I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Oliver Phelps this past weekend. You might know him better for his role as George Weasley in the Harry Potter films and he was at the Universal Studio's Celebration of Harry Potter. To be honest, I didn't even know his real name prior to the visit, even though the Weasley twin's antics in the books and movies had always been something I really enjoyed.
During the fan Q&A session both of the Phelps brothers (Jason Phelps played Fred) really seemed to enjoy being available for the fans and put some thought into their responses. It may seem odd, but this actually set them apart from one of the other actors on the panel. I didn't think much of it at the time, but an experience shortly after the Q&A made me realize how much they really enjoy giving back to the fans.
Shortly before the Q&A ended, my girlfriend and I started walking towards the line to enter the Harry Potter Expo, hoping to get there before the crowds from the Q&A made the line outrageously long, however when we got there the estimated wait was already an hour. So, we got in line with everyone else and just waited; The line wasn't going to get any shorter as the day went on as the entire park was packed with fans. After about 45 minutes we were in the home stretch towards the expo entrance when all of a sudden people start freaking out. It turns out that the Phelps brothers had just come out of a staff door (with an entourage of staff in tow) and were headed towards the expo line. The brothers split up and started heading in different directions down the line of fans, readily shaking hands, taking pictures and signing autographs. Oliver just happened to head straight to where we were standing in line and immediately gave me a firm handshake and an amazing smile. My girlfriend really wanted a picture with him, but he had moved on to signing some books for another group of people and taking other pictures. He almost started heading further down the line of people, but scanned back across the line and noticed her trying to get his attention. He came back and took the picture, which absolutely made her day and made every minute of standing in that line worth it. The two brothers walked up and down the line for about 10 or 15 minutes. Several times as they were about to walk away, they returned to the line to sign another autograph or take another picture.
It is entirely possible that part of their agreement for coming to the Celebration of Harry Potter weekend was that they do these impromptu sessions, but from my perspective (and several candid photos that I took) they were exceedingly pleased to give back to the fans. I grew up reading the Harry Potter books, even going to many of the midnight book releases, and still watch the movies fairly frequently. That very brief meeting of Oliver Phelps really had an impact on me and made me appreciate the celebrities who actively engage and give back.
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