People Are Sharing The Times They Met Celebrities But Didn't Let On That They Knew Who They Were

"Samuel L. Jackson was on my flight."

Ever run into a celeb and decide to play it cool?

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When Reddit user u/Kimantha_Allerdings posed this question, people came out in droves to share the times they either accidentally or purposely humbled a fan-favorite star.

So, without further ado, here are a few of the tales.

Enjoy!

1. Chris Evans

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"I worked at a movie theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when they were filming the first Avengers film. Captain America was about to come out — I remember because we had the huge standee of him in the lobby. I was reading in the box office when three people came up. Guy asked for three tickets to Bridesmaids. It was dark out and he had a green baseball cap and sunglasses. He paid with a credit card. Christopher Evans. I stared at the card after I swiped it. Handed it back: 'I need you to sign the receipt.' He did. And then he walked in." —u/sarahm0ses

2. Elton John

Kurt Krieger — Corbis / Getty Images

"My mom is a big sports fan. One time, she was shopping and saw a really large, fit-looking man she didn't immediately recognize but who seemed familiar. She thought it must have been a professional football player or something, so she went up to the only other person in the shop, who was this smaller, weird-looking guy, and asked him if he knew who the athletic-looking man was. The short guy looked at my mom and said, 'That's my bodyguard. I'm Elton John.'" —u/tastefulsidebutthole

3. Michael Jordan

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"My dad and I bumped into Michael Jordan at a Walgreens near Chicago. This was back in 2006 or so. We were picking out birthday cards for my mom, and M.J. and his son came in the same aisle, browsing some cards. My dad kept his cool and continued to look through different cards, giving him his personal space. I, on the other hand, was 9 years old and in awe, sort of staring at him. After M.J. picked out his card, he winked at me and gave me a walk-by fist bump. Didn't really set in until I was older how cool that was." —u/Jim__And__Tonic

4. Jeff Goldblum

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"I was walking out of a gas station over on Crescent Heights and Sunset in LA and heard a 'Hey!...hey!' coming from a cracked window on a tinted-out Range Rover that was parked at one of the pumps. I walk over to the car to see Jeff Goldblum, who had somehow seen my gold ring I was wearing on my right hand from 20 feet away. He proceeds to tell me how he loves my ring and has been looking for one just like it and asks me where I got it. I tell him it was my grandfather's and he asks to see it up close. I hold my hand up to Jeff Goldblum, he takes my hand, gushes about the ring for a minute, and thanks me. I said 'Sure' and walked back to my apartment. I like to think we're friends now." —u/Poisonmonkey

5. Larry David

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"I was a student-athlete in college and was required to 'volunteer' a certain number of hours per year. One of the options was to help first-year students move in, which I obviously chose so I could scope out the new talent.

"I've just finished helping move a kid's stuff and I'm heading back to the loading area when a black SUV pulls up. Out hops Larry David, his ex-wife, and their daughter, who was starting school. I immediately recognized him but played it cool. He wasn't getting a ton of recognition, since I'm guessing not many college students are fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm/Seinfeld.

"I introduced myself to them all and he introduced himself and said, 'Hi, I'm Larry,' and mentioned they were from LA. I replied and said, 'I used to live in LA, and you look really familiar. Did we meet?' To which he replied, 'No, I'm just one of those faces,' and gave me a huge wink.

"He was cracking jokes the entire move and introducing himself to everyone just as 'Larry.' Just as funny in person as he is on TV. After finishing the move, he was nice enough to take a pic with me. Great guy, and the only major celebrity I've ever met." —deleted user

6. Scarlett Johansson

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"My wife took my son to the zoo, and he wanted to read every little plaque in the reptile area. My wife was distracted for a moment, so he asked the nearest stranger to read the plaque for him. My wife turned around to see Scarlett Johansson happily reading the info to him." —u/mojomann128

7. Leonardo DiCaprio

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"I used to be a server at a Mexican restaurant right outside LA in the late '90s. One day Leonardo DiCaprio came in with who I assume was his mom to have lunch. This would've been post-Titanic, so really at the peak of his breakthrough mega-celeb status. He was wearing a ball cap and sunglasses and was unshaven, but I recognized him anyway. I didn't let anyone know, and I wrote something like, 'Your movies are awesome, I hope you liked our food' on his receipt when I dropped it off at the table.

"After he left, I swung by and picked up his payment, and he had left me a note back that said, 'Thank you so much for not blowing my cover,' with a $100 tip. Shit was awesome. I was only like 19; I went and got some Playstation games with it after my shift ended." —u/Z0MBGiEF

8. Post Malone

Kurt Krieger — Corbis / Getty Images

"My friend's mom, who is over 70 years old, owns a small Asian grocery store. Post Malone came walking in with his girlfriend, and his mom had no idea who he was. A few cute things happened:

• She was nervous because of his tattoos, but happy/not worried once he bought a lot of food. She had no idea he was a celebrity.

• She gave him a free snack for buying so much food and told him to come back for lunchtime for cheap and tasty gyoza — and he did come back the next day!

• She was worried he would get mugged going to his car because of three big men outside, so she followed him outside — they were his bodyguards.

• She really liked his 'cool car' — it was a Lamborghini.

• She told my friend about the encounter that evening, and he pulled up a YouTube video based on the description — it was him. When Post Malone came back the next day for gyoza, she got a selfie with him (it's on my friend's phone, so I don't have the picture available right now). The whole thing is adorable with how innocent his mom is." —u/Resviole

9. Chris Cornell

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"I used to play in local bands in Seattle back in the late '90s. I was sitting in the Mecca (a bar in the Queen Ann neighborhood), and in walks this dude with another buddy and they sit down next to me. I didn't look up, as I was enjoying a pint and a book. We all mutually knew the bartender well. 

"They started talking about cars or something; then it led to music. I made a quick quip about Soundgarden and how I hoped that they would make another album (this was just before Down on the Upside). I heard the dude next to me say, 'Wish granted, we are mixing it now.' It was Chris Cornell and one of his friends. We talked for a while about Seattle music and playing shows. He asked more questions of me than I could of him. He was genuinely a humble, cool, fellow musician. He treated me like an equal, even though I knew and certainly know now that I am not, in that regard. I bumped into him a couple of other times over the years. He was always the same dude to me. RIP, Chris." —u/in2theF0ld

10. Jamie Foxx

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"Was at a convenience store in LA when a very nicely dressed Black gentleman and I walked up to the cashier at the same time to pay. It was nighttime, and he had his dark shades on and was talking on his phone. I gave him the 'After you' gesture, and he nodded and said, 'Thanks, buddy,' paid, and left. It wasn't until he was out of the store that I realized he was Jamie Foxx." —u/irishamerican

11. Jack Black

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"My cousin rode a ski lift with Jack Black in Vail, Colorado. Just the two of them. Her husband and I were in the lift behind them, freaking out. When we got off the lift, they’d gone their separate ways. We made our way to her and she was like, 'Wow, that guy on my lift was so nice.' We were like, 'THAT WAS JACK BLACK.' She was like, 'The School of Rock guy?!?!'"

"She was so embarrassed. She said she rambled on about living in Iowa for most of their conversation. We laughed our asses off." —u/palexander_6

12. Daniel Radcliffe

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"I was 10 years old in 2002 when my mom took me to the Bronx Zoo for the first time. It was a rainy day, so we practically had the whole place to ourselves except for three British kids running around, chaperoned by a woman. My mom quickly befriended the woman while I made like a kid and joined the horde, looking at spiders and scorpions and sharing in the awe and excitement of the animals. After about an hour when we said our goodbyes, my mother told me that the kid, Daniel, I'd had been hanging out with had played Harry Potter in the movie that came out last year. I had thought he looked familiar." —u/Syntactic_Acrobatics

13. Sigourney Weaver

Kurt Krieger — Corbis / Getty Images

"This doesn't count because it's about my father-in-law, and he legitimately didn't know who she was, but we were vacationing in Maine and spending a lot of time on the beach. My father-in-law would walk his dog early every morning. He met this lady and they would meet up and walk their dogs together, then go their separate ways. One morning I got up early to come with him, and to my surprise, we met up with Sigourney Weaver and went for a walk." —u/Londonforce

14. Rainn Wilson

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"My wife and I were on a trip for nine days with Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) and his family. I know he doesn't like being treated like he's just a character from a TV show, so I refrained from mentioning it or even letting on that I knew he was a famous actor.

"One day he had a sandwich with some beetroot in it, turned to his wife, and said, 'These beets are really amazing.' It took every bit of me not to say something about Dwight then. He's a fantastic guy, and his family is lovely." —u/IAmZack

15. Samuel L. Jackson

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"Samuel L. Jackson was on my flight. I was second to last to board the flight, and there was all this commotion with the flight attendants and gate crew. Once I approached the door of the plane, I realized they were all looking at Samuel L. Jackson. He was standing by the cockpit making himself available to passengers/fans. I played it cool. Didn’t say a word. Turns out, I’m shy around celebrities. I’m just glad I didn’t make a Snakes on the Plane joke." —Deleted user

16. Russell Crowe

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"I worked at a hotel, and Russell Crowe came in the lobby. He went to the house phones and called the front desk, where I was working. I could see him pretty easily. I answered the phone, and he asked to be connected to a room, so I put him through. This wasn't long after he threw a phone at a hotel clerk, so I didn't want to take a chance at pissing him off." —Deleted user

17. The King of Norway, King Olav V

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"Reminds me of when my father first moved to Oslo back in the late '70s. He lived in this shitty cellar apartment that was in a very nice part of town, so he'd always go for evening walks just to get out of the dump. On his walks, he would occasionally run into this old man walking his dog, and sometimes they would stop and talk about the dog or the weather or whatever. Turned out that the old man was actually the king of Norway, something my father only found out later, being completely new to the country. Innocent times..." —u/RightWhenWrong

18. Pierce Brosnan

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"My mom yelled at Pierce Brosnan. She and my dad were at a ski resort getting lunch. My mother gets quite hangry (an unfortunate trait I inherited) and was waiting in line to order. Right as she's about to order, a guy tried to cut in front of her and interrupt her. She snapped and told him to go to the back of the line like everyone else. She got her food and went back to my dad, who was sitting there with his mouth wide open in shock.

"'Do you know who that was?'

"'No?!'

"'That was Pierce Brosnan. You just yelled at James Bond.'

"'Well, he shouldn't have tried to cut me.'" —u/XANA12345

19. Ethan Hawke

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"One of my best friends' doppelgänger is Ethan Hawke. Like, it's scary how much he resembles him, to the point that during those stupid Facebook challenges, he just changed his profile picture to him and nobody realized it. Also, his favorite story was one time at San Diego Comic-Con, he actually confused Rosario Dawson at a hotel bar.

"Anyway, one night I'm walking home from work in New York City, and I see who I thought was my friend John just walking on a kind of secluded part of Ninth Avenue around Hell's Kitchen, and I yell, 'JOHN!'

"He doesn't turn around.

"So I decide to yell it again, and instead of responding, his pace quickens. I decide the best thing to do is to run at him, which seemed to terrify him, as keep in mind, it's late and there are very few people around. Anyway, I catch up to him and say, 'Oh, you're not John' and then walk away from what was a very frightened Ethan Hawke." —u/whereegoesdare

20. Robin Williams

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"My dad met Robin Williams in an elevator. He got in and they rode a few floors in silence. They stopped on a floor, and a bunch of fans ran in and started getting pics with Robin. My dad said he was gracious and took pics with everyone. The doors closed and they rode a few more floors, and my dad turned and said, 'Does that ever get old?' and Robin smiled and said, 'Nope. Never.' Then my dad got off on his floor and they nodded to each other and my dad went on with his day." —u/skitch885

"Robin Williams used to walk around my childhood country town near San Francisco. I saw him once (after hearing many rumors about his sightings, not entirely unlike Bigfoot or Nessy sightings). My brain didn’t fully comprehend what it was seeing. But I could tell he was trying his very best to remain incognito and not draw any unwanted attention. We locked eyes. He smiled, I smiled and nodded back, and we both went our separate ways." —u/Solid_Snark2

21. Telly Savalas

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"About 40 years ago, my father was sitting next to Telly Savalas at some Vegas blackjack table. For about an hour, they talked and bet some large amounts of money, and my father never let on that he knew the guy was famous. Telly finally says, 'It's pretty cool that you haven't asked for my autograph.' My father responds, 'Well, you didn't ask for mine.' Telly laughs and writes on a cocktail napkin, 'Hey, Jeff, can I have your autograph?' He carried that damn napkin with him for years." —u/ccrawsh

22. Alan Rickman

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"I worked at a Barnes & Noble in New York as a clerk, but once or twice I'd be called over to the in-store Starbucks café to help out whenever they were understaffed. One time, Alan Rickman came up and ordered something, I can't recall what. I wrote 'Hans Gruber' on his cup, though. He smiled at me when he noticed it." —u/zeromig

23. Magic Johnson

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"About five years ago, my dad was in Los Angeles for business and got into the elevator of his hotel to head down to one of his meetings. When he got in, he instantly recognized a huge, legendary, Hall of Fame LA Laker standing next to him. Normally, my father would never say anything, but for some reason he felt compelled to introduce himself. He stuck out his hand and said, 'Shaq, it's nice to meet ya.' He immediately realized he messed up, and the guy responded, 'I'm Magic Johnson, but it's nice to meet you, too.' The secondhand embarrassment is real." —u/dutchman3532

Note: Some responses have been lightly edited for length and/or clarity.