By Karl Tan
The recently concluded Toycon PH 2018 was surely a treat for those who patronized the event with a star-studded roster of guests namely Kevin Grevioux who played the role of Raze from the movie Underworld, the very foxy Kelly Hu who played Lady Deathstrike (X2) and two very proud Filipino’s, Dante Basco who played Rufio from Hook and Michael Copon, best known for his role as the Blue Power Ranger Time Force.
Basco shared that while growing up in the United States, he was exposed to the Filipino traditions because both he lived in a household with both his parents and grandparents under one roof. He also shared that his career started in their living room where he would perform in front of his whole family during their get-togethers.
Michael Copon on the other hand, treated the Filipino crowd when a fan asked him to perform the Morphin Sequence on stage, which he gladly did without hesitation.
The four not only have had their own fair share of fame on camera, but they also do voice-over’s for some very well-known cartoon characters. Grevioux shocked people that he did a voice-over for a video game and did the very famous ‘I AM GROOT’ line of Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy. Dante Basco also voiced Prince Zuko for Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, then Kelly Hu on the other hand is a voice actor for cartoons such as Phineas and Ferb, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and is currently doing Disney’s Tangled.
The movie Hook lined up Dante Basco with Academy Award winners Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts and the late Robin Williams. “I spent so much time on the set on the days I wasn’t working, just to watch these guys and really working with the masters and just sitting there and have the presence of mind just to listen”, he also excitedly said, “I would be sitting next to the camera and I’d see Spielberg direct and start talking about the lenses he is using. I watched Dustin Hoffman and he would sit there and break down acting and be my acting coach.” He later shared a story about Robin Williams, “When you’re in Hollywood, a lot of times you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, like there is a big party going on, even when you’re in the biggest film in Hollywood and on the cast you still feel on the outside. Robin had a way of going ‘you belong here with us, you’re in the party’.”
The sum it all, the event wrapped up successfully despite the bad weather with people still flocking to the SMX in Pasay to attend the ToyCon 2018. From the beautifully decorated booths to the ever-creative cos-players to the invited VIP’s who graced this event, makes one wonder what we can expect for the ToyCon 2019.
