Often when I talk to friends about doing actor/celebrity interviews, they’re disappointed I don’t interview the world-renowned names. For me, having interviewed people from many walks of life, I’m not a member of the cult of personality. Instead, I get excited over the ideas they convey to me. That’s why my interview with Erin Gray was one of the best things about the 2012 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.
A model and actress known for her roles as Kate Summers in the situation comedy Silver Spoons and as Colonel Wilma Deering in the science fiction television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Erin has carved out a very successful additional career as a casting agent booking sci-fi stars for appearances at conventions.
As someone who has attended a lot of conventions, both as an actor signing autographs and as a booking agent for other talent appearing at conventions, Erin did have high praise for Calgary: "...on this particular expo, this is probably my favourite show in the world." Erin started brokering talent for these shows because she saw there was a need to coordinate conventions with talents and let the show staff know what it takes to get and retain headliners. Consequently, over the last 15 years she has seen how much these "comic-cons" have changed. It has become its own industry and agents like Erin are helping to make them epic.
Besides the work and the chance to connect with fans, Erin loves these events because she thinks they’re excellent for families to attend. "How many situations are there...the family can go out, the kids can see their favourite artist or actor...Mom and Dad can say this is my favourite actor from when I was a kid..."
Going hand-in-hand with the rise in popularity of sci-fi conventions, Erin and I discussed how undiscovered talent is now rising up from the pool of fans. The audio-visual equipment which is now available, when coupled with the distribution power of the internet is giving anybody the opportunity to produce and market their own material. "The internet is changing our ability to find talent where we didn’t know where it was before."
The original content providers – studios and networks – are seeing these changes evolve the industry. They’re asking how a person with this book, this YouTube show, how is it she has 2 million followers on Twitter? Additionally, existing actors and artists who are already well known are realizing they can be more active in cultivating their fan base using social media (as Wil Wheaton does, for example).
This change in where the talent is arising and how the end product is distributed – be it comics, books, even shows on YouTube – is something that has piqued Erin’s attention: "...what I’m seeing is a paradigm shift...Hollywood, the Internet, and local media. Shifts of power. One of my clients is Felicia Day...and she’s the forerunner...in terms of creating material the fans support. She’s writing it, producing it, starring in it, and the fans are there to support her."
With only five minutes to talk, there was only so much to cover, but we did briefly touch on how exciting it is we are seeing a lot more "in charge" women like her character from Buck Rogers appear in movies and television. It’s a welcome step forward both as representing the changes in society and for helping push forward a story where the woman isn’t necessarily the "damsel in distress" - women are now kicking ass and taking names.
Finally, as we were wrapping up the interview, I mentioned the LGBT community, in its own way, has been dressing up (drag, western) for years. Hence we usually don’t blink an eye seeing all the cosplay at the expo. We also recognize fabulous science fiction costuming like they had on Buck Rogers. At which point Erin surprised us by pointing out the rainbow patch on Wilma Deering’s uniform in one of her publicity photos. Yes, it’s not the true rainbow pattern we know, but it has the rainbow colours. We are, indeed, everywhere – even in the future.