Here are a bunch of people’s awkward portraits with celebrities from FanExpo

Fame isn’t eternal; it requires constant maintenance. That’s why, at fan conventions around the world, a few actors—usually ones whose IMDb profiles are starting to grow a little bottom-heavy—eschew celebrity mystique in favour of a retail approach.

This past weekend, at Toronto’s FanExpo, visitors paid as much $195 to have their pictures taken with the nerd idols of yesterday and today. These portraits are destined to be cherished mementos, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But look at enough of them in rapid succession and you start to get a sense of how draining it must be to spend hours living up to the expectations of people who are, at least some of the time, moderately to severely too excited to make your acquaintance. Observe:

Mark Hamill

A.K.A. Luke Skywalker

His career revived by a 10-second appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Hamill was the headliner at this year’s FanExpo, where he commanded $195 for a photo-op. How did he cope with the crowds? Mostly by pointing:

And pointing:

And pointing at the camera:

And here he is using the force, or something:

John Cusack

A.K.A. Joan Cusack’s brother

Cusack is also a fan of the point:

William Shatner

A.K.A. Captain Kirk

Shatner’s photo-op pose has been expertly honed over decades of fan convention appearances. He’s now 85. The captain’s chair is probably less a prop at this point than a necessity:

Gillian Anderson

A.K.A. Dana Scully

Anderson has a remarkably consistent half-smile:

Aw, there’s that smile:

Jack Gleeson

A.K.A. King Joffrey

Another very consistent facial expression, albeit with a much different effect:

It’s nice that we can all laugh about the poisoning now: