FanX Flashback - Anthony Daniels Panel Highlights [FanX 2024]

Anthony Daniels, known best for his iconic role as C-3PO in every single movie in the Skywalker Saga, provided one of the most surprisingly humorous and fun panels of FanX 2024. He chatted with fans about that beloved galaxy far, far away for 45 minutes (which you can watch on the official FanX YouTube channel), strolling up and down the aisles of the Grand Ballroom and pointing his microphone at fans of all ages.

Here are some of the highlights from his Q&A session:

Would he be interested in doing a C-3PO show for Disney+?

I think Disney have had an effect on, uh, Star Wars. They’ve got enough… enough… (Audience nervously laughs and cheers) Some things are sacred. It occurs to me there has been a whole raft of Disney, Disney, Disney things, and I’ve been very lucky. I was in “Ahsoka” the other day. Anybody see “Ahsoka”? (Audience cheers) Thank you very much. Pinnacle of my career – just saying. I mean, three years at drama school, you know, and I end up… anyway… Um, no, uh, Disney have got plans for all sorts of places where 3PO doesn’t appear. Certainly, a TV series would be interesting, but only if I was doing it in motion capture. The idea of doing it day after day in that suit: absolute nightmare.

When asked about his opinion of Luke Skywalker in “The Last Jedi”:

My opinion on Luke? Um, what do you want me to say? (Audience laughs) Kind of one of the most difficult characters to play. There is Mark Hamill, back in the day, and, you know, he’s the blonde kid, he’s the hero, and who’s he acting with? (Mimics C-3PO’s body language) A gold robot, a little blue box, a Wookiee, what else? A man with a breathing problem who says he’s his dad. It’s incredibly difficult to act with these things, and Mark did extremely well, talking blithering dialogue – nobody understood what was going on. Mark did it with great sincerity. I used to say to him, “When I’m in the scene, you don’t need to act because I’ve only got to move a bit, and the audience’s eye is just attracted to things that glitter, and I could screw up your performance just like that. So, my opinion of Luke is that he is an immensely important character because he is the person that carries you through the story, the hero – we all know about that – so he’s the most important person, apart from C-3PO, of course.

Which was his favorite film in the series?

Curiously, my favorite was actually Episode IV, the very first film. The reason for that is that it was a very simple story: you had Luke, who was the hero, who comes from nothing. He’s a farm boy, becomes a hero, and he meets people on the way – the classic journey and all that kind of thing. Then you have a bad person called Darth Vader. At that time, we don’t know it’s his daddy… Yes, (imitates Darth Vader voice) “I am your f…” Oh, anyway… I understood it. My favorite film to make was the last one, “The Rise of Skywalker.” I had such fun with the new past, particularly Oscar Isaac, who had the similar… (Audience cheers) Yeah, Oscar Isaac, truly one of the best actors to be in a “Star Wars” movie. He had such a good relationship – or bad relationship – with 3PO that he persecuted him on an hourly basis, even worse than Han Solo. I just was giggling inside the costume as Oscar annoyed me. It was huge fun. The film didn’t kind of work out like I thought it might, but nevertheless it’s part of the saga, so you’re stuck with it.

On what he loves about being part of the “Star Wars” universe:

When “Star Wars” [Episode IV] opened, there was no budget for publicity. Normally, it’s a huge budget – there wasn’t any. “Star Wars” was a very low-budget film, but people went to see it, then they came out and they ran to their friends and dragged them back, and the friends dragged [their friends] back, and so it went on, and it went, as we would say now, “viral” – and you are part of that virality. The great thing, to me, is that film didn’t have a number at the beginning. It was “Star Wars.” Then, it became “Number Four,” and we made “V” and we made “VI,” “VII,” “VIII,” “IX” – you know the numbers – and that is all because of people like yourselves. One of the things I love is that you make friends in the “Star Wars” world. You get together, you talk. Some like the Dark Side, some like (gestures to a cosplayer) Jar Jar Binks. (He humorously does a facepalm gesture and winks to the fan.) Teasing you! There’s something in it for everybody, whether it’s the scenery, the music, the thoughts, the emotions, the morals of it all, there’s something for everybody, and I’m amazed to have been a part of it. I didn’t want the interview for the job, and here I am, nearly 50 years later, standing at the height of my career in Salt Lake City with you, and right now, I’m going to leave you – I’m going to take one last look… at my friends. Thank you.

*****

Also, if you didn't know, Mr. Daniels had recently written a book called "I Am C-3PO: The Inside Storhy" - a fact that he comedically brought up several times throughout the panel. You can check it out on Amazon or Audible, if you haven't done so already.

FanX 2025 is this week! Hit the comments section below to let us know what you'll be cosplaying as, your favorite "Star Wars" movie, and whether you think C-3PO could beat Jar Jar Binks in a street fight. While you're at it, follow us on Twitter (here and here) or open the Facebook app on your phone for 30 minutes until you've forgotten why you pulled it up in the first place.

For all of our other FanX blogs, click here.

Until next time!

FanX Flashback - Baldur's Gate III Panel Highlights [FanX 2024]

One of the most popular panels from FanX 2024 involved the cast of the Dungeons & Dragons video game "Baldur's Gate III." The panel featured the ultra-popular Neil Newbon (Astarion), Devora Wilde (Lae'zel), Jennifer English (Shadowheart) and Aliona Baranova (Corinna the Squirrel, performance director).

These folks were a real delight to have at the convention. In fact, one of the best interactions on the official FanX Twitter account involved a misunderstanding regarding Baranova's character in the game, as you can see in the following screenshots:

Despite the squirrel confusion, we parted from the convention on friendly terms.

Keep reading for a transcription of some of our favorite questions - or, if you've got the time, click here to watch the panel in its entirety on the FanX YouTube channel.

What was it like to act out their characters’ vulnerable moments in the game?

Neil Newbon: I think, as an actor, … you have to play the character’s truth. It’s a fictional truth, but it’s real for you and your work. So, I think the most important thing is that you have to honor them, even though some of us have (in Astarion’s voice) problematic characters, sometimes. (Audience cheers, Newbon resumes normal voice) But what we don’t do is judge, uh, because that’s the audience, the players, the audience’s role, is to make their own decisions about how the story goes and how they feel about it. So, from my point of view, these vulnerable moments are gifts because we get to play these stories that have been so well written by all the writers at Larian [Studios]. This game is a masterpiece that’s made by Larian. We get to honor and jump into their shoes – sometimes, very nice shoes (audience laughs) – of these characters and get to connect with the audience through our work as storytellers. I know it’s the same for everybody, but from my point of view, it was a perfect job. It was a perfect job. I got to meet friends, as well, which is good.

What is the most important part of building a character through their voice?

Jennifer English: For me, it’s about… I’m going to nerd out now. […] I love acting so much, so I kind of approach roles like a detective and I Sherlock Holmes the [expletive] out of it. Aliona actually bought me a pipe – not to smoke – but to just sit there with my scripts.

Newbon: You have a “thinking pipe”?

English: I have a “thinking pipe”!

Newbon: Do you do this [mimics sucking on a pipe]? “I like it!”

English: I genuinely do that. I don’t think I’ve ever revealed that to anyone, other than Aliona, before. You’re welcome.

Aliona Baranova: It blows bubbles.

English: Yeah, it’s a bubble pipe. I’m sophisticated. And I go through the script like a detective and try and find as much as I can. Like, I look at how the character speaks, I look at what questions they ask, I look at all the context I possibly can, get all the clues the writer gives me, and, um, yeah, I have far too much fun doing it, and that’s how I approach the character. Nerd!

On developing the Githyanki dialect for her character, Lae’zel:

Devora Wilde: [It took] a lot of practice. I think, when we started, it was the Early Access portion of the game, so there was just […] short phrases. And then, as the game went on and we went into Acts 2 and 3, the phrases got longer, and then we got into sentences that would kind of be running over one line and into the next like, and I’d be like, (laughs) “Ok…” Luckily, good directors – (she glances at Baranova) – very, very important, because, at the beginning, I had no idea, really, what I was saying, obviously, so I needed to know the meaning. Also, the way the Githyanki is spelled is not the way that it’s said, so I needed to read off the phonetics. I also needed to know what I was saying. But, by the end, I had gotten quite used to it and I sometimes had to even correct people because they were like, “This Githyanki word means this,” and I said, “No, no, no, my friend. I’m the expert on the Githyanki language, so…” The directors had a Githyanki glossary that they would look up all the words in, and it was a lot of fun.

Newbon: I would love Githyanki as a language, like Klingon, to eventually be a thing you learn at university. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Wilde: I think it’s a lovely language! – might be biased, but…

(A fan shouts out, “Duolingo!”)

Wilde: Duolingo! I love that!

Which character class and race would they want to be in the Baldur’s Gate universe?

Newbon: Rich! (Audience laughs)

English: I will answer properly. I think I would have to be, um – I change my mind a lot – I’m probably a barbarian, actually. Aliona will confirm. Yeah.

Baranova: Yes.

Wilde: Probably a bard! (Audience cheers) Because I am one in real life.

Baranova: Same answer.

Wilde: Aww, don’t do that!

Baranova: That is my answer! I “rizzed” Jen! I “rizzed” Shadowheart! I’m clearly a bard!

[Editor's note: English and Baranova are dating in real life.]

How has your perception of your character changed since you got the role?

Baranova: As a squirrel, I’ll answer that. (Audience laughs) I discovered how deep and profound Corinna the Squirrel really was to the game. Yeah, thank you, thank you. It really moved a lot of people. I’ll stop, I’ll stop. I’ll let them answer.

Wilde: You answer properly, Jen.

English: I will answer properly. So, Shadowheart, at the beginning – I don’t know if any of you played Early Access, but she was a little spiky. Um, she was a bit of a [expletive], and I think the writing really changed.

Newbon: Did it? (Audience laughs)

English: Hey, if she’s a [expletive] to you, you’re not playing it properly. Learn boundaries, people! Learn boundaries. And now, I love her and she’s the best and you can all shut up.

Wilde: I’ve always loved Lae’zel, from the very moment I set my eyes on her little, lovely, bumpy spots and her little – what was it? – “chewable ears.” (Laughs) And her “boop-able” nose. (Laughs) So, I don’t think that my perception has changed. If anything, I was very surprised by people’s perception of Lae’zel because I have loved her. As Neil said, you never judge your character, so I never thought she was rude or standoffish or a [expletive] or anything like that. And then, when the game came out and people were like, “Oh, Lae’zel’s really mean to me,” I was just like, “Oh, that’s kind of a ‘you problem,’ really, isn’t it?” (All laugh) And I still stand by that.

What was their favorite line in the game?

Wilde, to Baranova: We know what yours is. (Imitates squirrel noises)

Baranova: Perfect.

Newbon: Am I wrong in thinking your squirrel had a line, (in deep voice) “Look at these nuts!” (Resumes normal voice) Is that weird? That wasn’t your character.

Baranova: I wish. Not that original.

Wilde: I have a soft spot for, “That large, fleshy nose of yours looks like a mistake.”

Newbon: I don’t really have a favorite. I’ve got too many of them. But I quite like, “Careful… I bite.”

English: “You didn’t pick that by hand, did you?? They’re deadly poisonous! Joking!”

Wilde: That’s my favorite line of yours, as well.

Baranova: I have a favorite Shadowheart line: when she says about the squirrel at the end – that got added to the epilogue as [an homage] – what was the line?

English: It was, like, “Oh, don’t mind her, she’s just protective.”

Baranova: Yeah. “I give her all the snacks she can… and a shoulder to perch on…”

Wilde: Aww.

Baranova: That was written for us, so yeah, that’s my one.

English: Good. Good choice.

If they could play any other companion or NPC, who would they choose?

Wilde: I always oscillate between – yeah, the squirrel. I always oscillate between Orin and Mizora. It’s a tough choice. Maybe today I’ll go with Mizora.

English: Love that. You just want to wear her outfit.

Wilde: Of course!

English: It’s so hard, because everyone does their… I’m going to steal Neil’s answer.

Newbon, excitedly: Steal, steal, steal! I’ve got a different one today!

English: Oh, have you? Neil’s always, like, (imitates Newbon’s voice) “Look, everyone did such a beautiful job, and we just have to thank Larian for casting everyone so perfectly.” (Resumes normal voice) It would be really hard to replace anyone. I think if I had more gravitas and just, generally, was a completely different person, then I fancy Dame Aylin, hard. But it’s one of those where you’re, like, “Do I want to be with her or do I want to be her? I don’t know.” We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We’ve all been there. (To Newbon) Go on, what’s your original answer?

Newbon: I actually did get the opportunity to help other people’s performances. I got to do almost all of the body doubling for Minsc and Gortash – not because I’m good or anything like that – it’s just more like because they physically couldn’t get to do their stuff in the performance capture, because we all did performance capture, so I got to stand in and help their performances – not to take away from Matt [Mercer] and Jason [Isaacs], who [are] amazing; their performances are incredible. I just helped, so I got a little taste of what it was like. But their work was so good, in both roles, that it was a privilege to be able to go, “Oh, wow. I get to support a little bit.” It was really cool.

Did they incorporate or fight against any Dungeons & Dragons stereotypes in their acting?

Newbon: (In Astarion’s voice) Guilty as charged – sometimes literally, darling! (Resumes normal voice) It works very well with [Astarion] because [senior writer] Stephen Rooney is a genius – a mad genius and a beautiful writer. He also understood, obviously, the tropes. It allowed me a lot of playtime because […] it’s totally morally gray, in many ways. And so, as a rogue – (to the audience) rogue for life! – as a rogue, you know, you get to play with the fringes of what is socially acceptable, right? I just saw every moment that was possible and just went with it.

Wilde: I played against the stereotypes by not having a single idea or clue about anything to do with D&D, let alone the classes and the other things. So, in many ways, I was just a little – as Jen would call it – a “little dum-dum,” just being (in high-pitched voice) “Oh, it’s a lovely character!” (Resumes normal voice) “I’m just going to go with exactly what’s written on the page because I know nothing beyond it.” […] Now, knowing a little tiny portion of the Githyanki history and all of that, I think I would have been so overwhelmed. It would have been too much for me. So, I just went into it completely, like, just with what was written on the page, and, as Neil said, the writers and [senior writer] Kevin VanOrd, who wrote Lae’zel and Wyll, by the way, and they’re so different, and the whole team, because it wasn’t just one person that did it; the writing was so stunning, you really didn’t need to think beyond anything that was written down.

Baranova: I want to add to that. It’s a really good thing that you did trust your instinct, because – a little known fact – the Githyanki race… whenever someone else recorded a Githyanki, the reference for how a Githyanki should be was just a video of Dev playing Lae’zel, so you are the Githyanki race.

English: Yeah, you are!

Were any of them into D&D before “Baldur’s Gate III”? And if not, did any of them start playing after?

English: No, because someone keeps saying, (in mocking tone, to Newbon) “Oh, I’ll host you! I’ll DM for you!” (Resumes normal voice) And then, does it happen? No!

Newbon: And thank you for the question! (Audience laughs)

From a narrative perspective, what do they find more interesting: rolling a Natural 1 or a Natural 20?

Newbon: Oh, Natural 1, man! Oh, dude – great things happen when you absolutely screw everything up.

English: Valid. But that’s what “save-scumming” (repeatedly reloading old save files after experiencing an unfavorable outcome or making a poor decision) is for.

*****

For the record, save-scumming is a completely legitimate way of dealing with trauma in "Baldur's Gate," so we're not here to judge.

Feel free to drop your favorite "Baldur's Gate" memories in the comments below. While you're at it, you can follow us on Twitter (here and here) or try to look us up on Facebook.

FanX 2025 is less than a week away! Who knows what glorious adventures await? In the meantime, take a look back at our old FanX posts!

Until next time.

FanX Flashback - Lord of the Rings Reunion Panel Highlights [FanX 2024]

With FanX 2025 right around the corner, it's time to do what we should have done 11 months ago and post some panel highlights from FanX 2024 (whoops!). One of the most anticipated panels of last year's convention was slated to feature prominent members of the "Lord of the Rings" cast - Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan and John Rhys-Davies, although Astin was caught up somewhere else in the Salt Palace and was unable to make it to the Grand Ballroom stage in time. Undaunted, Wood, Boyd, Monaghan and Rhys-Davies served up a delightful panel, bantering amongst themselves and answering fan questions for the better part of an hour.

Here is a transcription showcasing some of the fun:

Elijah Wood Talks About Frodo

Elijah Wood: He’s Bilbo’s nephew – almost raised by Bilbo – and Bilbo carries with him a taste of adventure, which is very uncommon. Hobbits don’t like to stray outside of the Shire, and they don’t like to know what’s going on in the outside world because it potentially presents dangers. They like to be safe and comfortable and warm and cozy. Frodo grew up hearing these incredible tales, and I think part of what propels him forward with this – initially – with this particular ask is very simple. I don’t think Frodo understands, and I don’t think even Gandalf understands, that that’s going to be Frodo’s fate. It’s just “Let’s get this ring to Rivendell,” essentially, right? And it’s not until then that he really decides that it’s his fate or that he’ll sort of take up the mantle of taking the ring. And I don’t even really think that in that moment that he realizes that he’s potentially leaving all of that behind. I think there’s a sense of wanderlust and adventure… He leaves the Shire with the potentiality of seeing elves and, sort of, walk in the footsteps of his uncle. So, I think that’s the impotence, and I think once he’s gotten far enough along, like in the Mines of Moria, he realizes: “Wait a second… This is way [expletive] too much!” (Audience laughs) “Can’t we just give it away??” And then [he], ultimately, realizes that it’s something that he’s got to do, and he’s built of that stuff – and I think all of the hobbits are. I think they’re all made of something – an internal sort of fortitude that is beyond that of men and other creatures of Middle-earth.

On the most influential factors in their lives:

Dominic Monaghan: I think the biggest kind of individual factor in my life that influences me is the natural world – nature – so, wild animals and trees and anything… (audience cheers) That’s kind of my spiritual path.

Wood: I’d say, um, there have been so many things that have had an impact on my life, but music would be the top of the list, in regards to… (audience cheers, inaudible) …who I am as a person, my world view, everything, you know.

Billy Boyd: Sitting next to this man (Boyd gestures to John Rhys-Davies, audience laughs and cheers).

John Rhys-Davies: …In answer to your question, you do realize I belong to your grandparents’ generation, and we used to have – in little towns – we would have three cinemas, each of which would be showing a double-bill, and it would change in the middle of the week. And then, on Sundays, we would also have an extra change, as well, so I got to see hundreds of films. But the one, for me, that worked was “High Noon.” I thought I really wanted to live my life like that – be a man of principle, you know? Pity it didn’t work out that way.


Regarding some (legitimate?) confusion over Legolas’ outfit:

Wood: Is this true – that when we shot Lothlórien – they hadn’t finalized Legolas’ outfit yet? Do you remember that?

Boyd: No!

Wood: Legolas’ outfit was a work in progress. Do you remember? It just occurred to me now. I believe we shot a different outfit during the Lothlórien sequence.

Boyd: I think you’re right, yeah – a tutu! (Audience laughs)

Wood: The design changed.

Boyd, unconvincingly: Uh huh. Yeah.

Wood: The design changed. It was a work in progress.


On whether they still all hang out, post-LOTR:

Wood: We see each other quite a lot on the circuit. … Three of us live in Los Angeles…

[An unidentifiable voice notes that Sean Astin lives there, as well.]

Wood: I haven’t seen Viggo [Mortenson] in a while.

Rhys-Davies: He’s been directing, too, for goodness’ sake. He hasn’t got any time, at the moment.

Boyd: We just Zoomed with Josh Gad during COVID experience we all went through, and that was very special for all of us. And then, it seems to happen that, like, sometime around the Christmas period…

Monaghan: We might get involved in some sort of chain of emails, where someone – I seem to remember, like, last year – Cate Blanchett was like, “Happy Christmas!” And there was a little photo in there, very clearly in France – and a little photo with her cat – sparked a little chatter, so… it happens. We’re all busy.

Boyd: It’s lovely to see each other.

Monaghan: I seem to remember the “Friends” cast saying that they all go their separate ways, but then, when they see each other, that’s it for the rest of the night – they’re with each other. That seems to be the case between these three boys.

Boyd: Everyone’s busy doing stuff, but if you see that person…

Monaghan: That’s your person for the rest of the night.

*****

Rhys-Davies and Astin have been announced to return to Salt Lake next weekend for FanX 2025, along with LOTR alums Miranda Otto and Lawrence Makoare. Actor David Wenham was originally announced as a guest but has since postponed his appearance.

To keep up with all of the FanX festivities, including past panel recaps and exclusive interviews, click here. As always, feel free to leave a comment below. For everything else, follow us on Twitter (here and here) or try to find us on Facebook.

Until next time!