Meet Brian...
Krewe du Who: Why do you cosplay, or what do you like the most about it?
Brian Held: For me, there are many great qualities to cosplaying. I, of course, enjoy the attention that a cool costume brings. I think that it's great to play the role of someone different that wearing a costume allows. By far though, what I enjoy the most and find the most rewarding is that every new costume I make requires me to learn some new skill or technique to make it. I love learning new things and the skills that I've acquired over the years in costuming can be used in other walks of life as well. No, I'm not going to hem your pants. ;)
KdW: How many costumes do you presently own?
BH: I've never counted them before so here goes:
Darth Vader, Imperial Stormtrooper, Imperial AT-ST Driver, Imperial Crewman, Imperial Officer (Black), NCR Trooper from Fallout New Vegas, Stargate SG-1 Away Team soldier, 90% completed Rebel X-wing Pilot, U.N.I.T. Captain, the beginning stages of a 8th Doctor outfit, a Dragon SlayerTM outfit, and lastly a large number of outfits from the 14th, 16th, and 17th centuries.
KdW: What makes a costume one that you want to recreate?
BH: I suppose there are a number of reasons for me to want to recreate a particular costume. Some things I've made because I have a great interest in a particular type, style, or period related to a particular costume which explains all of the historical costumes. Some things I make because I want to learn a particular method of crafting like all of the armor related costumes. Some costumes are just cool because it's cool to be Darth Vader, *grin*.
KdW: Do you belong to any costuming groups?
BH: I am currently a member of the 501st Legion and the Krewe du Who. As soon as I get my X-wing Pilot completed, I'll be applying to the Rebel Legion. I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronisms for about 14 years. I always attend the Renaissance Festival in costume. I've marched all three years in the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus. (All hail the sacred drunken Wookie!) Lastly, I've competed in several costumed skits at various conventions which leads to...
KdW: Do you attend any of the larger cons such as Dragon*Con in Atlanta?
BH: I think the first convention that I attended was Coast Con in 1993 and since then I've attend many conventions across the Gulf South over the years. I've been fortunate to attend Dragon*Con four times in '93, '09, '10, and '11. I'm anxious to get back to D*C as it is one of my favorites!
KdW: What was the best experience you've had in costume?
BH: One of the best times that I can recall was when I marched in the Dragon*Con parade in 2009 with three friends of mine and we were all dressed as members of the Scarlet Crusade from World of Warcraft. Doing themed costumes with a group is such a great experience. I must admit though that there have been many great costuming experiences for the 501st doing charitable costuming events, especially those for Children's Hospital. It is quite fulfilling to make a sick child smile and put aside their suffering for awhile.
KdW: While in costume have you met the original actor that you're playing tribute to? If so, what was his or her response?
BH: Sadly, I have not had this experience...yet.
About DOCTOR WHO...
KdW: What do you like the most about Doctor Who?
BH: I think that Doctor Who is a fantastic show and for those who know me well know I don't watch much TV. What I think draws me most to the series is the incredible sense of adventure it imparts on me. I mean, how cool would it be to traipse about all of time and space and experience its wonder and splendor.
KdW: Have you been involved with Krewe du Who before?
BH: I believe that I first became fully involved with the Krewe when I helped my friend Patrick push a Tardis down a soggy parade route on the second run of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus. I've attended many of the viewings at the Crown and Anchor and participated in the first KdW trading card run. I participated in the Femme Doctor photo shoot as one of the lighting guys and was part of the U.N.I.T. Security team for the NOLA Time Fest.
KdW: Why Patrice Delmarre, U.N.I.T., and the 8th Doctor? Please describe what it took to make these costumes.
BH: Well the Patrice Delmarre costume is a funny story to me. Back when we were getting things together for the first card run I mentioned that while I didn't have a costume yet I'd love to come and hang out with everyone and lend a hand if needed. My friend Tim said, "Brian, with all of the historical costumes you have surely you can come up with something for the shoot." My task set before me I started researching, where all good costumes start, and came across a wiki article that listed all of the episodes of Doctor Who in order with a mention of which time period the episode takes place. "This will be easy," I thought to myself. I have 14th, 16th, and 17th century clothing so it was just a matter of finding a match. I tried something from the 12th Century first in "The Time Warrior" but the few pieces of earlier period stuff I had didn't come close to matching. I then looked at, "The Vampires of Venice", "The Shakespeare Code", and "The Curse of the Black Spot" but I couldn't find what I was looking for. Lastly, I tried Googling, "Doctor Who Three Musketeers" since my 16th Renaissance garb closely relates to Musketeers attire. I managed to get a hit with " The Church and the Crown" and thus I portrayed Patrice Delmarre, one of the King's Musketeers, in the card run. I submit to you that my attire is a most accurate representation of the character which is why it's so amusing to me, I guess you'll just have to Google it.
I did the U.N.I.T. costume because I had most of the parts from other costumes that I could use, notably the tactical vest from my Stargate SG-1 costume. Throwing the rest of the parts together was quick and easy. I must give a shout out to strollerman of the The DW_Cosplay Community on Livejournal for the U.N.I.T. ID badge - http://dw-cosplay.livejournal.com/1130336.html
Lastly, I like the 8th Doctor costume for a number of reasons. First, I think that this doctor is under represented in the cosplay community and that's likely because we only see him once in his made for TV movie. While the 1996 Doctor Who movie isn't the greatest cinematic masterpiece on the planet, it wasn't bad either and I enjoyed it. Lastly, I like the costume because in the movie it's a costume that he appropriates for clothing after his regeneration so my representation will be a costume of a costume.