Comic Film & Manga Fest Rotterdam 2024 - Guests - Part Two: The 100

In less than two weeks time it's time for Comic, Film & Manga Fest 2024 in Ahoy in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). This will be our first comic con of 2024 and we can't wait! In our first article, we already talked about 4 of the TV and Movie guests for this event. In the article, you can read all about Christopher Lloyd, Kim Coates, Rebecca Mader and Dean Charles Chapman. Curious? Go check out the first article after you read this one. Fans of "The 100" can 

Marie was born on 17 June 1986 in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Canada). She grew up on the shores of Lake Superior, so Marie spent most of her young life fishing, camping and fishing. Marie was a true child of nature. Besides all of this, she was also into music. Marie taught herself how to play the drums, when she was 16 years old. She studied journalism for two years, but at one point Marie gave into her adventurous nature and went backpacking through Europe. A few months and a bunch of adventures later, she returned to Canada. Back home, Marie decided to move to Vancouver to pursue an acting career. One of her friends invited her to a casting call (in Vancouver). The agency was looking for drummers and since Marie was a pretty skilled drummer, she nailed it and landed some roles in nationwide commercials. In 2009 (22/23 years of age), director Chris Columbus noticed Marie's work. Columbus was already successful with movies like: "Home Alone", "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York", "Mrs. Doubtfire", the first three "Harry Potter" movies and much more. In 2009, Marie got her big break, when he cast her in the role of Valli Wooley in "I Love You, Beth Cooper", which was received very well by critics and audiences. 

The second "The 100" guest we are talking about is also known for the iconic role of April O'Neil in the second and third installment of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movies. We are talking about Paige Turco and she will be in Rotterdam on both days!

Jean Paige Turco was born on 17 May 1965 in Boston, Massachusetts (United States) to parents Joyce Jean (née Jodoin) and David Vincent Turco. Paige's father died of a severe cerebral bleeding not long after Paige was born ... he was only 27 years old. When Paige was 1 year old, her mother moved the family to Springfield (Massachusetts), where she was raised by her mother and her grandparents. Paige was a creative child and she played the flute in the school orchestra, she worked for the school television and in the library. Although she loved all of this, Paige had only one dream: she wanted to become a classical ballet dancer. To achieve this, she started taking ballet lessons from a young age. She attended the Amherst Ballet Theatre Company (school for dance) and she studied classical dance at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts. Her achievements were very promising and a career in ballet was just around the corner, when an ankle injury shattered her dream. Paige had to re-evaluate her future and after her graduation at Walnut Hill (1983), she enrolled at the University of Connecticut. Paige majored in drama and eventually graduated with a degree in Drama. In July of 1987, Paige landed her first real role in one of the longest running soap operas in the United States. Paige played the role of Dinah Marler in 36 episodes of "Guiding Light". After a year of filming, she was fired from the show and was invited to play in another soap opera, called "All My Children". Paige played the role of Melanie Cortlandt for 80 episodes (from 1989 until 1992).

In 1991, Paige made her feature film debut, when she was cast as April O'Neil in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze". For her portrayal of O'Neill, she received a lot of critical acclaim. Critics called her portrayal very close to the original character from the comic book. Paige reprised her role as O'Neil in the third installment "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" in 1993. The movie turned out to be one of the top grossing movies of that year. In 1994, Paige played the role of Terry Mears is 6 episodes of "Winnetka". Throughout the 90s and the 00s, Paige could count on a steady stream of jobs. She played in movies and series, like: "NYPD Blue" (1996 - 1997, as officer Abby Sullivan), "American Gothic" (1995-1998, as Gail Emory), "Party of Five" (1997-1998, as Annie Mott), "Dark Tides" (1998, as Sara), "Urbania" (2000, as Cassandra), "Astoria" (2000, as Elena), "Dead Dog" (2001, as Perri Rosenberg), "The Agency" (2001-2003) as Terri Lowell), "Waltzing Anna" (2006, as Barbara Rhoades), "The Favor" (2007, as Caroline), "Big Shots"  (2007-2008, as Lisbeth Hill), "Taking Chance" (2009, Stacey Strobl) and "Damages" (2009, Christie Purcell). 

The third "The 100" guest of Comic, Manga & Film Fest is a true fan favorite. She plays the role of Harper and her name is Chelsey Reist.

Chelsey Marie Reist was born on the 4th of January 1987 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. From a young age Chelsey was very artistic, so she started taking dance classes when she was only 3 years old. She studied various dancing techniques at the Edmonton Dance Academy for 14 years. Chelsey's parents thought it was very important to experience other countries (and  cultures), so during her early life Chelsey and her family traveled a lot. They travelled to places like: Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexico, throughout the United States (and lots more). After high school Chelsey started working in a law firm, but it wasn't long before she realised that this was not what she was meant to do. Chelsey wanted to do something artistic and acting was what she wanted most. To achieve her dream, Chelsey packed her things and moved to Vancouver (in 2005). When she arrived in the city, Chelsey enrolled Capilano University. Here she studied acting for stage and screen.

Whenever she had some time off, Chelsey would use this time to travel. In 2008, she went to Asia for what was meant to be a three week trip. Things went different, because she had such a great time, that she couldn't give up her backpacking adventures. Chelsey decided to keep on traveling. At first she had two companions, but later one she traveled alone throughout Cambodja, Vietnam, Laos, Hong Kong and Thailand. Three weeks became more than two months, but eventually she returned home. Chelsey graduated from Capilano University with a degree in stage and screen acting. In later interviews, she described her time at the University as a valuable experience, that prepared her for the real world. when she stepped into that real world, she could not get an agent right away. Chelsey decided to do background work (as an extra) to experience what is is like to be on set. One day, she found herself working as an extra on the Steven Seagal series "True Justice" (2011). She was asked to play an extra in a scene between the two lead actors and made quite an impression on Wayne Rose (the director). He was so impressed about her silent background acting work that he upgraded Chelsey to an actor within the scene. It turned out to be her first Union credit.

Luisa D'Oliveira was born on 6 October 1986 in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). She fell in love with stories and performing, while she was watching "The Wizard of Oz" at a young age. From that time on, Luisa knew she wanted to be an actress and she first took the stage when she was only 6 years old. Throughout elementary school and high school, Luisa honed her Drama skills. She attended Notre Dame High School in Vancouver, which focuses on performing arts. During high school, Luisa also made some short films. After graduation, she had to convince her parents (and herself) that acting was a good choice for a career path. Luisa started studying science and psychology at Capilano University, but she switched to Arts in her second year. Soon she crawled back to her true passion, which was acting. Luisa auditioned for the Acting Program at Capilano and was accepted. She also studied with independent teachers in Vancouver.