Top Ten ‘Fan Friendly’ Film Stars
September 30, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Mondo Archive
The World According to Ken Knight
Top Ten ‘Fan Friendly’ Film Stars
Written By: Ken Knight
Mondo Film & Video Guide Feature Contributor
Far be it for me to be “biased” about any Actor or Actress solely because I have had the opportunity to meet them at a Convention, in-person or otherwise, but I do have a short list of those whom certainly deserve the title of “Fan-Friendly” while others are just the opposite when it comes to the general public they entertain! So here are my TOP TEN actors and actresses who qualify as Fan-Friendly in the sense they will talk, schmooze, wave, and even correspond with “ordinary folks” who admire and appreciate them.
Silvana Gallardo (Death Wish II, Solar Crisis, Windwalker)
Silvana Gallardo had done numerous TV roles on such 70’s staples as Hill Street Blues and Falcon Crest, but she was also Charles Bronson’s maid and later victim of a gang-attack in the cult vigilante flick “Death Wish II” as well as one of the earth-saving space adventurers in 1990’s “Solar Crisis” alongside Charlton Heston. Now a well-respected screenwriter, director, and acting-coach, Silvana Gallardo is friendly to her fans as any veteran actress of TV and Film could be, many of whom have taken her “Gallardo Method” Acting Class held many times annually. (Of course her New Year’s Party is the best time spent in Kentucky!) I first met Silvana a few years back while seeking an interview for my 2008 book THE MIDNIGHT SHOW which she graciously gave and you can read here on Mondo-Video.com. Polite, gracious, helpful, and appreciative of her fans, Silvana is the friendliest lady of all the Hollywood people I’ve met thus far and for anyone who takes her acting class wanting to pursue that career, she is a goldmine of knowledge and experience. Check out her site: www.silvanagallardo.com.
Rosario Dawson (Men In Black II, 25th Hour, Death Proof)
One of my favorite modern actresses over all is also one of the friendliest toward her growing legion of fans, as anyone who has met her at a Convention can attest to! I first saw the cute and sexy Rosario Dawson at a New York ComicCon a few years back only I didn’t get to speak with her as she was leaving up an escalator when I saw her. Well of course I “dorked out” and shouted playfully up at her “Rosie don’t leave me!” (jokingly) so she turned and looked at me with that bubbly smile of hers, blew me a kiss and waved farewell (my fault for showing up at the Con too late! haha). Well-known for her playful friendliness towards fans at Fantasy Conventions, one buddy of mine even has a photo of Rosario Dawson “choking” him while standing at her Convention table.
One of the few Film Stars to offer herself as a “lunch date” for fans to bid on with proceeds going to a charity ~ as of Sept. 20th 2010 there’s an Ebay® auction for a fan to bid on for a lunch date with the lady. When many movie stars wouldn’t sign an autograph for a fan these days, Rosario Dawson is above and beyond fan-friendly to those respectful fans that help make her one of today’s hottest and respectable actresses of the silver screen. Her fan-source site is www.rosariodawson.net
Marc Singer (The Beastmaster, Body Chemistry, Eagle Eye)
A Fantasy-convention regular, Actor Marc Singer is best remembered for his role as “The Beastmaster” and as the leader of the human resistance in the 80’s TV series “V”. One hell of a nice guy to his fans at Cons, I met him in Atlanta back in 2003 and have to say the guy as one of the more “down-to-earth” Hollywood people I have run in to, and still looks pretty much the same as he did 25 years ago (must have mastered that “Dorian Grey” thing, haha).
Sybil Danning (The Howling II, Malibu Express, They’re Playing With Fire)
One of the best female bodies to ever grace a motion picture screen in the 1980’s, Actress Sybil Danning never shied-away from brutal action sequences, nude scenes, nor her admiring fans! I remember first meeting Sybil on an escalator in some major US City years ago and she was very friendly, asked me about my then-recent novel and we talked like old pals until she had to get in a Taxicab. Of course, the Danning needs no bodyguard, for who is going to mess with the woman who kicked Linda Blair’s ass in CHAINED HEAT and shot up the town in LA BOUNTY? :::grins:::
ICE-T and wife “Coco” (Trepass, N.Y. Undercover)
This guy needs no introduction nor a filmography listing because unless you’re a monk odds are you’ve seen him in a movie or on TV, and if you’re a straight guy who likes sexy female pin-up gals, then you probably have seen his gorgeous wife “Coco” who has posed nude in Playboy® magazine as well as scantily-clad in other magazines such as Smooth®. Why did they make my list? They both make a serious effort to actually read fan-mail sent to them, sign autographed photos mailed to them and will even drop in an extra signed picture for good measure and send it back to you….if it takes a year or so, they’ll answer!
April Monique Burril (Chainsaw Sally, The Good Sisters)
The “drop-dead” (pun intended) gorgeous and talented April Monique Burril is best known for her role as horror maven “Chainsaw Sally” in the 2004 film of the same name but also for her ongoing role as killer Sally in the Internet series. A staple at horror fantasy conventions throughout the eastern half of the USA, April and her filmmaker husband JimmyO are two of the fan-friendliest by far, as you’ll see if you meet them at a Con. Posing with fans for photos (chainsaw and all) is what April is photographed doing the most at conventions, always a fun lady to meet and down-to-earth, or down-to-grave, however horrorhounds say it haha. And yes, it’s April on the front cover of my new horror novel DIRGE….
Danny Trejo (Heat, Predators, Machete)
The bad-ass-bad man of modern “guy-flick” cinema, what movie-goer doesn’t know this guy, hunh?!! Though I have yet to meet Danny in-person myself, he has the reputation of being a very friendly guy to his fans in public, eager to pose for pictures, and even corresponds with fans on Facebook.
Bianca Barnett (The Devil’s Muse, Albino Farm)
A stunningly attractive brunette with facial expressions that will stop you in your tracks, Bianca Barnett is an up and coming horror/fantasy film actress who makes plenty of Conventions to schmooze with the fans, more than eager to take a picture with you and goes out of her way to sign an autograph for someone. Matter of fact, it’s Bianca who keeps me checking Facebook every night just to see what she posted! haha.
Kitten Natividad (Takin’ It All Off, My Tutor, The Wild Life)
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The biggest boobs to make the silver screen from Russ Meyer’s 70’s guy-flicks to the 80’s titular B-movies MY TUTOR, TAKIN’ IT ALL OFF, and NIGHT PATROL, Kitten Natividad would light your fire to four-alarms as soon as you saw her be it dancing naked on a stage, getting groovy with a male actor, or just gratuitous scenes such as the big jiggling tits in the “Moral Majority” t-shirt scene in the comedy film AIRPLANE! Kitten Natividad is unforgettable and also a world-renown fan-friendly lady who greets her fans (like me) in the sweetest manner almost as if you’re a long lost cousin of hers! She recently signed an 8×0 photo for me of her in a scene from MY TUTOR where she’s standing topless with her male co-star for the brothel part of the movie, and while many actresses refuse to autograph photos of their nude scenes in movies, Kitten is more than happy to! Those plump jiggly-wigglies and her sweet smile will always be one of my fondest movie memories of all time.
Scott L. Schwartz (Oceans Eleven, Starsky and Hutch)-
“Bruiser” in the Oceans Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen movies, as well as countless other roles and pop-up characters in films and TV shows since the 1990’s, Scott L. Schwartz is a huge actor you find yourself looking up at when you meet him, but is the epitome of the term “Gentle Giant”. I met Scott at DragonCon a few years back and I walked up to him and said “Hey, you’re the guy who pretended to beat up George Clooney in Ocean’s Eleven!” to which he replied with his monster hand on my shoulder: “How tha f*#k do you know that was pretend….would you like to find out for yaself?” then he broke into laughter and I knew he was one hell of a jokester with his fans, which is most welcome when so many actors are not. Smart, easy-going, and willing to take the time to talk awhile with a fan on the spot, Scott L. Schwartz is not only fan-friendly but very very COOL!
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That’s awesome!
You can’t have a top ten without a bottom ten. Tell us who are the worst!
Should have included Angela Bettis (“May”).
Met her at MonsterMania a few years back and she was one of the nicest people I’ve met, movie-related or otherwise.
If I had included a “10 worst” believe me, it would have been a very negative-read! haha.