The Salt Lake Comic Con has grown since its debut in 2013 and continues to bring big celebrity names to Utah for the annual event. Several new guests were announced Wednesday — here is a look at this year’s celebrity lineup.
The 2015 Salt Lake Comic Con will be held Sept. 24-26 and Sean Astin is among the celebrities who will be in attendance, according to the Salt Lake Comic Con website. The American actor, director, voice artist and producer is best known for his roles as Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Mikey Walsh in “The Goonies” and as the inspiring title character in “Rudy.”
Astin will be at the event Friday and Saturday, although it hasn’t yet been announced if autographs or photo ops will be available. However, all celebrity appearances are also subject to change or cancellation, the website said.
Ian Somerhalder was also announced for this year’s celebrity lineup. Somerhalder is best known for his role as the bad-boy heartthrob Damon Salvatore in The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” and for playing Boone Carlyle on “Lost.” Somerhalder will only be attending Comic Con on Saturday and patrons can pay $70 for a photo op with him.
American actress Kristin Bauer will also be in attendance. She is best known for her roles as Pam on the HBO series “True Blood” and Maleficent in ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.” She will attend the Salt Lake Comic Con on Friday and Saturday and will provide autographs and photo ops for $40.
Alex Kingston from the TV shows “ER” and “Doctor Who” and Austin St. John, who played the red power ranger in the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series, will also be in attendance.
More than 72,000 guests turned out for Salt Lake Comic Con's inaugural event in September 2013, and 100,000 attended its FanX convention in April 2014. The event continues to grow and exceeded more than 120,000 people during the September 2014 convention.