At the Salute to Supernatural conference Tanya and I attended in early June, it seemed that Misha Collins (Castiel) just might have been as big a hit as Jared and Jensen. He really has won the hearts of fans, not something particularly easy to do when you're a new character introduced into the Supernatural world.The line to get pictures taken with him was fairly lengthy, so much so that when he walked up the stairs next to me with his handlers, he made a face like, "Wow, where did all these people come from?" Something that was different from the day before when we'd gone to get photos with Jared and Jensen was increased security. There was a Metro Nashville police officer at the door, another next to Misha and a TBI agent in the middle of the room. Turns out somebody had threatened Misha online, perhaps because they were upset that he was playing God. I mean, come on people! Sure, the religious stuff on Supernatural makes me squirm sometimes, but it's fiction. The actors don't actually believe this stuff.
Threats aside, Misha was very friendly as were Jared and Jensen the day before. We exchanged "nice to meet yous", the picture was snapped, and off I went to the rest of my day. Tanya showed me a video tweet Misha had posted that morning. Evidently he'd gone for a run and one of the cicadas that were then in swarm mode (thank goodness they're all gone now for another 13 years) attached itself to the front of his shorts. Misha, being Misha, said something about the cicada "going for the gold." Hee hee.
Later, when Misha took the stage, the roar from the crowd was quite impressive. And unlike some of the other panelists from previous sessions, he understandably stayed on the stage, except for when a girl dressed in a pretty good Castiel costume came to the microphone to ask a question. It was funny to watch her get a little flustered as he deliberately moved closer and closer into her personal space.I really should have written this post right after the conference so I could remember the specifics of the question-and-answer session. I remember him talking about Random Acts and how he was getting ready to head to Haiti to help build an orphanage. He does a lot of really good charity work like that. And that's something that always endears a star to me much more than anything else, a friendly and giving nature. When they don't let stardom go to their heads and make them jerks.
I'm not sure what will happen to Castiel this year, but I wish Misha Collins much continued success in his career, wherever that takes him.
