Familiar faces from the worlds of Harry Potter, Marvel, Disney and more will be appearing at the spring edition of Salt Lake’s comic convention FanX, organizers announced Tuesday.
Event founders Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg appeared via Facebook Live for the event’s first “virtual press conference,” during which seven celebrity names were announced for the lineup.
Farr called the spring event, set for April 19 and 20 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City, “a more intimate event” than the annual September convention. Tickets usually are capped at around 50,000 in the spring, compared with the 100,000-plus people who get into the fall show.
Brandenburg said ticket sales are ahead of what they were in 2017, the last time FanX was held in the spring. There was no spring FanX last year, as the company was in the middle of copyright litigation over the event’s old Salt Lake Comic Con name — a case it lost to the rival Comic-Con in San Diego, though Farr and Brandenburg are appealing that decision.
The seven names announced are, in alphabetical order:
• Brian Baumgartner, who played the accountant Kevin, known for his blunt and sometimes offensive talk, in “The Office.”
• David Bradley, who played Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch in the “Harry Potter” series, as well as Walder Frey, orchestrator of the Red Wedding, in “Game of Thrones”; and re-created William Hartnell’s role as the First Doctor on “Doctor Who.”
(Simon Ridgway | BBC Worldwide Limited via Associated Press) Actors David Bradley and Peter Capaldi in a scene from the 2017 Christmas episode of the show “Doctor Who.“ Bradley, who also co-starred in the "Harry Potter" films and "Game of Thrones," is one of the celebrities scheduled to appear at the spring edition of FanX, Salt Lake City's comic convention, set for April 19 and 20, 2019, at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
• Warwick Davis, the 3-foot-6 actor who played both Professor Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the “Harry Potter” films, and had multiple roles in the “Star Wars” franchise (including the lead Ewok, Wicket, in “Return of the Jedi”), and title roles in “Willow” and the “Leprechaun” films.
• Aimee Garcia, who portrayed Ella Lopez on the series “Lucifer” and was a regular on “Dexter.”
• Adelaide Kane, who played Mary Queen of Scots in the series “Reign,” the evil Drizella on “Once Upon a Time” and Ethan Hawke’s daughter in “The Purge.”
• Pom Klementieff, best known for playing the empath Mantis in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films and in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
• Tony Todd, a horror icon known for his title role in “Candyman” and his appearance in the “Final Destination” films; he also played Worf’s Klingon brother Kurn in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, FanX added another celebrity to the lineup: Casey Cott, who plays Kevin Keller, sheriff’s son and openly gay best friend to Archie and Jughead, on The CW’s series “Riverdale.”
The event also will feature authors, comic artists and professional cosplayers. More celebrities will be announced between now and April.
FanX previously announced that these celebrities will be coming to the spring event:
• Irene Bedard, the voice of Pocahontas in Disney’s “Pocahontas” and other Disney properties.
• Mike Colter, who plays Luke Cage in the Netflix/Marvel shows “Luke Cage” and “Jessica Jones.”
(Photo by Andy Kropa |Invision | Associated Press ) Mike Colter attends the June 21, 2018, premiere of the Netflix original series Marvel's "Luke Cage" Season Two at The Edison Ballroom in New York. The show has since been canceled. Colter is scheduled to appear at the spring edition of FanX, Salt Lake City's comic convention, set for April 19-20, 2019, at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
• Seth Gilliam, best known as Gabriel Stokes on “The Walking Dead.”
• Val Kilmer, the star of “Willow,” “Batman Forever” and “Top Gun,” among others.
• Linda Larkin, the voice of Jasmine in Disney’s “Aladdin” and other Disney properties.
• Scott Weinger, the voice of Aladdin in Disney’s “Aladdin” and other Disney properties.
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