Supernatural. A show that lasted fifteen seasons. The two main characters, Sam and Dean fought Lucifer. Fought God. Met Scooby-Doo. Sam lost his soul; Dean went to Hell. A bevy of great guest stars and recurring characters showed up through the years, including Linda Blair, Paris Hilton, DJ Qualls, Lauren Cohan, Mark Pellegrino, and Curtis “Booger” Armstrong.
Yet, with all the great actors and characters that filled the screen, the recurring character that captured my attention, and eventually my heart, was Ruth Connell’s Rowena. Not only was she a ton of power and screen presence packed into a fire-haired, beautiful frame, but she could walk on the side of the angels and the demons and be believable in both aspects. She also had a killer sense of humour. She still has my favourite line in the entire show when she looks at Crawley, her son, the King of Hell and asks, “What the hell is going on in Hell?”
Today, I met the artist behind Rowena’s killer smile and long red nails. Let me tell you that Ruth Connell did not disappoint. She was as charming as I expected her to be, having a bit of fun with the spelling of my name. “Steven or Stephen?” she asked. “Stephen,” I answered. Ah, I guess it depends if you are Catholic or Protestant, she quipped. When taking the photo, she whispered, “Let’s do Blue Steel. Jensen.” I immediately knew she wanted a cool, criminal look that Jensen Ackles brought to the Dean character when posing for his mug shot in episode 19 of Season 2. She and I put on our cool looks, and I have to say, Ruth Connel can beat me every time in that department.
Shout out to Eoin, my Action Elite brother, for finally meeting his fellow Scottish compatriot. He assured her he knew what she meant with the Catholic vs. Protestant line she gave me. To her credit, she knew the pronunciation of Eoin’s name immediately, obviously familiar with Celtic Gaelic. Unfortunately, Eoin was not in a Blue Steel frame of mind.
Other Supernatural guests were there: Jim Beaver, Alexander Calvert, and the main attraction, Jared Padalecki as Sam. I’m sure they were all awesome (and yes, you can see Jared in the corner of the photos I posted). However, for me, it was Ruth Connell, the spitfire behind one of Supernatural’s most popular and enduring characters, that I wanted to meet, and today, thanks to the Toronto Comicon, I got my wish.
