Fan favourites like Todd McFarlane and Alison Sealy-Smith visit this year’s Calgary Expo

A myriad of celebrities are coming to town for the 2024 Calgary Expo, which runs at Stampede Park from Thursday to Sunday.

The event celebrates all things pop culture — playfully engaging with fans of the sci-fi, horror, anime or comic book realm through meet-and-greets, panels, special programming and even a parade.

Alison Sealy-Smith

One of those famous fan favourites in attendance is Canadian actor Alison Sealy-Smith, the voice of Storm in the original X-Men: the Animated Series, and now the Disney+ series, X-Men ’97.

“Calgary has a very special place in my heart,” Sealy-Smith told CBC Radio’s the Calgary Eyeopener.

It’s the place where she got her first professional gig, through a play presented by Theatre Calgary. 

“It’s going to be good to be returning,” she said.

Sealy-Smith’s story of entering into voice acting is all about trying to make her way through life as an actor.

“I was a single mom with two daughters trying to make a living in the most precarious of businesses.”

Eventually, she got the opportunity to voice Storm, and she says the fan community changed her life forever. Now, nearly 30 years later, she’s reprising the role.

Sealy-Smith says she stepped into the studio — which happened to be the exact same one she had used in the 1990s — and the presence and feeling of being Storm came right back to her.

“The writing is so flawless that you just step into it, and there she is. There she flies.”

Lee Waddell

But remember, the Calgary Expo isn’t just about celebrating superheroes — it’s also about the villains.

The man behind the mask in the first and second Scream movies, Lee Waddell, will be at this weekend’s convention. He joined the Calgary Eyeopener to let listeners into the world of playing Ghostface, the infamous phantom-faced slasher.

Waddell says they shot the film in sequence — which means shooting the film as it reads in the script — a rare occurrence in film. He believes the opening scene of Scream, which featured Drew Barrymore, is one of the most iconic moments in cinematic history.

But what is Waddell’s favourite kill scene?

“I really enjoyed when I killed Henry Winkler’s character,” he said, adding that it was the only moment in his acting career where he ever felt star-struck.

“We were talking about the exchange of energy between characters … he gave me some quick, on-the-fly [acting] pointers,” he said, adding that Winkler’s impromptu lessons were an experience he’ll never forget. 

Horror aficionados will have a chance this weekend to see the original Ghostface, along with series star Neve Campbell and other cast members.

“I’m crazy about those fans,” Waddell told Eyeopener host Loren McGinnis. “The reason I do this is for those fans.”

Patricia Summersett

And if you’re not a fan of being freaked out, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo has a little something for everyone.

Video game lovers will also have the opportunity to see Patricia Summersett, the person behind one of the most iconic voices in recent gaming history.

Hers is a voice that’s familiar to millions of gamers in North America. Summersett is the official English voice of Princess Zelda, the title character of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as well as the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, a legendary Nintendo franchise.

She says that working with this franchise over the past seven years has, in some ways, completely changed her life.

“I auditioned for the part without knowing what it was,” she told The Homestretch. “How is it me? How did that happen?”

Producing a video game is often very secretive, and voice actors sometimes won’t know what game or which part they’re auditioning for. She says reading the very sparse character description of a regal, classic princess — plus her years of training in the U.K. — inspired her to put a spin on the voice.

“It’s always about the script first because that’s always really strategic,” she said. “And then making it your own … your own personality to try and breathe life into it.”

Summersett’s Zelda has a British accent, something the real Summersett doesn’t actually have. 

“So often you’re working in a vacuum in these spaces,” said Summersett. “You pour your heart into characters and you have no idea how it’s going to be received.”

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has won over 200 awards, and it was the official launch game of the Nintendo Switch gaming system.

Roger Craig Smith

Another video game voice fans might recognize is that of Sonic the Hedgehog, played by Roger Craig Smith.

“I’m now 48 years old and I can remember when the Sega Genesis came out,” said Smith. 

The Sonic fandom is strong, he says, and it’s growing every day. He’s ecstatic to visit fans and connect with Calgarians. 

“The fandom for Sonic is massive,” said Smith. “It’s very surreal … it’s a privilege for sure.”

“You’re sort of taken aback or surprised sometimes by how much these things can mean to somebody,” he said, adding it’s “the best part of the job.”

This marks Smith’s first official visit to Calgary, and he’ll be speaking at 2:45 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Diana Lee Inosanto

Fans of Star Wars — one of the most renowned sci-fi franchises ever, spanning decades and comprising various films and TV series — will also have reason to smile at the Expo this weekend.

Diana Lee Inosanto plays Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and the upcoming series, Tales of the Empire.

“I’m kind of wowed that they’re putting this kind of attention on Morgan,” she told CBC Radio host Chris Dela Torre.

“It’s a dream come true. I have loved Star Wars since I was a child.”

It’s a role Inosanto feels she’s been preparing to play all her life, and it has to do with how she was raised.

Her father is renowned martial artist Dan Inosanto. She says growing up in the world of martial arts prepared her for the stunt work she would do throughout her career, but it wasn’t easy to showcase all of her skills — at times, it stunted people’s ability to also see her acting experience.

“So they would look at me, and they were like, ‘oh, you’re just a martial artist,’ or ‘you’re just a stuntwoman,'” said Inosanto.

“There tends to be this stereotype that if you’re physically talented to be in movement that you’re not really an actress.”

She’ll be at the convention on Saturday and Sunday.

Todd McFarlane

Comic book fans rejoice! Born and raised Calgarian Todd McFarlane — founder and president of Image Comics, creator of Spawn and well-known for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man — is coming back to his hometown this weekend.

McFarlane told CBC’s The Homestretch that when he was young he never believed someone from Calgary could make it in the comic book world.

At 16 years old, he started reading comics, which inspired him to find an art style to focus on. Then, he taught himself how to do Americana superhero style artwork.

“I was a doodler, so I was constantly drawing … I didn’t really have any focus, though,” he said.

McFarlane says his journey involved hundreds of rejections. His advice to anyone hoping to break into the industry?

“You’ve got to figure out how to stand out a little bit.”

McFarlane is doing sessions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.

CBC Calgary’s live coverage

Anis Heydari of the CBC podcast, This is Calgary, along with The Homestretch‘s Jenny Howe will host special CBC coverage of the Parade of Wonders, which organizers call Canada’s largest pop culture parade.

They’ll be set up in the fan zone, chatting with the people driving, walking and dancing down Stephen Avenue to Olympic Plaza on Friday.

Even if you can’t attend in person, viewers can watch livestreamed coverage on the CBC Calgary website and on the CBC Alberta YouTube channel starting at 10:30 a.m.

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