Efrit and I attended DCC 2016 this past weekend, which prevented us from a Friday post. And while the con was fantastic, the horror-themed content wasn't as prominent as content more friendly with our sister site, AEIthernet. There, we have several reviews of the con, including panel Q&A reactions, that might make for a good read for our readers over here.
Having said that, I did have the pleasure of sitting in on three panels, two of which boasted actors with resumes that flirt in the horror genre. Katee Sackhoff and Karl Urban both attended the con.
Katee Sackhoff
Most commonly known for her role in Battlestar Galactica, Sackhoff has also dabbled in horror. She had supporting roles in the supernatural horror flick Oculus and the scifi/action/horror film Riddick.
Her role in Oculus, in particular, was effectively frightening. She spoke on it briefly at the con as well, bringing it up herself as one of her favorite roles. She said that she loved experience of "strangling children", but after the awkward laughs in the crowd faded, she mutters..."there was a safe word..."
Her humility and transparency while on stage was refreshing and made her incredibly lovable to the audience. I've never so quickly embraced a personality in a Q&A than I did hers, as she openly spoke on her struggles and determination as an actress. I think she makes a fine role model, and perhaps should do more horror in the near future!
Karl Urban
Urban is no slouch when it comes to the films that fit right in with lovers of the scifi, fantasy, and horror genres. Most notably, Urban played Eomer in Lord of the Rings and Bones in the recent remakes of Star Trek. But Urban has also played some darker roles over the years, like the baddy in Doom, Chronicles of Riddick, and Priest.
His claim to fame in the cult and nerd communities, in which we find ourselves enmeshed, is Judge Dredd in the remake Dredd. The film didn't do too well in theaters, but sold quite a few copies that got rumors of a sequel cooking. While there was nothing compelling Urban had to offer on the topic, he said that there are preliminary discussions of anything from another theatrical release, to a straight-to-DVD sequel, to even a TV series. He spoke on it throughout his Q&A, emphasizing the difficulty in acting with only your chin/jaw showing, and the often grueling but rewarding physicality of action roles.
While Priest was bad enough that it hasn't even sustained what could be considered a cult following, Urban played an entertaining role as the lead villain Black Hat. In fact, he has developed many memorable characters throughout the 2000's, where I found him to be the most entertaining villain/rival of any of the Bourne movies in The Bourne Supremacy.
His role as Bones in Star Trek has been fantastic and one of the highlights of the remakes, but it is exciting to see him find a place in the Marvel cinematic universe with his role in Thor: Ragnarok. I'm very much looking forward to how he takes his role there.