00:00The phenomenon of the modern Comic Con began when a small group of fans gathered in San Diego in 1970 to celebrate comics, science fiction and fantasy.
00:10Today, that celebration has spread around the world and right here in the UK, the Comic Con North East hit the Utility Arena in Newcastle,
00:18drawing thousands of pop culture fans to enjoy celebrity guests, cosplay battles, gaming zones and unique merchandise.
00:25Well, I think that whole community of people that really bought into Game of Thrones, it's enormous, it's worldwide.
00:35You know, the success of that show was completely extraordinary, you know, and its reach around the world has been incredible.
00:44And, you know, in Newcastle and London, but in America, Europe, I was lucky enough to be asked to play Lord Mormont, that character.
00:59And, you know, most people in the world don't get thanked for what they do.
01:06And I should really be saying thank you to them, because it's those people that pay my wages.
01:12And it's wonderful for someone to say, I really enjoyed that character, it makes me feel great.
01:18You know, you think, well, maybe I did get something right, you know.
01:22What started as a convention devoted to comic books and comic book culture has evolved into a full-blown celebration of pop culture, embracing film, TV, video games, anime and more.
01:34The real magic, though, lies in the sense of community it creates, fans united by their passions.
01:40One standout guest was Peggy, crowned Britain's ugliest dog in 2023, before being cast in the 2024 blockbuster, Deadpool and Wolverine, where she quickly became a fan favourite.
01:52I mean, I used to come to these things, I used to bring my kids, it's just, it's a brilliant way, whatever sort of fandom you're into, it's a real good mix of, mix of guests that cater for everybody, things I've never heard of, things that are obviously super popular.
02:06And it's just, it's brilliant to come and sort of see the other side of it and be able to sort of be a part of what those people want to see, and it's nice they want to come and see Peggy.
02:16We never expected it to be as sort of big as it is, or Peggy to be as popular as she is, obviously we love her, but it's nice to know that Peggy has now got an army of fans.
02:25It's really nice to see, like people bring newborn babies, you can't complain about it, we're just in such a lucky position.
02:31And it's nice to just give a little bit back, I don't mind, I've answered sort of most questions now, I'm pretty cool with it.
02:38People tend to ask the same questions of Peggy, you know, what does she like, what does she not like?
02:43They're all relatively easy, easy things to answer, but it's really odd, we get to do this side of it.
02:49If we walk down the street with Peggy, people are like, can I get a picture and they're stopping you?
02:53And then if we don't have Peggy with us, we're back to being completely anonymous, so you sort of get both sides of it, it's quite nice.
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