Interview: The Infamous Deadpool Cosplayer

He’s been all over YouTube. GIFs pop up of him in your Tumblr feed and on the front page of Reddit. Perhaps you’ve even seen him at conventions, gallivanting around and spreading giggles and joy and general hilarity wherever he goes.

I’m talking about the infamous Deadpool cosplayer who goes to conventions and displays antics as ridiculous as those engaged in by the character he is portraying. His videos show Pokemon trainers throwing their masterballs at him; trying to pick up Thor’s hammer; dancing alongside Street Fighter characters. They are a perfect example of the pure joy of geekery and the celebration of all things related to it – and I have magically secured an interview with the man who orchestrated this humorous ridiculousness.

iF: So, the obvious question first: Why did you decide to dress up like Deadpool and terrorize conventions?

D-Piddy: First off, Deadpool is probably my favorite comic characters of all time, and I’ve always wanted to cosplay him, so there’s that. As for the terrorizing part… well, I’ve actually been cosplaying as Deadpool for a couple of years now. But it wasn’t until June of this year that I decided to record all my shenanigans. A lot of people I’ve met at the conventions would always tell me that I’m a fun guy to hang with during the cons (specifically, when I’m masked as Deadpool), and a friend of mine’s thought of the idea to record my con-adventures. So I did my first video, which apparently a lot of people enjoyed watching. So, I decided to do more… and more… until it’s become this kind of awesome internet thing. But most importantly, I love just having fun at conventions, meeting people and just having a blast. I just so happen to document it all.

iF: Obviously there is appeal in the anonymity of dressing up in full spandex. Do you feel that portraying Deadpool allows you to be more “yourself”, or are you primarily roleplaying as the character?

DP: People who know me personally would think I’m kind of a silly nutcase, but I’m not psychotic loon like good ol’ Wade. But yeah, there’s something about wearing a mask that enables the freedom to do whatever I want. I mean, picture a dude in normal attire doing Gangnam Style on the street. There’s nothing appealing to that. Put on a tight, full body spandex suit, and you got something interesting going on. Plus, even when I mess around in costume, you can still picture Deadpool doing that in the comics, whether it be dancing alongside a bunch of Avengers, or singing Karaoke with a bunch of characters from Naruto. So I can basically act a fool, and still be in character. Win/win situation.

iF: What has been your favorite moment in costume?

DP: There’s a lot of awesome moments, so I don’t have a particular favorite. I just find it cool how people recognize me (even amongst all the other Deadpool cosplayers) and ask to just dance with me, or say “ARE YOU SHOOTING A VIDEO RIGHT NOW?! CAN I BE IN IT!?” Good times.

Thanks, D-Piddy! I hope you continue to make us laugh for conventions to come.

Molly McIsaac dearly wants to be in one of Deadpool’s convention videos, and will whine about it on her Twitter and/or blog until it happens.