I interrupt my own editing/resizing to bring you Cary Elwes and a story about how awesome this dude was today. (And also to mention that by this point in the day, my facial hair had fallen off because the glue had all but evaporated in the heat.)
So. Like…Robin Hood: Men in Tights was one of the major cornerstones of my childhood. I know a lot of nerds remember him fondly from The Princess Bride, but I didn’t see that movie until much later in my nerdling years. For me, it was Robin Hood: Men in Tights. If you have never seen that movie, you must. Stop reading this for a minute and go watch it. I mean, it’s a Mel Brooks film, if you need further encouragement to go see it. Just do it! I’ll wait.
Anyway. So Joel and I got in line for Cary Elwes, waiting for him to come back from break, and I was anxiously checking my phone because I’d scheduled with my parents to pick me up around 4:30 and it was getting pretty close to the wire. I even said to him, “Watch. He’s gonna come back and my dad’s gonna call saying they’re here.”
Sure enough…
But we were so close to him in line! We were like, two or three people away, so I kind of just decided, “Fuck it. They can wait. I’ll just shake his hand, tell him how much I love his work and then split because he’ll be here tomorrow so I can talk to him a bit more if the line’s not too long.”
So I got up there, and I shook his hand, and like… Okay. I know that he’s English, but I was not prepared to hear him speak. I wasn’t. I thought I was and then he spoke and my brain kind of just shorted and all I could do was hastily say, “My parents are waiting outside for me but I just wanted to come say hello and say that Robin Hood: Men in Tights…”
And then I stalled. And he goes, “Favorite movie?”
To which I blurted, “Cornerstone of my childhood!”
And there was this pause…but then this smile came over his face, and he rounded the table, and he gave me this amazing hug like we’d been friends forever or something! I told him I was looking forward to his panel tomorrow and hoping I’d make it on time and such.
Now here’s where it gets pretty awesome. After the hug and the conversation about the panel, he goes, “Would you like a picture?”
At Texas Comicon you have to pay for the autograph/picture. (See also: Why I am broke as fuck right now, because I shelled out $30 each to have Mark and Jim to sign my nerd passport (and also to take my picture with Jim), which I say is worth it because they’re awesome dudes and they came all this way out to Texas to spend time interacting with fans for eight hours.) A photo with Cary Elwes is $20 and an autograph is $30. I am fucking broke. Like…I couldn’t even pay for my own lunch broke. (Thanks again, Bailey!)
So I felt kind of bad and was like, “Well, I don’t have any money.”
To which he goes, “Well, let’s get one anyway!”
I managed to mumble an “Okay” and not run his toes over in getting into place for it. Joel took the shot for us, and Cary was like, “Shall we check it to make sure it’s the one you like?” And it was, of course. But seriously. What an awesome dude. Totally chill, gives good hugs… Cannot wait to see his panel tomorrow!