Speedy Encounters at Austin CC

It was late last Sunday that Red Dot Diva saw a tweet from my Texan SDCC-roomie @RealFastTlkr. She had suddenly decided to head to the Austin Comic Convention the next day! And she said she was going to try to catch one of Red Dot Diva's favourite stunt guys (and ex-"Heroes" Season 4 actors) - Ray Park.

For those who are more familiar with Ray Park when he's not without make up, he's the person behind "Star Wars"' facially-tattooed villain, Darth Maul and "X-Men's" Toad, amongst many other movie characters (usually nasty, bad guys).

Red Dot Diva's other good friend @eserei27 had met Ray before at an Ohio convention and she mentioned that he was very personable and friendly to his fans. She got Red Dot Diva a Ray-autograph pic during that convention - on which, he had written her a very sweet personalized message. So Red Dot Diva heart-hearts Ray Park. ;)

Here is @RealFastTlkr's account of her Ray Park meet-up at the Austin CC!

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Most of my best decisions are made on impulse, and deciding to attend Austin Comic Con at the last minute was no different. Unfortunately, deciding at 10 pm on Saturday night to go the next day meant that I missed all of the great panels that were to be had on Saturday. Instead, Sunday’s activities were comprised simply of walking the Exhibit Hall/ Autograph Booths/Artists’ Alley that the Con had set up.

For my readers that have attended Comic Con International in San Diego, the Hall set up in Austin’s convention center was about half the size of the Exhibit Hall at SDCC, and included all of the above - exhibitors, autograph booths, and the artists. There was also a food court and dedicated section for Magic: The Gathering tournaments.

I missed Ray Park’s Q and A session on Saturday, but I made a beeline for his booth in the Exhibit Hall. The line was surprisingly long. After attending SDCC I’m no stranger to lines, but I can’t remember ever standing in a line for more than a few minutes for an autograph in San Diego. In line, I chatted up the woman behind me who wanted to see Ray Park for his work in G.I. Joe. She had attended the Q and A the day before and assured me that it was awesome and that Ray was pure nice guy.

When I finally made my way up to Ray, he was the epitome of niceness. He told me that he loved working for NBC and that he liked his role as Edgar (in "Heroes") because he got to grow a beard. I think beards are gross and scraggly and maybe I should have kept that opinion to myself, but he didn’t mind. Said it was something different and he got to justify it because it was for work.

Ray Park was wonderfully sweet, making conversation while he signed my autograph and agreeing to take a picture with me. He didn’t act rushed, imposed upon, or annoyed at my small talk or the request for a photo. His eyes were a beautiful deep blue and he was very soft spoken. I had to strain to hear his accent over the crowd noise.

For a man who’s been in major blockbuster films, a globally successful television show, and won worldwide martial arts competitions, he was very down to earth. He didn’t have a superstar aura about him at all.

Also, he dotted the ‘i’ in my name with a heart, so in my mind, we have a secret relationship.

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Thanks to @RealFastTlkr for her blog post!

Red Dot Diva is glad that @RealFastTlkr had a very nice meet and greet with a "real fast carnival-Hero" Ray Park in real-fast time. Perhaps, one day....  Red Dot Diva would have her own chance to look into those gorgeous Ray Park blue eyes and admire those sinewy biceps up close.

@RealFastTlkr has her own blog. Do swing by and check it out! She also contributes posts to another pop-culture blog owned by Justin Barlow called Random Ramblings.

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Earlier this year, Ray Park has been busy acting for the movie "Jinn" - a supernatural thriller which also stars Dominic Rains. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Red Dot Diva noted that not much can be said about the movie yet, with the producers/ actors themselves being rather mysterious about it. There's one thing she has found out, there is a hero's car called "The Firebreather", which was created in partnership with Michigan-based company, Classic Design Concepts. Check out the vroom-vroom here!

Here's a teaser of the movie (by Exxodus Pictures), to be released in 2011.