If you’ve ever wished you could meet your heroes then Fan Expo Chicago is basically your golden ticket. It’s a three day experience packed with celebrity meet-and-greets, massive cosplay gatherings, endless vendor booths and once-in-a-lifetime panels. Whether you’re there to snap a photo with a Jedi, hunt for rare collectibles, show off your costume creation or simply soak in the pure energy of thousands of passionate fans all in one place, this convention is a full-on pop-culture carnival.
In 2025, the line-up is packed with some of the best celebs from the past five decades! Here’s a sneak peek at the guests we are most excited to see.
10 Best Celebrities at Fan Expo Chicago
The Cast of National Lampoon’s Vacation
All four cast members of the original Vacation movie will be in attendance. It would be too difficult to choose just one for this list so we’re including them as a group: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron will all be there!
Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lewis also appeared in the Vacation franchise as Audrey in Christmas Vacation. But that’s not what she’s most famous for. Currently, she stars in Yellowjackets and throughout her career she’s appeared in many blockbusters and fan favorites. We’re talking films like Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers, Gilbert Grape, The Other Sister, Whip It and more.
Ewan McGregor
Though known for many roles in films like Moulin Rouge, Down With Love and Trainspotting, Ewan McGregor is now best known as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars franchise.
Hayden Christensen
McGregor’s fellow Star Wars alum, Hayden Christensen is best known for his role as Anakin Skywalker.
Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser’s career has spanned broad comedy, action blockbusters and deeply moving dramatic roles like The Whale, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is, perhaps, best known for The Mummy franchise. But he will always be Encino Man to me.
Karen Gillan
While most became fans of Karen Gillan due to her role in the Guardians of the Galaxy series, our love for her goes back to her time on Doctor Who. She played Amelia Pond, the companion to Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor.
Helen Hunt
Known for blockbuster films like As Good as It Gets and Twister, Helen Hunt first rose to fame in the ’90s on the hit sitcom Mad About You. Her co-star Paul Reiser will be in attendance as well.
Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman began acting as a child in films like Independence Day, One Fine Day and our personal fave, Hope Floats. As an adult, she’s best known for her roles in TV shows like Parenthood and Good Girls.
Rob Schneider
Our love for Rob Schneider goes back to his SNL days when he introduced us to “The Richmeister.” Over the years, he’s starred in comedy classics like Deuce Bigalow, The Hot Chick and many Adam Sandler films including Grown Ups, 50 First Dates and The Waterboy. He recently revisited his famous line from that last flick in Happy Gilmore 2: “You can do it!”
Peter Facinelli
Though most are fans of Peter Facinelli from the Twilight series, he will always be known to us as Mike Dexter in Can’t Hardly Wait. The name Trip McNeely lives in my head, rent free, thanks to Peter Facinelli.
Tickets are still available for Fan Expo Chicago. Purchase yours here.
Featured photo by Aaron Cynic for Fan Expo.