BuzzFeed Community members and redditors alike have come forward, over time, with all sorts of wild stories about celebrity encounters. Though some are majorly disappointing (and make me see some celebs in a different light), many are uplifting, charming, and even pretty funny! If you need a reason to smile today, here are some celeb-encounter stories that are bound to make you chuckle:
Disclaimer: Though people claim to be speaking from their own experiences with celebrities, BuzzFeed can't confirm the validity of these stories.
1. "I ran into Adam Sandler outside a Planet Fitness in Brooklyn in early 2016. As I was leaving the Planet Fitness, it looked as if he was walking in. We made eye contact, so I stopped and held the door for him. He got to the door and stopped right before he walked through, in one of those fake poses that little kids make when you tell them to freeze. I stood there holding the door, very confused. For about five seconds, we just stood there — him motionless and me holding the door. Finally, he turned his head and said in the stereotypical Adam Sandler voice, 'Ahhh, who're we kidding? I'm not going in there!' with a giant grin on his face. We both laughed and then he continued down the street. Awesome."
2. "I love how bookended my two biggest celeb encounters are! I almost knocked Drew Barrymore on her ass and she apologized to me, and then Owen Wilson almost knocked me on my ass and I apologized to him!"
3. "I met Matthew Lillard, his wife, and his newborn daughter right after the release of the first Scooby Doo movie. My family always hosts 4th of July parties at our beach house, and he crashed our party! I was like 8 at the time, and my cousins were freaking out, saying, 'Shaggy is here!' Of course I immediately sprinted over, and there he was eating a hot dog. He was so cool. He was in character the entire time and offered to get a hot dog for me. I remember my little cousins asking where Scooby was, and he replied, 'Oh, Scoobs ate sooo many hot dogs that he's, like, having a food coma.' Seriously, one of the highlights of my youth!"
4. "I met Jason Momoa in an elevator at a convention. I looked up with what must have been a ridiculous face, and he said, 'I'm not that guy, I'm just a good cosplayer.' He held it for a second and then laughed. I was in a wheelchair, and he insisted on wheeling me out when my floor came up, even though it wasn't his. He also was 100% fine with me asking if I could take a picture, but when he realized I wanted to take a pic OF him, he insisted I be in it too. Super-nice, funny guy. I've met some people who've also met him, and they've all been in the hospitality industry and served him in some way, and their stories are just the same."
5. "I got the chance to meet Kelly Clarkson. I stuck out my hand for a shake as I introduced myself, and she immediately said, 'Oh no, no!' I was crushed because she’s my favorite singer, and I thought I'd made a mistake. Then, a second later, she said, 'BOY, YOU BETTER GIVE ME A HUG!' and squeezed me. I almost levitated to heaven. The next five or so minutes were so chill and fun — she’s awesome! I met her again about six years later and had such a good time."
6. "I served Daniel Radcliffe his dessert at an event, and tripped and spilled some of it on him, probably from seeing that I was serving Daniel Radcliffe. He stood up and started apologizing profusely to ME. He was very sweet and kept asking if I was OK."
7. "I met Paul Rudd on a flight from New York. I actually sat next to him on the plane. My buddy leaned over and told me that he wanted to compliment him on a band shirt he wore when making Clueless, but he 'didn't want it to be weird.' So his solution was to write him a note and slip it to him, LOL. So he did, and Paul got this nervous look on his face, opened the note, and read it. He then started cracking up, leaned over to us, and said, 'Best note ever.' He then told us the whole story of the shirt and how he fought with the costume department about it because it was the shirt he wore to set that day. We talked the whole flight. Dude was super cool."
8. "When I was in middle school, my family took a family road trip through the western part of the US for the summer. We stopped at a truck stop, and as I walked into the building and turned around a corner, I slammed into what felt like a brick wall. I'm a very short person, and I found myself face-to-belt with Shaquille O'Neal. He was so incredibly kind and kept apologizing for not seeing me. I made a joke about it not being hard to overlook me and immediately went back outside to tell my family. No one believed me until they saw him exit the building and climb into his Hummer."
9. "I once met Bryan Cranston at the stage door when he was in Network. We were told he wouldn’t speak because he was saving his voice for the very last night of the show. When he approached me, I said, 'I thought you were great in this show, but nothing will ever beat your episode as the art dealer on Brotherly Love or Walker Texas Ranger.' He genuinely laughed out loud and said that NO ONE ever mentions those credits. He was so generous with his time. He lives rent-free in my head."
10. "This was so long ago, but I was on a bus trip with friends to New York City from Pennsylvania. I was walking down the street when I recognized Dan Aykroyd. I loved him on Saturday Night Live! I stopped him to tell him I liked him in the The Blues Brothers (it had just come out). He was so friendly, signed an autograph, and drew me a picture of a Conehead! He asked for a drink of my Sprite and told us he was meeting John Belushi at his hotel. He was so personable!"
11. "John Travolta and his family were staying in our small Montana town while he filmed Broken Arrow. He was often seen around town eating at restaurants and even shopping at the grocery store. While grocery shopping one day, we heard someone singing along with the store radio in the next aisle. We looked to see who it was, and sure enough, it was John Travolta. He just kept singing and shopping. Great, down-to-earth guy."
—Anonymous
12. "In college, I hosted an entertainment show for the student-run TV station on campus. I got to interview Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Someone tipped him off that he was my first major interview, so he totally pranked me! He gave one-word, really cold answers to start, but eventually he broke down with laughter and ended up being a really great interviewee (and a super-nice guy). I decided to make a career out of TV after that experience."
—Anonymous
13. "I used to work at a Best Buy in St. Louis, and one time, Tommy Chong came in with his beautiful wife. He walked past me, and I didn’t think anything of it. As he was leaving the store, I asked him if he found everything OK, and that's when I realized who he was. He said the people in the back didn’t have what he was looking for, so I asked him what he needed, then was able to go grab it for him. He was so thankful and so nice! He even posed for a picture and signed an autograph. He told me if I ever wanted to smoke a joint with him, I could just give him a call!"
—Anonymous
14. "I met Katharine Hepburn at Bryn Mawr College. I told her I was a big fan. She replied, 'You’re far too young to know my work.' I loved her more after that."
15. "I worked with Weird Al one year at a local comic con and was grabbing lunch in the green room when someone came up next to me at the buffet table and asked me to sit with them. It was Gene Simmons. He was super cool! He showed me pictures on his phone of his wife and kids, and himself with Taylor Swift, and talked to me about renewing his vows! Then Billie Piper (from Doctor Who fame) came in, and the three of us talked about London, and then she shared her purse chocolates with me and Gene. Best day ever."
16. Finally: "I live in a coastal California city that gets its share of celebrities, and I've run into several. I usually just pretend I don't notice who they are. One day, while I was at work, a man and woman were in the store. The man looked like Robert De Niro, all the way down to the mole. He was even standing in contemplation with his hand against his face in a way that I remembered De Niro did in a movie. I said, 'You look just like Robert De Niro!' He said, 'That's because I AM Bob De Niro.' We both laughed. The woman with him looked irritated, as if I was going to go off like some sort of fangirl. I pretended that I didn't believe him, and we went on with the transaction."
—Anonymous
Do you have a funny celeb encounter that you're dying to share? Or maybe you accidentally bumped into a celeb on not-so-funny terms. Either way, tell us your story in the comments!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.