I have met several famous people who were quite humble. Stan Lee was absolutely terrific and I had the opportunity to have a brief lunch with him many years ago when he was not widely famous, as he is now. Linda Hamilton was kind and gracious. Jenette Goldstein was awesome and fun and friendly. In fact, I think most who I have met are. I think that,maybe, once you are secure in your fame you begin to open up and express gratitude for it. At least that is my theory. Nonetheless, one who in particular comes to mind is Sigourney Weaver. Everyone knows who Sigourney Weaver is. She is a legend and deservedly so. Her characterization of Ellen Ripley changed cinema and, particularly, the role of female protagonists. After Ripley, women could be credible action heroes in their own right. Anyway, a few years back Aliens celebrated the 30th Anniversary of its release. As part of that celebration the local Comic Expo here in Calgary managed to assemble the entire main cast of the film, all together in one place at one time for the first time since the film’s premiere 30 years before! That was quite the coup. Of course, the highlight of the event and the biggest star there was Sigourney Weaver. She arrived on Saturday afternoon and had the huge, sold out, Aliens panel that night. She was warm and gracious and rather self-effacing on stage and was utterly engaged in what the audience said to her. She seemed honestly interested to hear whatever people chose to share with her and I don’t think you can really fake that. Although George Burns once famously quipped, “Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that you got it made.” Now, the next day, Sunday is where she truly shone and set herself apart from maybe most celebrities. Having only come in on Saturday for the panel, Sigourney was contracted to take pics and sign autographs on Sunday. Hundreds and hundreds of people (or more) ended up lining up to meet her and she was booked for another panel later in the day. With that kind of time pressure I have seen many (most really) celebrities simply do what they can then abandon the line when they have to head to their next engagement. That is the nature of the beast at Cons. It happens. But then Sigourney made her legend by slaying such beasts and did so here, too. She told her management that she wasn’t going anywhere until absolutely every person who would care to meet her, shake her hand and take a picture had had their time, no matter how long that took. She told her manager that she was there for the fans, not the other way around. So, one by one, graciously, Sigourney met with and interacted with each of what was probably thousands of us lined up to meet her, say hi, and shake her hand. Even at a few seconds to maybe half a minute each this was a monumental undertaking. She was focussed but unrushed, taking time especially with her handicapped fans to have a moment with them. The end result was she ended up being something like 90 minutes or more late for her panel that afternoon. Usually this would have been just cause for animosity or outright anger but given what she had been doing and the fact that the crowd waiting were informed of what she was doing when she walked in the room erupted with pure love and respect, even adulation, for the depth of character she displayed. Sigourney was obviously touched and given who she is, stayed late at that panel for exactly the same reason. So, yeah, Sigourney Weaver is a legend and deservedly so. The utter class and sheer character she demonstrated should serve as an example to the rest of us who may feel that we are too busy or too important or too entitled to give a shit. She showed that you are never too busy or too famous to care. I love Sigourney Weaver!