I have been very fortunate when it comes to my various encounters with celebrity guests at conventions. I've only had a few meetings which left me feeling disappointed, and the vast majority have been downright awesome. I've met quite a few guests at cons, but one of my absolute favorites to talk about is George Takei. For those who may not be into the whole Trek fandom thing, George played Sulu on Star Trek, has appeared on Heroes, and has also done voice over work on wide variety of projects (such as Disney’s Mulan).

Why do I like talking about George? Because he is one of the nicest people I have EVER met. Not just in terms of celebrity mind you, but one of the nicest people on the entire planet.

I first had the chance to meet George at a Dragon*con convention about three years ago. It was also the first time the con started offering professional photos with certain guests (remember when you could still take photos with your own camera for free? sigh). But, since I was a big old fan, when I saw George’s name on the list, I immediately reserved my spot.

On the first day of Dragon*con, I lined up outside the Walk of Fame very early (that’s Dragon*con lingo for “Autograph Hall”). I've been collecting autographs for several years, and I prefer to get them early on in a convention so I don’t have to carry my autograph book around the entire weekend. When I finally got inside, I lined up at George’s table first, and I got to be his first signature of the convention.

Have I mentioned how infectious George’s laugh is? He has that wonderfully deep voice, and when he laughs it is just the most joyous sound. Its wonderful because it’s genuine and heart felt, and you can tell. George is one of those actors that genuinely loves to meet and talk to fans. He listened to me intently as I totally fan-girled about how much I loved Star Trek, and how I grew up on it. Then he thanked me for coming to see him. He thanked me. Craziness.