At 2013's Fan Expo Vancouver we got Samwise Gamgee, who was super entertaining and lots of fun. But this year it was the turn of Peregrin Took, or Pippin as many of us know him.
Obviously, I mean that the actor Billy Boyd was at the Vancouver Fan Expo and for me, it was the highlight of the weekend so far.
Ballroom A of the Vancouver Convention Centre at 12:00pm sharp was the place to be, and many agreed as the room was packed with eager fans wanting to catch a glimpse of the Scottish actor.
Billy had the audience captivated as he recalled tales of filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand and of performing for Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens in Peter Jackson's home. He recalled the last day of filming when Peter Jackson revealed to him that he was the first person, first hobbit or first hobbit called Pippin cast in the movie. Billy couldn't remember the exact words as he was too busy crying at the wrap speech with Ian McKellen holding him tightly and comforting him.
It was truly a Q & A session worth catching if you were at the Expo. One of the questions was simply "Can I give you a hug?" to which Billy answered with a resounding yes and invited the girl onto the stage!
Then there were the three girls who were dressed as Hobbits. They also got to go up on stage to get their picture taken with the actor to quips from him of "Hobbits! Always stealing the scene!"
Billy even gave us a rendition of the song he sung in Return of the King; Edge of Night (Pippin's Song), but I'll save that for a separate post.
