An Unexpected Surprise

The zoo is usually the place where you go to see animals. But not this time. As my family and I were taking a break at one of the many benches in the Portland Zoo, I was busy watching people. But as I scanned the crowd, I came across a familiar face. But I had to be sure it was him before I walked up to him. So I waited to hear his accent. As soon as he opened his mouth and his Irish accent became apparent, I was already up and making a move to introduce myself. But as I got closer, I totally blanked on his name. I knew he was Badger on Firefly, Romo Lampkin on Battlestar, Tanaka on Dollhouse, and I even just recently saw him on an old season one X-Files episode as a pyrokinetic assassin named Bob the caretaker. But what do you say to an actor that you remember his characters and not his name? The answer is anything but "Hey, are you that guy from Battlestar?". But before I could stop myself, that was exactly what I said, to which his answer was yes. My inner fanboy was giggling with glee. He politely introduced himself as Mark Sheppard, introduced his family, and we began talking. He said he was in town shooting "Leverage" and that he was taking a break with his family. I explained that I loved his work on BSG and loved all of his characters. He was so friendly and humble. We talked about BSG, how he missed it, his work as a villain on Burn Notice, and his family. He was even kind enough to take a picture with me. What an awesome guy! I just hope he was the kind of actor that is flattered by people knowing his characters instead of his real name. Oops. Oh well.