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Misha Collins Panel - Cherry Hill Con
Wednesday, 11 March 2009 08:42 | Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 22:16 | Written by Alice Jester | 
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Here is it, my loose transcription of the entire Misha Collins panel at the NJ “Salute to Supernatural” con. Needless to say, he was a huge hit, and handled this crowd that was determined to embarrass him very well. No spoilers in this. All the panelists were very tight lipped about what was to come.
- Misha was introduced after a very disturbing fan video to Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” played (blatant hints of Wincest). We wiped those uncomfortable images from our minds and the room erupted in cheers as the very pretty man/angel came on stage. His first reaction to the huge welcome from the crowd was “Wow.” Flashbulbs started going off en mass. He thanked Malik, mentioning how he was a great actor and pimp.
- “So now what do we do?” He asked. Someone shouted, “Tell us about yourself.” “What do you want to know?” He got many things shouted at him at once, and mentioned “that’s a hundred things at once.” Gary from Creation (our host for most of the weekend) moved onto questions. While he was trying to answer a question, the flash bulbs were still going off everywhere, so he joked “There’s no shortage of cameras.”
- Someone asked how it felt to be loved by thousands of fangirls, and the crowd went nuts. After they settled down, he said sarcastically, “Terrible.” He then asked, “Is that all the initiation involves?” He wondered if there was any type of hazing ritual.
- The next question in a very round about way (something about being a certain weight a few months ago and another show that Misha was on not to be mentioned) and wanted to know how in the hell he went to bed lying down after that. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he joked. “Actually the trick was…” but then stopped, realizing he couldn’t easily explain it. “I knew I was going to get that question.” He pulled himself together and went on to explain. When he auditioned for that part he hadn’t done Supernatural yet, and the show (which we find out to be Nip/Tuck) uses guest stars no one has ever seen before. He said that his grandmother turned into the wrong station when that episode came on and watched a Fox new program the whole time waiting for him to show up, thus sparing her. When he auditioned he was asked if he was flexible and if he knew yoga, and even though he knew he wasn’t that flexible and didn’t know yoga he said yes. The episode resulted in a tremendous amount of pain, and weeks later he was still in rough shape. “So, that’s how.”
- Someone wanted more specifics about which show and what he was talking about, and audience members shouted “Nip/Tuck.” He explained he played a yoga instructor with “an incredible natural endowment” and was incredibly flexible, so he spent a lot of time alone with himself (aka, using yoga for self gratification).
- He was asked what other roles he’d like to play. He took a long pause, “Not Columbo.” (A funny reference to his constant wearing of a trench coat). Then he said George Clooney on ER and Elmer Fudd.
- Someone had his book of published poetry in her hand, and was hoping he could recite one of them. He didn’t remember any of them, so she handed him the book. He sat down and opened the book, still not sure if he should be doing this. “I wasn’t nervous, until now.” Someone in front of me shouted “We accept you!” Misha quipped, “You haven’t heard my poem.” He read a poem, “Baby Pants,” talking about the simple act of watching a friend’s baby get dressed on a weekend afternoon in LA. Everyone let out a big “awww” and he managed to turn all us women into mush. He said his sister was with him, and he’s totally embarrassed. The woman then shouted “We still accept you!”
- A little girl asked if he like playing an angel on Supernatural. “Yeah, it’s fun. It’s different than most other characters that I play because he’s not a human being. It’s pretty cool. He’s also got superpowers, he doesn’t get killed, he doesn’t get shot…” The little girl interrupts, saying and he’s connected to God. “Yes” Misha agreed. He asked her what she thought of the character. I think she said he was quite fantastic (some of the questioners weren’t good with the microphone).
- Someone asked which role he had most fun with, playing Paul Bernardo (a serial killer in the film Karla) or an angel like Castiel. He apparently got too much into the role of Paul Bernardo and couldn’t leave the character behind when he got home at night, causing him to have some scary dreams about it. He thought both were fun though.
- Someone asked if he thought Castiel would fall. “Honestly, probably.” He hopes it goes in that direction since it’s more interesting. He also would imagine it would have something to do with Dean, but since he’s not the writer, he doesn’t know how.
- Here’s my favorite answer of the panel. He was asked how he either found out or prepared for the role for Castiel (again, not good with the mic). He told the story of how the first call he got was from the wardrobe department. They wanted him to fly up to Vancouver a week early just for the fitting. He didn’t want to, but he did and accepted the first thing they showed him. “Had I had any idea that I was going to be wearing the fucking thing (huge audience reaction) for at least year…not nearly enough thought went into it.”
- The same person asked about the scene in the playground with Dean and Castiel in “It’s The Great Pumpkin Sam Winchester,” watching the kids play, wondering if he thought it was strange for two grown men to be at the playground. “Are you asking is Castiel a pedophile?” He shared a story of how there were sprinklers at the playground, and near the benches were the buttons that turned them on. As they were setting one of the kids would come over and press the button, and it would be twenty minutes before they could do the next take.
- He was asked who would he’d like the play the most. He answered God, and then Lucifer.
- Someone read up on Misha on imdb, (it’s all lies he claimed) and asked whether it was true that he started his own software company and that he built his own home and the furniture in it. Misha was flabbergasted that anyone wanted to know that. He confirmed he started the software company right out of college. He hated doing it but he wanted a get rich quick scheme. A few years later he found he was making money from acting to support his software company and “maybe things were backwards.” He also built his home, but not all the furniture. Most of it though. He studied carpentry in high school and likes that stuff.
- He was asked how he got into acting. “I was supporting my struggling software company.” (big laughs) He also talked about working at the White House, interning at NPR and wanting to be a lawyer, but he didn’t like it and got a sour taste for it. He got work in acting easily and quickly and thought he should give it a shot.
- What was his personal best role. “Other than Nip/Tuck?” He did a couple of indie films, Parsic and Moving On, that have never been released. “They’re great and no one’s ever gonna see them.”
- He was asked if he had to choose between Dean or Sam, which would he pick? He skirted around the question, realizing anything he said was going to get him into trouble. He loved how one was going from bad to good and the other was going from good to bad. They’re both doing a great job.
- What project got him into acting? Liberty Heights directed by Barry Levinson. He also talked about being on the Girl Interrupted set and had trouble putting a leather vest on, so he asked the girl nearby to help him. He later found out it was Angelina Jolie.
- My dear friend Heather (a fellow techie) first asked that if he ever started another software company, she’ll cover the QA (I’ll be the System’s Analyst!). She then asked about how he liked Baltimore when filming Liberty Heights. He had a great time and he remembered being overpaid. His grandmother lives in Baltimore and he’s impressed how much it’s changed over the last ten or fifteen years.
- Did he do any research about angels? He didn’t know about them at first and then got the first script showing them as dark and didn’t understand. He got out the bible and found the angels can be bad, often vindictive and evil, like killing half the fish in the sea.
- Someone asked what Castiel’s hopes and aspirations for Sam and Dean are. “It think he hopes they all settle into a nice country home…you don’t know how Castiel thinks.” (more audience reaction. He pretty much owns us by now, although he likely did that the second he walked on stage). There’s always some sort of conflict building between Sam and Dean and Castiel and Dean, and he likes that dynamic.
- Someone asked the prank question. “No one would dare,” he joked. He explained at the beginning of the show the pranks were between Jensen, Jared, and Kim Manners, but they eventually realized they hit a point of escalation. There’s hijinks though, and they’ve ruined many takes because they couldn’t stop laughing. He shared a story of how they were shooting at 3:00 in the morning for one of the upcoming episodes and it had a kid in it. Kids can’t work beyond 10:00 pm, so they had a very small woman who looked like the kid from behind reciting the lines. It was an intense scene, but she had this weird accent and was confused over what to do, so each time he had to point to the lines on the page. He was biting his cheeks trying not to laugh, and he saw Jared and Jensen were fighting it too. He also talked about how they filmed in an old abandoned warehouse and they got in trouble because they were breaking windows.
- After a long winded question, the point came up, how does he feel about his character being a component of God? Does he feel cool about it? “Yeah.” He made a comment about “touching God” and then laughed, asking for a rewind button. He loved how they questioned the concept of blind faith, and he was happy to be a part of that.
- He talked about being a total wuss about scary movies. He had an unusual childhood and has seen many things which don’t scare him, but he gets involved in the scary movies and forgets to suspend disbelief.
- The person had a follow up question, and this has been asked repeatedly over the entire weekend. “What’s your cell ring tone?” I loved Misha’s answer, “iPhone default.”
- A bold fan came up with a request, asking if he’d do the line “You should show me some respect.” “Nah.” The fan pleaded, but he claimed he wouldn’t do it justice. The crowd begged some more. “Come on people, I already read you a poem!” The fan pouted, and guilted Misha into it. He delivered the line perfectly, the crowd went wild, and he turned beet red. “That’s the most ridiculous I’ve ever felt.”
- Another Nip/Tuck question. They had to retake the plastic surgery scene because much of it was improvised, and he was supposed to be lying there unconscious, but he couldn’t stop laughing.
- What’s his favorite music? Cole Porter, Faith Hill, electronica, Santo Gold, he’s really eclectic.
- Someone asked how long it would take before Castiel gets to smack Dean around. He wasn’t sure, but he’d pass that request along to Kripke.
- What was he told to expect when coming to the con? Someone told him to bring an extra suitcase, because he’d be getting gifts. He went on to explain that he’s not part of a group or a fan of anything, so it’s cool to see other people who are a part of it, especially those pay a lot of money to be there and travel so far. He was pleasant surprised by all the people he talked to, and no one warned him about that.
- He was asked what he thought Castiel’s soundtrack should be? He didn’t know, and suggested Rachmaninoff.
- Another bold fan mentioned how when he originally auditioned, he thought he was playing a demon. She asked him to show the audience how he played that demon. Misha gave her a quick no. She begged, he said no again, the audience pleaded and he shouted “I’m not your monkey!” (more huge laughs). She tried some more, and he kept saying no. She wouldn’t stop, but he stuck to his guns. “Nothing’s gonna happen. I don’t want to. I’m sorry, I aim to please, but I don’t aim that high.” Have I mentioned by now that he has the crowd eating out of his hands? He handled this situation perfectly.
- What person inspired him the most? He talked genuinely about his mother, who was a theater actress, and they moved around a lot, were always on welfare and sometimes homeless. He rebelled against her, and it wasn’t until five years into acting before it even dawned on him that his mother was an actor and he followed in her footsteps. She would direct plays at his school and he would get the lead for the show, and that got him started. He never credited her for it, but he is now.
- He writes poetry because it reveals the beauty and exuberance of a specific moment in life. Has he written anything else? “I’ve written some shitty screenplays.”
- A fan asked something I wish had been asked first. He gushed over how Castiel had the best entrance ever and wanted to know what it was like filming that scene. Misha claimed the way that scene was shot, anyone could have done that and looked cool. The roof starts shaking, the doors fly open, he comes in cool as a cucumber, and sparks start flying. They spritzed his hair so that the sparks wouldn’t ignite his hair, and he felt it sizzle anyway and couldn’t react. He talked about the squibs going off on his chest (when Dean tried to shoot him) and he wanted to jump back when they went off, but couldn’t react. Then Dean stabbed him, but he didn’t stab him actually. He just had a handle and the blade was CGI’d in. He had to pull the blade out straight, but kept doing it on a curve since there was really no blade. They had to shoot that over and over again.
- After all that, there was a technical problem and they had to reshoot the scene the next day, and he was happier because he did it much better. He then got two audience members up on the stage to show the trick as to how he could appear out of thin air. He showed how the sweeping camera shot would focus on one person, he would duck down, and jump out just before the camera got back to him. It was a rather funny demonstration.
- Someone asked if Dean might get some angel powers, and he almost spilled the beans about something involving Anna, then realized that episode hadn’t aired yet. He ended it with “Yeah, I’d like to see it.”
- Another question about his experience with the fans. “Good,” he answered. Fans haven’t been crazy. No one’s showed up at his house, or no one that shouldn’t show up at his house. He’s pleased that so far he’s in the fan’s good graces, for if he was Ruby he’d be crying himself to sleep at night. He’s pleased, but he knows he never wants to get on our bad side. “Geez you’re mean.”
Misha got the cut off signal, and thanked us all before going on his way to the overwhelming and very long autograph session. He’ll be attending the other cons this year, and I think he’ll have no trouble winning people over. He did great for his first con, especially since he ended up being a headliner. He should certainly appreciate Jared and Jensen taking that burden away in future cons.
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Comments
Much more pleasant than Castiel =D
But hell, really, now I feel bad about Genevive. I rather liked her since Lazarus Rising, but I still found her too different from first Ruby. Then I get used to her, and now I really like her.
It's sad she can never have fun with fans, on conventions like this. (And I can never read about her panel in your weblog. Thank you for writing those reports, btw!)
Damn, fangirls ARE mean.
Jim's panel will be up sometime today. His was much longer, and since it was my daughter's birthday yesterday, I didn't have time to transcribe.
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