Everyone has a favorite actor or actress. Someone who did such an outstanding job playing a role, that everyone who sees them loves them and wants nothing more than to meet them. Sadly, not everyone gets a chance to meet their favorite celebrity. So, when they do, it's a big deal.
People on Reddit share the time when they met a celebrity. Content has been edited for clarity.
I Know Him From Somewhere?
“My friend’s dad, who is an academic professor, travels a lot for his job.
One day, when returning from a conference in Sydney, he was waiting in the business lounge. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar-looking man. He racks his brains trying to figure where he knows him from, and decides to go over to find out (it would be rude to ignore him).
Friend’s dad: ‘Hi, you look awfully familiar. Were you at the conference this week for International Trade Law?’
Man: ‘Uh, no, I wasn’t.’
Friend’s dad: ‘Oh, we have definitely met before though. I’m Professor *, from X University?’
Man: ‘Um, I don’t think we’ve met.’
Friend’s dad: ‘I definitely know you. Are you in law?’
Man: ‘No, I’m not.’
Friend’s dad: ‘Well, I must have seen you at a conference somewhere. You’re American, which university are you with? Or your colleagues, maybe you have a supervisor I might recognise the name of…?’
Man: ‘I don’t work at a university.’
Friend’s dad: ‘Well, what is your name at least?’
Man: ‘Matt Damon.'”
“You Want Me To Tell A Joke?”
“I was part of a college press circuit doing a group interview of the stars of Death To Smoochy.
At the end of the whole thing (which took place in a hotel in L.A.), I was waiting for the valet to bring my car up. Prepared for this, I had a five dollar bill folded and palmed, ready to give a tip. Next thing you know, Robin Williams came out to wait for his SUV, we made eye contact and he went to shake my hand. Starstruck and forgetful of my fiver, I shook his hand and slipped it in his.
He just stared at it for a second, looking at it, then back at me, then back at it, and had a look on his face akin to, ‘You want me to tell a joke or something?’ We had a good awkward laugh about it and parted ways.”
“It Felt Bizarre And Surreal”
“So I was with my ex-girlfriend, having ice cream before going to a comedy club in northern Kentucky, when this petite girl with super short hair walks by with a couple of older women.
We both watched her go by, and I immediately said, ‘That girl kind of looked like Natalie Portman.’
She sits down at a table nearby and I look again.
I had an enormous fanboy crush on Natalie Portman since I found out, ages ago, she was going to be associated with a Star Wars movie. In fact, my ex and I had once come to an agreement I was not allowed to cheat on her unless it was with Natalie Portman, because that would just be unfair. It’s also important to know this was a month or two after filming had wrapped up on V for Vendetta, for which Natalie Portman had shaved her head.
So I start to slightly freak out, calm down eventually, and go over to ask her if she is, indeed, my greatest celebrity crush, which of course she is. I give her the usual ‘big fan praises,’ then excuse myself so as not to disturb her when she seems to be trying to surreptitiously enjoy a night out with family.
Later, while we’re waiting to be let into the comedy club, who should appear right behind us in line but Natalie Portman. She had the same plan as us. In fact, we were assigned to sit at the table right next to hers, and several times during the night she accidentally leaned back against me.
It felt bizarre and surreal, because what the heck was Natalie Portman doing in northern Kentucky sitting next to me?!
Anyway, the awkward part was that the comedy club did a forced audience participation bit where they grab a random person and yank him onstage to play a part in a sketch, and they grabbed me. So just try to imagine performing in front of an actor/actress you’ve had a crush on for about a decade and you’ll have an idea of the kind of star-struck anxiety I had while I was there. The performers had the foresight to realize that an unwitting addition to the troupe would likely be awkward and confused, though, so I fit the part pretty well.”
That’s Quite The Memory
“A buddy of mine worked at Ocean Way for about a dozen years. He was on staff – meaning, he did a lot of the maintenance, helped out in the control room, did secondary mixes, stuff like that. He isn’t some famous rock’n’roll guy, but he’s worked with all of them.
In the early ’90s Patty Scialfa came in to do some overdubs for Human Touch. Bruce Springsteen stopped by for a few hours – not long, but long enough to say hi to everybody, hang out, help out, and generally be awesome. And they finished up the overdubs, and that was that.
Fast forward seven years and my buddy is visiting another buddy at Staples Center, where he’d just finished installing the sound system. Springsteen and the E-street band were the inaugural concert and the room is pretty much empty, except for a dude who looked like a guitar tech on stage, noodling around with a guitar. So my buddy walks past the stage and on his way up to the crow’s nest –
‘Hey, Jim, how ya doin’?’
It’s Bruce Springsteen, on stage, tuning his own guitar in an empty arena, and he remembers my buddy from seven years previous after a half day’s acquaintance.
I got a lot of respect for that man.”
Did He Sneeze?
“I was attending a work conference in Austin, Texas staying at the Renaissance Hotel the same week that Dennis Quaid was hosting his celebrity golf tournament. Turns out, all the celebrities were staying at my hotel; it was actually pretty cool. I saw lots of celebrities, none were really A listers, but people you could recognize.
Well, Dennis Quaid has always been one of my big celebrity crushes. I just love him and his movies. So, one evening a bunch of us were waiting for a bus to take us to a party in downtown Austin. As we were waiting, we see a yellow Hummer drive up and park just to the left of the hotel entrance. And, oh my god, Dennis Quaid was driving it! There he was in all his glory! I just stood there in their weird limbo where I wanted to run up and hug him but I was just too embarrassed.
I finally convinced myself I would never ever again have this opportunity. So, I walked up to the driver side door of the hummer, and the window was down. I am not really sure what I said, but I do remember what has become one of my most embarrassing moments.
I reached up and shook his hand and all I could think to say was….’Bless You.’
Really, that is what came out of my mouth! He kinda smirked and said thanks. I was mortified but really excited!
“I Still Kick Myself For That One”
“When I was in high school I lived in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was a huge metal head. I had two bumper stickers on my S-10 Blazer, Metallica and Megadeth. I also went to a Christian school that didn’t like my choices in music. My mom used to volunteer at my school, and one day the principal pulled her aside and spoke to her about my ‘evil’ stickers on the back of my car.
That same day, after school, I went to the bank near my house and locked my keys in my car. I called my mom for help, but my dad had the spare keys at work and couldn’t come help me for another couple of hours. So I decided to walk home to wait for him.
When I got home, my mom and I got in a big fight about something (probably about me being irresponsible, but I didn’t listen to her anyways). She told me that my dad was worried the car would be stolen and I need to go back and wait by my car until he could get there. She was driving me back to the bank and she stated that I should take the stickers off of my car because my school doesn’t like them. My parents aren’t die-hard Christians and didn’t care about the bands, but they stated that I needed to play their game while I was there.
So there I am, in the bank parking lot being really upset with my parents and I decided to scrape the stickers off of my car while I was waiting. I started with the Megadeth one.
Just then a really nice Lexus pulls up and this ratty looking guy gets out of the car. He looked at me for a second and gave me a really weird look. I thought that he looked familiar, but I was too mad and just scowled back and him and he walked into the bank while I proceeded to take Megadeth’s sticker off of my car. He came back out a little while later staring me down again, but this time I just ignored him.
As he pulled away, I realized that he was Marty Friedman, one of the guitarists for Megadeth, and one of my guitar heroes at the time. And I was scraping his band’s sticker off of the back of my car. I still kick myself for that one.”
“I Was Euphoric”
“In August 2008, I was at the Fringe Festival in Edmonton, Alberta. My friends and I were waiting in line to go into the theatre to attend an improv show. I looked around at all the street performers and booths, when someone catches my eye and I glance at them.
I look away thinking That guy looks like Alan Tudyk. I look at him again, doing a double take when I realise that he is Alan Tudyk. This was about a month after I discovered Firefly, so I got really excited. I tried to communicate to my friends the blonde man to our left was Wash from Firefly, but none of them knew what I was talking about so I had to try to think of roles he has been in that they would know.
I finally got them with Pirate Steve, and they understood, saying ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool.’
I went up to him and told him I was a huge fan, and could he take my picture. He said sure, posed, I thanked him and joined my friends, very happy. Five minutes later Nathan Fillion joins Alan in line, and Alan leaves to go watch a street performance. I started to get excited all over again.
I walk up to him and talk to him again, and I said ‘Could I get a picture with you?’
He said ‘Sure, sweetie.’
He then took the camera from me, and snapped the picture. This was at about 3:00 pm so for the rest of the day I was euphoric.”
More Than He Bargained For
“After seeing Modest Mouse (my favorite band ever), I decided I HAD to wait around to meet the members if at all possible. Yes, there were three opening acts and it was 2 in the morning, but who cares, I wanted to meet them. So I wait, and wait, and wait outside their tour bus. Finally ,Tom Peloso comes out from behind the club and so he and I talk and he signs the CD of theirs I just bought.
Next, Eric Judy comes out and signs it. He and I also talked for a while (I forget what about. Mostly about what he did while on the road, I think?). And then finally, the crown jewel, Isaac Brock comes out.
Naturally I’m totally starstruck, so all I can think to say is ‘I was wondering if you could sign this?’ while holding up my sharpie and copy of The Fruit That Ate Itself.
He said ‘Yeah, I figured that. Just let me go put my stuff down.’
So he went into the bus and came out in few minutes, signed my CD and I managed to get a picture with him. He was incredibly nice about the whole thing too. Fun times.”
“I Get It, A Fan”
“This past summer, I went with my parents to Florida, road trip style. We came from Texas so of course we had to spend a few days in New Orleans. Our hotel was close to everything so walking to the French Quarter was a joy.
We took a photo sightseeing stop at the St. Louis Cathedral. As Catholics, we made our way to the front pews to say a prayer and take pictures. Not a lot of folks were there but two families. One of the families had a 6 foot and some father. He was tall and large and looking down to his son to explain everything that his daughter had to ask. I look to him and notice that he looks a lot like Andy Richter. I look to my mom and her eyes are glaring at mine. We are both having this OH MY GOD reaction. He realizes we have stopped taking pictures and are now staring at him. The reaction is of, I get it, a fan.
Just as Andy is making his way to the back to leave, we almost sprint that way. My mom even went out the same door as him. MISTAKE. He didn’t realize it and after opening the door for his kids, closes it right in my mom’s face. She was so starstruck, just as I was, that SHE GAVE NOT ONE CARE THAT MOMENT.
In the foyer we almost attack him with, ‘How are you Mr. Richter?’
He was really nice and allowed time for a picture. His wife and kids knew the drill and walked on. Nice guy. Tall as heck.”
“We Were All A Little Star-Struck
“I used to be a male gymnast on an Acro team that toured and did halftime shows for NBA games. We were in New York maybe a week before they had the All-Star game (1998). Normally, the stadium staff would have a 2 large change-rooms for us to change in as there were about 20 males and 35 females on the team. But seeing as how it was close to the All-Star game, they told us that space was at a premium and that we would have to make do with the court-side bathrooms.
So, 20 males invade the courtside bathroom before the game and start stripping down and changing into spandex outfits. I happened to be done before most people and went outside to start looking around the arena. As I get outside the bathroom door, I turn to look down the tunnel and see Spike Lee walking towards my way. I freeze and watch him get closer. He is holding a slushy cup and is focused on trying to acquire more slushy from the cup to his face, and thusly doesn’t look up as he walks toward the bathroom door. He hits the bathroom door and I turn to go back inside the bathroom to see what’s going to happen. It took me about 10 seconds to reach the door and push it open, but I push the door right into his back. He had stopped dead in his tracks after looking up in the bathroom to see many men, in various states of undress and spandex.
We were all a little star-struck and no one said a word. Spike sheepishly walks over to a urinal (still with everyone’s eyes on him), puts the slushy cup on top of the urinal and does his business. Then, we hear the door open again. Now everyone’s eyes swing over, and the same scenario happens all over again, this time with Bill Walton. He came into the bathroom and gaped at the weirdness of the situation of the impromptu changeroom.
He at least composed himself quickly and asked ‘What the heck are you guys doing in here?’
Someone tells him that we are the halftime show and he nods and heads toward the urinal. Spike, now grabs his slushy cup and takes off, no hand washing or anything, and when Bill Walton was finished he walked over to the sinks and paper towel dispenser where a friend of mine was pushing the handle for paper towels, and just steals the now hanging paper towel and also makes a hasty retreat.
We still laugh about that to this day…
That day the stadium staff asked us to hit Woody Allen in the head with our gym mats as we ran past him, but we just couldn’t do it.”