When I say I spent a weekend with Stephen Amell what I really mean is I spent a weekend with Stephen and a few of his closest friends. Heroes and Villains is a different type of convention that caters specifically to the ever growing television fandom. Founded by James Frazier and Stephen Amell, this convention boasts that “It’s not your dads comic con, it’s your fan fest”. I purchased a 2 day Stephen Amell VIP pass for the “fan fest” in San Jose, CA. These passes were not cheap but in my opinion they were certainly well worth every penny. This was a great opportunity to see all my favorite celebrities up close and personal, shake their hands, have a little chat and even take a selfie or get an autograph for the right price. This is the story of my weekend with Stephen Amell and his super friends.

I drove 7 hours on Friday morning to put myself in San Jose about 1pm. It wasn’t too bad of a drive actually. I met up with a friend of mine at the hotel we were staying at and then we raced over to the San Jose Convention center in downtown. I was excited to check in at will call and pick up our passes for the weekend. The great thing about the Amell VIP passes is that they each came with a photo op, an autograph from Stephen, plus head of the line privileges for panels and other stuff throughout the weekend. After picking up our passes I must have asked a dozen questions. I had never been to anything quite like this before. Even if you have been to a comic con or two, this is still a completely different beast. I had no idea what I was in for the next morning so sleep did not come easy that night because I was too excited.

Woke up early Saturday morning to get my butt back over to the convention center; it didn’t start until 10am but VIP passes got me in an hour early both days. This was definitely a huge advantage in getting a jump on things for the day ahead. After waiting in a little line of other VIP pass holders, and a bag check I was let into the main convention hall. The celebrity booths lined the back and side walls. There was a center stage, a hero obstacle course in the middle, a whole alley of just vendors and then the main panel stage off to one side. It was a great set up, plenty of space but yet intimate enough to feel up close and personal with the celebrities.

Autographs and Awesomeness:

I took the advice of one of the volunteers early on and got straight away into Stephen Amell’s line for autographs. They told me that he is quite the main attraction and his line tends to get very long. I got in the VIP line and was third in line. We waited a little bit, and Stephen actually tweeted that his plane had just landed and he was headed straight there. It was only a few minutes later that a smiling and charming Stephen Amell appeared right there in front of me at his booth. My heart was pounding and I couldn’t believe the Arrow was standing right in front of me. When I got my turn to go up to meet him and get his autograph I pulled myself together and asked him if I could shake his hand and he said “of course”. He was genuinely the real deal, and let me tell you the gun show was real as well. That man is a specimen.

After I met Stephen, I was ambitious and decided to go meet his cousin Robbie Amell as well. He hadn’t arrived yet, but I noticed a tall figure a few booths down. I almost didn’t recognize Teddy Sears from The Flash (Jay Garrick/Hunter Zolomon) because he was wearing a baseball hat and sporting a 70’s porn star mustache. Luckily at 6 feet 5 inches that man is hard to miss. I walked up to his booth and shook his hand and promptly told this giant of a man that he must in fact shave the stache before my pictures with him the next day. He proceeded to laugh his ass off and say that he wished he could, but he couldn’t due to a part he was currently playing. Plus he confided in me that his wife actually liked it (wink wink). He signed my exclusive Funko Pop Jay Garrick figure. I also told Teddy that I loved him so much more as Jay than I did as Hunter (Zoom) and he told me that he wished to remain a good guy as well. As much fun as it was to play Zoom, he had hoped his character would stay the stalwart and true Jay Garrick. Can you just love this guy anymore? Then it was back to Robbie’s booth and I got to meet and take a selfie with him as well. It was great meeting Stephen’s cousin and I got to tell him how much I loved him in the X-Files.

The weekend was already off to an amazing start and it was only going to get better. I met my friend Kimberly who was camped out at Matt Ryan’s (Constantine’s) booth. He was fashionably late, but well worth it. She had met Matt on numerous occasions so I strolled right up with her and got to meet him too! Let me tell you that his super sexy accent is 100% real. I told him that I had a copy of the new Hellblazer comic book on me, and he was super excited to see it. He said he really wanted to read it, so I let him have my copy. My hope is that he will always remember me as the girl who gave him Hellblazer #1.

I also slipped over to meet Echo Kellum who plays Felicity’s sidekick Curtis on Arrow. He was huge and intimidating, but the second you talk to him you realize what a great guy he is. He spoke easily with me about his character on Arrow and gave me an inside peek at something I swore I’d take to my grave. As much as I’d love to tell you all what I got a glimpse of, I can’t. I take my promises seriously. Last but certainly not least, I just had to meet Brandon Routh in person. I mean he played Superman and it’s the closest thing i’ll ever get to meeting god. He’s so gracious and has the most adorable dimples as well. It was so exciting taking a selfie with the former man of steel. I was on hottie overload for sure!

Plenty of Panels:

Arrow Panel- Saturday was filled with so much excitement already, but now it was time to sit for some panels and find out what was happening on my favorite shows. I caught the tail end of David Ramsey, Willa Holland and Amy Gumenick from the CW’s Arrow. They were so cute and silly together on stage. My takeaways from this panel was that David and Willa were super close friends. They want more Diggle/Speedy scenes in season 5 of Arrow. Willa says David’s biceps are as big as her head, and after watching him knock out the 22 push up challenge; im inclined to agree. Willa asked to do baby push ups for the challenge and she was so adorable doing them, like there was any doubt.

L.O.T. Panel- Then I was able to snag a great seat for the Legends of Tomorrow panel which included Caity Lotz (White Canary), Ciara Renee (Hawkgirl), Johnathon Schaech (Jonah Hex) and Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer) who hadn’t arrived yet. Caity brings her dog on stage and is just as cute as you can imagine. Jonathan confirms that Jonah Hex will indeed be in season 2 of Legends. The crowd goes crazy over this information. When Caity is asked about the possible return of Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) she tells the audience that not only will he return for Legends but we can expect to see him across the board on other shows as well. Then she also hints at the appearance of The Legion of Doom. These were great reveals and the panel was a success, but wait it gets better! Suddenly Brandon Routh appears on stage and all is right with the world. His smile is captivating, and he is nerdy, quirky and adorable. He quickly captivates the audience with stories of his son racing Grant Gustin on the set of The Flash.

Stephen Amell Panel- This was by far my favorite and most entertaining panel of the day. He was alone up on stage with James Frazier moderating the questions. Fan questions ranged from Olicity to Supergirl and Stephen answered them all the best he could. Including when a outrageous fan asked him what color underwear he was currently sporting! Stephen actually blushed, then composed himself and came back with “they are grey”. He talked about the possibility of Bruce Wayne making an appearance on Arrow eventually. If he gets his way, it will happen but only if his cousin Robbie Amell gets to play the billionaire playboy. Stephen also discussed the impact Flashpoint will have on his show, Supergirl’s arrival, and the mega 4 part crossover event this winter. Overall it was an excellent panel, better than some with 5 or 6 guests easily. Stephen Amell just has this easy way about him, he is absolutely stunning. Below is a fan made YouTube video of this panel.

Party On-

The Nocking Point after party- Let me just say that if you ever attend a Heroes and Villains Fan Fest, the Nocking Point after party is a must! Stephen Amell along with his winery (Nocking Point Winery) throws one hell of an after party Saturday night after the convention. The ticket is extra, and you can even get a VIP ticket that grants you special privileges. Kimberly and I bought the basic tickets, and that got us into this super exclusive party with the celebrities, free wine, a souvenir glass and very nice hors d’oeuvres. This party was the highlight for me, it made the entire convention. I was brave enough to walk right up to Stephen Amell and ask him which of his wines would be the best to try! I ended up getting a free glass poured right there of Nocking Point’s new Cabernet. After that I was hanging out with some of the con volunteers and Nocking Point guys when Robbie Amell walked up and I about died. He handed me another drink coupon that I would never use but kept as a special keepsake.

So here I was drinking some excellent wine bumping into stars all night long. At one point I turned around and literally ran into Rick Cosnett, (Eddie Thawne-Flash) and I was like “oh my god your Rick,” smooth I know. He was very gracious and friendly, shook my hand and smiled. Pardon the blurry half drunken selfie, but in my defense it was dark, I was in heels and had already consumed a couple glasses of excellent wine. The wine also gave me the liquid courage I needed to walk up to Paul Blackthorne, introduce myself and tell him what a huge fan I was not only of his character on Arrow but of Harry Dresden as well. He was tall, and very debonair plus his accent was absolutely to die for. I got another chance to talk with Echo Kellum, and he is just so funny plus he’s a great dancer. Actor Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) was super cute that night as well and was even sweet enough to compliment me on my kitty cat dress.

The biggest surprise of the night was when John Barrowman got up on the stage to sing and dance, even though he was terribly sick and had to cancel his panels for the weekend. He couldn’t stand to miss out on a good party and a chance to show off his singing talent. Let’s just say he did not keep his improvised lyrics PG rated. Then Collin Donnell and Stephen Amell took the stage for the rest of the evening singing and dancing and entertaining the drunken masses. At one point Stephen announced that despite bringing the same amount of wine they always do San Jose had managed to drink it all! There were quite a lot of drunken people there that night.

Let me sum up my weekend experience with Stephen Amell for you. Heroes and Villains Fan Fest isn’t your typical convention, and it isn’t for everyone. It is however an experience of a life time, and an amazing way to get up close and personal with some of your favorite television and movie stars. There is just no other way to meet all these amazing people all on one place like this. It does cost a bit of money, but for me it was money well spent. My advice is to choose a few photo ops, but take advantage of the celebrities that are willing to do selfies at the booths. That was the most fun for me, taking the candid pictures with Brandon Routh and Robbie Amell. The Nocking Point party is a must and try attending a panel or two. I’m already plotting and scheming a way to make it to another Heroes and Villains Fan Fest! Who wants to go with me?