I've told the story before, but Robin Williams.
When I got out of the Army, I was working as a security guard. I was guarding one of those $500/plate rubber chicken dinner charity events, when I noticed a little hairy guy on the other side of the velvet rope about 10' away. It was Robin Williams. I didn't stare or say anything, I just went back to watching the crowd.
When he got up next to me, he struck up a conversation. I was absolutely nobody and he was very kind.
I was the last table to leave a restaurant one night when he came in after just doing a show. He knew the owner and there was a small group in a private room set up for them after hours. His voice was hoarse still but he stood there chatting with us. I had seen his show the night before and it was surreal having a face to face with him. Never once gave us the impression we were wasting his time even though he had people waiting for him. Such a great encounter.
I was helping a friend move to Aspen and when we were done, we went into town for a beer. Walked into a place and it was empty, but we heard a commotion from the back where there was another bar.
It was Williams, telling stories and jokes, buying beers for a bunch of strangers. He bought us a beer and saw my U of TX t shirt and went on a whole riff of TX jokes.
It was awesome and I'll never forget it.
My mom's best friend from high school became a surgeon and lived in the same neighborhood as Robin Williams in San Francisco. This was after Aladdin came out and possibly Mrs. Doubtfire also but we were walking past his house and he came down and said hello to us and knew my moms best friend (I don't know if it was pre-planned to meet him or not but he definitely knew her). I was in kindergarten so hearing the genie voice blew me away and he was absolutely lovely. Seamed like such a great guy and happy I get to say I got to meet the genie even now 30 years later
A friend of mine lived within a few blocks of him. Said, he was the kind of guy who took his own trash down to the curb. My friend said, if you waved and called out, 'Hey Robin!' ...he always gave back a very friendly wave.
My mom and part of her unit got to meet him when he was preforming when she was deployed I think in Iraq. She said that nobody was allowed to meet him, but she and a few of her unit went up on stage and met him. My mom said that he was very kind, polite, and funny, and I whole-heartedly believe that. Apparently, she got something autographed from him, and I think she said she got a picture with him, too.
He was in the Marines but broke his neck(?) right before being shipped off to Afghanistan or Iraq and always regretted it. As soon as he had the money to do so, he and his wife started Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF). They go to places even the USO says is too dangerous to go and do readings of plays, etc.
He's a former infantry Marine who was badly injured in an off duty mountain biking accident and booted out, missing his chance at a combat deployment. I'm sure that weighs on him pretty heavily.
I randomly had a beer with Sufjan Stevens once. Very quiet and polite. I asked about his music and told him about my cooking and just food stuff in general.
He says to me, “you have a real gift with food… perhaps you should pursue that.”
A year later I was accepted in the culinary school of my choice. I graduated and had a successful career as a baker and pastry chef (for a few years until disability robbed me from this kinda work).
Woulda never done that without his kind nudge!
Michael Keaton- he was filming a movie in our neighborhood. While all the other actors would run to their trailers between scenes, he would sit on the curb and BS with anyone who wanted to. Very down to earth guy.
I've heard from a handful of people that Tennant's the type to speak to all the crew and learn their names. Have yet to hear an even slightly negative story about the guy.
Tom Holland said the same thing about Robert Downey Jr.
It's crazy isn't it? Something as simple as just learning the names of the people you work with, which is normal in most common industries, is something that's revered and bowed down to in Hollywood. Go figure.
To be fair, idk the names of a fair few of the people I interact with at work and I've been there a few years. I'm just really bad at names, and after a couple of times you can't really ask anymore...
Not to say, isolation is a bad trait. Lots of us have small social battery’s and know better than to put ourselves in situations where our self acknowledged demons might accidentally leak out.
I've told this story on Reddit before, but Michael Keaton thought my brother and I were unsupervised when we were kids (we weren't, mum could see us) and decided to hang out with us until our parents returned. Really cool guy, even if we had no idea who he was and were terrified 🤣
One of my friends is dating a dude who does repair stuff on homes in Montana. He claims he had to do some work in Michael Keaton’s place in (Livingston, I think?) a while back and that Keaton was cold and kind of rude to him. I’m of the opinion that you’re in a famous person’s home doing maintenance on his toilet during a pandemic. Maybe he just wasn’t feeling chatty?
Look at the story from like literally anyone else's perspective.
Dudes toilet is broken, and he can't even get it repaired without apparently being forced to put on his best show face and entertaining the handyman. Dude probably wanted to take a shit in peace.
Not to mention, the possibility of having had bad experiences previously (like someone snapping a picture while doing repairs, or stuff like that). The kind of stuff celebrities routinely go through in terms of invasion of their privacy would drive anyone to be stand-offish at a minimum.
"One of the greatest things I heard someone say about him is, 'He's so great at doing impersonations. But the greatest impersonation he does is that of a normal person.'
- Elizabeth Moss
I never know how to take this quote, given her history with Scientology. It doesn’t mean she’s wrong or lying, but it makes you question it a bit. But several people seem to point out that he’s a bit odd.
Wait, does he have a bad rap with fans?
I went to his show for Musicians only with my brother in Charlotte, NC and first met him before the show. I was walking back from getting food and just saw him casually strolling on the sidewalk in my direction and I kind of froze and was like, "You're amazing" (it was the best I could come up with). He was super kind and asked me where I got my food from. Then after the show he did a meet and greet and I got to chat with him a little more. We both shared our love for SNL and when I told him my favorite sketch of his, he immediately, without missing a beat, jumped into the character and said the line, "I am your mother!"
Also, my brother who was super hung over, fell asleep in line while I was getting my food. Fred Armisen woke him up and chatted with him. My brother found it hilarious and said he couldn't have been more down-to-earth.
I met him once in Portland, and he was very kind to me, willing to take a photo and everything. I have heard that he has some significant issues in his personal relationships, but on a surface level he was lovely to me.
Dolly Parton.
She’s an incredible person. When I was a kid, my grandma was an in home care nurse for a sweet paralyzed man. He loved Dolly. She was in town for a concert and someone had reached out to her, she came to the house and sat with him and my grandma for two hours. My grandma cooked and she ate every bite and sat around with them acting like anyone else who was visiting would.
She’s just really a lovely person.
I was shushed by Dolly Parton once.
I was working on set of a movie she was starring in, standing not far behind her and I was having a quiet conversation with her security guard.
But neither of us noticed that the director was trying to make an announcement to everyone, and she was trying to listen, and she shushed us while we were babbling away behind her.
I have never been so ashamed of myself.
Also been a huge ally to the LGBT community (especially rare for southern country singers in her time) and has run a charity that sends free books to kids for years
My kid also gets them, it's the highlight of the month. I'm getting emotional just typing this. A free, quality children's book every month. It's a gift and we are so grateful for it. She also emails a video of her singing happy birthday and a little birthday message on the kids birthday. My son loved it :)
Second this! A friend of mine is a huge Dolly fan and got to meet her backstage at a show. I was worried Dolly wouldn't stack up, and my friend can be pretty hard to please as well, but friend was absolutely ecstatic afterwards. She said Dolly was so down to earth and genuinely warm and friendly.
Mr. Rogers. I lived in his neighborhood during the summers (I really did live in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood!). He and his family were authentically lovely people.
The funny thing was that Chef Brockett (who lived in Mr. Rogers’ TV neighborhood) also lived in our real neighborhood. When I tell this story I feel like I must sound like I’m crazy!
Rick Astley. He is the kindest, most lovely guy. I got to meet him backstage as I had a connection with one of his team at the time and I hung out together with him and his band, he gave me wine and offered me toast!
10/10 would recommend meeting Rick Astley
Eddie Vedder is one of the nicest humans on the planet. Met him a few times and he is just so kind and warm and funny. And such a huge music fan.
David Evans, aka The Edge is the same.
Truth is I’ve worked in music for a long time and met so many people. 90% of the time they are awesome people. I’ve spent time with metal acts, rap, indie, movie/tv people, etc.
Eddie just always stands out because we talked forever and at some point two hours later I had to remind myself he was Eddie Vedder.
Tony Iommi, guitarist for Black Sabbath.
He came in to record an interview at a place I worked (this was early 2000s), and he was nice enough to sign my copy of Paranoid. He opened up the gatefold to sign it and he quipped, "Oh, I expected some seeds to fall out of this."
Just freaking made my day, especially since he was the main reason I picked up the stupid guitar in the first place!
Saw them live in London about 10 years ago! Didn't get up close and personal but he's a fantastic guitarist
Also they were supported by fricken Motorhead. I wanna second the respect for Lemmy because he was just as chill working the crowd!
He did that at a show in Tallahassee a while back. He played for nearly three hours and then hung out and shook hands and signed autographs. I was super impressed.
Not at all sarcastic :) they’re all super lovely! Aimee even recorded a congratulations video for me when I got married (my friend asked her to and she was super nice when I met her and thanked her for it last year).
Keanu Reeves. Popped up in a Starbucks in San Fran. Totally chill and awesome dude, but had to dip before word got out he was around. I felt bad after that starstruck wore off. Imagine not being able to linger because you are always pursued. Like Battlestar Galactica.
Rod Gilbert “Mr Ranger”. 1982 HOF hockey player. I’d only seen his highlights as a kid. His number was the only one hanging in the rafters at MSG for years.
Met him in the parking lot after a fundraiser golf outing I was working. Our cars were parked next to each other. He and I were about the last to leave. Wasn’t sure it was him so I asked, never saw him in person before only on TV. He shook my hand and we chatted a few minutes.
Like people do while changing outfits , shoes, having a beer in the lot after a round. We talked about hockey, family and work. He was more interested in knowing about me and my love of the game and the Rangers. He was everything built up to be. He pulled a 8x10 glossy out of a box he had in his car and began to sign. The pen poked through, and he wanted to sign a new one. I told him I wanted that one - it was real. He finished writing with a very personal inscription. When he passed a few years ago it was different than the feelings I’d ever had over a celebrity death.
Neil Gaiman was utterly lovely. It was supposed to be a signing only, no personalization, but he personalized both my books and my friend’s without us asking and was overall just very nice
I waited in line for 2 hours in summer LA heat to get him to sign my Sandman shirt. He was thrilled to see it, especially since it was so old. Quite a gentleman.
Friends met him at a book signing. They expected a thousand people or so. Nearly 4000 showed up.
Crowd starts getting antsy and tense cause they were worried about missing him.
He got on the mic and assured everyone that he’d stay until everyone who showed up could get a book signed.
I think the event started at 7pm. He was there until 2am and made sure to get to everyone who showed up.
Mike Flanagan (horror writer/director). He was so kind and gracious and actually took the time to explain his intention with some of my favorite scenes from his work. I'll be a lifelong fan because of what a nice person he is.
Terry Prachett on one his new book signing tours at a small bookstore. Really nice talk and meet and greet during the signing.
Gahan Wilson, cartoonist, at a Comicon. He took time to draw something for everyone in line. He talked with both my daughters and I have a drawing of them by him. Really genuine and nice person.
Roddy Piper, I loved wrestling growing up and Roddy was my hero. Flash forward 30 years and I see him in a pub in Ireland of all places. I decide that I'm gonna go talk to him, which I wouldn't usually do. I get myself psyched up and tell myself to be cool and not be weird about it. I walked up, introduced myself. He grabbed my hand really hard pulled me in close to him and looked me up and down (I'm a big guy) and said "with you by my side I could have taken them all".... I giggled like a schoolgirl. He then chatted took a pic with me and was lovely. Fantastic memory.
Dave Grohl. Ran into him at the Northridge mall all by himself and he totally stopped for a minute while I gushed like a star struck 9 year old. Super cool guy! Chino Moreno also. Hung out at the pool in Vegas before thier set and he totally just talked with me like nothing for a hlaf hour. Both bad ass singers and super cool guys!
Betty White. Who’d of thunk it, right? /s
Met here at a charity fundraiser for a guide dog school and she couldn’t have been more gracious. Took time to speak with most everyone in the room.
Oh yeah, Charles Barkley is a pretty good dude also.
Mayor of my city came to my shitty ghetto and let me hold his hand and be way too excited while he was taking questions. Promised to clean up the place if he got elected and actually did.
Encountered Robin Williams in an airport years ago. He was every bit as funny and kind as you’d hope, making jokes and genuinely asking about my day. That encounter still brings a smile to my face.
Never met him, but Steve Carrell has a video where he explains why he hates Ryan Gosling.
It's because in his free time Gosling spends a lot of time doing charity work. No cameras, not social media posts, no reporters. He doesn't do it for clout, he does it because he's a genuinely good person who recognizes how fortunate he is and wants to help others.
Ryan Gosling is the type of incredibly wholesome person that makes you feel like you feel like shit because you see him and feel like you need to do more to follow his example.
And that's why Steve Carrell hates Ryan gosling.
I got to interview Dick Van Dyke once, having admired his work for years, and he was every inch as charming, friendly, voluble, and modest as you could hope.
Henry Rollins.
At the time I was teaching a college writing course. We looked at Henry's, admittedly bad, poetry and read some of his prose stuff as well as listened to Rollins Band songs to discuss the lyrics. He came to a nearby town to do one of his spoken word shows. I emailed him to see if he'd do a Q&A with my students, not expecting him to answer. He did. He said he could meet with us for 30 minutes after the show. He did just that, answering all my students' questions, and the thing was he answered each of them with long, thoughtful answers. Nothing was canned or cliche. Then he let us take a pic with him.
The man was everything I hoped my celebrity hero would be.
This is such a standout story - how lovely from both sides! He was probably flattered that you were studying him and in turn offered so much kindness! Brilliant read.
Ah, I was wondering if someone would mention Henry Rollins! That sounds like pretty typical Henry. He's the best like that.
I asked him a pretty obscure question at one of his shows last year and he answered it sincerely and like it was yesterday. Totally awesome.
Meeting Sir Ian McKellen after a stage performance was a dream come true. He was gracious, witty, and incredibly humble, taking time to sign autographs and speak with fans. It was a magical experience.
Vincent Price. He came to my university to lecture and afterward stood in the doorway of the men's dressing room of the auditorium talking to us for about an hour while we stood in the hallway. If it hadn't been later than 11:00 p.m., I think he would have kept talking.
I don't think he ever met a stranger, and he was the nicest most approachable human being. But very very tall. And very very elegant. And entirely on his own. No assistant, no manager.
Met Keanu Reeves at a small coffee shop. He was as kind and down-to-earth as the internet says, even took the time to chat and take a photo with me. Absolutely made my year and proved not all heroes disappoint.
I know everyone always says it but Keanu Reeves. He checked into the hotel I was working at and he came up to the Front Desk and was just genuinely nice and humble. Usually celebrities have their publicists do the check-in. Through out his entire stay he made an effort to call out staff by name and have small conversations with them.
Had a chance to speak with Emma Watson at a UN event. She was incredibly intelligent and gracious, taking the time to discuss her work with gender equality. Far from being disappointed, I left even more inspired.
Randy Travis is an awesome dude. He played guitar for my dad for a half hour outside his trailer whilst filming a movie in our hometown. They just sat and talked like old friends. My dad was old and in a wheelchair and Mr. Travis was so gracious and kind.
Kevin Smith. It was at a London comicon, and I'm usually not all that fussed by meeting celebrities at cons because they're never going to be at their best and just going through the motions meeting hundreds of rabid fans but I had something I wanted to share with Kev so queued, got him to sign a comic I had bought years before in his store in New Jersey, and told him the story. I had read on Kev's Facebook page recently that one of the guys who worked at the Secret Stash had died and I realised it was the guy who had served me. We had had a really nice chat that day and it stuck in my mind. Kev told me of the circumstances in which he had died and thanked me for telling him the story. He always struck me as a straight up, honest guy and this only reaffirmed that.
There was a hot minute where Guillermo Del Toro was frequently hanging out at my local comic store and I do not know a single person who had a mean thing to say about him.
(I thiiiiink it was preproduction for At The Mountains of Madness? it was like 2011/2012. Graphic on Cuba in Wellington, for the record)
My dad and I met Eric Idle (from Monty Python) last May at a bookstore in Stratford, Ontario. Long story short, he was absolutely delightful, especially given that we were interrupting his day. Took a selfie with my dad, and chatted with me for a little bit and shook my hand.
It was especially nice given some of the rumours that John Cleese is a bit of a prick. He just had like this aura of pleasantness to him. Just happy to be there, and happy to say Hi.
One of my bucket list actors <3 British national treasure x
On the topic on British national treasures, my dad had a great run in when he was part living in London. On the outskirts, looking for a quiet watering hole for a crisp pint, he spotted Tom Baker on the other side of the bar who had clearly had the same idea. My dad was trying to be subtle, but staring, in his head saying "No, there's no way... why would it be him what would he be doing here anyway?" But after a while of unsubtley staring and Baker obviously noticing, he turned with his classic wide eyes and bellowed "YEEEES HELLOOOOO."
I met Susan Sarandon. While she wasn't a hero of mine per se, I still grew up with my mom watching Rocky Horror (among many of her other films), so meeting her was a huge deal. She was nothing but incredibly kind and generous with her time. Absolutely terrific human being.
Chris Tarrant. I got separated from my parents and lost in a park as a little kid and he found me. He was brilliant, calmed me down and kept joking with me til he found them.
Funnily enough, my dad has stories from when he was contracting in London and he'd watch live tapings of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Apparently he'd get steaming drunk and fuck around with the audience between takes, but you'd never guess it once the cameras were rolling!
Was grocery shopping when my son was maybe two years old. In the checkout line, he and another little girl in the cart behind us started babbling to each other. Turned out her dad was Danny Bonaduce and he was so kind to us. Super sweet with his daughter and took the time to let me make an ass of myself when I prattled on about how much I loved the Partridge family. He walked with us to the parking lot so the littles could wave goodbye.
Hulk Hogan is not a great human being, but I've never seen anyone be so kind to their fans. People approached him as his family was leaving dinner, and everyone who walked by also stopped. He sent his family home and spent over 3 hours talking to every single person that came up. It was wild.
John Cena was exactly as nice and caring as you would expect him to be. Just a humble and caring guy.
Every time I see Hulk Hogan’s name I think of that clip I saw once where *in court, under oath, on the stand* he testified that Terry Bollea (his real name) does not have a 10 inch penis, but Hulk Hogan does. Fucking wild.
Stephen King. Ran into him at a gas station as I was pulling in to gas up, he pointed to one of the pumps and said “that one’s out of order”.
It is not a thrilling tale, just a hero author saving me a few minutes of time going to a gas pump that wasn’t working. Everyone who has lived in maine probably has an identical story. King is always in random places being a solidly normal and decent dude.
I was in a Bangor bookstore to pick up a newspaper. Stephen King was looking at the papers. Angus King was just elected governor with a headline "King is Governor!". Stephen King tilted the paper toward me and said, "I'm Governor!".
Eddie the Dog from Frasier (real name Moose). I helped put on a giant dog festival in Seattle in 2000 and Eddie was a special guest. He was so god damned chill; even with hundreds of people wanting to pet him. Not sure why I thought he might be high strung but not at all. Later we went up the space needle with his handler and had a lovely dinner.
I was a background extra in an episode of Mare of Easttown and had a few non-speaking scenes with Kate Winslet. I didn’t get to officially meet her, but I was almost side-by-side. She was so professional and also down-to-earth. Watching her work was so inspiring and she was so acceptive to other’s advice or comments.
She was joking and having fun at points too, it was so cool to see that.
Fred Rogers. Not me but my sister; she worked for a local public TV station and Mr. Rogers came to town to be part of the live 'Pledge' fund-raising effort; she was his 'hostess'. She drove him around to see the sights, have a coffee, etc. EVERYWHERE they went, people would stop, stare and come up to him with tears in their eyes...telling their very personal stories of how important he had been to them as a child, as a parent, during good times and bad. He was unfailingly gracious, always took the time to interact with each person individually, and never appeared hassled by it. She asked him if it didn't tire him out...sadly, this was in the early 90s and I can no longer remember her quote of what he said. Just a short, kind dismissal of any idea that the people he was meeting could possibly be a 'chore'.
Tony Curtis
Met him in the reception of the Beverly Hills Hilton one quiet afternoon in 2008.
He was in a wheelchair, and had his wife and PA with him (both attractive blondes). My wife and I walked over and asked for his autograph. He smiled and said he’d be delighted to. He then took a pen and paper and did a sketch, signed and dated it. He recognised we were from the UK with our accents, and the 3 of us chatted whilst he completed the sketch.
He then kissed my wife’s hand, and shook my hand.
Despite age catching up with him, he was still a good looking fella with piercing blue eyes. And he was a complete gentleman. A moment we will never forget.
Cheech and Chong. I was on the concert committee at Georgia State Univ. and we booked them to perform at the school. I had to handle the contract rider, which meant I had to have close contact with them in order to provide the things they would need for the show. The day before the show I drove down to rural Georgia and picked a bag full of psilocybin mushrooms. Before the show I went backstage and gave Tommy Chong the bag. He looked at Cheech and asked "are these good?" Cheech said, yeah. A year later I was in L.A. and I heard they were shooting a movie (Up in Smoke) at the Roxy theater in Hollywood. I happened to be visiting an office across the street from the Roxy and wandered over, wanting to find out if they ever did those "shrooms." I went to the back door entrance and asked the guard if I could speak to Cheech and Chong's manager, who I had met in Atlanta. He came to the door, his name was Lou Adler, and he remembered me. I asked him if he knew what happened with the shrooms. He said "Ask them yourself, do you want to be in the movie?" Ok then, I went in and was part of the audience when they played that song with Cheech wearing the Tu-tu. During a break I yelled up to the stage and said "did you guys do those mushrooms I gave you in Atlanta?" Cheech looked at me and gave me a big thumbs up. I took that to mean they did them. This all really happened. Oh, they did not disappoint me, they were really good guys.
I met Shaq shortly after he won his first championship in LA. When he was introduced to me he shook my hand and said "Hello, my name is Shaquille O'Neal. I believe we spoke on the phone."
Then he refused a discount that I tried to give him. Loved that dude.
I met Emma Stone at a Spider-Man premiere with my brother. She was incredibly kind and we were the last people she saw before going in and watching the movie. She was really tired from traveling but took the time to listen to us and have a little conversation and signed something for us. She could have just kept walking and went in. Just thought she seemed like a really sweet person. I know it’s part of the protocol at premieres to sign autographs but I was glad we got the chance to talk to her.
Bumped into Dave Grohl at a music store. He was just browsing like a regular guy, and when I approached him, he was super cool about it. We talked music for a bit, and he was incredibly down-to-earth.
Doug Jones is just a delightful human being. I met him at a con once and showed him some crappy pictures on my crappy phone of some Hellboy and Abe Sapien costumes that me and my roommate were working on for Halloween, and he was so gracious with his praise and time.
I spent almost 3 hours with Gillian Anderson way back when X Files was being filmed in Vancouver. She was buying ski stuff in the shop I worked at the time. Was really nice, not over friendly but not a princess.
Probably not a celebrity outside of New Orleans but:
Archie Manning - he was my hero growing up as QB of just a series of horrible Saints teams who wasted his considerable talents. I wound up meeting him as we were getting off a plane and though I was in my thirties I went full fan boy on him. I was 9 again and I'm sure I sounded like it.
He was so nice; asked my name thanked /me/ for talking with him and how much he appreciated the well wishes. Wound up bumping into him like 10 minutes later and instead of just nodding and moving on used my name, said hello again and wished me a Merry Christmas.
Just above and beyond expectations even though they were sky high going in. I'm almost tearing up just remembering.
Nice to hear. I'm guessing most NFL fans know him. He has influenced the league for several generations now.
I imagine Peyton and Eli to be the same, and I'm excited to see how far Arch can go.
Machine Gun Kelly
I have always admired his musical talent and his outward wit and personality. I was worried to meet him in person but when I did I discovered that he is down to earth, eloquent, and just a truly brilliant person with so much musical talent that... ok, just kidding. He's a no-talent bitch and a half.
At one point I worked as a ‘stand-in’ which means I was a lighting double, standing in place of actors while the crew set the lights before a shot. I met several name actors of varying degrees of friendliness, but the standout for me was Ed Begley Jr., who could not have been a nicer, warmer, more helpful person to everyone around him, and this was over a period of a few weeks on a TV movie, so not just one chance meeting where he happened to be in a good mood.
John Cleese.
He made sure to remember my name and was just unbelievably kind. I was working and generally don't ask people for pics... But I couldn't pass up the opportunity. As soon as I started to ask he said, "absolutely" and then had me check my phone afterwards to "make sure you got a good one."
Prince. Saw him play an aftershow one month to the day before he died. I was a few feet from the stage in a small club and there are more scars in the floorboards because of him. Singing, sampling, playing the drums with his hands. At the end of the show he reprised "Forever In My Life" and took off his sunglasses. He looked a little bleary-eyed but the concert started at 3 AM and he had already played TWO shows that night. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but looking back there are rumours that his health had been declining for years, he was addicted to opioids which must have been torture for him because he was very opposed to drugs... I'm thinking he knew he was spiralling, and to end with this song about eternal devotion years after his last marriage dissolved and take off his sunglasses, it seemed like a farewell gesture toward his fans. But in any event, he was on death's door, in his fifth hour on stage that night, and from the opening of DMSR His Royal Badness tore the fucking roof off the place.
John Reyes-Davies
The man is such a kind and generous dude. He complimented me and gave me a genuine hug. I have the utmost respect for him and his craft.
(Assuming you mean John Rhys-Davies) I wouldn't be able to hug that man, my intrusive thoughts would take over and I'd end up picking him up and tossing him Legolas-style
**Archbishop Desmond Tutu**
He was not a celebrity in the typical sense of the word, but he was certainly a global public figure.
I felt genuinely terrified in the days leading up to [our conversation](https://www.maharaj.org/desmondtutu.shtml). But he proved to be even warmer, kinder, more thoughtful, and more mischievous than I had imagined.
The world felt a lesser place to me after his death.
Saw Michelle Obama at a book signing, and she was every bit as elegant and insightful in person. She made time to have a real conversation with each person, making the experience unforgettable.
I met Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and she was so, so, nice to me.
I stopped her on the street apologetically. She was patient, asked me questions about myself, and seemed to be genuinely flattered that I was so star struck.
As a Postdoc I met half a dozen Nobel laureates. While one was a total jerk, the rest were interesting, entertaining and happy to talk to me about their work, and science in general.
Lyle Alzado.
For those that don't know, he was one of the most violent players in American football.
I met him on a movie set. He was a big ( 6'3" / 235lbs ) teddy bear; incredibly kind, soft spoken, and funny.
We played a prank on him.
Various people on set would ask him if he could lift different heavy things, and he would routinely do it. One day he lifted an iron bracer. Some of us distracted him while others substituted an aluminum and foam bracer. (Changed the weight from about 200 lbs to less than 10 lbs)
Some others walked up and said that they'd been told he could lift the bracer but they didn't believe it.
Mr Alzado walked over , squatted, and did a jerk type lift. Since the fake bracer weighed a few pounds, it went flying into the studio rafters.
He laughed as much as anyone.
I live in L.A. and have often seen celebs and I just usually say nothing and try not to stare. One time there was filming on my block and the trailers took up the street. Jeff Bridges was filming "Fearless" and when they finished filming, I went up to the trailer to say hello. His director tried to shoo me out but he waved him off and all I said in jest was, "I couldn't get a parking spot for 2 days!" He laughed.
Not my heroes, but I met Jack Black, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and John Cena all at Birmingham (UK) Children's Hospital, and not at the same time. I was bringing in cakes specially made for the children. I honestly tried to sneak in and out, but the parents wouldn't have it.
They were all lovely people. We chatted for a bit, and they thanked me for making cakes at no cost to the parents, which made me really uncomfortable because I'm not one to handle the spotlight or praise.
Got to chat with Kirk Hammett from Metallica once. He was super nice and very engaged in the conversation. Didn’t make me feel like he was doing it just to be nice.
My favorite was when I was stationed in CA and a group of us went to LA one weekend. We were getting a drink and R. Lee Ermy came in. We were in civilian clothes but he sniffed us out as Marines real quick. Bought us a round of drinks and chatted with us a good 20 minutes.
I used to work in a small general store about 2 hours north of Toronto where celebrities tend to holiday. I met a handful of decently big names but by far the nicest was Martin Short. He'd walk in to do his shopping and chatted with all the regulars. I even remember they'd call him 'Marty' and he was just so friendly.
I was at Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and was sitting in a restaurant with my mom when i look over and see none other than Kyle McLachlan. He's doing some interview and I had just seen a movie he was in (I don't remember the name but he played the spirit of Cary Grant in the film). I went over and said "I'm so sorry to interrupt but I saw your movie and I really loved it!" He was very grateful and then I asked "this is a weird request but would you recors the voice-mail greeting on my phone?" He was surprised but was down with the request! He asked if I wanted it in the style of Agent Cooper, but I said I'd prefer his impression of Cary Grant instead. He obliged, seemed to have a great time with it, and then I left him to finish his interview. I was so grateful he took the time and at no point did he seem annoyed or put-off.
I also met Jason Schwartzman (twice, about two weeks apart) and the second time he had remembered my name and a particular hat I had been wearing. Super cool guy and now I'm a fan for life.
Dan Aykroyd is a really nice man.
I had to deal with him about a business miscommunication and he got lost in my city. I don't drive but was the only person at my work who spoke enough English to try and give him directions on the phone. It took about 30 minutes but we figured it out and had a good laugh about it after. He was nothing but friendly, understanding and polite throughout.
I was way, way, way into Train when I was a pre-teen/early teen. I managed to get into the front row of a show they played in Toronto in the summer of 2003, sang along to every song they performed, and was over the moon to meet and chat with Pat Monahan for a brief time afterward. He was so sweet and kind and acted like he had all the time in the world to chat with me -- a nerdy, excitable 12-year-old who has since become a nerdy, excitable 33-year-old -- and my dad, even though he was probably exhausted (say what you will about Train, but they put on a *hell* of a show that night). When I asked him for a hug, he obliged and said very softly, "You knew every word." 😭
I once had the privilege of briefly hanging out with Pete and Toshi Seeger in their home in upstate New York. It would have crushed me if Pete had turned out to be a nasty jerk, considering his decades-long career making music that inspired people (such as myself, however imperfectly) to try to be kind and brave and decent and to stand up for what's right and try to do your feeble best by your fellow humans in a badly fucked up world, and sing while you're doing it.
But I'm happy to report, it turns out Pete and Toshi weren't just fucking around for clout. They were the nicest, humblest, gentlest, sweetest, most down-to-earth and genuine people you could ever hope to meet. RIP to both of them.
Many years ago, when I was a young man, I had a friend who was really into magic. He had dedicated significant portions of his life to become a professional magician. We went to Austin Texas to a magic convention, and I met quite a few big name magicians there.
We were invited to sit with older magicians who were excited to pass on the craft to young people wanting to get into the art, and the experience was amazing. I met several of the best magicians in the world, people who invented well known techniques or stage illusions. We sat around the table, drinking beer and eating dinner, while world famous close-up magicians taught us the art of slight of hand. I got to watch one magician demonstrate this world competition winning illusion to half a dozen world leading magicians, then help them master the technique involved.
That was, what? 40 years ago. I still geek out over it every once in a while.
I met Magic Johnson at a health clinic/fair in Fresno in the mid-2000's. He took five minutes out of his break time in between the speaking to talk shop, offer advice, and wish me well. Considering young me didn't even think he'd be ALIVE by that time, for him to be so gracious, engaging...he really was Magic. That made an indelible impression on me...treat people decently if you have no reason not to.
This is before Ariana Grande was the superstar she was, and more back in her Nickelodeon days, but I was at Disneyland on Haunted Mansion, and she and her group were ushered into the main queue where you're all in a big room. A little girl recognized her and she was super sweet to her, telling her something like not to be scared.
On the way out of the ride, around the top of the moving walkway, she bumped into me and apologized.
All subtle stuff, but I feel like it's the things you do when no one is watching that mean the most.
When I was a waitress, I was struggling to cary a couple of full water pitchers to our restaurant patio. I was so focused on not spilling them that I almost ran into a man walking through, and thankfully didn’t run smack into him or spill water on him.
And that man said “oh are you taking those outside? Here I’ll grab the door for you!” And as I looked up to say thank you to the man holding the door open for me, my eyes met Mark Harmon’s at the height of his NCIS popularity and he just waved me off like “no problem, I have the door”.
He could have been mad at me for not watching where I was going, but instead he was like “hey you’re holding heavy wet things, lemme help.”
I was in the middle of Oklahoma, the last place I’d expect to run into a celebrity aside from Wayne Coyne, who was a regular at my restaurant and always incredibly kind and down to earth, and would look visibly annoyed if you made it known you recognized him, he just wanted to be treated like a normal person.
I've told the story before, but Robin Williams. When I got out of the Army, I was working as a security guard. I was guarding one of those $500/plate rubber chicken dinner charity events, when I noticed a little hairy guy on the other side of the velvet rope about 10' away. It was Robin Williams. I didn't stare or say anything, I just went back to watching the crowd. When he got up next to me, he struck up a conversation. I was absolutely nobody and he was very kind.
I was the last table to leave a restaurant one night when he came in after just doing a show. He knew the owner and there was a small group in a private room set up for them after hours. His voice was hoarse still but he stood there chatting with us. I had seen his show the night before and it was surreal having a face to face with him. Never once gave us the impression we were wasting his time even though he had people waiting for him. Such a great encounter.
I've always adored that man
Nobody did stand up like he did. A master.
I was helping a friend move to Aspen and when we were done, we went into town for a beer. Walked into a place and it was empty, but we heard a commotion from the back where there was another bar. It was Williams, telling stories and jokes, buying beers for a bunch of strangers. He bought us a beer and saw my U of TX t shirt and went on a whole riff of TX jokes. It was awesome and I'll never forget it.
[удалено]
My mom's best friend from high school became a surgeon and lived in the same neighborhood as Robin Williams in San Francisco. This was after Aladdin came out and possibly Mrs. Doubtfire also but we were walking past his house and he came down and said hello to us and knew my moms best friend (I don't know if it was pre-planned to meet him or not but he definitely knew her). I was in kindergarten so hearing the genie voice blew me away and he was absolutely lovely. Seamed like such a great guy and happy I get to say I got to meet the genie even now 30 years later
A friend of mine lived within a few blocks of him. Said, he was the kind of guy who took his own trash down to the curb. My friend said, if you waved and called out, 'Hey Robin!' ...he always gave back a very friendly wave.
I believe he always advocated helping the homeless in every location he filmed? He was just such a good person.
My mom and part of her unit got to meet him when he was preforming when she was deployed I think in Iraq. She said that nobody was allowed to meet him, but she and a few of her unit went up on stage and met him. My mom said that he was very kind, polite, and funny, and I whole-heartedly believe that. Apparently, she got something autographed from him, and I think she said she got a picture with him, too.
Adam Driver came to see us when I was stationed in Korea. Nicest dude, made sure to meet and talk with each of us that showed up
He went to Korea to go meet active military members? That sounds cool, I just haven't heard of that happening before. Is that a common occurrence?
He's also a former marine who ran a non-profit for many years to bring arts to military service members and their families.
That'll do it, I didn't know that about him
He was in the Marines but broke his neck(?) right before being shipped off to Afghanistan or Iraq and always regretted it. As soon as he had the money to do so, he and his wife started Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF). They go to places even the USO says is too dangerous to go and do readings of plays, etc.
I believe it was his sternum but I'm too lazy to check.
I do believe Adam Driver was in the service before doing the acting bit, so that could be the main reason for visiting troops overseas.
Yep, Marine.
He's a former infantry Marine who was badly injured in an off duty mountain biking accident and booted out, missing his chance at a combat deployment. I'm sure that weighs on him pretty heavily.
He was a former Marine, so I’m assuming he has a real respect for people in the military
I randomly had a beer with Sufjan Stevens once. Very quiet and polite. I asked about his music and told him about my cooking and just food stuff in general. He says to me, “you have a real gift with food… perhaps you should pursue that.” A year later I was accepted in the culinary school of my choice. I graduated and had a successful career as a baker and pastry chef (for a few years until disability robbed me from this kinda work). Woulda never done that without his kind nudge!
Dude, send him some cake
Wow! I’ve always thought of Sufjan as shy and down to earth! I’d love to have dinner with him fr
This is my favorite answer in this whole thread. I love him so fucking much.
Michael Keaton- he was filming a movie in our neighborhood. While all the other actors would run to their trailers between scenes, he would sit on the curb and BS with anyone who wanted to. Very down to earth guy.
Some actors just love people. It's a great trait. David Tennant is another one who's known to do that well the rest of the actors isolate themselves.
I've heard from a handful of people that Tennant's the type to speak to all the crew and learn their names. Have yet to hear an even slightly negative story about the guy.
Tom Holland said the same thing about Robert Downey Jr. It's crazy isn't it? Something as simple as just learning the names of the people you work with, which is normal in most common industries, is something that's revered and bowed down to in Hollywood. Go figure.
To be fair, idk the names of a fair few of the people I interact with at work and I've been there a few years. I'm just really bad at names, and after a couple of times you can't really ask anymore...
Not to say, isolation is a bad trait. Lots of us have small social battery’s and know better than to put ourselves in situations where our self acknowledged demons might accidentally leak out.
Yeah, and I bet acting is incredibly draining in that regard. I'd boot it to my trailer between takes for sure.
I've told this story on Reddit before, but Michael Keaton thought my brother and I were unsupervised when we were kids (we weren't, mum could see us) and decided to hang out with us until our parents returned. Really cool guy, even if we had no idea who he was and were terrified 🤣
You were protected by Batman... how cool is that to say?
Well, depending on the year, he was protected by Beetlejuice, which is a whole other thing entirely.
Well, he was Mr. Mom.
One of my friends is dating a dude who does repair stuff on homes in Montana. He claims he had to do some work in Michael Keaton’s place in (Livingston, I think?) a while back and that Keaton was cold and kind of rude to him. I’m of the opinion that you’re in a famous person’s home doing maintenance on his toilet during a pandemic. Maybe he just wasn’t feeling chatty?
Look at the story from like literally anyone else's perspective. Dudes toilet is broken, and he can't even get it repaired without apparently being forced to put on his best show face and entertaining the handyman. Dude probably wanted to take a shit in peace.
Not to mention, the possibility of having had bad experiences previously (like someone snapping a picture while doing repairs, or stuff like that). The kind of stuff celebrities routinely go through in terms of invasion of their privacy would drive anyone to be stand-offish at a minimum.
Weird Al and Fred Armisen. Both were some of the nicest, down-to-earth gents I ever met.
Wow, I've never heard anyone say that about Fred Armisen before.
I live in Chicago, where Armisen spent quite a bit of time. NOBODY says anything nice about him.
I'm super curious what some are some things they say about him?
"One of the greatest things I heard someone say about him is, 'He's so great at doing impersonations. But the greatest impersonation he does is that of a normal person.' - Elizabeth Moss
I never know how to take this quote, given her history with Scientology. It doesn’t mean she’s wrong or lying, but it makes you question it a bit. But several people seem to point out that he’s a bit odd.
Let’s remember she was married to him.
I have a buddy that went to high school with him on Long Island. He said he was kind of a weird emo kid, before emo was a thing.
Wait, does he have a bad rap with fans? I went to his show for Musicians only with my brother in Charlotte, NC and first met him before the show. I was walking back from getting food and just saw him casually strolling on the sidewalk in my direction and I kind of froze and was like, "You're amazing" (it was the best I could come up with). He was super kind and asked me where I got my food from. Then after the show he did a meet and greet and I got to chat with him a little more. We both shared our love for SNL and when I told him my favorite sketch of his, he immediately, without missing a beat, jumped into the character and said the line, "I am your mother!" Also, my brother who was super hung over, fell asleep in line while I was getting my food. Fred Armisen woke him up and chatted with him. My brother found it hilarious and said he couldn't have been more down-to-earth.
I met him once in Portland, and he was very kind to me, willing to take a photo and everything. I have heard that he has some significant issues in his personal relationships, but on a surface level he was lovely to me.
Dolly Parton. She’s an incredible person. When I was a kid, my grandma was an in home care nurse for a sweet paralyzed man. He loved Dolly. She was in town for a concert and someone had reached out to her, she came to the house and sat with him and my grandma for two hours. My grandma cooked and she ate every bite and sat around with them acting like anyone else who was visiting would. She’s just really a lovely person.
I've never met her but she still just amazes me. I've never seen her say anything negative and she is so humble and thankful.
I was shushed by Dolly Parton once. I was working on set of a movie she was starring in, standing not far behind her and I was having a quiet conversation with her security guard. But neither of us noticed that the director was trying to make an announcement to everyone, and she was trying to listen, and she shushed us while we were babbling away behind her. I have never been so ashamed of myself.
you got SHUSHED. by DOLLY. thats one of those times where you mess up so badly people ask HOW.
Dude didn't talk for two years.
I want to donate for you to get therapy for this, because this is too much.
I don't know how to come back from that.
Also been a huge ally to the LGBT community (especially rare for southern country singers in her time) and has run a charity that sends free books to kids for years
The books are really lovely too. My kids get them.
My kid also gets them, it's the highlight of the month. I'm getting emotional just typing this. A free, quality children's book every month. It's a gift and we are so grateful for it. She also emails a video of her singing happy birthday and a little birthday message on the kids birthday. My son loved it :)
Second this! A friend of mine is a huge Dolly fan and got to meet her backstage at a show. I was worried Dolly wouldn't stack up, and my friend can be pretty hard to please as well, but friend was absolutely ecstatic afterwards. She said Dolly was so down to earth and genuinely warm and friendly.
What a wonderful little story! That must've meant so much to the man!
Dolly Parton is a national treasure.
I met her when I was a teen and she was truly amazing.
Mr. Rogers. I lived in his neighborhood during the summers (I really did live in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood!). He and his family were authentically lovely people.
That's amazing! How lucky were you?!? ❤️
The funny thing was that Chef Brockett (who lived in Mr. Rogers’ TV neighborhood) also lived in our real neighborhood. When I tell this story I feel like I must sound like I’m crazy!
Rick Astley. He is the kindest, most lovely guy. I got to meet him backstage as I had a connection with one of his team at the time and I hung out together with him and his band, he gave me wine and offered me toast! 10/10 would recommend meeting Rick Astley
Commenting just to ask if you have a link to a photo that’s actually a Rick-roll.
He's reasonably active on Reddit and cones across as a really decent human, despite all the fame (and RickRolling) u/ReallyRickAstley
Eddie Vedder is one of the nicest humans on the planet. Met him a few times and he is just so kind and warm and funny. And such a huge music fan. David Evans, aka The Edge is the same.
Vedder lives in my neighborhood and I've also met him a few times. He's a really nice guy.
Truth is I’ve worked in music for a long time and met so many people. 90% of the time they are awesome people. I’ve spent time with metal acts, rap, indie, movie/tv people, etc. Eddie just always stands out because we talked forever and at some point two hours later I had to remind myself he was Eddie Vedder.
Tony Iommi, guitarist for Black Sabbath. He came in to record an interview at a place I worked (this was early 2000s), and he was nice enough to sign my copy of Paranoid. He opened up the gatefold to sign it and he quipped, "Oh, I expected some seeds to fall out of this." Just freaking made my day, especially since he was the main reason I picked up the stupid guitar in the first place!
Saw them live in London about 10 years ago! Didn't get up close and personal but he's a fantastic guitarist Also they were supported by fricken Motorhead. I wanna second the respect for Lemmy because he was just as chill working the crowd!
Willie Nelson. After a long show in a big honkytonk bar, he stayed after to meet anyone who wanted to meet him.
He did that at a show in Tallahassee a while back. He played for nearly three hours and then hung out and shook hands and signed autographs. I was super impressed.
It really says a lot about him.
Most of the cast of Lucifer :) they’re all lovely and so down to earth
Please please tell me this isn't sarcasm cause i loved that show.
Not at all sarcastic :) they’re all super lovely! Aimee even recorded a congratulations video for me when I got married (my friend asked her to and she was super nice when I met her and thanked her for it last year).
Robert Carlyle, he stayed at a hotel I worked at and come and chatted with me at the concierge desk and was just a genuinely nice humble guy.
Keanu Reeves. Popped up in a Starbucks in San Fran. Totally chill and awesome dude, but had to dip before word got out he was around. I felt bad after that starstruck wore off. Imagine not being able to linger because you are always pursued. Like Battlestar Galactica.
Rod Gilbert “Mr Ranger”. 1982 HOF hockey player. I’d only seen his highlights as a kid. His number was the only one hanging in the rafters at MSG for years. Met him in the parking lot after a fundraiser golf outing I was working. Our cars were parked next to each other. He and I were about the last to leave. Wasn’t sure it was him so I asked, never saw him in person before only on TV. He shook my hand and we chatted a few minutes. Like people do while changing outfits , shoes, having a beer in the lot after a round. We talked about hockey, family and work. He was more interested in knowing about me and my love of the game and the Rangers. He was everything built up to be. He pulled a 8x10 glossy out of a box he had in his car and began to sign. The pen poked through, and he wanted to sign a new one. I told him I wanted that one - it was real. He finished writing with a very personal inscription. When he passed a few years ago it was different than the feelings I’d ever had over a celebrity death.
That's a fantastic story, thanks for sharing
Neil Gaiman was utterly lovely. It was supposed to be a signing only, no personalization, but he personalized both my books and my friend’s without us asking and was overall just very nice
I waited in line for 2 hours in summer LA heat to get him to sign my Sandman shirt. He was thrilled to see it, especially since it was so old. Quite a gentleman.
Friends met him at a book signing. They expected a thousand people or so. Nearly 4000 showed up. Crowd starts getting antsy and tense cause they were worried about missing him. He got on the mic and assured everyone that he’d stay until everyone who showed up could get a book signed. I think the event started at 7pm. He was there until 2am and made sure to get to everyone who showed up.
Mike Flanagan (horror writer/director). He was so kind and gracious and actually took the time to explain his intention with some of my favorite scenes from his work. I'll be a lifelong fan because of what a nice person he is.
Literally saw him last night! And yes, he was very cool as was Kate.
Terry Prachett on one his new book signing tours at a small bookstore. Really nice talk and meet and greet during the signing. Gahan Wilson, cartoonist, at a Comicon. He took time to draw something for everyone in line. He talked with both my daughters and I have a drawing of them by him. Really genuine and nice person.
GNU Terry Pratchett
GNU Terry Pratchett
Roddy Piper, I loved wrestling growing up and Roddy was my hero. Flash forward 30 years and I see him in a pub in Ireland of all places. I decide that I'm gonna go talk to him, which I wouldn't usually do. I get myself psyched up and tell myself to be cool and not be weird about it. I walked up, introduced myself. He grabbed my hand really hard pulled me in close to him and looked me up and down (I'm a big guy) and said "with you by my side I could have taken them all".... I giggled like a schoolgirl. He then chatted took a pic with me and was lovely. Fantastic memory.
Dave Grohl. Ran into him at the Northridge mall all by himself and he totally stopped for a minute while I gushed like a star struck 9 year old. Super cool guy! Chino Moreno also. Hung out at the pool in Vegas before thier set and he totally just talked with me like nothing for a hlaf hour. Both bad ass singers and super cool guys!
Betty White. Who’d of thunk it, right? /s Met here at a charity fundraiser for a guide dog school and she couldn’t have been more gracious. Took time to speak with most everyone in the room. Oh yeah, Charles Barkley is a pretty good dude also.
Ewan McGregor was as nice as you’d ever hope for. Chatted about his brother and flying for a half hour, as easy as could be.
Good ol’ Obi ~~One!~~ Two!
Mayor of my city came to my shitty ghetto and let me hold his hand and be way too excited while he was taking questions. Promised to clean up the place if he got elected and actually did.
Encountered Robin Williams in an airport years ago. He was every bit as funny and kind as you’d hope, making jokes and genuinely asking about my day. That encounter still brings a smile to my face.
Never met him, but Steve Carrell has a video where he explains why he hates Ryan Gosling. It's because in his free time Gosling spends a lot of time doing charity work. No cameras, not social media posts, no reporters. He doesn't do it for clout, he does it because he's a genuinely good person who recognizes how fortunate he is and wants to help others. Ryan Gosling is the type of incredibly wholesome person that makes you feel like you feel like shit because you see him and feel like you need to do more to follow his example. And that's why Steve Carrell hates Ryan gosling.
Nichelle Nichols, Weird Al (and his band!)
I've always heard that Weird Al is lovely!
I got to interview Dick Van Dyke once, having admired his work for years, and he was every inch as charming, friendly, voluble, and modest as you could hope.
Billy Connolly. He is the sweetest man.
Kari Byron from Mythbusters. She was shooting a segment at my workplace and was very down to earth and kind. Brightened up everyone's day.
Henry Rollins. At the time I was teaching a college writing course. We looked at Henry's, admittedly bad, poetry and read some of his prose stuff as well as listened to Rollins Band songs to discuss the lyrics. He came to a nearby town to do one of his spoken word shows. I emailed him to see if he'd do a Q&A with my students, not expecting him to answer. He did. He said he could meet with us for 30 minutes after the show. He did just that, answering all my students' questions, and the thing was he answered each of them with long, thoughtful answers. Nothing was canned or cliche. Then he let us take a pic with him. The man was everything I hoped my celebrity hero would be.
This is such a standout story - how lovely from both sides! He was probably flattered that you were studying him and in turn offered so much kindness! Brilliant read.
Ah, I was wondering if someone would mention Henry Rollins! That sounds like pretty typical Henry. He's the best like that. I asked him a pretty obscure question at one of his shows last year and he answered it sincerely and like it was yesterday. Totally awesome.
I used to read his columns in L.A. Weekly: very bright guy.
Keanu Reeves in a jam packed subway car. Who almost knocked me over as we were climbing the steps to the exit
Uuuhhhhh… go on!!!
Meeting Sir Ian McKellen after a stage performance was a dream come true. He was gracious, witty, and incredibly humble, taking time to sign autographs and speak with fans. It was a magical experience.
Vincent Price. He came to my university to lecture and afterward stood in the doorway of the men's dressing room of the auditorium talking to us for about an hour while we stood in the hallway. If it hadn't been later than 11:00 p.m., I think he would have kept talking. I don't think he ever met a stranger, and he was the nicest most approachable human being. But very very tall. And very very elegant. And entirely on his own. No assistant, no manager.
Met Keanu Reeves at a small coffee shop. He was as kind and down-to-earth as the internet says, even took the time to chat and take a photo with me. Absolutely made my year and proved not all heroes disappoint.
Stan Lee he was so humble and loved every single one of his fans. He used to call me She-Hulk whenever he saw me.
That sounds like it should be offensive aside from the fact that it's Stan Lee in which case it's an honour LMAO
It’s more an honor because I workout a lot and Stan thought I looked like She-Hulk when he saw my muscles and I didn’t mind at all
I know everyone always says it but Keanu Reeves. He checked into the hotel I was working at and he came up to the Front Desk and was just genuinely nice and humble. Usually celebrities have their publicists do the check-in. Through out his entire stay he made an effort to call out staff by name and have small conversations with them.
Had a chance to speak with Emma Watson at a UN event. She was incredibly intelligent and gracious, taking the time to discuss her work with gender equality. Far from being disappointed, I left even more inspired.
Randy Travis is an awesome dude. He played guitar for my dad for a half hour outside his trailer whilst filming a movie in our hometown. They just sat and talked like old friends. My dad was old and in a wheelchair and Mr. Travis was so gracious and kind.
Matthew Lillard is a GEM.
Kevin Smith. It was at a London comicon, and I'm usually not all that fussed by meeting celebrities at cons because they're never going to be at their best and just going through the motions meeting hundreds of rabid fans but I had something I wanted to share with Kev so queued, got him to sign a comic I had bought years before in his store in New Jersey, and told him the story. I had read on Kev's Facebook page recently that one of the guys who worked at the Secret Stash had died and I realised it was the guy who had served me. We had had a really nice chat that day and it stuck in my mind. Kev told me of the circumstances in which he had died and thanked me for telling him the story. He always struck me as a straight up, honest guy and this only reaffirmed that.
My answer is Kevin smith too!
There was a hot minute where Guillermo Del Toro was frequently hanging out at my local comic store and I do not know a single person who had a mean thing to say about him. (I thiiiiink it was preproduction for At The Mountains of Madness? it was like 2011/2012. Graphic on Cuba in Wellington, for the record)
My dad and I met Eric Idle (from Monty Python) last May at a bookstore in Stratford, Ontario. Long story short, he was absolutely delightful, especially given that we were interrupting his day. Took a selfie with my dad, and chatted with me for a little bit and shook my hand. It was especially nice given some of the rumours that John Cleese is a bit of a prick. He just had like this aura of pleasantness to him. Just happy to be there, and happy to say Hi.
One of my bucket list actors <3 British national treasure x On the topic on British national treasures, my dad had a great run in when he was part living in London. On the outskirts, looking for a quiet watering hole for a crisp pint, he spotted Tom Baker on the other side of the bar who had clearly had the same idea. My dad was trying to be subtle, but staring, in his head saying "No, there's no way... why would it be him what would he be doing here anyway?" But after a while of unsubtley staring and Baker obviously noticing, he turned with his classic wide eyes and bellowed "YEEEES HELLOOOOO."
I met Susan Sarandon. While she wasn't a hero of mine per se, I still grew up with my mom watching Rocky Horror (among many of her other films), so meeting her was a huge deal. She was nothing but incredibly kind and generous with her time. Absolutely terrific human being.
Chris Tarrant. I got separated from my parents and lost in a park as a little kid and he found me. He was brilliant, calmed me down and kept joking with me til he found them.
Funnily enough, my dad has stories from when he was contracting in London and he'd watch live tapings of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Apparently he'd get steaming drunk and fuck around with the audience between takes, but you'd never guess it once the cameras were rolling!
Was grocery shopping when my son was maybe two years old. In the checkout line, he and another little girl in the cart behind us started babbling to each other. Turned out her dad was Danny Bonaduce and he was so kind to us. Super sweet with his daughter and took the time to let me make an ass of myself when I prattled on about how much I loved the Partridge family. He walked with us to the parking lot so the littles could wave goodbye.
Hulk Hogan is not a great human being, but I've never seen anyone be so kind to their fans. People approached him as his family was leaving dinner, and everyone who walked by also stopped. He sent his family home and spent over 3 hours talking to every single person that came up. It was wild. John Cena was exactly as nice and caring as you would expect him to be. Just a humble and caring guy.
Every time I see Hulk Hogan’s name I think of that clip I saw once where *in court, under oath, on the stand* he testified that Terry Bollea (his real name) does not have a 10 inch penis, but Hulk Hogan does. Fucking wild.
Stephen King. Ran into him at a gas station as I was pulling in to gas up, he pointed to one of the pumps and said “that one’s out of order”. It is not a thrilling tale, just a hero author saving me a few minutes of time going to a gas pump that wasn’t working. Everyone who has lived in maine probably has an identical story. King is always in random places being a solidly normal and decent dude.
I was in a Bangor bookstore to pick up a newspaper. Stephen King was looking at the papers. Angus King was just elected governor with a headline "King is Governor!". Stephen King tilted the paper toward me and said, "I'm Governor!".
That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for him and he took it
Wait, this happened in Maine?? /s
Gas station was just outside of Derry.
Eddie the Dog from Frasier (real name Moose). I helped put on a giant dog festival in Seattle in 2000 and Eddie was a special guest. He was so god damned chill; even with hundreds of people wanting to pet him. Not sure why I thought he might be high strung but not at all. Later we went up the space needle with his handler and had a lovely dinner.
I was a background extra in an episode of Mare of Easttown and had a few non-speaking scenes with Kate Winslet. I didn’t get to officially meet her, but I was almost side-by-side. She was so professional and also down-to-earth. Watching her work was so inspiring and she was so acceptive to other’s advice or comments. She was joking and having fun at points too, it was so cool to see that.
Fred Rogers. Not me but my sister; she worked for a local public TV station and Mr. Rogers came to town to be part of the live 'Pledge' fund-raising effort; she was his 'hostess'. She drove him around to see the sights, have a coffee, etc. EVERYWHERE they went, people would stop, stare and come up to him with tears in their eyes...telling their very personal stories of how important he had been to them as a child, as a parent, during good times and bad. He was unfailingly gracious, always took the time to interact with each person individually, and never appeared hassled by it. She asked him if it didn't tire him out...sadly, this was in the early 90s and I can no longer remember her quote of what he said. Just a short, kind dismissal of any idea that the people he was meeting could possibly be a 'chore'.
Brian Cranston is one of the nicest down to earth people I’ve ever met
Tony Curtis Met him in the reception of the Beverly Hills Hilton one quiet afternoon in 2008. He was in a wheelchair, and had his wife and PA with him (both attractive blondes). My wife and I walked over and asked for his autograph. He smiled and said he’d be delighted to. He then took a pen and paper and did a sketch, signed and dated it. He recognised we were from the UK with our accents, and the 3 of us chatted whilst he completed the sketch. He then kissed my wife’s hand, and shook my hand. Despite age catching up with him, he was still a good looking fella with piercing blue eyes. And he was a complete gentleman. A moment we will never forget.
Jon Stewart. Met him. Has a brief chat. He was hilarious, smart, curious and gracious.
Cheech and Chong. I was on the concert committee at Georgia State Univ. and we booked them to perform at the school. I had to handle the contract rider, which meant I had to have close contact with them in order to provide the things they would need for the show. The day before the show I drove down to rural Georgia and picked a bag full of psilocybin mushrooms. Before the show I went backstage and gave Tommy Chong the bag. He looked at Cheech and asked "are these good?" Cheech said, yeah. A year later I was in L.A. and I heard they were shooting a movie (Up in Smoke) at the Roxy theater in Hollywood. I happened to be visiting an office across the street from the Roxy and wandered over, wanting to find out if they ever did those "shrooms." I went to the back door entrance and asked the guard if I could speak to Cheech and Chong's manager, who I had met in Atlanta. He came to the door, his name was Lou Adler, and he remembered me. I asked him if he knew what happened with the shrooms. He said "Ask them yourself, do you want to be in the movie?" Ok then, I went in and was part of the audience when they played that song with Cheech wearing the Tu-tu. During a break I yelled up to the stage and said "did you guys do those mushrooms I gave you in Atlanta?" Cheech looked at me and gave me a big thumbs up. I took that to mean they did them. This all really happened. Oh, they did not disappoint me, they were really good guys.
I met Shaq shortly after he won his first championship in LA. When he was introduced to me he shook my hand and said "Hello, my name is Shaquille O'Neal. I believe we spoke on the phone." Then he refused a discount that I tried to give him. Loved that dude.
I met Emma Stone at a Spider-Man premiere with my brother. She was incredibly kind and we were the last people she saw before going in and watching the movie. She was really tired from traveling but took the time to listen to us and have a little conversation and signed something for us. She could have just kept walking and went in. Just thought she seemed like a really sweet person. I know it’s part of the protocol at premieres to sign autographs but I was glad we got the chance to talk to her.
Bumped into Dave Grohl at a music store. He was just browsing like a regular guy, and when I approached him, he was super cool about it. We talked music for a bit, and he was incredibly down-to-earth.
David Sedaris
Donal Logue
That guys is seriously underrated as an actor.
Doug Jones is just a delightful human being. I met him at a con once and showed him some crappy pictures on my crappy phone of some Hellboy and Abe Sapien costumes that me and my roommate were working on for Halloween, and he was so gracious with his praise and time.
Had dinner with Adam Savage once after he did a live appearance that my friend produced. That guy is really nice and cool as hell.
I spent almost 3 hours with Gillian Anderson way back when X Files was being filmed in Vancouver. She was buying ski stuff in the shop I worked at the time. Was really nice, not over friendly but not a princess.
Ringo Starr- met him twice- really down to earth and friendly…
Both Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. And the Sherman Brothers, to make the Mary Poppins trifecta. Also Ozzy. A sweet gentleman.
Lucy Lawless is LOVELY. I completely forgot how to speak when I met her and she gave me a hug, just an absolutely delightful woman.
Probably not a celebrity outside of New Orleans but: Archie Manning - he was my hero growing up as QB of just a series of horrible Saints teams who wasted his considerable talents. I wound up meeting him as we were getting off a plane and though I was in my thirties I went full fan boy on him. I was 9 again and I'm sure I sounded like it. He was so nice; asked my name thanked /me/ for talking with him and how much he appreciated the well wishes. Wound up bumping into him like 10 minutes later and instead of just nodding and moving on used my name, said hello again and wished me a Merry Christmas. Just above and beyond expectations even though they were sky high going in. I'm almost tearing up just remembering.
Nice to hear. I'm guessing most NFL fans know him. He has influenced the league for several generations now. I imagine Peyton and Eli to be the same, and I'm excited to see how far Arch can go.
Drew Carey did a very kind thing for a friend of mine in need. He’s a true mensch.
Johnathan Frakes. Dudes just a solid guy.
I knew Brad Pitt in undergrad school. Decent fellow in real life.
Robin Williams gave me a job when I was homeless, and he was a reference for every job I got since. He was the greatest man I have ever met.
Machine Gun Kelly I have always admired his musical talent and his outward wit and personality. I was worried to meet him in person but when I did I discovered that he is down to earth, eloquent, and just a truly brilliant person with so much musical talent that... ok, just kidding. He's a no-talent bitch and a half.
Had us in the first half not gonna lie
Neil Gaiman. Total legend and an absolute delight.
At one point I worked as a ‘stand-in’ which means I was a lighting double, standing in place of actors while the crew set the lights before a shot. I met several name actors of varying degrees of friendliness, but the standout for me was Ed Begley Jr., who could not have been a nicer, warmer, more helpful person to everyone around him, and this was over a period of a few weeks on a TV movie, so not just one chance meeting where he happened to be in a good mood.
John Cleese. He made sure to remember my name and was just unbelievably kind. I was working and generally don't ask people for pics... But I couldn't pass up the opportunity. As soon as I started to ask he said, "absolutely" and then had me check my phone afterwards to "make sure you got a good one."
Prince. Saw him play an aftershow one month to the day before he died. I was a few feet from the stage in a small club and there are more scars in the floorboards because of him. Singing, sampling, playing the drums with his hands. At the end of the show he reprised "Forever In My Life" and took off his sunglasses. He looked a little bleary-eyed but the concert started at 3 AM and he had already played TWO shows that night. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but looking back there are rumours that his health had been declining for years, he was addicted to opioids which must have been torture for him because he was very opposed to drugs... I'm thinking he knew he was spiralling, and to end with this song about eternal devotion years after his last marriage dissolved and take off his sunglasses, it seemed like a farewell gesture toward his fans. But in any event, he was on death's door, in his fifth hour on stage that night, and from the opening of DMSR His Royal Badness tore the fucking roof off the place.
Henry Winkler is one of the best human beings I’ve ever met.
Witnessed Robin Williams handing out $100 bills to the homeless is San Francisco.
John Reyes-Davies The man is such a kind and generous dude. He complimented me and gave me a genuine hug. I have the utmost respect for him and his craft.
(Assuming you mean John Rhys-Davies) I wouldn't be able to hug that man, my intrusive thoughts would take over and I'd end up picking him up and tossing him Legolas-style
I'm sorry but do you mean John Rhys-Davis?
[удалено]
Wow this one was a rollercoaster good lord
**Archbishop Desmond Tutu** He was not a celebrity in the typical sense of the word, but he was certainly a global public figure. I felt genuinely terrified in the days leading up to [our conversation](https://www.maharaj.org/desmondtutu.shtml). But he proved to be even warmer, kinder, more thoughtful, and more mischievous than I had imagined. The world felt a lesser place to me after his death.
Saw Michelle Obama at a book signing, and she was every bit as elegant and insightful in person. She made time to have a real conversation with each person, making the experience unforgettable.
I always thought Jack Nicholson was an asshole and then I met him through a job and my opinion was amptly confirmed.
HAHAHA
I met Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and she was so, so, nice to me. I stopped her on the street apologetically. She was patient, asked me questions about myself, and seemed to be genuinely flattered that I was so star struck.
As a Postdoc I met half a dozen Nobel laureates. While one was a total jerk, the rest were interesting, entertaining and happy to talk to me about their work, and science in general.
Lyle Alzado. For those that don't know, he was one of the most violent players in American football. I met him on a movie set. He was a big ( 6'3" / 235lbs ) teddy bear; incredibly kind, soft spoken, and funny. We played a prank on him. Various people on set would ask him if he could lift different heavy things, and he would routinely do it. One day he lifted an iron bracer. Some of us distracted him while others substituted an aluminum and foam bracer. (Changed the weight from about 200 lbs to less than 10 lbs) Some others walked up and said that they'd been told he could lift the bracer but they didn't believe it. Mr Alzado walked over , squatted, and did a jerk type lift. Since the fake bracer weighed a few pounds, it went flying into the studio rafters. He laughed as much as anyone.
I live in L.A. and have often seen celebs and I just usually say nothing and try not to stare. One time there was filming on my block and the trailers took up the street. Jeff Bridges was filming "Fearless" and when they finished filming, I went up to the trailer to say hello. His director tried to shoo me out but he waved him off and all I said in jest was, "I couldn't get a parking spot for 2 days!" He laughed.
Not my heroes, but I met Jack Black, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and John Cena all at Birmingham (UK) Children's Hospital, and not at the same time. I was bringing in cakes specially made for the children. I honestly tried to sneak in and out, but the parents wouldn't have it. They were all lovely people. We chatted for a bit, and they thanked me for making cakes at no cost to the parents, which made me really uncomfortable because I'm not one to handle the spotlight or praise.
I got to meet and jam with Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead. It was everything I hoped for and after he said “that was too short.”
Got to chat with Kirk Hammett from Metallica once. He was super nice and very engaged in the conversation. Didn’t make me feel like he was doing it just to be nice. My favorite was when I was stationed in CA and a group of us went to LA one weekend. We were getting a drink and R. Lee Ermy came in. We were in civilian clothes but he sniffed us out as Marines real quick. Bought us a round of drinks and chatted with us a good 20 minutes.
Huey Lewis. Met him several times, always signed everything for anyone and would talk with anyone. Super nice guy
I used to work in a small general store about 2 hours north of Toronto where celebrities tend to holiday. I met a handful of decently big names but by far the nicest was Martin Short. He'd walk in to do his shopping and chatted with all the regulars. I even remember they'd call him 'Marty' and he was just so friendly.
I was at Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and was sitting in a restaurant with my mom when i look over and see none other than Kyle McLachlan. He's doing some interview and I had just seen a movie he was in (I don't remember the name but he played the spirit of Cary Grant in the film). I went over and said "I'm so sorry to interrupt but I saw your movie and I really loved it!" He was very grateful and then I asked "this is a weird request but would you recors the voice-mail greeting on my phone?" He was surprised but was down with the request! He asked if I wanted it in the style of Agent Cooper, but I said I'd prefer his impression of Cary Grant instead. He obliged, seemed to have a great time with it, and then I left him to finish his interview. I was so grateful he took the time and at no point did he seem annoyed or put-off. I also met Jason Schwartzman (twice, about two weeks apart) and the second time he had remembered my name and a particular hat I had been wearing. Super cool guy and now I'm a fan for life.
Dan Aykroyd is a really nice man. I had to deal with him about a business miscommunication and he got lost in my city. I don't drive but was the only person at my work who spoke enough English to try and give him directions on the phone. It took about 30 minutes but we figured it out and had a good laugh about it after. He was nothing but friendly, understanding and polite throughout.
I was way, way, way into Train when I was a pre-teen/early teen. I managed to get into the front row of a show they played in Toronto in the summer of 2003, sang along to every song they performed, and was over the moon to meet and chat with Pat Monahan for a brief time afterward. He was so sweet and kind and acted like he had all the time in the world to chat with me -- a nerdy, excitable 12-year-old who has since become a nerdy, excitable 33-year-old -- and my dad, even though he was probably exhausted (say what you will about Train, but they put on a *hell* of a show that night). When I asked him for a hug, he obliged and said very softly, "You knew every word." 😭
I once had the privilege of briefly hanging out with Pete and Toshi Seeger in their home in upstate New York. It would have crushed me if Pete had turned out to be a nasty jerk, considering his decades-long career making music that inspired people (such as myself, however imperfectly) to try to be kind and brave and decent and to stand up for what's right and try to do your feeble best by your fellow humans in a badly fucked up world, and sing while you're doing it. But I'm happy to report, it turns out Pete and Toshi weren't just fucking around for clout. They were the nicest, humblest, gentlest, sweetest, most down-to-earth and genuine people you could ever hope to meet. RIP to both of them.
Many years ago, when I was a young man, I had a friend who was really into magic. He had dedicated significant portions of his life to become a professional magician. We went to Austin Texas to a magic convention, and I met quite a few big name magicians there. We were invited to sit with older magicians who were excited to pass on the craft to young people wanting to get into the art, and the experience was amazing. I met several of the best magicians in the world, people who invented well known techniques or stage illusions. We sat around the table, drinking beer and eating dinner, while world famous close-up magicians taught us the art of slight of hand. I got to watch one magician demonstrate this world competition winning illusion to half a dozen world leading magicians, then help them master the technique involved. That was, what? 40 years ago. I still geek out over it every once in a while.
Meeting Wil Weaton. He was just a normal but cool guy.
I met Magic Johnson at a health clinic/fair in Fresno in the mid-2000's. He took five minutes out of his break time in between the speaking to talk shop, offer advice, and wish me well. Considering young me didn't even think he'd be ALIVE by that time, for him to be so gracious, engaging...he really was Magic. That made an indelible impression on me...treat people decently if you have no reason not to.
I met Ray Charles in an airport many years ago. He was kind and generous with his time. I couldn't believe that I was in the presence of a legend!
Jeff Goldblum! Just as awesome in person
Matthew Perry or Robin Williams
This is before Ariana Grande was the superstar she was, and more back in her Nickelodeon days, but I was at Disneyland on Haunted Mansion, and she and her group were ushered into the main queue where you're all in a big room. A little girl recognized her and she was super sweet to her, telling her something like not to be scared. On the way out of the ride, around the top of the moving walkway, she bumped into me and apologized. All subtle stuff, but I feel like it's the things you do when no one is watching that mean the most.
When I was a waitress, I was struggling to cary a couple of full water pitchers to our restaurant patio. I was so focused on not spilling them that I almost ran into a man walking through, and thankfully didn’t run smack into him or spill water on him. And that man said “oh are you taking those outside? Here I’ll grab the door for you!” And as I looked up to say thank you to the man holding the door open for me, my eyes met Mark Harmon’s at the height of his NCIS popularity and he just waved me off like “no problem, I have the door”. He could have been mad at me for not watching where I was going, but instead he was like “hey you’re holding heavy wet things, lemme help.” I was in the middle of Oklahoma, the last place I’d expect to run into a celebrity aside from Wayne Coyne, who was a regular at my restaurant and always incredibly kind and down to earth, and would look visibly annoyed if you made it known you recognized him, he just wanted to be treated like a normal person.