%2C%20And%20It's%20Pretty%20Surreal&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimg-mkr.buzzfeed.com%2Fbuzzfeed-static%2Fstatic%2F2024-01%2F8%2F17%2Fcampaign_images%2F72320cc84d28%2Fpeople-are-revealing-the-biggest-celebs-theyve-ev-5-474-1704735474-0_dblbig.jpg%3Ftemplate%3Dpinterest-vertical-dots-v1%26title%3DIkp1c3QgQXMgTG92ZWx5IEluIFBlcnNvbiBBcyBIZSBBcHBlYXJzIE9uIFRWIjogMjcgUGVvcGxlIFJldmVhbGVkIFRoZSBNb3N0IEZhbW91cyBQZW9wbGUgVGhleSd2ZSBFdmVyIE1ldCBJbiBSZWFsIExpZmUgKEFuZCBIb3cgVGhleSBXZXJlKSwgQW5kIEl0J3MgUHJldHR5IFN1cnJlYWw%3D%26color1%3Dred){kind=link}
Reddit user u/uptownspanky posed the question, "Who is the most famous person you've personally met?" and the thread quickly filled with hundreds of fateful celebrity encounters that left people feeling pretty dang starstruck. Here are some stories that really stuck out:
1. "I hung out with Pete Davidson at a comedy fest right before he started on SNL. He was the coolest, most laid-back, nicest, and funniest guy. Didn’t even mention to us that he was about to start on the show the following month. Just super humble and sweet to everyone. Met him the following year at the same festival, and he didn’t remember me, but he was just as nice!"
2. "Taylor Swift. We went to high school together and were in the same prom group. She was very nice in high school!"
3. "Danny DeVito. I ran into him at a parking garage in LA. I couldn’t help but say I was a huge fan. He was the nicest person. He smiled, stopped to shake my hand, and thanked me for being a fan."
4. "Jane Fonda, and she couldn’t have been nicer. She stopped and talked with me about the climate crisis during a meet-and-greet, and I mentioned I was volunteering with a local environmental group. She then threw her arms around me and gave me the biggest hug. Super nice person and very down-to-earth and easy to talk to."
5. "I met Post Malone at a New Year's festival a few years ago. He was the nicest guy — so humble and actually reacted like he was as excited as I was to have the interaction. He stood and chatted with me for a solid 10 minutes, and we took pictures. I was so geeked, I told him I was crying internally, and he said, 'Hey, that’s okay. I cry every day.'"
6. "Ben Stiller. My husband had a gig, and his friend (who I later learned was Chris Abbott) was waiting for someone to arrive. I offered to stay back, and then Ben joined us. 'Hi, I’m Ben.' We had another round (on him) and chatted about movie scripts. He asked about my interests, and was really pleasant. I felt so very out of my element, and I didn’t know anyone else, so I asked if I could hang around them. Ben put his arms around my shoulders and said, 'You’re part of the crew now!' Good dude. I like him."
7. "Jason Momoa. I jokingly said I was going to fight him, and he replied, 'Square up, bitch.' Super nice guy."
"I met him, too! My friend and I were late to his movie premiere and were about to leave the venue since we weren’t allowed in anymore. The security guards knew this and told us to stay because he’d be coming back from his dinner soon and they could ask his team if he was okay with saying hi to us. The security guard is the real MVP here. Not only was Jason okay with it, but he also took pictures with us as his entourage waited. Right as he was about to go inside, he asked why we weren’t upstairs watching the movie. We told him we were late and the tickets sold out, and he said, 'Let’s go then!' His manager said, 'You heard him. Let’s go upstairs!' So, we followed them into the building and into the elevators, where he had his arms on our shoulders and told us he was thankful we were there to support him. I asked what he ate for dinner, and he said beer and steak. We sat in the theater as the movie finished and watched him answer questions and discuss the film. A+ interaction!"
8. "I was walking in Central Park and happened upon a turtle that tried, unsuccessfully, to pass through a fence. Right by me, there were three British ladies observing the same turtle. One of the ladies and I started talking about how fences do have a tendency to get in the way, and how it wasn’t nice to the turtles. When I eventually looked up and faced her, I realized it was Emma Thompson! We exchanged some more sentences, but then she suddenly dipped down, picked up the turtle, and helped it to the pond's shore. Very kind lady."
9. "Elton John. I used to work at an arena in Anchorage, Alaska, and he came here for two shows. I was on the crew that got the entertainers whatever they needed, so they introduced us. I have to say, he was the nicest person I have ever met."
10. "I was coming home from Key West, and during my layover in Miami, I ran into Bruce Willis. He was a little incognito as he had on a ball cap, glasses, and a jacket while walking through the terminal, but I was able to recognize him. I slowly approached him as he was walking by and asked quietly, 'Do I know you?' He smiled and replied, 'It's possible.' I told him that I was a fan of his work (but without being the overbearing fan), and we started walking. He asked about where I was heading, then asked me if I wanted to go get some coffee, as he had time before his flight. I declined, but thanked him for taking time to talk to me and shook his hand. He wished me well and a safe trip."
11. "I made pizza for Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks in 1983. They were on tour together. I got a call after we closed from the owner who asked me to come back. He said he would get the oven ready and all the ingredients prepped, but wanted me to make them because I was the best. Not only did I get a fantastic compliment, but I got to feed them, too. Both pizzas were works of art. They were dating at the time, and they were tired after the show, so I didn't bother them too much."
12. "I met Robin Williams a couple of times during the filming of Death to Smoochy. I had my kids in as extras, but my youngest daughter wasn’t feeling well one day, and they had her sit out of filming in the daycare area. Robin Williams came by and saw her sitting alone and decided to sit with her and play cards for a few hours."
"A few days before the shoot started, she had watched Jumanji, so the movie and Robin Williams were all she had talked about. At the end of the first day on set, we were standing in line, waiting to submit paperwork, when Robin Williams started walking up and thanking all of the families for coming out. When he came up to us, my daughter said to him, 'You know what my favorite movie is?' Robin Williams bent down to her level, and in a childish voice, asked 'What?' She threw her arms out and yelled 'Jumanji!' He started laughing and hugged and thanked her. It was just such a funny thing.
I guess he remembered her, because he later spent that time with her playing cards, and when he was doing a question-and-answer with the kids, he joked with her. He was fantastic on set. He would walk up to people and just chat with them. He never hid from anyone, like you hear other actors do. Last year, I had asked my daughter about the movie, and she mentioned more interactions that she had with him. No wonder he was her favorite actor. Such a good man. He brought so much joy to the world."
13. "Stanley Tucci carried my suitcase onto the train for me when I broke my back this summer. Just as lovely in person as he appears on TV."
14. "I met Jimmy Buffett several times, as he played several times in my hometown, and I worked doing catering backstage at the time. Most down-to-earth guy EVER. May he rest in peace."
15. "Colin Mochrie. It was after a theatre show, and I was hanging out with some friends at the afterparty in a nearby pub. I was chatting with these lovely ladies. Around midnight, in walked Colin, then he sat down at our table. I had been chatting with his wife all evening."
16. "I sold Martin Sheen a car. He asked that I deliver the car on my day off to his house. The sales manager told him I was dating a 'hot little thing,' and Martin said I could bring her to the drop-off and he would give us a tour of Malibu. We spent the day hanging out with Mr. Sheen at his house, getting a personal tour of Malibu. Martin told me that I was too good to be selling cars. I stopped selling cars and became a very successful kitchen designer. I still have his cellphone number in my phone, though I'm too afraid to call him."
17. "I met Ringo Starr at a hotel bar in Ottawa. He was cool and invited me to sit and have a drink with him and Willie Nelson, but I was young and shy, so I declined. I super regret it now."
18. "This is my FAVORITE story to tell. My uncle is the keyboard player for a popular singer from the '80s who continues to tour. One of the shows happened to be opened by Carlos Santana. My mom is a huge fan, and I’ve listened to his music since childhood. My uncle took us backstage, and Carlos happened to be passing by. My uncle introduced my mom and I to him. My mom was so starstruck! We said our hellos, and before heading on our way, Carlos shook my hand, looked me dead in the eye, and just said, 'You must give yourself the permission to be DELICIOUSLY AWESOME.' I have never forgotten that moment, and I want to get that phrase as a tattoo one day."
19. "Sandra Bullock. She must've been filming something, and she'd come in just before closing each night for a few nights, which was fine. I don't mind keeping the place open post-closing. She was the nicest person. One night, it was busy because of some event, and she asked if she could share the corner spot where we take our end-of-shift meals. I let her know I was the owner, and I went to leave, but she said, 'No, stay!' At her discretion, we had a lot of conversations that had nothing to do with anything, and let me just say, she's a solid joy."
20. "Anthony Bourdain. I didn't know who he was at the time. My cook came upstairs to tell me he was here (she was terrified). He was a walking grace. He loved the food, was the kindest person, wasn't there for a review or whatever he did — just was there for dinner."
21. "I was at a test screening of the movie Valkyrie. My friends and I were near the front of the theater talking before the movie started, and I went on this big, loud rant about how normally I like Tom Cruise movies, but War of the Worlds was such a piece of crap and one of the worst movies I'd ever seen. The plot didn't make sense, and it was like they strung a bunch of cool scenes together and put a trash happy ending on it and called it a day. After I wrapped up my five-minute rant outlining everything wrong with War of the Worlds, the person sitting behind us tapped me on the shoulder and pointed four seats down in my row to Tom Cruise glaring at me. I gave him a nod and sat there for what might have been the longest 10 minutes ever before the movie started."
22. "Mel Brooks. He was doing an interview at the place I was interning in 2004. After the interview, he burst into the adjoining room where a bunch of us were watching from and proceeded to walk to up everyone and introduce himself while shaking hands. He tried to chat with everyone, but his handlers were repeatedly like, 'Mel! We have to go! Mel!' They finally got him to leave the room and go to the elevators. A fellow intern and I ended up on the same elevator, and she had a digital camera, so she got a picture of me and Mel, but it’s so dark and pixelated (early digital camera tech), which sucks. He was so nice on our short elevator ride. When it hit the ground floor, he tousled my hair and walked off with his team."
23. "Keanu Reeves. I was working on a small job with him, and it was unreal how kind and humble he was. He introduced himself to everyone. We chatted for a bit, and I showed him a picture of me dressed as Neo from when I was 8. I told him he was a big reason I work in film today. He was so cool about it and OFFERED to grab a selfie, but then he got called on to set. When we went on lunch, he ate the same mediocre lunch that we all got, sat with production assistants and myself, and we all just talked about movies for an hour. It was so chill. I never got the selfie because he was working all day, but honestly, it didn't matter. Such a leader on set, and so chill. What a legend."
24. "I had a one-day thing with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and I feel like that was my peak in life. I’m happy now with my family, but that was probably my most braggable moment."
25. "I met Paul Newman at a deli in my hometown. I was a teenager, and he was filming a movie in my neighborhood. My grandmother spotted him going into the deli as we were driving by. She insisted we go in and meet him. I wanted to curl up and die, but I did it anyway because, well, my grandma wanted to. I have to say, he was very gracious about it, and his eyes were unbelievably blue. I remember those eyes more than anything."
26. "I met Ed Sheeran way back in the day, probably around 2015. I won tickets to a small pre-concert before his big show in the city. I asked him to sign my CD, and his security said no, but he instantly said, 'No, she bought my album. I want to sign it for her.' Just a really genuine, down-to-earth guy."
27. Finally: "Henry Winkler. He was seated next to me at a restaurant in Hollywood a few weeks ago. He said hello, and I was speechless because he looks exactly like my late father. They met at an event in LA in the late '70s or early '80s. They were seated next to each other, and everyone said they looked like twins."
Who's the most famous person you've ever met? What were they like?
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.