Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s always exciting to run into a celebrity. Particularly for those of us who live in big cities, it’s practically inevitable.
1.
“Everyone seems to hate Tom Cruise these days, but I met him many years ago when he was filming a movie at my university. Very nice guy, and helped me up after I fell, spilling my books. He collected them for me and gave me the great Tom Cruise smile after I thanked him, complimented his work, and hoped he’d have a great time filming there.”
2.
“I worked for Ian Somerhalder for years for his foundation at the time. He was a genuinely nice and kind human. Handsome too! Really cared for the planet and its creatures. Still does.”
3.
“In 2014, I went to my roommates friend’s wedding in Camarillo, CA as her +1. Matt LeBlanc was a guest and he was there with his date who was my age.”
4.
“My friend and I did Bikram yoga in 2013 in Brooklyn. Our class of 10 was held up one night because the instructor actually waited for someone to come into our class even though they were very strict about shutting the doors at the start of class. Turns out it was Anne Hathaway.”
5.
“My Dad was RCMP at a large international airport. Arnold Schwarzenegger was smoking a cigar on the tarmac while his plane was being refueled, and my dad told him he had to put it out. Arnold said ‘do you know who I am?’ My dad said, ‘I don’t give a good goddamn who you are, put it out or I’ll put it out for you.'”
6.
“I met Bob Odenkirk this past weekend. He was so lovely! I had just been accidentally stood up for my birthday dinner and he told me, ‘How, you’re so beautiful!’ He complimented my dress, let me get a picture or 3 and then hugged me and hoped I had a better day.”
7.
“Ted Cruz was the worst — I worked with him, and he treated me and most of the staff like lint on fine linen trousers because none of us were Ivy Leaguers.”
8.
“I used to run book signings at a Barnes and Noble and I can tell you that as of 2013, Newt Gingrich’s ringtone was ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA.”
9.
I worked at Arclight Hollywood in 2002, so there were several celebs in there every day. My favorite interaction was one night when I was cleaning a theater between shows I looked up and Dave Navarro was helping pick up trash.”
10.
“I met Dave Matthews and his band. Very cool dudes. Got to go backstage and eat dinner with them and talk to them. Very nice guys. Just normal dudes in a really cool band.”
11.
“I met Jimmy Fallon. He was very sweet and tolerant as I fangirled all over him.”
12.
“I used to work as an assistant manager in record stores in the late 80s in L.A. I met some of the coolest celebs, but I always noticed the biggest asshats were not the biggest stars. I’m looking at you Richard Marx, Paula Abdul and George Wendt.”
13.
“I used to wait on Joe Namath at a nice restaurant when he used to run a football camp in Conneticut. He was undoubtedly the most rude, crass, entitled piece of garbage I have ever met. Shame on you, Joe.”
14.
“I got in a fender bender back in 2011 on Santa Monica and Vine. I had just recently gotten my license and was very shaken, so when I got out of my car, a guy asked me if I was alright and I said ‘I think so,’ and we chatted for a few minutes until another guy asked me about things like insurance and the first guy left. As this second guy was helping me take pictures of the damage, he goes, ‘You know that was CeeLo Green, right?’ Apparently he had just come out of a music store when he heard the crash.”
15.
“I worked for a major airline for over thirty years so I’ve met quite a few celebrities. One of the nicest that instantly comes to mind is Sugar Ray. He was waiting on his fellow travelers and just struck up small talk but was seemed genuinely interested…”
16.
“…On the other end of the spectrum was Tony Danza. He did not want to be spoken to and seemed angry he had to wait for his assistant who sat in coach as he sat in first class.”
17.
“I met Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe when I was 5, LOL. My mom and dad were driving around L.A. and we stopped to get some food and there he was. I don’t remember the whole meeting, but Tommy hugged me and ruffling my hair, telling me to be good and make sure I listen to rock and roll!”
18.
“Some of you may be a little young for this, but years ago, I waited on Ruth Pointer and her daughter in a toy store. It took me a minute figure out why she looked so familiar, and when I did (especially because she was with her daughter) I was determined to treat her like an ordinary mom (because at that moment, she was).”
19.
“Kevin Costner was in my hometown filming a movie in the very early ’80s. It was before he was big and the movie sucks (it’s about cycling), but he was walking through town and came upon me and my parents doing the same.”
20.
“My dad once saw Clint Eastwood at a steakhouse in either Maine or Maryland (can’t remember which) and my dad did the classiest thing: he sent Clint a bottle of wine and the waiter pointed to my dad to say it was from him.”
21.
“About 14 years ago, I took my then-toddler son and 5-year-old nephew to a park in TriBeCa, and Liev Schreiber was there with his son and daughter. He was so incredibly nice, including my son and nephew in a game with his kids. Naomi Watts joined them before long and she was also so nice and down-to-earth.”
22.
“I met Karen Gillan in a pub in Camden one night, and she was genuinely so lovely. We spent a good part of the night chatting. We arm wrestled and she invited me to a Halloween party, but considering we’d both had a few drinks, I didn’t think the offer would stand in the morning and didn’t go 😅”
23.
“When I used to live in Toronto, I had friends from back home come to visit. One person in the group would not shut up about Michael Cera. She was going on about him so much that she didn’t realize that he cut through our group on the sidewalk and bounced off of me as he tried to throw a shoulder into me as he walked by.”
24.
“I met two WWE superstars, The Miz and Kelly Kelly, at a meet and greet. The Miz was happy to be there and sign stuff, have his photo taken, whilst Kelly Kelly clearly was not happy to be there or sign anything other than the piece of paper she had to sign.”
Dang, now I’m in the mood to see a celeb. In the meantime, I wanna hear more stories — so tell me your celeb encounters in the comments below! And check out BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram for more.
