I live in a very remote, rural area, so there aren't a lot of celebrities walking about.
I've met Stephen King, Lea DeLaria and a number of politicians, but that's pretty much it.
People who go to cons are more likely to have rubbed elbows with my idols, but my introvert self thinks going to the post office is way too "peopley."
My few interactions were entirely positive—and so are many other people's.
Reddit user guyute2112 asked:
"Who’s the nicest famous person you’ve met?"
Kevin Bacon
"I was a sophomore in high school and my girlfriend and I decided to go to Spooky World [Halloween theme park in Massachusetts]. Some of our friends had told us that Kevin Bacon was there, but we didn't believe them."
"So we're walking by the food vendors when my girlfriend says, 'OMG, I want some fries!'."
"A man in hat and sunglasses holding some hears her, walks over to us, and hands her a heaping fry stack. We didn't really know how to react."
"We kind of just stared. He takes off his glasses and lifts up his hat, and there he is. Kevin F*cking Bacon."
"He says, 'Don't worry, my family has plenty', smiles, and walks away. Kevin Bacon is one cool dude."
~ SexyFaith4365
Brittany Murphy
"The late Brittany Murphy. I met her by accident outside the Today Show as a child. I told her my name was Brittany too, spelled like her."
"She asked my zodiac sign and I told her. Later, outside TRL studios, I saw her again waiting to meet the musical guest."
"She said, 'Brittany the Gemini!' And we laughed."
"We took a photo together on a disposable film camera. She was so sweet and so personable."
"I think of her so often. Gone way too soon."
~ Brittanyballin
George Takei
"George Takei. He is the real deal. My interaction was via social media—so I didn't meet him in person, but I left with the impression he's very intelligent, but warm and friendly."
~ BoringBob84
"Admittedly I haven't met many famous people, but I went out of my way to attend a signing by him at my local comic/game store. He stuck around for well after he was scheduled for to make sure everyone in line got a chance to meet him."
"It's not much, but he shook my hand and took a photo with me despite my not having enough money for an autograph at the time."
"I'm straight, but very supportive of the LGBT community and really appreciate the activist work he does. Being a huge nerd helps, of course."
"Anyway, he struck me as just a very genuine and kind person. Was a lovely experience."
~ prophaniti
"Met him in New York City about 35 years ago when I was 12 or so. I still remember it. Such a warm and friendly guy."
~ tadhg555
"Yes! We just met him recently and had the opportunity to get to know him and his husband, Brad, a bit. Super nice, thoughtful and gracious and down to earth."
~ in_a_cloud
Celine Dion
"Celine Dion. Just one of the nicest. I was in a wheelchair at the time, but wanted to stand to get a picture with her."
"She made sure I was OK and wouldn’t fall. Then afterwords she helped me back in my chair and told my husband 'you make sure you take good care of her'."
"I’ve met some of her family by chance. They are all just so sweet and nice, all around great people."
~ Infiniti_Blue
"Yes!! She will sit out and sign autographs and take pics with fans forever."
"When I met her I was so shaken up and was having trouble with my phone camera and she just lightly massaged my arm and said, 'it’s OK, take your time' and was just the sweetest—took time for all the fans."
"She is also notorious for doing this sometimes for hours when she is in Paris outside her hotel—so many videos of her singing with fans, putting on mini concerts."
"Just the sweetest angel."
~ Cevansj
" Weird" Al Yankovic
"'Weird' Al Yankovic. I got the chance to interview him for my little podcast many, many years ago."
"His manager told me I had 10 minutes. I asked my questions and I wrapped the show. And I said I’ll get out of your hair."
"He said it was cool and we just sat around and talked about music, and all kinds of stuff for almost a half hour. It was a very surreal experience talking to someone I had listened to basically my whole life."
"He then gave me a backstage pass to come back after the show, which I did! I was last in the after show line as I guess there was a contest or something."
"Even after performing a full show, meet and greets for almost an hour, he remembered my name, took a few more photos and said he loved all the questions I asked. And asked for a link to the show and my email address."
"It was an amazing experience, and Al is a genuinely nice guy and generous with his time. 11/10 would do again!"
~ Lazer310
Victoria Beckham
"Victoria Beckham. Met her at a meet-and-greet in London."
"She was promoting her clothes. I was there because of working catering."
"She's really nice, said hello to everybody, genuinely thanked each of us for helping and for our time."
"Was not stuck up at all."
~ tourmaps
Patton Oswalt
"Patton Oswalt at O'Hare airport."
"I was sitting in a lounge and saw someone walking by, thought it kind of looked like him and as he got closer, realized it was him."
"Now, lots of people say that I look like him and my wife is kind of obsessed with it, and I've been a huge fan of his going back to his earliest HBO comedy special."
"I didn't want to be that guy, to make a scene in the lounge, so I waited a bit and then decided to slip him a note. Said I was a fan, thanked him for the laughs, told him wife thinks we're doppelgangers."
"A few minutes later, he gets up to get a drink and some snacks and as he walks back, he turns and walks straight up to me and says 'oh, my god, we are. We should not be seen together like this often'."
"He was great, we had some laughs about it, took some pictures. I told him of a time when I'd had an intoxicated woman come up to me and insist I was him and there was NOTHING I could do to convince her otherwise."
"He told me that as long as I was nice to people and didn't get him cancelled, I should totally have fun with it if it happened again and send him pictures."
"10/10 encounter. He was pretty much exactly like anything you've ever seen him in, just a nice and genuine guy."
~ mickstranahan
Considering Season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphy
Kamala Harris
"Coincidentally enough, Kamala Harris. I work in hospitality and she came to visit a guest who was staying at my hotel in early 2020 before she was Vice President."
"It was my job to escort her to the room. It was just me and her—no security—and I let her know I admired her work as a Senator, so she opened up."
"I’d just moved to DC and she couldn’t have been nicer. Asked how I liked the city, how my family was, and recommended places to visit in DC."
"At the end of the night, she called a yellow cab and left without any fanfare."
~ livingINtomorrow
Tom Hiddleston
"Tom Hiddleston. Ran into him in a bookstore in London, of all places. I was peeking through some shelves and there he was, just browsing quietly."
"I hesitated to approach him because you never want to be intrusive, you know? But I noticed he picked up a novel I absolutely loved."
"After a bit of an internal battle, I mustered the courage to just say, 'That’s an amazing book, hope you enjoy it as much as I did'."
"He looked up, his eyes brightened and he gave me the warmest smile. 'I’ve heard good things. Any other recommendations?' he asked."
"We ended up talking about books and theatre for a good half an hour. He was incredibly polite, eloquently spoken and genuinely interested in my thoughts."
"I walked away with a few book recommendations from him as well, and he insisted on paying for my book as a thank-you for the chat."
"Never made me feel like he was in a rush, never seemed anything less than delighted to talk. Absolute gentleman."
~ BlossomKellsey
Dolly Parton
"Dolly Parton. But a ton of people can say that, I suppose."
"'You want a picture, sweetheart?'."
"'Yes, ma’am, I do'."
~ SamDBeane
"My kiddo gets a book every month thanks to her."
~ HyperrrMouse
"I used to see Dolly Parton at the Pennyfeathers restaurant in West Hollywood a very long time ago. I would eat there often with my boyfriend and she always made eye contact, smiled and said hello."
"She radiated niceness. Always thought she found my boyfriend cute."
"And 40 years later...she looks exactly the same. Has not lost that bright shiny spark."
~ EtDemainPeutEtre
"I’ve met her. Probably the most famous person I’ve met. And she was sooooooooooooooo nice."
"I rounded a tight corner back stage at the Grand Ole Opry one night when she was playing. She rounded the same corner. From the other direction."
"BAM!"
"We ran into each other. She apologized profusely. Then chatted me up."
"She was not only kind. She. Was. Stunning. Wow!"
"Like, she made my knees buckle. Other than my wife, no woman has ever taken my breath away like that."
~ Annual-Visual-2605
GIF by Dolly PartonGiphy
Hugh Jackman
"Hugh Jackman, it was like talking to someone you’ve known for ages, very friendly."
~ hollyjazzy
"My exact experience. I worked on the set of X-Men 2 for like a month."
"He was like your cool uncle who is your mom's younger brother and he asks you all the cool questions about sports and movies and hobbies when you see him at Christmas each year."
"I met quite a few famous actors while working in the industry for a few years in Vancouver in the early 2000s and he was the best of the lot."
"Spoke to him briefly, but daily, for the entire month, and each time, he was just like I said—your cool uncle."
"It's really the best way I can describe him. He loved to poke fun in that Aussie loving way."
~ Culzean_Castle_Is
Lady Gaga
"Lady Gaga—by happy coincidence, I was having drinks with a friend at the Dublin hotel she was staying at while touring."
"I didn’t recognize her initially, as she was dressed in a pretty low-key way until she stood up to leave the bar, and her security guys got up too."
"We said hello, and she talked with us for a solid 5-10 minutes about Dublin and where is good to visit. She was so sweet."
"When we went to leave the hotel bar later, we went to clear our tab and discovered it had already been paid for."
~ Big-Preparation-9641
Robin Williams
"I met Robin Williams a bit more than 20 years ago. He was performing a stand up show. My wife—back then she was my girlfriend—was with me and I convinced her to go around back of the theater after the show to see if he came out."
"After about 10 minutes, Robin appeared. He was still soaked in sweat and looked absolutely and completely tired as hell. Looked like he could barely walk."
"But he was so soft and gentle. Several people just wanted to talk to him and tell him how much he meant to them."
"He stood and listened to every word and never broke his gaze on them. He was gracious and utterly just kind."
"I got an autograph and a picture with him. Unfortunately it was before smart phones so no video and it was a film camera."
"And I even made him laugh quite heartily when I made a joke at the expense of my girlfriend. It was that loud explosive laugh that we all remember and it’s one of the highlights of my life."
"Just a beautiful, kind, and gentle man."
~ Size14-OrangeDiver
Kate Bush
"Kate Bush. I waited for her outside a radio station in the rain when she came to NY after the Hounds of Love release."
"I was originally going to get my album signed when she was at Tower Records earlier, but the line was around the block."
"She came out with an army of handlers who were desperately trying to rush her along into the car. I said, 'Hi Kate! Would you sign my record please?'."
"She said, 'Of course love!' She grabs my pen and says, 'Who's it for?'."
"I said, 'Me!' She said, 'Do you want me to write...To me?'."
"We laughed and I told her my name. She asked me how I liked the record and I told her I loved it but The Dreaming was my favorite."
"She thought that was hilarious. I have to say that I've never seen a more striking face that close before."
"I was an absolute stuttering idiot, and she was so nice."
~ SkeevyRay
Paul Rudd
"Paul Rudd. Went out of his way to be super kind to me and my friend, gave us autographs and pictures and chatted for a long time, and even offered to share a cab back down to Times Square—which, of course, we said yes to."
"1000/10 amazing human being."
~ StepRightUpMarchPush
"Agree. I was working at an event with the entire cast of Avengers: Endgame, and I was pretty nervous. Paul came and asked me to make him a Moscow mule, and saw how bad my hands were shaking."
"This man, hard eye contacts me, and very, very gently touches my hand to pause me making his drink."
"He says, 'Heyyyyyy....., I'm sure you are terrified about now, but I used to do exactly what you're doing, and we're just people. Just people. Except Gwyneth. She kinda sucks. You want a hug?'."
"I almost burst into tears from the comic relief, and Paul busts out laughing. I took the hug."
~ Pandoras_Fate
You never know who you might have a chance encounter with! Be sure to bring a pen, paper, and positive attitude if you happen upon one of your favorite celebrities.
