My Weekend with Misha Collins, Part 1
The Emerald City ComicCon was this past weekend in Seattle, and it was, from what I have been told, the biggest and best yet. This was my second year as a Minion (read: volunteer) and I was pumped. I ended up on the Celebrity floor last year, running the line for the indefatigable Edward James Olmos. I stayed on his line literally all weekend, and his Minion handler took notice of me. Well, this year, I hadn’t been told I was going to be on the Celebrity floor, so I was a little bummed (Celebrity became an assigned area), but I was still going to make it a great experience.
I get assigned to one of the floors directing the conventioneers up to registration when, lo and behold, I run into the handler I had met last year. She walked up to me and asked, “Are you going to be on my floor? I had requested you. I gave them your name.” She looks at my badge, gets my minion number, and walks up, promising to work on it. Before she left, I asked her who her celebrity was this year. She responded, “Misha Collins.”
Fate! It works in wonderful ways. My mission was to get an autograph or something for my best friend (zempasuchil) who just happens to be crazy about “Supernatural.” I, on the other hand, hadn’t really gotten into the show, so I didn’t know who he was, other than an actor who played a popular character on a ridiculously popular show.
About two hours before the show opens, I meander my way back up to the Lair and approach our illustrious Minion Overlord. After talking with her, she sent me up to the Celebrity floor. I was in! I find my way to this floor and there is a huge room (much larger than last year) filled with tables, Minions, and barricades. I approach the table I would be working at. There’s a sign above the table that lists his schedule, along with a picture underneath his name. Huh, this guy is kinda good-looking. All right!
The handler approaches and sees me hovering near his table, and she looks relieved. This year, they were putting Minions at the front and the end of the lines to keep everything controlled and that crazy fans don’t go jumping on the celebrities. I take my place at the head of the line. His handler brings out the photos for the autographs and leaves to pick him up from his hotel, and I stay to maintain the people that are now entering the room, trying to be first in line for a certain celebrity, and I set up the photos. Oh man, those were some really nice pictures…
We have a pretty good line going when the handler returns. She looks at me with a very straight face and says, “He’s really pretty.” Better than the photos? “Yes.” Then, his agent approaches. Now, this woman is tall, intimidating, and has a pretty commanding voice. She reaches the table and announces she’s changing everything. Instead of one, long, zig-zagging line, she wants two lines: a buying and a signing line. Internally groaning, I help her change up the line. I run to find tape and leave it to someone else to follow her instructions. After that is taken care of, she turns to me and asks where his silver markers are. I shrug. I had no idea he wanted them, but I’ll go look for them.
I run in the back where they were keeping extra materials, but sadly, no silver markers. I return empty-handed, but someone is being sent out to get some. Then, she asks about Post-Its. How can he personalize with ease without them? Again, I run to find some sticky notes, but again, I return empty-handed. At this point, I’m pretty flustered and the weekend has barely begun! Luckily, someone found some random sticky notes and I started to use that, writing down names as quickly as possible because his handler was going off to get him. After I get through the line that’s already waiting, I return to my post at the front so I can easily write down names right after they pay.
And then, he comes out. And holy moly, he is pretty! After a winning smile to the crowd, he takes his seat and begins going through the lines. Now, There are three of us at the front running things: the handler is taking the money, I’m taking names, and the agent is passing the photos to the actor to keep things running smoothly. This goes well for a little bit before the agent needs to go to the back for a second. The handler takes over her post and moves the line along since no one is getting in line to pay. Then, she is called in the back by the agent and has to leave, she directs me to come behind the table and take over.
So I do, standing right next to Misha Collins and pass the items to him to sign as he exchanges pleasantries with his fans. As I hand him an item he looks up at me and notices I’m the third person to be in this position. “You’re new,” he says to me. “What’s your name?” he asks, holding out his hand to shake. I take his hand and introduce myself. He smiles and then returns back to his waiting fan.
And so begins the best weekend I’ve had in a long time.
This post ends up being where I stayed all day, mainly because his agent needed to run around and do other things while the handler needed to keep taking money. An hour or two into his signing, he turns to us and tells us he needs to run to the restroom. The handler is busy, so she asks me to take him. I acquiesce, but I have no idea where to go. As we’re walking down the hallway, we make small talk. I’m not a fan of the show, but it seems people are invested in it because of him. He tells me that he doesn’t have a TV at home so he doesn’t stay caught up on shows. Which, I decide, is a healthy decision and I imagine his children growing up intelligent (but really bad at pop culture). As we talk and walk, I discover that he is a snarky bastard, but he’s also a really nice guy. He has a persona he projects to his audience, but it seemed to me that he hadn’t been affected by his celebrity status.
We return back to the table and he continues to sign before his photo-op. A little while into his signing, he gets a text from a friend in the city for whom he has passes. We quickly brainstorm possibilities of how to reach him to give him the passes. I grab a piece of paper and write his friend’s name on it, take the passes, tell Misha to tell his friend to meet me by the escalators, and I make my way downstairs to escort his friend in. He arrives shortly after I get to our meeting place and I take him upstairs. The signing has winded down and Misha needs to get to his photo-op, so his friend arrived just in time. His handler is again busy with an accounting task and asks me to step in. I was tasked with taking him to his photo-op. After giving me directions, I lead Misha, his agent, and his friend downstairs. We end up in a stairwell, which I find odd because I was told to take an elevator, but I decide they’re all able-bodied so let’s just take the stairs. We reach the fourth floor, and the doors are locked! His agent starts knocking on the door and, thankfully, someone ends up opening the door. But there’s one problem: we’re out on the show floor! Horrified, I lead them through the floor and stumble upon the photo-op area. This is it, I think. I’m screwed and I’ll never get to work on the celebrity floor again. His agent assures me that it’s not a big deal and we finally end up safely behind the curtains.
His handler arrives shortly after and we both stand back and watch all his fans jumping on him, giving him gifts, and freaking out over having just touched him. At the end of the shoot, his handler jumps in to take a picture with him and it’s over. I part with him at the end of the shoot and he waves and says “See you tomorrow!” before heading out with his entourage.
And thus ends Day One.
I'll try to share Day Two and Day Three a little later.
I get assigned to one of the floors directing the conventioneers up to registration when, lo and behold, I run into the handler I had met last year. She walked up to me and asked, “Are you going to be on my floor? I had requested you. I gave them your name.” She looks at my badge, gets my minion number, and walks up, promising to work on it. Before she left, I asked her who her celebrity was this year. She responded, “Misha Collins.”
Fate! It works in wonderful ways. My mission was to get an autograph or something for my best friend (zempasuchil) who just happens to be crazy about “Supernatural.” I, on the other hand, hadn’t really gotten into the show, so I didn’t know who he was, other than an actor who played a popular character on a ridiculously popular show.
About two hours before the show opens, I meander my way back up to the Lair and approach our illustrious Minion Overlord. After talking with her, she sent me up to the Celebrity floor. I was in! I find my way to this floor and there is a huge room (much larger than last year) filled with tables, Minions, and barricades. I approach the table I would be working at. There’s a sign above the table that lists his schedule, along with a picture underneath his name. Huh, this guy is kinda good-looking. All right!
The handler approaches and sees me hovering near his table, and she looks relieved. This year, they were putting Minions at the front and the end of the lines to keep everything controlled and that crazy fans don’t go jumping on the celebrities. I take my place at the head of the line. His handler brings out the photos for the autographs and leaves to pick him up from his hotel, and I stay to maintain the people that are now entering the room, trying to be first in line for a certain celebrity, and I set up the photos. Oh man, those were some really nice pictures…
We have a pretty good line going when the handler returns. She looks at me with a very straight face and says, “He’s really pretty.” Better than the photos? “Yes.” Then, his agent approaches. Now, this woman is tall, intimidating, and has a pretty commanding voice. She reaches the table and announces she’s changing everything. Instead of one, long, zig-zagging line, she wants two lines: a buying and a signing line. Internally groaning, I help her change up the line. I run to find tape and leave it to someone else to follow her instructions. After that is taken care of, she turns to me and asks where his silver markers are. I shrug. I had no idea he wanted them, but I’ll go look for them.
I run in the back where they were keeping extra materials, but sadly, no silver markers. I return empty-handed, but someone is being sent out to get some. Then, she asks about Post-Its. How can he personalize with ease without them? Again, I run to find some sticky notes, but again, I return empty-handed. At this point, I’m pretty flustered and the weekend has barely begun! Luckily, someone found some random sticky notes and I started to use that, writing down names as quickly as possible because his handler was going off to get him. After I get through the line that’s already waiting, I return to my post at the front so I can easily write down names right after they pay.
And then, he comes out. And holy moly, he is pretty! After a winning smile to the crowd, he takes his seat and begins going through the lines. Now, There are three of us at the front running things: the handler is taking the money, I’m taking names, and the agent is passing the photos to the actor to keep things running smoothly. This goes well for a little bit before the agent needs to go to the back for a second. The handler takes over her post and moves the line along since no one is getting in line to pay. Then, she is called in the back by the agent and has to leave, she directs me to come behind the table and take over.
So I do, standing right next to Misha Collins and pass the items to him to sign as he exchanges pleasantries with his fans. As I hand him an item he looks up at me and notices I’m the third person to be in this position. “You’re new,” he says to me. “What’s your name?” he asks, holding out his hand to shake. I take his hand and introduce myself. He smiles and then returns back to his waiting fan.
And so begins the best weekend I’ve had in a long time.
This post ends up being where I stayed all day, mainly because his agent needed to run around and do other things while the handler needed to keep taking money. An hour or two into his signing, he turns to us and tells us he needs to run to the restroom. The handler is busy, so she asks me to take him. I acquiesce, but I have no idea where to go. As we’re walking down the hallway, we make small talk. I’m not a fan of the show, but it seems people are invested in it because of him. He tells me that he doesn’t have a TV at home so he doesn’t stay caught up on shows. Which, I decide, is a healthy decision and I imagine his children growing up intelligent (but really bad at pop culture). As we talk and walk, I discover that he is a snarky bastard, but he’s also a really nice guy. He has a persona he projects to his audience, but it seemed to me that he hadn’t been affected by his celebrity status.
We return back to the table and he continues to sign before his photo-op. A little while into his signing, he gets a text from a friend in the city for whom he has passes. We quickly brainstorm possibilities of how to reach him to give him the passes. I grab a piece of paper and write his friend’s name on it, take the passes, tell Misha to tell his friend to meet me by the escalators, and I make my way downstairs to escort his friend in. He arrives shortly after I get to our meeting place and I take him upstairs. The signing has winded down and Misha needs to get to his photo-op, so his friend arrived just in time. His handler is again busy with an accounting task and asks me to step in. I was tasked with taking him to his photo-op. After giving me directions, I lead Misha, his agent, and his friend downstairs. We end up in a stairwell, which I find odd because I was told to take an elevator, but I decide they’re all able-bodied so let’s just take the stairs. We reach the fourth floor, and the doors are locked! His agent starts knocking on the door and, thankfully, someone ends up opening the door. But there’s one problem: we’re out on the show floor! Horrified, I lead them through the floor and stumble upon the photo-op area. This is it, I think. I’m screwed and I’ll never get to work on the celebrity floor again. His agent assures me that it’s not a big deal and we finally end up safely behind the curtains.
His handler arrives shortly after and we both stand back and watch all his fans jumping on him, giving him gifts, and freaking out over having just touched him. At the end of the shoot, his handler jumps in to take a picture with him and it’s over. I part with him at the end of the shoot and he waves and says “See you tomorrow!” before heading out with his entourage.
And thus ends Day One.
I'll try to share Day Two and Day Three a little later.