FAN EXPO Dallas Welcomes Back Hometown Heroes Alan Tudyk, Khary Payton and Meat Loaf return to Dallas March 31-April 2 DALLAS (March 29, 2017) – FAN EXPO Dallas – the largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming event in Texas – returns to Dallas March 31-April 2 and will serve as a special homecoming for some of the Lone Star State’s biggest stars, including Alan Tudyk, Khary Payton and Meat Loaf. “We have a great love for our show in Dallas … we have a lot of fun with our unique content,” says FAN EXPO HQ Vice President Andrew Moyes. “The nature of our event is special. It truly is a celebration, because it’s a place where the pop culture community comes together and celebrates all of the great things going on in this exciting space. It’s truly our great fans in Dallas combined with Texas’ greatest celebrity talents that make the show so special.” Alan Tudyk was born in El Paso but raised in Plano. He attended Haggard Middle School, where he was first exposed to improv. He credits his improv skills for getting him into Juilliard. Tudyk graduated in 1989 from Plano Senior High School, where he was known for being the class clown. He wore sombreros to school and regularly went to class dressed up as a lunch lady. Though he was the funny man on campus, he was serious about his acting career. Following high school, he attended Lon Morris Junior College and went to Juilliard for a couple of years. Since moving to Los Angeles, Tudyk has starred in television series including Firefly and Suburgatory, and movies like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Frozen and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Khary Payton studied acting and directing at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. Following graduation, he stayed in Dallas to perform in a number of Dallas Theater Center productions, including Pericles, Tartuffe, Macbeth and A Christmas Carol. Payton is known for his voice characterizations in animated cartoons including Teen Titans, Young Justice, Justice League and Big Hero 6. One of his most notable acting roles is portraying King Ezekiel in The Walking Dead. Meat Loaf was born and raised in Dallas. His father was a Dallas police officer and his mother taught in the Dallas public school system. He graduated in 1965 from Thomas Jefferson High School, where he played football and discovered his love for acting. Meat starred in school productions including Where’s Charley, The Music Man and The Bad Seed. After his mother died in 1967, he left Dallas for Los Angeles and never looked back. He returned in 2015 to receive a distinguished alumni award from his high school. Meat is now one of the best-selling music artists of all time with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records. He will reunite with his The Rocky Horror Picture Show cast mates Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell at FAN EXPO. While Alan Tudyk, Khary Payton and Meat Loaf don’t call Dallas home anymore, the city welcomes back its hometown heroes. As the 16th annual FAN EXPO Dallas approaches, there is no doubt that the city has something special to offer fans from near and far. Events with these Dallasites include: Celebrity Q&A with The Walking Dead’s Khary Payton on Friday, March 31, 6 p.m. in Room C3 Celebrity Q&A with Actor & Music Legend Meat Loaf on Saturday, April 1, 3 p.m. in Room C3 Celebrity Q&A with Fan Favorite Alan Tudyk on Sunday, April 2, 2:30 p.m. in Room C3 Celebrity Q&A with the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Sunday, April 2, 3 p.m. in Room C147 FAN EXPO DALLAS runs Friday, March 31, through Sunday, April 2, 2017, at the Dallas Convention Center (Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center) located at 650 S. Griffin St. Tickets are priced from $25-$129. Hours and information are available at fanexpodallas.com. About FAN EXPO DALLAS FAN EXPO DALLAS is the largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming event in Texas and is quickly growing into one of the largest events in North America. It is packed with exciting, family-friendly activities and celebrity guests. The pop culture extravaganza is host to 50,000 fans at the Dallas Convention Center for the 3-day annual event. FAN EXPO HQ is one of the largest entertainment convention groups in North America. Collectively it hosts over 300,000 fans annually at FAN EXPO CANADA™, FAN EXPO VANCOUVER™, FAN EXPO REGINA™, Toronto ComiCon, MegaCon Orlando, MegaCon Tampa Bay, FAN EXPO DALLAS and Dallas Fan Days. For more information, please visit the FAN EXPO DALLAS website and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. General inquiries can be sent to [email protected]. Exhibitors can contact [email protected] and questions about tickets can be sent to [email protected]. ### MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION Dana Cobb TrizCom Public Relations [email protected] Cell: 972-955-9747 .