Empire Awards! James Meets Simon Pegg! Henry Cavill! Ralph Fiennes! Karen Gillian! Andy Serkis! Jessica Chastain! And More!

When James returns, he does so with a bang!

Check out James recap below!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m back!

For the past month and a half I have found myself kind of taking an unintentional break from all elements of this hobby; I’m not entirely sure why I did this, but after six weeks I realised that, with the exception of getting to spend time with friends, I hadn’t actually missed any aspects of the hobby. This, alongside four completely failed attempts to meet someone at the Barbican theatre over the past fortnight for a friend (sorry Mike..!), made me question whether I could give up this hobby altogether and not actually miss it. I thought the answer to this was “yes, quite easily”.

However, I found myself back at the side of a red carpet on Sunday. And I realised, on a cold, windy March afternoon, I still absolutely love this hobby!

Sunday saw the annual Empire film awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel. I’ve only been once in the past to these awards, but it was a really fun afternoon; sunny, not too busy, no pushing or arguing, and some pretty awesome guests. So I couldn’t resist going back once more this year. I didn’t look up to see who was going, and had absolutely no idea who was even in London. Having absolutely no idea who or what to expect made it a little bit more exciting.

First to arrive was Spooks star Peter Firth who was happy to sign an index card for me.

He was followed by Henry Lloyd Hughes, who has appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Anna Karenina and The Inbetweeners amongst other things. He also signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too.

He was followed by The Musketeers and Skins actor Luke Pasqualino, who signed an index card and posed for a photo too.

Mark Strong, star of Tinkor Taylor Soldier Spy, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Kick Ass and Kingsman: Secret Service arrived next. Mark signed an index card for me, but refused to pose for a photo, saying he was only going to sign for people so he could get to as many people as possible, which seemed fair enough.

The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird was right behind Mark; he posed for a quick photo with me and signed an index card too.

Sofia Boutella from Kingsmen: Secret Service followed; she signed an index card for me.

Peggy Carter aka Hayley Atwell was next to arrive. She was as lovely as usual and signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too. I’ve never had a bad experience meeting Hayley!

Hayley was followed by someone I wasn’t expecting to turn up, Freddie Highmore, star of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Bates Motel. I’ve wanted to meet Freddie for a while, but have never seen him around. He signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too! He looks so different these days to when he played Charlie over a decade ago!

Doctor Who and Guardians of the Galaxy star Karen Gillan was next to come over. I’m a big Doctor Who fan, and was rather happy to get to meet Amy Pond for a second time! Karen signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too.

Presenter Jonathan Ross followed, and signed an index card and posed for a photo with me. Last time I met Jonathan was at the Empire Awards last time I went, so I decided it was only right to get an updated photo!

Another person I’ve wanted to meet for a while was next to arrive – Love Actually, Nanny McPhee and Nowhere Boy star Thomas Sangster! Thomas was really friendly; he signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too. A new Doctor Who autograph for me too!

Poldark actor Kyle Soller arrived soon after. He signed an index card and posed for a photo.

The always lovely Jessica Chastain was next to arrive. The star of The Help, Zero Dark Thirty and Interstellar spent ages signing and posing for photos with waiting fans. Jessica signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too. I spent ages wanting to meet Jessica, and have now met her three times in seven months!

A few minutes later Superman himself Henry Cavill arrived! Just like Jessica, Henry spent ages meeting fans and posing for photos. He signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too. When the sun had kinda ruined the first attempt, he was kind enough to pose for a second picture! I wish I’d known he was going though, I would have loved to get my Man of Steel promo book signed.

Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs was next to arrive. He signed an index card for me, and also posed for a photo.

One of my favourite actors Simon Pegg was next to arrive. The Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, Run Fatboy Run, Paul and Star Trek star happily signed an index card, and posed for a photo with me, which sadly got a bit ruined by the sun! Ah well!

Gollum himself, Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes actor Andy Serkis was next to come over. Andy is one of the nicest guys, always makes time to stop for people! He signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too.

Andy was followed by The Hobbit and The Musketeers actor Ryan Gage. Ryan signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo.

Ophelia Lovibond, who I know best from BBC comedy W1A soon followed. She signed an index card and posed for a sun-ruined photo too!

Quantum of Solace, Oblivion and The Water Diviner actress Olga Kurylenko came over next. She signed an index card and posed for a photo with me. A new James Bond autograph for me!

The next person to arrive was my favourite of the afternoon, the awesome Peter Capaldi. Whilst most people know Peter now as the twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who, I know Peter best for his role as spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It (for the Americans reading this, it’s the British equivalent of Veep, and was created by the same guy). I think The Thick of It is the best British comedy of the 21st century, and I’ve massively got into it over the past couple of years (even if it finished in 2012). I’ve met Peter loads in the past, but never since getting hooked on all things Malcolm Tucker, so this was pretty exciting for me.

Peter spent the longest of anyone signing autographs, he must’ve spent a good 30 minutes meeting fans. He signed an index card for me, and posed for a photo too.

However, I couldn’t resist asking for a second autograph with a dedication of one of my favourite lines ever said by Malcolm Tucker. He loved the suggestion, and that leads to one of my favourite autographs ever! “To James, f*ckity bye! (not the Doctor), Malcolm Tucker xx“.

So happy!!

The last person to come over was Voldemort himself, Ralph Fiennes! Ralph was really friendly, moreso than I have seen him in the past (not that I have ever had a problem with him). He signed an index card and posed for a photo too. However… the camera took a while to take the photo, resulting in a photo that looks like Voldemort is giving me the absolute death stare! I think it’s hilarious!!

and that was that! A really fun afternoon with some great friends and some really friendly actors! If only every event could be like this!

Falling out of love with this hobby? Me? Never!

Check our James’ site here for more adventures in the UK!