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"Being different is your power": Con O'Neill, Nathan Foad, and Kristian Nairn talk perseverance at Emerald City Comic Con

A quick peek at the Con O’Neill, Nathan Foad, and Kristian Nairn Our Flag Means Death panel

News by Tiffany Babb, Contributing writer

Published on Thu Aug 25 2022

Saturday morning at Emerald City Comic Con was abuzz with fans of Our Flag Means Death getting prepared for the big panel featuring Con O'Neill (Izzy Hands), Nathan Foad (Lucius), and Kristian Nairn (Wee John).

Similar to the Our Flag Means Death panel at C2E2, there were plenty of fun fan moments at this panel—including Con O'Neill announcing that "I like all the porn art," but what stood out about this panel was that it had a few more heartfelt and serious moments about identity, perseverance, and creative careers.

The first of these moments came up when an audience member asked what the actors would say to their child selves. Foad was visibly moved by the emotional exercise, saying, "Keep going, don’t let anyone stand in your way. Blinkers on. Laser focus, keep going bitch. Nairn answered with another piece of advice and a reminder, "Being different is your power." Con O'Neill with a simple assurance, "It's going to be okay."

Perseverance came up later in the panel again when the cast members were giving advice to young creators. O'Neill urged, "You've got to grow a thick skin, because you're going to be rejected every day. Go and see everything, read everything, nick everything."

Foad's advice was similar, also focused on creating things yourself and doing things yourself, adding "Don't wait for anyone to give you permission—ever."

Nairn's thoughts were a little different, as he added the caveat that his career differed from that of from Foad's and O'Neill's. His advice was to be open to life experiences on the way of getting to where you want to go, "I was holding onto a dream so tightly that you don't see other things occurring around you. I so desperately wanted to be a guitar player, I became a DJ, I became a drag artist. I became an actor. I ended up playing a guitar player… there can be different ways to get there. "

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Did you miss Emerald City Comic Con this year? Check out this roundup of all of Popverse's coverage of the event.