It pays to have good, later powerful, friends during childhood, because apparently they might one day make your childhood dreams come true. Greg Grunberg was a lifelong fan of Star Wars, and since he was good friends with the director of the new Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, he managed to wiggle his way into Star Wars lore by portraying the minor role of Snap Wexley. Of course this isn’t to say that it was only Abrams who led to Grunberg’s success. After all you might catch him making appearances in TV shows like Ned and Stacey, Diagnosis Murder, and Murphy Brown prior to his recurring and somewhat larger role in J.J. Abrams’ first major success Felicity.
This was where I came in. I quite enjoyed Felicity and always liked the somewhat pathetic character that Grunberg played – the similar sounding character Sean Blumberg.
Perhaps Abrams did see his childhood friend as a good luck charm, as he gave him a starring role in his next successful series Alias. And then it really did seem like a token gesture – maybe for good luck – to have Grunberg play the uncredited part of the pilot Seth Norris in Abrams’ next mega-hit TV series Lost.
And so it went as J.J. Abrams transitioned into films. Mission: Impossible 3, Star Trek, Super 8, and then the ultimate… The Force Awakens. Knowing J.J. Abrams has seemed quite lucrative for Greg Grunberg… or was it the other way around?
Pondering that question was pointless. The only question I needed to answer was whether I wanted to jump at the chance to meet Greg Grunberg when he appeared at the Lexington Comic & Toy Expo on March 13, 2016 – or more importantly whether I wanted to shell out $30 for a photo op. The answer to that was a resounding yes, but I stopped short of lining his coffers with $40 for an autograph. I’m a bit of a fan… but not that much.
He was a super friendly guy, especially nice to the kids that were in his line, sharing his experiences of making his – a fan’s – dreams come true. His life has been charmed for sure, but he was exceptionally down to earth and a pleasure to meet. Chalk up my first encounter with an actor from the new Star Wars regime (and at the same time the first celeb encounter of 2016). I hope he makes it back for more…
Celebrity encounters from the 2016 Lexington Comic & Toy Expo will continue…
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