Hoechlin, Tulloch, Tate, Whittaker, Gill, Facinelli, Rathbone Joined by ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Star Wars’ Greats Plus Esposito, McKenzie, Giuntoli, Graham Among First Celebrity Wave at Pennsylvania Convention Center
From classic franchise like Star Wars, “Star Trek,” and Rocky through 21st century hits like “Superman & Lois,” “Twilight” and “Grimm,” FAN EXPO Philadelphia today revealed the first wave of guests that feels more like a tsunami, with stars of those and many other movies, TV shows and popular streaming content locked in for the annual pop culture extravaganza, May 16-18 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City Philadelphia.
The first to commit to the event include:
- William Shatner (“Star Trek,” “Boston Legal”)
- Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV, The Punisher)
- Anthony Daniels (Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars franchise)
- Tyler Hoechlin & Bitsie Tulloch (“Superman & Lois)
- Priscilla Presley (The Naked Gun trilogy, “Dallas”)
- Ben McKenzie (“Gotham,” “Southland”)
- Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, “The Flash”)
- Catherine Tate, Jodie Whittaker & Mandip Gill (“Doctor Who”)
- Giancarlo Esposito (“The Mandalorian,” “Breaking Bad”)
- Heather Graham (Austin Powers, Boogie Nights)
- Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone & Ashley Greene (Twilight franchise)
- David Giuntioli (“Grimm,” “Superman & Lois”)
- Corbin Bleu & Lucas Grabeel (“High School Musical”)
- Kate Mulgrew (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Orange is the New Black”)
- Aidan Scott (“One Piece,” The Fix)
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, Kick-Ass)
- Walton Goggins (“Fallout”)
- John Boyega (Star Wars, Pacific Rim: Uprising)
- Manny Jacinto (“The Acolyte,” “The Good Place”)
One of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures for more than a half-century, Shatner, 94, has thrilled millions in his varied career. From his international breakout role of “Captain Kirk” in the original “Star Trek” series—and its numerous incarnations—to famed “T.J. Hooker” in the 1980’s up to the “Priceline” pitchman and space traveler of today, Shatner won Emmys and his first Golden Globe for his portrayal of eccentric lawyer “Denny Crane” on both “The Practice” and “Boston Legal.” He has received four more Emmy nominations as well as other Golden Globe and SAG Award nods.
A true Renaissance man, Dolph Lundgren first caught the attention of U.S audiences with his portrayal of Russian boxer “Ivan Drago” in Rocky IV in 1985. He went on to star in more than 30 movies, including Masters of the Universe, Universal Soldier, Johnny Mnemonic, The Defender, The Expendables and Missionary Man. He later reprised the Drago role in Creed II.
Daniels, best known to fans as “C-3PO” across the Star Wars franchise, has more than 100 acting, producing and writing credits. Apart from the dozens of appearances as the beloved droid, the British native portrayed “Tak” in the 2018 film Solo and had a recurring role in the “Ghosts of Albion” series, and UK’s “The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.” Daniels has written extensively about his experiences, especially in his “New Improved Wonder Column” in the original Star Wars Insider magazine.
Hoechlin stars as “Clark Kent/Superman” in the CW series “Superman & Lois,” which concluded its fourth season. He also earned attention for his role as “Derek Hale” on the hit MTV series “Teen Wolf” and his breakout performance came at 15, starring alongside Tom Hanks in the critically acclaimed Road to Perdition (2002).
Tulloch was already familiar to genre fans for appearances as “Lois Lane” in DC hits “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Batwoman,” “Supergirl” and others, and for her work in The Artist, Concussion and “Grimm” before vaulting to prominence in the intrepid reporter role alongside Hoechlin in the current series.
Presley played the scheming Jenna Wade over a five-year run of the massive hit series “Dallas,” and portrayed Lt. Drebin’s girlfriend and later wife “Jane Spencer” in The Naked Gun parody film trilogy. She appeared in several series such as “Touched by and Angel” and “Melrose Place” and most recently lent her voice to the Netflix animated series “Agent Elvis.”
McKenzie, who played the lead character “James Gordon” in the hit Fox TV show “Gotham,” appeared in theater productions and a few TV shows including “The District,” “JAG” and “Mad TV” before the success of “The O.C.” launched him into stardom. His film roles have included Junebug opposite Amy Adams and 88 Minutes with Al Pacino. He then hit it big with “Gotham,” which followed the Commissioner’s life before Batman came onto the scene.
Baccarin vaulted to pop culture mainstay with a run on the series “Firefly” before capturing new audiences with roles on hits like “Heartland,” “V,” “Homeland” and “Gotham.” Baccarin also co-starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool as well as its sequel and has recently lent her voice talents to video games like “Destiny 2: The Witch Queen” and “Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR”) and the CW series “The Flash.”
Tate portrayed “Donna Noble” during several seasons of “Doctor Who,” also gaining fame as “Nellie Bertram” in the NBC hit “The Office.” She hosted the British variety/sketch comedy “The Catherine Tate Show” and also co-starred in the full run of “Big School,” highlighting her body of work in the U.K. and U.S.
Whittaker took her star turn as the Thirteenth Doctor, and first female in the role, on the revived “Doctor Who” series in 2017. Additionally, she played opposite another “Who” alum, David Tennant, in the British ITV drama series “Broadchurch” and narrates the animated children’s show “Ready Eddie Go!”
Gill appeared as “Yasmin Khan” on the iconic BBC series “Doctor Who” from 2018-2022. She first gained attention of audiences in the British soap opera “Hollyoaks,” appearing on the show for three seasons and more than 240 episodes as “Phoebe.”
The prolific veteran film, television and stage actor, director and producer Esposito, in addition to his role as “Moff Gideon” on the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” is well known by television audiences for his iconic portrayal of drug kingpin “Gus Fring” in AMC’s critically acclaimed award-winning series “Breaking Bad.” Some of Esposito’s most memorable performances can be seen in films such as Rabbit Hole, The Usual Suspects, Smoke, The Last Holiday and Spike Lee’s films Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, School Daze and Malcolm X.
Graham is best known on the screen for her roles as “Felicity Shagwell” in the spoof Austin in Boogie Nights, among more than 100 film and TV roles.
Facinelli had already appeared in more than 30 TV shows and movies before his portrayal of “Dr. Carlisle Cullen” in several versions of The Twilight Saga. He later had a six-season run as “Dr. Fitch Cooper” in “Nurse Jackie” and recurring roles in “Supergirl,” “American Odyssey” and “S.W.A.T.”
Rathbone earned his first big role as “Jasper” across the Twilight universe and has gone on to a resume of more than 50 credits, including recent features The Island and Warhunt and had recurring roles in series “The Guardians of Justice” and “The Last Ship.”
Greene played “Alice Cullen” in the Twilight franchise, in her breakout role beginning in 2008. She has gone on to more than 50 other performances, including a season-long run on the crime drama series “Rogue” and a co-starring role opposite Mary Steenburgen in the quirky comedy Antiquities
Most recently the star of “A Million Little Things,” a series which wrapped up a five-year run in 2023, Giuntoli was cast as the lead “Nick Burkhardt” across the six years of the NBC fantasy drama “Grimm.” He’s also made guest appearances in popular series like “Without a Trace,” “Cold Case,” “Hot in Cleveland,” “Private Practice” and many others, as well as an episode of “Superman & Lois” last year, opposite his wife Bitsie Tulloch.
Bleu portrayed “Chad Danforth” in several iterations of High School Musical, and has appeared as a regular in the series “Flight 29 Down” and “One Life to Live.” He has more than 60 TV and film credits, getting top billing in 2023’s Camp Hideout and co-starring lines in several Hallmark TV holiday films.
Grabeel starred as “Ryan Evans” in the High School Musical film franchise, later parlaying his musical talents highlighted in the series into a themed musical series. He became a stalwart of the Disney Channel, participating in the “Disney Channel Games” and later co-starred in the full six-year run of the teen romance/drama “Switched at Birth.”
Considered pop culture royalty by many sci-fi fans, Mulgrew took the reigns as the captain of the starship USS Voyager in “Star Trek: Voyager,” then reprising the role in numerous films and series since the original 1995-2001 run, most recently “Star Trek” Prodigy” on Paramount+. She has showed versatility with co-starring roles in the spoof series “NTSF:SD:SUV” and the prison drama “Orange is the New Black.”
Scott stars as “Helmeppo” in the current Netflix adventure series “One Piece.” He appeared in the title role of the History Channel mini-series “Theodore Roosevelt” after portraying deputy clerk “James Matheny” in the network’s “Abraham Lincoln” mini-series.
Audiences first met Mintz-Plasse in his hilarious role as “Fogell” in Superbad and soon after was cast opposite Nicolas Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz in Kick Ass. He has gone on to long runs with voice work on series such as “DreamWorks Dragon” and “Dragons: Race to the Edge” as well as live action series “Blark and Son” and “The Great Indoors.”
Goggins portrays “Cooper Howard” in the current breakout hit Amazon Prime Video series “Fallout.” He has had recent extended runs on the series “The Righteous Gemstones” and “Invincible” and a regular spot as “Rick Hatchett” in the HBO original series “The White Lotus.”
Boyega has played “Finn” in various iterations of the Star Wars universe, beginning with Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Prime among his other prominent roles is the lead “Jake Pentecost” in the 2018 feature film Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Jacinto has starred in numerous series in the past couple of years, incuding “The Acolyte” and “Nine Perfect Strangers, along with “The Good Place” and more than 40 other roles. He has also done voice work for properties like “Disney’s Road Trip,” “Hailey’s On It!,” “Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind” and “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.”
FAN EXPO Philadelphia features the biggest and best in pop culture: movies, TV, music, artists, writers, exhibitors, and cosplay, with three full days of themed programming to satisfy every fandom. Thousands attend annually to celebrate their favorite franchises, meet celebrities and comics creators, shop for unique themed items, attend the scores of interactive programming panel sessions, meet like-minded fans and participate in special events and evening activities over the full three days.
Adult, Youth, and Child Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Family passes, and Ultimate and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Philadelphia are available now at www.fanexpophiladelphia.com. Advance pricing is available until May 1. More guest news will be released in the following weeks, including line-up reveals for additional headline celebrities, comic creator guests, voice actors, and cosplayers.
The full 2025 FAN EXPO HQ Schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.