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Pirates of the Caribbean star Kevin McNally is one of several stars to appear at Adventurecon this weekend

  Pirates of the Caribbean star Kevin McNally is coming to Knoxville. McNally is one of several stars that will appear at Adventurecon, the comic and toy collectors convention.

  McNally plays Joshamee Gibbs in the blockbuster movie series “Pirates of the Caribbean” McNally has appeared in numerous movies and television shows. In an online interview McNally discussed his upcoming projects and Adventurecon.

  McNally is no stranger to Knoxville having visited the East Tennessee area previously.  

“I first visited Knoxville this summer when my son and I made a road trip across the United States,” McNally said. “We were on a pretty tight schedule so I look forward to spending a bit more time getting to know the place.”

  During filming of one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, actor Johnny Depp received a letter from a school girl in England who asked that he and his cast mates appear at her school and form a mutiny. The child further asked the star to make her teacher walk the plank. In a surprise move, Depp and other cast members visited the school and put on a performance for the child. However, there was no mutiny and no one was forced to walk the plank.

  “I wasn't working that day, sadly,” McNally said. “I believe someone showed Johnny the letter and he said, 'Let's go!' Typical Depp.”

Among several projects, McNally is appearing in a new movie entitled “The Bounty Hunter.”

  “This is a fabulous future dystopian picture, my favorite genre,” McNally said. “It's about a world that has been ruined by financial speculation (sound familiar?) and a group of people who go rounding up the last of the greedy money men.”

 McNally has a recurring role in the TV series "Downton Abbey.” The series has been nominated for several Emmys.

“Downton is very popular in the States I understand and was nominated for 16 Emmy's this year,” McNally said. “It's a tale of a big country house in England at the beginning of the last century and the relation between the rich folk upstairs and the servants below. I play a particulary unpleasant chap called Mr Bryant.”

   2012 has been a busy year for McNally. He has worked on three TV shows and four movies. It appears as though the actor has no plans to slow down in 2013. He is also appearing a movie entitled “The Raven” based on the peom by author Edgar Allen Poe.

  “I shall be doing more theatre next year,” McNally said. “He (Poe) is one of my favorite writers. I have always loved the work of Poe. The movie was my second Poe project in as many years as I did a pilot for a TV show about him that was sadly not picked up. Such a missed opportunity.”

   Along with McNally will be other actors from the silver screen including Loan Gruffodd (Of the Fantastic Four), Allen Tudyk (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer) and others. The event will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Knoxville Convention Center. For more information visit the web site Adventurecon.com.