It's always pleasant to hear that our favorite celebrities go that extra mile in public to show that they're genuinely good people, and not just putting on an act.
Below are heartwarming stories of celebrities being just plain awesome to fans or co-workers. Check them out below! Sources to more stories can be found on the last page.
Adam Sandler.
I worked at a large Manhattan restaurant which he frequented often. He was always accompanied by an entourage of his friends – never really celebrities, I got the impression they were his childhood, high school, etc friends.
In any event, they would order nearly everything on the menu. I’m talking, literally, hundreds of dishes and proceed to gorge themselves silly. All the while, Adam would barely eat as many, many people would approach and ask him for a photo, a handshake, or a joke.
He obliged everyone. He was patient, kind and compassionate to every person that came up to him. He never ate, he just took his crew to town and held court, kindly and humbly, making sure to thank everyone who approached him for taking the time to say hi, congratulate him on a movie, or what not.
This particular restaurant was frequented, at the time, by celebrities quite often and they varied in their appreciation of the public. Adam Sandler was in a class of his own. I have always maintained that he is the nicest guy in the business out there as he proved it again and again.
indie_cysive
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s amazing to fans. I remember watching a video where he came through the airport, tired from a long flight back into Madrid and there were a few kids bunched around the gate. One was crying just at the sight of him. Cristiano stopped, signed his shirt and book, and gave him a hug and a few pictures.
Also, when he did the comedy skit in Madrid where he pretended to be a destitute guy on the streets doing skills and the kid came over and played with him. They had a small game going before Cristiano scooped the ball up, signed it, revealed himself, and gave the kid another massive hug and a few pictures before the media swamp started when everyone realized who he was.
He also does a lot for UNICEF and other children’s charities.
[deleted]
Larry David.
I spoke with Larry David when they were filming Curb Your Enthusiasm in New York City a few years ago. He is exactly like he portrays himself on his show. He ended our conversation with “I think we’re good here.”
Run-to-the-sun
Jennifer Aniston.
My brother and I used to act when we were younger, and my parents would take us to auditions and we tried to get any part in anything. Well, my brother got a little tiny part in Bruce Almighty. We got to go on set and kind of wonder about and it was pretty fun. My brother was little and wanted to meet Jennifer Aniston, so he asked around and finally got a hold of her. We had lunch with her on set and she was such an amazing, down to earth person. She didn’t act like she was a big shot, she wasn’t stuck up, and needless to say, it was the coolest lunch ever.
TheRealTittySprinkle
James Franco.
James Franco was doing a book signing in Tribeca about three years ago and I went with my mom and best friend. He was really nice and laid back but the manager only gave each of us about 15 seconds to speak to him and wouldn’t let him personalize the books or sign anything else, despite the fact that he offered to sign whatever we wanted. He even told everyone he would wait outside so this way he could sign more stuff for us.
When I actually went up to meet him, he was really nice and asked how I was and was surprised that I mentioned his role as James Dean as being one of my favorites. He tried to get more time with everyone but the manager was flipping out on anyone who stayed for more than 10-15 seconds. When my mom went up he told her we look exactly alike and touched her hand while thanking her for coming.
peacelovenirvana
Jimmy Fallon.
I met Jimmy Fallon during a showing of The Book of Mormon musical. Some friends and I had amazing seats during the first month of its initial run in NYC and during intermission, we noticed that Jimmy Fallon was directly behind us. My friend is brave as can be and just struck up a conversation with him, which I, of course, wanted in on. First thing I noticed is he is much taller than I had expected. He was at least 6′. He also has a deeper more gravelly voice too. He had stage makeup on, so I imagine he had just finished up filming his show.
He was polite and we got a picture with him but I could tell he really wasn’t interested in talking with us. That was until we told him that we were former Mormon missionaries. Then he got REALLY excited and started asking us all sorts of questions about the show – if we were offended, if we were still missionaries, etc. He just lit up after that and we talked for a few more minutes.
The best part was he had a Book of Mormon cast member on his show a couple months later and he mentioned he had met some “Mormon missionaries” in the audience who loved the musical. It was great to hear that he remembered us!
Flaghead
Gordon Ramsay.
Gordon Ramsay challenged a prison inmate to an onion cutting competition. The guy was about twice as fast as him. Gordon stopped chopping and just watched him for a minute until the other guy noticed Gordon had stopped. Gordon asked him when he got out and the guy said sometime early the next year. He offered him a job the moment he got out. The guy just laughs a bit till he realizes he is serious. The guy is now one of the head chefs at one of Gordon’s restaurants in the UK.
Sweetwill62
Aaron Paul.
Aaron Paul is not just one of the nicest celebrities I’ve ever met, he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
I said hello to him at Heathrow and he thanked me for being a fan, was very gracious, but then he turned it around and started asking me about what I was doing in London and what I did for a living, so we talked about that for a minute.
[deleted]
Terry Crews.
Terry Crews apparently he used to be a big jerk to his wife and family while he was in the NFL. He did some interview talking about the pressures of the NFL making him feel like he had to be that dominating mean guy, but eventually saw how he was totally wrong. He is now a big advocate against domestic violence and is a much more peaceful and loving person. Lots of respect for him.
Virginia_Trek
Marilyn Manson.
Marilyn Manson
I went to his concert and then after to a diner for some food. When I walked into the diner, I noticed Manson sitting in a booth with Twiggy. The waitress walked me to my table, past his booth, so I decided to tell him how great his show was. He was very appreciative of the compliment and invited me to eat with them. Best meal ever. He and Twiggy were so kind, funny and intelligent.
Years later, I went to another Manson concert and met him backstage. He remembered eating with me at the diner. I couldn’t believe he remembered me. I will never forget those two encounters. Great guy.
Truthisoutthere89
Steve Buscemi.
I had Steve Buscemi in my taxi about a year ago. He was incredibly down to earth. I treated him just like any other customer and I think he appreciated it.
We had a good conversation, he asked me lots of questions and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. At the end of the ride, he reached over the seat and shook my hand and introduced himself. When he said “My name is Steve” I lost my professionalism. “I know, I’m a huge fan!” It was so hard to play it cool and not go total fanboy the whole way.
666oderus666
Danny Trejo.
Danny Trejo. Everyone who’s ever worked with him describes him as a teddy bear. A former gang member who’s helped other members get out of the life. When one of his favorite taco joints in LA got tagged with homophobic slurs, he rallied the community to repaint the place.
haynesholiday
Lionel Messi.
Leo Messi seems like an all-around nice guy.
In a way, he is probably one of the biggest international superstars there is, but he is really just a shy, reserved guy who married a hometown girl that he had a crush on since he was a kid and is focused on being a family man.
While lots of major athletes seem to thrive on attention and being singled out for praise, it always seems to make him bashful and uncomfortable.
Other players all say he is very nice and welcoming, a fellow player recently wrote a piece and mentioned that if someone asks him for something to auction for a charity he will just pull off the boots he’s wearing, sign them, and give them to the person. He also started a charitable organization dedicated to helping sick kids, because he had some serious health problems as a kid himself.
zazzlekdazzle
Alice Cooper.
Alice Cooper is a seriously nice guy.
We were at the same restaurant in Vegas. I didn’t want to be a total goon and bother him, so I asked a waiter if he could ask if a fan could say hello (he wasn’t eating, just waiting around). He waved me over, introduced me to his son, and we had some small talk. Big smile the whole time, made a few jokes.
buttermuseum
Christian Bale.
My main job of the day was to get lunch for everyone and Christian was cool, had a very easy order, just wanted a sandwich, no crazy instructions. Best of all, when we were all done with lunch, he helped me clean up. I in no way expected his assistance and would have thought he was just as nice had he not helped but it really meant a lot. Not many of the people I was working with at the time would have bothered to help me out, but he did.
It doesn’t sound like much, but when you are relegated to the grunt work on an outing, getting help feels really good.
californiaoven
Anne Hathaway.
I got to hang out with Anne Hathaway about 10 or so years ago. My best friend’s mom was married to Anne’s uncle so we got to hang out in a family setting. She is one of the nicest people around and her family members definitely keep her grounded.
meagorilla
Mr. Rogers.
Mr Rogers. It’s not an act, he really was an extremely nice guy and a decent human being. I respect this man more than any famous person I could think of.
Millions of children watched him every day, and thousands would send fan mail. And every day he would sit down and write a personal and thought out reply to every single one
Not a PR person, not some appointee to collect or read his mail. He would answer every single one.
How much love does that take?
People who worked with him noted that the “worst” thing he’d ever say is when he came in (extremely early as always) and would see an exceptionally large pile of letters, he would say “mercy”, and get to work.
He dealt with topics such as divorce with a lot of tact.
People who worked for him said that he would often try and get to know them and would even call them later to ask how they were doing.
Once, on a trip up to a PBS executives house, he heard the limo driver was going to have to wait outside for two hours, so Mr. Rogers insisted that the driver come inside and join them. On the way back, Rogers sat up front, and when he learned that they were passing the driver’s house on the way, he asked if they could stop in to meet the family. And according to the driver, it was one of the best nights of his life. Mr. Rogers played songs on the piano for the family and talked with them throughout the night.
Telochi
Arnold Schwarzenegger
I threw up on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s foot outside a restaurant. His response was immediate: “Its okay kid, I throw up every time I eat here too.” His wife then proceeded to run inside and grab me water and a bit of bread to settle my stomach. They were both incredibly nice about it all.
youllgetoverit
Neil Patrick Harris.
I worked at the Apple Store in Los Angeles when Neil Patrick Harris came in and I helped him out. I realized I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t know who he was, so I tried to figure out something not lame that I could say. About an hour before he came into the store he tweeted about it being National Suit Day and for people to tweet pictures of them in their suits. He was actually not wearing a suit but jokingly I said: “I saw you tweeted its National Suit Day…why aren’t you wearing your suit?” He laughed and said he would be in it later when he gets to work. He was a super nice guy.
jah87
Robin Williams.
Robin Williams, very friendly and funny, more so then I expected honestly. I went to a dinner with my father and a couple of his co-workers at a fancy Italian restaurant when I was about 18 and about halfway through the meal, a few of the co-workers got drunk and started to scream at the waiter in Italian. In response the waiter, and eventually a few other workers, joined in and were screaming back at the co-workers.
Then in between all of them came Robin Williams gesticulating wildly and screaming mock Italian at both sides until they calmed the hell down and started to laugh at Robin Williams and his antics instead. When everyone went back to their seats I walked up to Robin Williams, thanked him for defusing the situation, and did the usual “I love your work, it’s amazing to meet you” spiel and then he began to ask ME questions about my life, how I am, my age, what I wanted to do and was very friendly and caring. When I was walking away back to my dad he stopped me and said words I try to live by, “Kid, take a good look at those suits. Don’t try to end up like them. If you need booze or drugs to enjoy your life to the fullest then you’re doing it wrong.”
CaptainJudaism
Donald Glover.
Donald Glover was one of the funniest people I’ve ever gotten to meet. He came to my school as our comedian, but then did an impromptu rap show off his laptop. Which was awesome.
Afterwards, I got to meet him. Where he proceeded to make fun of me for being homeschooled. Even though I was in college.
that1pianogirl
George W. Bush.
I met George W. Bush at an event. I realize he’s not the most popular, but he is one of the most charismatic, fun-loving guys I have met. He gives and does so much for charities it’s ridiculous. He has a fantastic sense of humor and even without the camera’s rolling wouldn’t bash Obama. His wife was very gracious and the picture of how a first lady should be.
Richard_Fitzsnuggly
Bryan Cranston.
A former co-worker worked on a popular TV show that Bryan Cranston guest Starred on post-Breaking Bad. Co-worker told him at the appropriate time what a fan he was of Breaking Bad. Mr. Cranston thanked him, but then days later, after he wrapped, came back into the production office pulled up a chair, sat at my co-worker’s desk and asked, “So. What do you wanna talk about?” The two then spent 45 minutes bonding over their love of Breaking Bad.
filmcanman
Tracy Morgan.
My family and I met Tracy Morgan in the food court of some mall in San Francisco a few years ago. He was sitting in the corner with a few friends just hanging out, but when he got up to leave, he walked right past our table. As he walked past, my brother (who was 17 and really into football at the time) said, ‘Hi’ and Tracy stopped and talked with us for at least five minutes, asking my brother about how his football team was doing and what position he played, making jokes and all that. I didn’t really know what to expect but he was a super nice guy, and very friendly.
WampaStompa33
DMX.
When I was about 9, my mom took me and brother on a vacation and we stayed in a nice hotel in Toronto. Our room was next to a room that was hosting a loud party and after hearing some commotion in the hallway, she discovered a few naked people running around the hallways.
She knocked on the door and requested that they tone it down. It turns out the room belonged to rapper DMX, whom my older brother was a huge fan of. Not only did he stop partying to say hi to us, sign autographs and give us some swag, we found out on checking out that he had paid for the whole stay. I think he’s pretty cool.
Discocherry
Note: Comments have been edited for clarity.