Another great story (asked by my friend Jane), was a crazy story involving him, Jensen, a video camera, and a BB gun. I’m sure there’s a YouTube video around showing him tell this story, but it was pretty much a moment of reckless abandon where they videotaped shooting each other with BB guns. When asked if it hurt, his answer was a resounding yes. He also mentioned something about his friend reacting to the whole event like one of those “fainting goats”, but by this time, the mental picture of both men getting pelted by pellets near that oh so dangerous region of hamstring was distracting any further bits of the story.
Of course, someone asked him what’s the funniest thing he’s ever done with Jensen to which he replied, “Didn’t you just hear?” Anything else he can’t mention in public. Another interesting fact he revealed is that while at William and Mary, he traveled for four or five years in an a capella singing group, The Stairwells. Also, one of his best friends is Michael Rosenbaum, Lex Luthor on Smallville. He wisely refused to answer any questions about whether Michael might be coming back to the show. As someone who is catching up on old Smallville seasons while watching season eight, I really miss Lex Luthor. I wish he would.
I also attended the Jason Manns concert that evening, and he has a great voice. I wasn’t familiar with any of his songs, but judging by the way the audience sang along with some of them, they were and he has quite a following among this group. The concert was entertaining, but again way too rushed. He had to beg the organizer to let him play three final songs, putting in the total concert time at less than an hour. I would have loved to have heard more.
Out of all the panelists of the day, the best was Charles Malik Whitfield. With his panel and the way he answered the questions, it’s impossible for me to share his full answers because they were often long. The answers were often interesting though. When he came out, all I thought was, “Damn! He looks FINE.” He certainly made an impression with his white jacket and black t-shirt.
His story is quite inspirational. He grew up in the 'hood in The Bronx, where he knew Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.) and the Junior M.A.F.I.A. He called himself a “difficult child” and fell into the life of gangs and selling drugs. It wasn’t until a mentor of his got him to take an acting class that he pulled everything together. He was challenged to write a monologue and did. Then he went to a group home and saw that monologue acted by someone else. He had a strong reaction, but didn’t like what that person did with it at all. He was challenged to do it the way he wanted, and one kid came up to him after he did, moved to tears. It was then that he realized what an impact he could make with acting.
Article comments
1 - Mary
Thanks for your reports, Alice! I'm enjoying them.
My complaints about cons are that they're rushed, pricey, and duplicative. I'd love to encounter actors in their natural environment (i.e., watching them work), but the chances of that are so laughably remote that I settle for cons and then wonder why, especially when I hear the same lame questions over and over again. If I'm tired of them, the actors must positively cringe, and it's to their credit that they hide it and keep smiling.
But in every con, there are gem moments that make it all worthwhile: meeting the folk you've blogged with, hearing an original question with a really funny or insightful answer, seeing people interact. And thus, we keep going.
I'm looking forward to your report on Jared and Jensen!
2 - kate
I have paid for a con and spent the whole (ok almost whole) time in the bar with online friends and meeting new ones. In fact I will be doing that at a local con later this month. Granted the con is a small one and significantly cheaper it does seem odd sometimes to pay money to sit in a hotel bar with friends.
But so far it has always been worth it.
3 - Drew
Hey, Alice. Sounds like your having some fun up there in Chicago. Good to hear. Sorry you missed out on your photo op though.
4 - Robin
Loved your rundown of events at the Con, Alice, and sure wish I'd known you were there so I could have given you a hug and told you how much I enjoy your SUPERNATURAL articles! The whole thing IS too rushed, there's far too much waiting in long lines, there isn't enough down time for people to get something to eat, and the damn hotel gave us a fridge that froze my insulin, rendering it useless! But standing between Jared and Jensen for my sandwich photo op was heavenly, even though the resultant photo looks like two sleek, gorgeous eagles with an ugly wren standing between them! My hair looked TERRIBLE!
Thank God for Photoshop. I'll just remove myself altogether!
Thanks again, Alice, for all your wonderful articles on SUPERNATURAL!
Love, Robin
5 - Alice Jester
Hey everyone! I wanted to point out a MAJOR typo. Please remember this was done in a rush in between events, so I apologize for missing this detail. Charles Malik Whitfield is from THE BRONX, not Brooklyn. I'm sure that's a big difference to people in that area. Sorry!
6 - Christopher Rose
I fixed that for you, Alice.
7 - Alice Jester
Thanks Christopher!