Some people (like me) live in the middle of the country and are probably pretty unlikely to run across a famous person when we’re not expecting it. And if you live somewhere celebrities live or frequent…well, that’s bully for you.
Unfortunately, the few encounters I have had with celebrities have left me feeling like they aren’t the types of folks I’d choose to hang out with, if I was doing the picking. Just saying.
But since we have sites on the internet like Reddit, people are obviously going to dish about the celebs who left them with warm fuzzies. Aw!
#15. Paul and Linda McCartney
“Paul and Linda McCartney once came into a restaurant I was hostess at. I greeted him and his wife, led them to their reserved table, said my lines and left. When they were leaving he leaned towards me and thanked me for treating him like a normal person.
He knew I knew who he was because Linda had said that she loved my necklace. It was a yellow submarine from the Beatles album.”
#14. John Travolta
“I was having dinner with my family for my cousin’s 21 at a fancy hotel restaurant and John Travolta walked in. He stopped by our table and said “Happy whatever the occasion is.” We told him it was a 21st, and he waved goodbye to us and walked over to his table.”
#13. Elijah Wood
“Elijah Wood. I was working in a 6 star hotel bar, I walked up to him and explained that what I was about to say was frowned upon before complimenting his work as Spyro the purple dragon.
He was pretty happy.”
#12. A Hat Trick
“Worked at a high end bistro in Montecito, CA and lived in Santa Barbara. Lots of celebs in the vicinity but these 3 stick out.
Renee Zellweger – I served her once when I was honestly having a really shitty day. She had 3 kids in tow, dressed in yoga pants and a tshirt.. nothing about her screamed celebrity and I was focused on other stuff. I messed up twice on her order and she honestly couldn’t have been nicer about it “Oh no problem, just bring it when you can, etc etc” Still went out of her way to make small talk.. I only found out who she was when I went to run her credit card and it said “R K Zellweger”. Kids all thanked me after the meal and she gave me a hug on the way out and an amazing tip for subpar service. It was a total dream.
Paul Walker – Met him about 6 months before he died.. he was eating lunch at a local burger joint downtown (Habit Burger). I’m a huge fan boy and so I did that awkward “Hey aren’t you Paul Walker?” thing and he just laughed and said “Yeah bro, what’s up?” We talked for about fifteen minutes, just shooting the shit about cars, surfing, he asked about my skateboard etc. It started as a starstruck encounter but by the time we said goodbyes it was just like talking to a good friend and i’ll always appreciate that. I’m not ashamed to say as a dude I cried when I heard about his death and again when watching Furious 7.
Christopher Lloyd – He was a regular at the bar in Montecito. He has a lovely youngish looking wife who liked to shop the high end retail section so he’d come in to the bar with a newspaper and have a couple drinks. He was so genuine, from the day I met him he insisted I call him Chris. We’d solve crosswords, shoot the shit about football (He said he was a Seahawks fan) and tons of other topics. He had strong opinions on how delicious oysters were and I caught him at this popular oyster bar in downtown Santa Barbara on 1/2 off oyster night more than once.”
#11. Will Arnett
“Pulled up next to Will Arnett in Winnipeg traffic. Got him to roll down his window and I was like “Will! What the heck are you doing in Winnipeg!?” He laughed and said “I know right? Must of made a wrong turn in Saskatchewan” That was basically all, I wished him well and he ended up getting away as his lane was moving faster.”
#10. Harrison Ford
“Harrison Ford. He was lost in the service area of the hotel I worked in. Asked me how to get to the lobby, I showed him, he said “Thanks.”
I haven’t encountered many celebrities.”
#9. Daniel Radcliffe
“daniel radcliffe.
met him in vancouver Canada when he came here randomly. I was working at a bar he dropped by. Super chill guy. Took a photo with quite a few people, but I never got one because I was too shy to ask him.
He seemed to be very genuine, and not overexcessive with his money. He wore pretty simple clothes as well, I think like a regular plaid shirt and jeans.”
#8. Mark Hamill
“Mark Hamill. This was at Celebration (a Star Wars convention) and my boyfriend paid for his autograph, but he called me “sssssmokin”. I got hit on by Luke Skywalker. Sniffles I’ll never forget you.
Seriously, though, he is just lovely.”
#7. Bruce Willis
“Bruce Willis told me that I have “some pretty cool spiderman skills”
I was in walmart and there was somethng that i needed on the top shelf and near the back. at the time i was only 5foot (im a bit taller now). and so I scaled up the shelf and over to the side to get the food item that i needed. When i got down i noticed this guy watching me, and i realized it was Bruce Willis. and he complimented my shelf climbing.”
#6. Tim Burton
“I went to a signing by Tim Burton. The line for him was out the building and around the corner. Everyone was being told that Tim wasn’t going to be able to see everyone. I was lucky, I was near the front. We were also told that we could only get an autograph and picture then had to move on.
Tim was amazingly nice, and constantly had to be reminded not to shake people’s hands and talk with them because he had limited time. He also ended up being late for a private showing of one of his movies (I can’t remember which one). He was late because he made sure he saw every single person in line.
He was just overall a kind and humble man and very sweet. He even looked over my aspiring animator friend’s portfolio and gave her his email, asking her to send him her progress as she improved. A truly great guy.”
#5. Keanu Reeves
“Keanu Reeves.
I remember seeing him while walking through New York a long time ago when I was a young, probably very annoying pre-teen. I yelled out, “Yo, Neo!” And then I obnoxiously mimicked the bullet dodge motion from The Matrix. He looked back at me, laughed, and mirrored the same move in acknowledgement.
It’s such a great memory because I feel like anyone would have been justified in getting annoyed and shrugging this stupid kid off, but instead he was a good sport and humored me. I’ll never forget it.”
#4. Tony Bennett
“Tony Bennett made us put our tools down and go eat dinner at a venue we were doing electrical work at.”
#3. Jim Carrey
“Jim Carey gave me a ride to the gas station after my car ran out of gas in Bel Aire. I told him I was a huge fan of Ace Ventura and I could mimic his laugh from the movie. Then we both had our heads out the window cackling away. He bought my gas and drove me back to my car. One of the greatest moments in my life.”
#2. Margot Robbie
“Margot Robbie. I work at a restaurant in NYC, first time I served here I treated her like a normal person, didn’t acknowledge that she was famous or anything like that although she is probably my number one crush of all time. I was really nervous to even talk to her to be quiet honest. Her and her boyfriend were EXTREMELY personable we talked about the rangers for a bit and kind of chit chatted. She paid the bill, left a very generous tip and told me I created an outstanding dining experience and asked if they could talk to my manager. One of the biggest compliment boosts of my life. They come back and I wait on them often, I would nearly consider us friends now as we are on a first name basis.”
#1. Hayden Christensen
“Hayden Christensen. he came up to my bar. Nice guy really. I acted like I didn’t know who he was, and when I gave him his beer I said “May the Force be with you, Ani.” and he smiled and said “And also with you”. Then he left a huge tip. 🙂 Made my year.”