Reddit user ksndkendkfjeknx posed the question: “What is your best (or worst) ‘don’t meet your heroes’ story?” People flooded the replies with their eventful celebrity encounter stories. Here’s what people revealed:
Disclaimer: The people who shared their stories allegedly speak from personal encounters. BuzzFeed cannot verify their stories.
1. “I met Oprah. I was at a restaurant in LA, and the entire staff was talking about someone showing up for lunch. We were seated near the back, so we couldn’t see the front door well. All of a sudden, we heard an ‘OH MY GOD!’ We turned and saw it had come from Oprah. The lady sitting one table over from us apparently went to high school with her. Oprah’s security was not happy that she blew their cover. Everyone in the restaurant flocked to her, and she took pictures and talked with everyone until she was basically dragged away. She was so lovely and much shorter than I expected.”
2. “I met Robin Williams while working on a comedy show, and he couldn’t have been friendlier. I gushed about how I wore out his first comedy album on vinyl and had to buy another one. He said, ‘Your parents must have been pretty cool. Most of them would’ve ksssht!’ and then he pantomimed breaking a record over his knee. After the first day of the shoot, all of us camera operators had to be told to back off Robin because we all wanted to be around him, and we already had too much footage of him. He spent a lot of time talking to fellow legend Mort Sahl.”
3. “I met Chevy Chase, and it went about as badly as you could expect. I was in NYC in the early 2000s in the back room of a hair salon where they wash hair. I was sitting alone, waiting for someone to wash my hair. They bring in Chevy. Now, being in NYC, I wanted to act cool. I wasn’t going to jump up and gush and act all excited to see someone who, as a kid, I watched everything they did. I can quote Fletch and Caddyshack all day. It was just me and Chevy alone in a room. So, playing it cool, I looked over, nodded, and said, ‘What’s up, Chevy?’ He looked over at me like he was staring at a bug. He was wearing those purple sunglasses he always wears. He gave me an ‘And you are…?’ kind of look. It was uncomfortably long — like a solid five-second stare. He said nothing and turned back to his magazine. I replied to my own question, ‘I guess not much.’ Would it have killed the guy to be normal and polite?”
4. “I met Martin Short in an alley in LA on his way to shoot that Jersey Shore spoof he did on some late-night talk show. He was the nicest guy in the world! He told security to back off and said he had all the time in the world to talk to the people who put him where he was that day. He took pictures, signed stuff, and just chatted like a normal human being. A family friend of mine kept calling him Marty, and he never corrected him. He seemed to get a kick out of it. He bid the most respectful thank you and goodbye when time really did run out (and he was at risk of missing his call time).”
5. “I met Maya Rudolph once at a festival. I am a huge SNL fan and am in comedy myself. She had just guest-starred in an episode of Portlandia, and since I was flustered, I said a quote from her episode. She finished my sentence and said, ‘I can’t believe you watched that,’ and we laughed. She was so nice; it made me like her more.”
6. “I will forever be a fan of Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, and Mel Brooks. My dad worked security at the Cadillac Palace Theater in Chicago, and they were here doing The Producers. My dad got to chat up Matthew Broderick, who was very nice, and signed a playbill and autographed a copy of Inspector Gadget for myself and my sisters. He also got tickets for all of us to see the show. We got to go backstage and meet Broderick and Lane, but they couldn’t have been nicer. Mel Brooks walked past, and my sister yelled, ‘Look, Daddy!!! MEL GIBSON!!!’ Mel Brooks actually chuckled and said, ‘Kiddo, I wish.’ It was probably one of my fondest memories. They also signed a poster for one of my teacher’s kids after my dad relayed that her son with autism loved Nathan Lane from Mouse Hunt. They were class acts and so generous all around.”
7. “I had a bit part in the movie How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd. I was able to meet and work with them for a week. Paul Rudd was so incredibly sweet and friendly. The scenes we shot were mostly indoors, but there were a few outside scenes, and any time he could, he would head over and take pictures and sign autographs with the fans. The man is a treasure. And speaking of Reese, she was a total…sweetheart! Really nice and friendly. She even got the entire cast and crew ice cream one day!”
8. “I met Weird Al and got starstruck and didn’t know what to say to him. I finally blurted out, ‘I know you probably hear this a lot, but I’m a huge fan.’ He smiled and responded, ‘I do hear that a lot, but I’ve never heard it from you.’ It made my day.”
9. “I met Tobey Maguire at a fan meet-and-greet back in 2013. I think it was a promotion for The Great Gatsby. Looking back, I genuinely felt bad for him because everyone kept asking him about Spider-Man, not The Great Gatsby. He called off the event before I got his autograph because some a-hole wanted him to discuss why Sony canned him for Andrew Garfield. As an adult looking back now, I see why actors get upset with crap like that. I think with certain actors who are most commonly associated with one role in particular, it sucks knowing that no matter what future roles you take, someone in the theater would point at you and say, ‘Hey, isn’t that Spider-Man?’ I have always sympathized with Tobey because of that reason.”
10. “I’ve loved Alan Cummings since the very start of his career. I saw his first TV appearance with Forbes Masson. Fast forward almost 30 years, I moved to the USA and met my now-husband, who casually mentioned that he knows another Scottish guy: Alan Cumming. We met up with Alan when he came to town to perform. He was incredibly friendly and delighted to meet me and the kids despite just coming off stage and feeling exhausted. We get together whenever he’s in the area and have met up with him in NY. He’s among the nicest people I’ve ever met and adores our kids. He has also sent them wee videos on their birthdays a few times. Just a wonderful guy.”
11. “I saw Nick Offerman do a show with his wife Megan at a theater, followed by a book signing. The show ended fairly late, and there was a theater full of people waiting in line to get a book signed, so it was obviously going to take a long time. Nick was the best. He chatted with everyone, didn’t rush anyone along, and stayed until after midnight to ensure he talked to everybody and got them a book. About halfway through the line, he recognized a couple of ladies and brought them out. He announced something like, ‘Sorry, everyone! I just need to stop for a moment because these two are royalty. They did the wardrobe for me on Parks and Recreation, and I haven’t seen them since.’ He then shared some brief memories from working together. The ladies were so excited he remembered them and made them feel extra special. I’m glad Nick lived up to and exceeded my expectations.”
12. “When I was a kid, there was a big scouts meet in the east of England, with activities like rafting and archery. The main event was supposed to be Bear Grylls, who was Chief Scout at the time, doing some activities with us. He didn’t turn up on time, so we started the activities without him. Just when people had given up hope, a helicopter landed, and we were all pushed into a marquee tent to greet him. He came in, gave a brief, maybe 20-second speech about how nice it was to see so many scouts, then got into the back of a car and sped off.”
13. “I met Stan Lee at a convention. He was signing books (for free). I said, ‘You must get tired of signing so many autographs.’ He just smiled a big smile and said, ‘No way. I love it. My fans are so important to me.'”
14. “I used to work at a kettle corn stand for a baseball team that Bill Murray partially owned. He ordered some kettle corn and called me the kettle corn queen. When I told him his total, he said, ‘Oh, I don’t pay. I just tip really well!’ and put $20 in my tip jar! Since then, I have believed in all the cheeky Bill Murray stories. He really is like that.”
15. “I met Eric Clapton, who was unexpectedly the nicest! He was almost a bit shy initially, but he had a good sense of humor and was very grounded and relatable. We even talked about recovery for a bit, and he shared some advice with me that I hold close to this day. I was able to express what his music and journey through and out of addiction/alcoholism meant to my family (namely my dad and me). The connection made a lasting impression on me; it was awesome!”
16. “David Sedaris, please know you are my FAVORITE celebrity interaction of all time! Every time he does a reading in my area, he answers every question anyone wants to ask after the show AND stays as long as it takes to sign every book anyone wants to bring him. I’ve seen him three times, and he even gives my star-struck, silly little questions great thought and engages without dismissing me. AND he draws cool little random things or phrases into his inscriptions! He is about my biggest literary hero, and I’m still giddy any time I get to see him!”
17. “I met Wil Wheaton at a big SciFi con a few years ago. It was halfway through the third day, and he’d been signing stuff for hours. I got to the front of the line, and he jumped out of his chair in excitement and yelled, “Are those Bat’leth earrings?! So cool!’ He then proceeded to sign my dorky old Star Trek: The Next Generation comic (with Wesley Crusher on the cover, of course), and we put an earring on the cover so he could take a photo of Wes with it. We talked about open source software and EFF. The whole interaction took three or four minutes, but he was totally there for it despite having a hundred other people he’d have to interact with. He later included the photo in his blog.”
18. “Carrie Fisher was an absolute sweetheart. I was in my early 20s at FanExpo for the first time with a very crappily thrown-together Princess Leia costume (the dress she wears on Endor with the Ewoks; I even had a plushie one with me). It was the first time I’d ever met someone famous, and I freaking loved Star Wars, so it was a huge deal, and I was super nervous. This was 2007, so long before she would reprise her role again as Leia. When I met her, I’m sure I was shaking (I have lots of anxiety). She smiled and asked me how I was enjoying the con. She made small talk and just exuded such warmth. Obviously, it wasn’t a long chat, but I always remember how patient and kind she was to me.”
19. And: “I met Leonard Nimoy at a convention once, and he was absolutely lovely. My sister and I got my mom’s favorite Star Trek movie signed for her, and he recorded a short message saying hello to her (she’s a lifelong Star Trek fan, and Mr. Spock was her favorite character). He told my sister and me what good daughters we were to be doing something so special for our mom, and he was just a really sweet guy. At the end of the day, we realized that his signature had rubbed off the DVD case and freaked out. We sprinted back to his booth, explained what happened, and offered to pay again to get him to re-sign it (this time on the inside, where it couldn’t smudge). He said not to worry, signed it again, and re-iterated how lucky our mom was to have kids who cared so much. This was probably about 15 years ago, and I still tear up thinking about how kind he was to us.”
Have you ever met one of your celebrity heroes? How was that encounter? Tell us your story in the comments or submit it anonymously using this form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
