If you've spent time on TikTok, you may have come across a few stories of people sharing the times they've met famous people without realizing it. Usually stitched with this question:
The stories are all in good fun, and I think it's a reminder that celebs have some semblance of normalcy, too, despite their fame and fortune. So, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their "I had no clue I was talking to a famous person" stories, and boy did they deliver. I had so much fun reading through these:
1. "Twenty-four years ago, I was in Old Navy across from the Beverly Center in LA. A young, blonde southern woman asked how old our baby was. When we replied that she was 6 months old, she exclaimed that her baby girl was also 6 months old. And off she went. The cashier said, 'You know [who] that was, right?' Ummm, no. It was Reese Witherspoon, right after Election and Cruel Intentions. Her baby was Ava. Ours is Avalon."
2. "I worked at Atlanta airport in the early '90s when this lady asked for directions. I complimented her hairstyle; she said thank you and complimented my hair (which was very similar to hers). My coworker was freaking out and asked her, 'Aren't you the lady from the movie Strictly Business?' I was like, nah, she just looks like her, but she was smiling and nodding yes. Then, Atlanta Braves player David Justice approaches her, and they walk off. And I'm like, 'That was Halle Berry!'"
3. "So this isn't about me, but my mom. She and my dad were at a Super Bowl and going up to the boxes to visit some friends. While on their way up, they walk past this man with chains on and a huge posse around him. My mom jokingly goes, 'Who does he think he is, Snoop Dogg?' And my dad goes, 'Yes, yes, he does.' BECAUSE IT WAS SNOOP DOGG."
4. "I was working as a barista in a town that has a popular music festival, and Carey Mulligan came in to order a latte. I asked her name for the order and what brought her into town. She said her husband [Marcus Mumford from Mumford & Sons] was playing at the music festival, and I said, 'Oh wow, you're so lucky you get to go!!' 🙃"
5. "I was at a birthday party for a friend in Brooklyn a few years back; he owned the first floor of a brownstone, which included a quiet backyard. I retreated because there were many kids inside the party. I was eventually joined by an older gentleman who introduced himself as Bill; we had a lovely chat for about 45 minutes, and then I went home. Later, some other friends posted photos of themselves with this gentleman. Folks, it was Bill Nye."
6. "It was 1980 in New York City. I was 18 and walking with my uncle in midtown Manhattan. As we passed a bank of public phones, a man asked if he could borrow a pen, so we let him use our pen. As he writes, my uncle says to me, 'Don't you recognize who that is?' I looked at the guy, and I realized it was AL PACINO!!! My all-time idol!"
7. "Back in the late 2000s, I lived in San Diego. I grew up in Miami, so I made many trips back and forth between the two cities. On one of those flights, I sat next to this really good-looking guy who looked familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint why. We spent the entire five-hour flight chatting mainly about the stark differences between California and Florida. I learned he was from Tampa but now lived in California and was going to Miami for a work 'thing.' At the end of the flight, we said, have fun, and that was that… Later, when he was mobbed by a group of girls wanting a photo, I learned that the guy I was sitting next to in coach was none other than Channing Tatum. No wonder he looked familiar."
8. "I worked as an assistant manager for a froyo company in London that hired attractive people as staff. We would often recruit passersby who had the right 'look.' A lady in her early 20s walked by the unit, and I tried to recruit her by asking all the usual questions. I even got as far as adding her number to our captcha database. When we finished, I turned around to head back, and all the staff were staring at me."
9. "Yes, same person twice! In the early '90s, I was in a 'club' with band members from Metallica after one of their concerts. I was pretty hammered and had no idea who they were 'til I was told the next day. I guess they were kind enough to put up with me for the brief moment I was in their entourage. Years later, I worked as a divemaster on Maui, and a man and his wife privately chartered the boat. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him 'til about halfway through the charter. It was Lars Ulrich, the drummer."
10. "My boyfriend was invited through a big candy company he did business with to attend the 2000 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland. The hotel arranged transportation, and I got on the minibus and took the first open seat next to a nice, very tall gentleman who clearly had been a player himself. We chatted for 20 minutes, exited the bus, and strode up the steps to the arena together, still chatting away. Camera bulbs flashed at us, and some guys shouted, 'Kareem!' I was so embarrassed... I turned to him and said, 'Mr. Abdul-Jabbar! I'm soooooo sorry I didn't know!' He just laughed."
11. "I worked for Disney and worked seating for the Pirates of the Caribbean III. I sat and chatted with a lovely older woman about my age and explained where she could pick up her checked phone at The Jungle Cruise. She had never been to Disneyland and had no idea where the attraction was. Her kind son explained he knew where to go and would pick up her phone. I complimented this nice woman about how polite her son was and how she must be so very proud of him."
12. "We went to Puerto Vallarta on our honeymoon in 1982. While there, we took a boat tour. A distinguished older gentleman from the tour invited several of us to his home for cocktails. While there, he said he had copies of his autobiography available for $20, and he'd autograph them. We were poor newlyweds and had no idea who he was, so we declined. Several years later, we were watching TV, and the news came on discussing the death of a famous screenwriter, director, and actor. My husband and I looked at each other, shocked. It was John Huston, the man who invited us to his home from the boat tour!"
13. "I literally bumped into Caroline Kennedy. Like, I actually walked backward (the room was getting crowded, and I was trying to get out of the center) into her. She looked so familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. I apologized, and she was very nice about it. We chatted for a bit, and then I saw someone I knew and excused myself from conversing with her. It was my friend who told me who I was chatting with."
14. "I was working at a Starbucks in Utah during Sundance. I took this guy's order and told him, 'You look so familiar. You look like this guy who has an awesome dad. His dad was in Bottle Rocket, but his son was in the stupidest movie about sunken treasure, [Into the Blue].' He responds with, 'You mean Scott Caan?' I say, 'Maybe, is his Dad James Caan? James Caan is rad.' Needless to say, I did not make friends with Scott Caan that day."
15. "I once had a whole conversation with Zac Efron without realizing who I was talking to. Back in high school, I was at a football camp at Kenyon College, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I got locked out of the athletic facility but noticed another guy hanging outside, so I asked if he could let me back in. He told me he wasn't a student and was waiting for a ride. We ended up chatting for quite a while, and the whole time, I kept thinking, 'This dude looks exactly like Zac Efron,' but I just figured there was no reason he would be at this random school in the middle of summer."
16. "Not me, but my dad. He was working in the Philippines and flying back home to the mainland US. He was seated next to a younger guy, and they started talking. The younger guy mentioned he was flying home after wrapping up a film. My dad asked what he did for the film, and the guy said he was an actor. When my dad asked if he'd recognize him from any movies, the guy said, 'Maybe. I was in American Graffiti and Star Wars.' My dad, not a moviegoer at all, said, 'Nope. Haven't seen either of them.' My dad had no idea who Harrison Ford was. They ended up having dinner together in Hawaii on their way home."
17. "I was a flight attendant pass-riding on an all-nighter from Los Angeles to New York. When employees pass-ride, you are given your ticket after all paying passengers are boarded. I had gotten my ticket and was lucky enough to be seated in first class, seat 3A (a window seat). I was getting settled, having my pre-departure champagne, when a man came to sit in the seat next to me. I figured he was an airline employee like me and started talking to him, like actually jabbering on like a little caffeinated monkey drinking alcohol."
18. "I worked for Disney Studios and was walking along a pedestrian path when I spotted a young woman with a little puppy sitting on a little grass area. I am a total dog person, so the puppy enamored me. I talked with the nice lady about dogs as she brushed her little puppy, Martha. I finally had to get to a meeting, so I said goodbye and went. I noticed a giant poster on the side of a sound stage for a new show called Alias with a photo of a woman with a red wig."
19. "I was in a grocery store in my town, and this guy came toward me with long braids and a cowboy hat. He ripped his hat off and said, 'Hi, ma'am.' I thought to myself, 'Was that Willie Nelson?' There was a story in the newspaper that he was in town. So that was definitely him, and I just couldn't believe my eyes."
20. "I put quarters in a pool table for the next game in a small Colorado town bar. There were maybe six people in this little hole-in-the-wall place. When I was up, I played this old guy; he ran the table, and we chit-chatted. When I returned to my table, my girlfriend asked if I knew the guy. I said he told me his name was Jerry. She was pretty worked up, but I had never heard of the Grateful Dead. Years later, I googled Jerry Garcia, and sure enough, it was him."
21. "I was staying at a posh hotel in New York during fashion week. It was a girls' weekend trip to celebrate a friend's birthday. I went to take the elevator to the hotel restaurant for brunch. I see a guy with a woman also approaching the elevator. Being an antisocial butterfly, I became instantly annoyed I had to share my elevator. The guy is a gentleman and lets me in first and first out. Later that night, when the girls and I call it a night in our hotel lobby, the birthday girl goes wild because she sees Michael B. Jordan heading up the elevator. Turns out, I really don't like sharing elevators, even if it's with really famous handsome men."
22. "This was years ago when I was a teenager (I'm 48 now). My dad took me to 'play golf with his friend Alan.' It turns out my dad's friend, Alan, was Alan Jackson. Tracy Byrd was also there. I wasn't a big country music fan back then, so I had no idea who they were. A few years later, I started getting into country music and realized who my dad's golf buddies actually were... LOL."
23. "I went to get my truck windows tinted in the San Fernando Valley, and there was a small waiting room with two chairs. So I sat in the one open chair next to a man with his hood on. The tint shop guy came in after a while and addressed the man. They were laughing and having a good convo, but as a teenager (this was 2008-ish), I was probably waiting to see my boyfriend or go to the mall. I didn't pay attention to what they were saying."
24. "I was a new mom, and my son was 1 and a half years old. I was leaving a copying place in Monterey when two guys in a white Lincoln called me over, asking for directions. With my beautiful baby boy on my hip, I crouched down to give them directions to Washington Street in old-town Monterey. The driver thanked me and said how adorable my son was…it was John Travolta."
25. "I was working at a private resort in Hawaii. I knew there were some famous clients but didn't think too much of it. I was still a new server and left by myself for a bit during a lunch shift. We were on a golf course, and a guy came in solo, asking if he could get a table. As I sit him down and make pleasantries, he lifts his shades and asks if he looks familiar. I look at him, and honestly, no, he did not…"
26. "I was walking in downtown Toronto and spotted Kat Von D (I love her!), so I rushed over to get a pic. The guy she was with started posing as if we were going to get a pic of the three of us, but I insisted he take the pic of Kat and me. Only later did I realize the guy I so rudely pushed out of my picture was her boyfriend at the time, deadmau5. Whoops!"
27. "I was working and stopped to get lunch at a restaurant. The restaurant was empty except for a couple sitting at the bar. I sat down at the bar a few seats away from the couple. The three of us spoke throughout lunch (probably for about an hour). I finished lunch, paid my tab, stood to leave, and took a double take at the gentleman."
And lastly:
28. "In the early '90s, a coworker invited me and a few close friends to her home for swimming and a crawfish boil. After a fun day of swimming and eating, we all gathered in the living room to watch the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Induction on TV. Then, the gentleman sitting next to me appeared on the TV. I looked over at him and back at the TV and back and forth and back and forth in confusion. I finally said out loud, 'You're famous?' Everyone started laughing. I had spent the day with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and didn't even know it. His ex-wife Patricia was the sister of my friend's husband."
How about you? Have you ever met someone really famous and had no clue who they were? Let me know in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.