Comic Con starts

Hairy “Viking” mainly wants to eat in Vienna

Julian Seager is a "Viking", hairy food blogger and has appeared in Bauhaus commercials.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection)

Cosplayers, comic artists, gamers and film stars are expected at the Comic Con in Vienna this weekend. A "Viking" named Julian Seager and science fiction icon Claudia Christian, known from the series "Babylon 5" among others, already did the honors at a press conference in the Austrian capital on Wednesday evening.

 "This is a very special kind of fan community," said the 59-year-old to the sci-fi nerds. "They stay loyal to you forever," she said. "Even if the show was 50 years ago, like 'Star Trek', there are still fans who were there from the beginning," said Christian, who began her cinema career as a stripper in "The Hidden - The Unspeakable Evil" (1987): "Barely clothed, but there was an alien trapped in my female body. So I wasn't just a pin-up girl, but a strong, terrifying person. At 21, I was already playing a 30-year-old mother with three children."

Commander Susan Ivanova
In "Babylon 5", the American with a German mother embodied a "strong, complicated character" as Commander Susan Ivanova, as she put it. The fact that fans approach her primarily because of this role, despite her versatile work as an actress, author and voice artist, does not bother her at all: "On the contrary, I feel honored." After all, the series was ahead of its time, addressing topics such as sexuality, addiction and ethnicity. "Before Ivanova, there was no visibly religious Jewish character in sci-fi - and no genderfluid one either." However, the fact that some fans wear Ivanova's face as a tattoo irritates her a little.

Claudia Christian

(Bild: APA Pool/Frazer Harrison / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Cult potential of the series not recognized at first
Did she realize the cult potential of the series right from the start? "No," she smiled in the APA interview. "In truth, my agent advised me to accept the role because the series wouldn't last longer than one season - and I would soon be free to make more films. She didn't give the series a chance because it wasn't set in the cosmos of 'Star Trek'. So I never imagined it would be five seasons, a few movies, comics and books. Likewise, I didn't know that the series would allow me to travel the world and attend conventions."

Comic Con Vienna, 23-24.11., Messe Wien, 2nd Messeplatz 1, SA 10am-7pm, SO 10am-5pm, info and advance booking: viecc.com

(Bild: db-photography)

At this year's Comic Con Vienna, Christian will be joined by "sound king" Michael Winslow ("Spaceballs", "Police Academy"), the first female Stormtrooper Samantha Alleyne from "Star Wars", various cosplay stars, comic artist and author Frank Cho (Marvel). Julian Seager, a Viking, also came to Vienna, or at least the Brit has already played one several times. "Because of my looks," he laughed. "Also, my DNA is Norwegian. My name translates from Norse as sea spear, which also means warrior. I'm predestined for roles like this."

Despite filming with Pitt: Muppets preferred
Seager, who also runs the popular YouTube channel "Hairy Food Guy" (and therefore wants to "eat!" in Vienna in addition to admiring Klimt pictures) is also known in Austria from an advertisement for a Bauhaus, in which his love for a saw was the subject. "But we're separated again," he laughed. Although he filmed "World War Z" with Brad Pitt, he describes his involvement in "Puppets Most Wanted" as his favorite role to date. "I only had three sets, but it was a fantastic experience. Who needs Pitt when you've got Kermit and Miss Piggy?" he grinned. And even though he loves comedies, he "loves playing the villain that everyone hates".

From left: David Graf, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook and George R. Robertson in "Police Academy 6 - Resistance is futile" (USA 1989)

(Bild: Impress / United Archives / picturedesk.com)

Voice actor Daniel Schlauch (voice of Zac Efron, among others) will be chatting away at Comic Con. He has already spoken to APA about the increased demands on his profession: "Streaming providers are now releasing everything worldwide at the same time. This creates a lot more pressure with less lead time. The books have to be written first. You can't just translate, the text has to be rewritten so that the language fits on the lips. Then the film is broken down into many small sentences that are spoken by the dubbing actors. They have just two weeks in the studio, then they start mixing. If anything goes wrong, it's a real problem. Surprisingly, it usually works in the end."