreal, exciting situations.

Second sidenote: Ignore my psycho eyes in this picture – as I said, I was having a weird moment.

MICHAEL ROOKER – MERLE

“I’m Mary Poppins, ya’ll!” He wasn’t doing selfies (I don’t know for sure why but he was in sunglasses all day so I assume it’s headache related, at my best guess), so I was sneaky and took this picture of him while we were queueing. He was sweet and funny and gracious, and not at all like Merle.

SARAH WAYNE CALLIES – LORI

Lori might have gone down in TWD history as one of the most hated characters, but Sarah is an absolute sweetheart of a person and indulged all our questions about her time on Prison Break, and kindly listened – and took interest – as I waffled on to her about how I wrote my BA dissertation on the show.

LAWRENCE GILLIARD JR – BOB

This guy! He was extremely fun and happy to give up as much of his time as we wanted. Lots of fun conversation about his character and final episode, and wouldn’t let the staff rush us off. As nice as most people were, I have to say that he was one of few that sincerely looked super delighted to be there.

CAILEY FLEMING – JUDITH

You’ve never met a cuter kid with a cuter voice, I’m telling you. I think she was 12 when we met her, but she was very little for her age, and her voice might just be the cutest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life. She was all animated and excited and asking us questions, and generally just the sweetest kid in the world.

CHANDLER RIGGS – COOORRRAAAAALLL

One of the youngest cast members, and easily one of the friendliest and most gracious. Very humble and kind, and enthusiastic talking to us. I know people are split on the character, but I’m a big fan of Carl and he was one of my favourites.

IRONE SINGLETON – T-DOG

What an absolute dude, an absolute legend. The most excited and enthusiastic person in the entire venue the year we went. While we were queueing, we heard him talking to younger fans about the importance of taking school seriously, whilst also pursuing passions, and respecting the people you live with. He had an enormous queue of waiting fans, and had to be forced to have his lunch because he didn’t want to leave everyone waiting. He didn’t even go up to the canteen, he just ducked behind his table, munched his sandwich at the speed of light, and reappeared two minutes later still chewing it – and only after much duress from the staff that were with him.

He talked to us for ageeees, answered all of our (my) few (many MANY) questions, and generally entertained us for the considerable amount of time he spent speaking with us. A real diamond of a person, is how I’d describe him.

I know I sound like I’m placing these people on a pedestal, and yes, I know that at the end of the day, they’re just people. However, I can’t possibly articulate to you the level of my fandom during the few years that Walker Stalker was in the UK. Also, despite what it costs for fans to partake in these things, and despite the fact that these are actors so even if they’re not enjoying themselves, by the definition of their very profession, the fans shouldn’t know it (in my opinion), a nice interaction is not a given. I really appreciated these guys for making my trip pleasant, and keeping my fandom strong!

And no, please don’t ask me to name the celebrities I’ve met that weren’t nice. There’s no room for negativity on Happy Goat Horror.

But I will say this…

That main one from S Club 7…

One of the Sons of Anarchy cast…

My favourite antagonist from the show is also a bit antagonistic in real life….

Dumpster fire.

BUT DON’T ASK, I’LL NEVER TELL YOU!

Have you ever met someone you regarded as an icon? What were they like? Share your tales, I love to hear it!