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Monday, May 21, 2018

Joonas Suotamo – Fan Expo Dallas 2018


After spending some time in 2 other lines that were NOT moving (more on that later) I got into Joonas Suotamo’s line. He was currently away for lunch but was due back soon. I was 5 people back. Even though I was standing in a line that wasn’t moving, I was making better progress than those other lines.  Bitter?  Yeah.  As I try to look for the silver lining…it was good ‘prep’ for SDCC.


Joonas is tall. He makes me look short. He is 8 inches taller than me. This makes him a good candidate for Chewbacca in the new Star Wars movies. As he walked back to his table, he was smiling. Young and good looking, he dwarfed his handler who was probably 5’ 6” tall.

When he sat, he waved to everyone.  In front of me was a mom and her young daughter. The kid was about 8 or so. Mom just wanted to say hi and not do an autograph.  Joonas did not mind.  He chatted to both.  The kid was shy and was having a hard time connecting this human to Chewie on the movie screen. So Joonas did the Wookie howl. He did it very well too.  The little one smiled.  Then Joonas picked up a couple of photos and asked which one the daughter liked.  She pointed to the one with Chewie and the Porg. He signed it.  The handler got up and whispered they didn’t buy an autograph. Joonas nodded and said that was his gift. He made the mom and little girl very happy.

It was my turn and we shook hands.  He apologized for bringing in the cold weather from Finland.  The day was rainy and in the low 60’s. I told him it was wonderful weather. And the lady behind me echoed my comment and added that it would be over 100 degrees too soon.  He smiled and quickly added that maybe we should be thanking him. We both laughed.

He signed and he took the time to add a flourish that is a character of Chewie to his signature.  It’s silly but it still makes me smile.  This was by far my best experience at this contention.

AH

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