Comic Film & Manga Fest Rotterdam 2024 - Guests - Part Three

Is it next weekend already? In the weekend of 23 and 24 March 2024 Comic, Film & Manga Fest will set up camp in Ahoy Rotterdam for a weekend full of geeky goodness. This is our third article about the movie- and TV guests for the event and if you haven't read the previous ones, make sure to do so after you read this one. In the previous articles we already wrote about Christopher Lloyd, Kim Coates, Rebecca Mader, Dean Charles Chapman, Marie Avgeropoulos, Paige Turco, Chelsey Reist and Luisa D'Oliveira. Curious about the next names on the list...read on!

Slytherin represent! Ahoy to all the fans of the fans of the "Harry Potter" franchise, or better yet all "Harry Potter" fans to Ahoy! Be sure to be in Ahoy Rotterdam next week, because the man behind the boy you loved to hate is coming to Comic, Film & Manga Fest! We are of course talking about the lovely Tom Felton...

Thomas Andrew Felton was born on 22 september 1987 in Epsom, Surrey, England

(United Kingdom). He was the youngest of 4 sons of Peter Felton (a civil engineer) and Sharon Anstey (who worked multiple jobs). Tom's father (being an engineer) traveled around a lot, while Tom's mom looked after the children. She worked multiple jobs, to ensure that her sons could do whatever they wanted. When Tom was 6 years old, he was already on stage at the Epsom Playhouse. In later interviews, he recalled that he wasn't that interested in acting at that point, he'd rather be a fisherman. According to Tom, his eldest brother was the theater kid and he just tagged along to drama club. His roles were mostly the minor, like a tree or a snowman. Tom recalls that he was very fickle about his future plans and he says that a few weeks before his first acting job, he desperately wanted to become a violinist.

Although Tom was not really sure about his future dream job, he landed his first acting role when he was only 6 years old. It was an advert for Commercial Union and filming took place in America. Tom's mother moved heaven and earth to make sure Tom could take this chance. After that, he appeared in some more adverts and he landed his first movie role in 1997. Tom played the role of Peagreen Cock in the comedy "The Borrowers", starring John Goodman and Mark Williams (who later played with Tom as Arthur Weasley in "Harry Potter"). In 1999, Tom landed the role of Luis in "Anna and the King", starring Jodie Foster. Filming for the movie took place in Malaysia over a period of 4 months. His mother was at his side this whole time. 

 Tom thinks that it was that attitude that made Chris Columbus decide to cast him for the role of Draco Malfoy. He thinks that Columbus kind of recognised his disinterest and thought that would work perfectly for the arrogance of Draco.  Tom's first appearance as Draco was in 2001, in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", followed by "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" in 2002. Unlike his three co-stars (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson), Tom did not have to be in the studio all of the time. He had fixed schedules and he could even stay in school (with once in a while some weeks of because of filming). He said that, because of this, it did not feel like a big deal at first. It wasn't even a sure thing that he would be in all of the movies of the franchise. There was a contract for 2 movies and if the kids would still look young enough after that there would be a next. In later interviews, Tom recalls that he never signed for 12 years of Harry Potter and that he kind of assumed that the makers would replace the kids with descent actors. Of course this was not the case.

After this, Tom moved to Los Angeles and started to take things a bit more slowly. He also got back to his old passion, which was music. Tom had been into music his whole life and when he was young, he would use to sing in multiple (church) choirs. Over the last 12 years Tom could count on a steady stream of jobs, which he would alternate with making music. Tom starred in movies and series like: "From the Rough" (2013, as Edward), "Belle" (2013, as James Ashford), "Murder in the First" (2014, as Erich Blunt) "Message From The King" (2016, as Frankie), "A United Kingdom" (2016, as Rufus Lancaster", "The Flash" (2016-2017, as Julian Albert), "Origin" (2018, as Logan) and "De Slag om de Schelde" (2020, as Tony Turner).

In 2022, Tom published his biography "Beyond the Wand, the Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard" . In his book, he opens up about his anxiety, mental health problems and his struggle with alcohol. 

 

Tom will be a guest at Comic, Film and Manga Fest on both Saturday and Sunday.

 

Prices:

Autograph: €127,50

Photo Op: €137,70

Selfie: €137,70

 

Times:

Photo Op Saturday: 15:00-15:35

Photo Op Sunday: 15:20-15:45

Q&A Saturday: 17:20 (main stage)

Mini Concert Sunday: 17:00 (main stage)

This next guest is rapidly becoming a household name in the world of movie and TV. You may know him from "One Piece" or from Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."... his name is Jeff Ward and he is coming to Rotterdam! 

Jeff Ward was born on 30 December 1986 in Washington D.C. (United States). His love for the acting craft, originated from his love for movies. When Jeff was a young boy, he got a VCR from his grandmother, with colored stickers on the buttons (because Jeff could not read the buttons yet). He watched a lot of movies on this VCR and there were some movie that he would watch over and over again. Among these movies were: "Batman" (1989), "E.T." (1982), "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). This last movie got him in a lot of trouble, because he used the word dickhead (he saw it in the movie) and he was only 5 years old. When he told his parents that he heard it in the movie, they took away his copy of it.

He got his first professional acting job at the age of 14, when he played the role of Jem in a production of "How to Kill a Mockingbird" at the Ford Theatre in Washington. When he was rehearsing for the play in New York City, disaster struck, when two planes flew into the World Trade Centre. It was 11 september 2001 and America was under attack. Because of these horrible events the run of the play was cut short and Jeff ended up not acting for a while. At the age of 16, he played the role of Romeo in a production of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". The play took place in an outdoor theatre with a view on the mountains. It was during his time here, that Jeff realised that he wanted to make his life about acting.  He studied acting at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He also is an alumnus at the Stella Adler School of Acting. Over the first years of his career, he played some minor roles in TV shows and movies. In 2016, Jeff received critical acclaim for his role as Charles Manson in "Manson's Lost Girls". For his role as Manson, Jeff did a lot of research and during it he read some creepy anecdotes about Manson's childhood. Some of these stories really sent chills down his spine. He invested a lot in the role and while he was making the movie he thought a lot about something he learned at Drama School, which was that if you are going to play Hitler, you have to think that you're a hero. Jeff had to realise that Manson did not think he was evil, he thought he was a saviour.

In 2017, Jeff played the role of Marcus in "The Boy Downstairs" and he also starred as Seth marlowe in the horror anthology series: "Channel Zero: The No-End House". Also in 2017, Jeff lands the role of Deke Shaw in Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.". He wasn't supposed to be on the show for more than one episode, but grew out to be a series regular. Jeff was originally cast as Virgil (who was supposed to be in two scenes in the first episode of the 5th season). When he entered the room where the table read took place, he saw there were a lot of people in the room and among them were some people from Marvel. This encouraged Jeff to do an extra good job. He read his scenes as Virgil and walked back to his car. When he checked his phone, he saw he had a voicemail from the showrunner.She asked him to come back inside and read again. Apparently the rest of the cast was so impressed by Jeff's read as Virgil, that they convinced their bosses to let him read for Deke. They just could not stand to lose him after only one episode (Virgil died in the first episode). So Jeff came back to read and later that day he got the call that he was cast as Deke. What was supposed to be a 1 day job grew out to be a 3 year adventure. Jeff eventually played the role of Deke in 45 episodes from 2017 until 2020.

The next guest we are going to talk about is one of the two "Vikings" guests that will be in Rotterdam next weekend. She is mostly known for playing the brave warrior Torvi in the show and her real name is Georgia Hirst!

Georgia Octavia Hirst was born on 26 December 1994 in Oxford, England (United Kingdom). Georgia is the daughter of Michael Hirst, who is known for being one of the best period piece writers in the business. He is the writer of shows like: "Vikings" and "The Tudors". And movies like: "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age". Georgia has an older half sister, who is also an actress. Her name is Maude Hirst and she also plays in "Vikings" (as Helga). Georgia's brother Horatio, is a professional football player. 

Georgia says she always loved performing, but she didn't think it could be a career choice. She also said that she did not know where to start.  It was while she was doing her A level in Drama, that she realised how passionate she was about acting and she studied Drama at the Drama Centre London.

Unfortunately there is not much further information to be found about Georgia's life before "Vikings"; so let's talk some more about her role on this great show. In 2014, the 20 year old Georgia, joins the cast of the History Channel Drama show "Vikings", when she is cast as Torvi. Georgia played the role of Torvi in 63 episodes from 2014 until 2020. In my opinion, the story of Torvi is one of the most interesting ones of the show. SPOILER ALERT: When we meet Torvi, she is the wife of Jarl Borg and she does not have much to bring in. After Jarl Borg's death, Torvi marries the abusive Erlendur. At one point, she can't take his brutality anymore and kills Erlendur. She moves to Kattegat and marries Björn Ironside. In Kattegat, Torvi grows out to be a great warrior and shield-maiden. Eventually Torvi ends up with Ubbe Lothbrok. END OF SPOILER. 

During the filming of "Vikings", Georgia lived in Ireland for 6 years. In 2018, she played the role of Becky in the horror movie "Ravers" and in 2020 she played the role of Grace in the romantic comedy "Five Dates". Most recently (in 2024), she played the role of Ali in "To England with Love".

 

Georgia Hirst will be a guest at Comic, Film and Manga Fest on SATURDAY ONLY!

 

Prices:

Autograph: €30,60

Photo Op: €35,70

Photo Op Duo with Jefferson Hall: €71,40

Selfie: €30,60

Meet and Greet 1:1 (3 minutes): €49,98

 

Times:

Photo Op: 15:55-16:15

Photo Op Duo with Jefferson Hall: 15:50-15:55

Q&A with Jefferson Hall: 16:40 (main stage)

Meet and Greet 1:1 (3 minutes): 13:00 (room 2)

The second "Vikings" guest is known for a lot more than "Vikings" alone. What to think about his roles in "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon"? Or his work on Christopher Nolan movies? His name is Jefferson Hall and we will tell you some more about the British actor...

Jefferson Hall was born on 6 December 1977 in Coventry, England (U.K.).  He studied acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  There is not much information to be found about Jefferson's life before his acting career. So let's discuss some of the projects he worked on.