At Emerald City Comicon 2016 in Seattle, I met Norman Reedus for the first time. As a pastry chef I thought it’d be a funny joke to wear my pie dress, bring a wooden spoon, and “pour the Bisquick” with Norman. Lucky for me he thought it was a fucking hilarious photo op! He’s the kindest celeb I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Seeing him with the kids especially broke my brain.
Fast forward to last Saturday, September 2nd, at Fanexpo Canada 2017 in Toronto. I had the amazing opportunity to meet Norman a second time. First off, in the morning, he signed our photo from the previous year.
“Hey sweetheart, how are you doing?” he asked (I died).
After telling him I was doing well, he took my right hand with his left (and didn’t let go for the rest of our conversation). Then he took a step back to read my shirt. “I’m Mary Poppins y-- hey! That’s Rooker!” he laughed. “I like your shirt.”
I thanked him then presented our Bisquick photo to sign.
“Oh shit! Our Bisquick photo! This was amazing! You looked so fucking cuuuuuuute. Look at you.”
As he signed the photo, I told him I had a “sequel” planned for our photo op that day. “I brought the pancakes,” I said.
He squeezed my hand and started doing the Norman snicker. “No fucking way. It’ll be awesome. It’ll be awesome! I can’t wait. Thanks for coming today, sweetheart. I’ll see you later.”
Fast forward to 5:30PM that afternoon, when I approached him in the photo area, he already started laughing. “Bisquick girl!”
“I told you I had a sequel,” I replied, holding up my props. “Let’s pretend to eat it?”
“A’right, game on.” (SEE PHOTO ONE)
Once the first photo was done, I handed him my Wonder Woman umbrella. He tilted his head.
“Daryl Poppins, y’all,” I deadpanned, and he burst out in his Norman snicker again before the second photo was taken. (SEE PHOTO TWO) I thanked him for being such a good sport and he laughed, thanked me, and acknowledged my “excellent choice with the Wonder Woman umbrella...” then I was off!
I was so caught up in how fast we had to pose that I didn’t really see what he’d done until the photos came out afterwards.
IN SUMMARY: NORMAN REEDUS IS A LAUGH AND A HALF, AND THE SWEETEST PERSON TO HIS FANS.
Does he cost half your soul to get photos/autographs? Sure, if you compare with others, yes. But ultimately? In terms of fan experiences? He’s more than worth it. Shortly after the con he got announced for Walker Stalker Portland which happens to be a week after his birthday - on my actual birthday - so you bet your butt I can’t wait for part three. :)