24 Celebs Who People Say Are Just Wholesome As Heck

It's now my dream to meet Dolly Parton.

Reddit user u/dontwrryboutme recently asked, "What celebrity do you think is genuinely a good person and is not faking for press?" and there were a ton of responses about super-wholesome celebs! Here are some of the best.

1. David Tennant

Mike Marsland / WireImage via Getty Images

—u/Paul-Swims

"I met him at a con, and he is genuinely one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. He saw I was panicking a bit (my anxiety was high that day, and he means a lot to me for various reasons), and he smiled this huge smile and said, 'Aw, come on, I’m nice!' And you could just tell it was true. The next day when I got him to sign the picture from the 'I’m nice!' moment, he said, 'Hello, Nataku!' and I just about melted into the floor."

—u/StargazerNataku

2. Steve Carell

Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

"Steve Carell is an awesome dude. He owns a general store in Massachusetts, where he is from, and will work the register from time to time just to interact with the people."

—u/nokittythatsmypie

"He bought me a coffee at the Dunkin' right near the store one morning. He offered to pay after I ordered, and I turned around and was dumbfounded. He was so nice about it."

—u/valaranias

3. Sean Astin

Roy Rochlin / Getty Images

—u/Hellchild400

"I met him once years ago at Dragon Con. I was wearing a Goonies T-shirt and went through the line just to say hi. We spoke for a few minutes, and then he asked what he was autographing for me. I told him that was OK, I didn’t have the money but just really wanted to thank him for so many good childhood memories. He picked up his Sharpie and looked over at his handler or whoever she was, and she shook her head no. Then he grinned and told me to lean over, and he wrote 'GNSD' on the sleeve of my shirt. Said it wasn’t an autograph, so it didn’t count. He was really excited and asked me if I knew what it meant. I was stunned and couldn't say anything, so he burst out with, 'Goonies never say die!' I stuttered and thanked him, then promptly walked to the bathroom and started crying at how nice he was."

—u/sea0tter12

4. Michael J. Fox

Jim Spellman / WireImage via Getty Images

—u/AlfaBetaZulu

"He's very proactive in Parkinson's awareness (obviously). He gets in touch with people personally who have it. He called a close family friend who suffers badly but also does some pretty amazing things (hikes much of the Appalachian Trail, takes deep-woods fishing trips, works out daily, etc.). Michael went out of his way to call our friend and talk to him (a few times, if I remember correctly). Just like normal folks, no agenda. Just two people fighting a common enemy. He said Michael was pretty cool."

—u/HorrorNet9710

5. Dolly Parton

Taylor Hill / Getty Images

—u/Thirty_Helens_Agree

"An old coworker was a limo driver for many years in our city. He drove lots of celebs, especially musicians coming to town. He said in all that time meeting all those celebs, they NEVER speak to you. Dolly Parton, however, wanted to know everything about him. And on the ride back to the hotel after her show, she picked up the conversation where they left off and remembered what he had talked about. He was gobsmacked. He said he hadn't been a fan, but he became one after that."

—u/Joey42601

6. Rainn Wilson

Tommaso Boddi / FilmMagic via Getty Images

"Rainn Wilson seems like an awesome dude IRL. He does a lot of charity work and collaborates with his wife on a podcast. When I was a teenager, I ran into him at an ice cream shop and asked him what it was like to be recognized everywhere he goes (this was during the peak Office years), and he sarcastically replied, 'It’s fucking terrible' before chuckling and telling me that he loves being able to meet fans and seeing people get excited when they run into him. He took a photo with my friends and then we were off."

—u/jgilla2012

7. Weird Al Yankovic

David Livingston / Getty Images

—u/Round-Egg

"I saw him at a show in my college town. Before the show, he did a private show for a kid with cancer and the kid's dad. He didn't bring it up at all; I only found out because the dad posted on Twitter and it got semi-viral on campus."

—u/Mehhhhhhhjay

"In high school, a friend of mine wrote him to say she was a huge fan but was disappointed with his latest album. He called to talk to her and said he agreed it wasn’t his best work and he would try to do better the next time around. He actually called twice. The first time, she wasn’t home, and her dad took the call, having no idea who he was. When she got home, he told her that 'some guy calling himself Weird Al called for you.'"

—u/schnitzel_envy

8. Sandra Bullock

Steve Granitz / WireImage via Getty Images

"She comes to town frequently and is nothing but nice to everyone! She’s super sweet and definitely isn’t faking it."

—u/wildling-woman

"My brother worked on Ocean's 8 with her and said she was like a mama to everyone: making sure everyone had gotten lunch when it was delivered, and just genuinely nice to all the extras!"

—u/ninten-dont

9. Elijah Wood

Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images for Tribeca Festival

—u/bluejester12

"A buddy want to a meet-and-greet thing (or something along those lines) that Elijah Wood was at, and when it was my buddy's turn to take a picture, he asked Elijah if he would jump on his back (buddy is a bigger guy, 6'4" or 6'5") for the picture. If I recall right, he said 'Sure' without hesitation and made an awesome photo that I will forever be jealous of."

—u/Damnappsanyway

"I met Elijah Wood once. It was at SXSW, I think, years ago at this point. Nice fella; told me my band didn't suck. We did suck."

—u/Spike-Rockit

10. Chadwick Boseman

Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for MTV

"Turned out Chadwick Boseman sure as hell was, and never made a big deal out of it, making it even more admirable."

—u/RandyTunt415

"He sat day drinking in a bar in Atlanta with a dude who did not know who he was, nor who the Black Panther was. Just two guys hanging."

—u/themarshman721

11. Viggo Mortensen

Franziska Krug / Getty Images

"Not only is he not faking for press, it seems like he actively avoids press. People who've met him say he's the nicest guy on earth."

—u/AdvocateSaint

"The special features of Lord of the Rings have clips of him talking about his injuries, but he quickly brushes it off and points out that the stunt team had way worse and more frequent injuries, and they were the real hard workers of the cast. They also show how the stunt team did the haka for him on his last day of shooting, and he was fighting back tears."

—u/TJeffersonsBlackKid

12. Henry Winkler

Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images

—u/Wthermans

"My mom knew him. I met him a few times as a kid — he loves kids and was the sweetest man to everyone around. If I recall correctly, if he hadn't gone into acting, he wanted to be a child psychologist."

—u/chihuahua_pines

13. Keanu Reeves

Steve Granitz / WireImage via Getty Images

—u/vel2vet

"I can personally confirm this one. It's a small world, and one of my good friends happens to be his dog walker whenever he is staying here in NY. I sometimes accompany him on dog walks when we hang out to spend time as he works, and he's a really cool, down-to-earth guy, super friendly and very kind."

—u/stealthknights

14. Tony Hawk

Michael Bezjian / Getty Images for Mammoth Media Institute

—u/EmberHunt3

"When I was 10 years old, I went to a vert skating competition hosted by Tony Hawk. My parents gifted me backstage access: basically just a little meet and greet with the skaters. Well, my cousin got overheated and suffered a little heatstroke/exhaustion. Tony Hawk personally walked over to the medical tent we were at, ripped off his shoes, signed them, and handed them to us. Then he invited us to basically relax and cool off in his tour bus! Such a fond memory of a super-kind individual."

—u/jhan999

15. Samuel L. Jackson

Greg Campbell / Getty Images for AppleTV+

—Biggynerdpoop

"I once read on the internet somewhere (I’m not sure if it’s true or not) that once, some fans were scared to ask him for a photo, so he came up to them and asked, 'Y’all motherfuckers want a photo?'”

—u/Churchofbabyyoda

"I met a taxi driver in London once who had been his personal driver for some film shoot in the UK, and the guy couldn’t stop raving about how lovely he is. On the last day of the film shoot, he gave him some lavish present (can’t remember now; I think it was a nice bottle of whiskey or something), but I could just tell the dude loved working for him and he was a class act."

—u/turkeygirl420

16. Hugh Jackman

Aaron Davidson / Getty Images for 20th Century Fox

—u/city-eremite

"He always comes across as such a decent bloke. There's a video of him recognizing a red carpet interviewer as an old pupil of his from when he taught PE, and it's so nice!"

—u/jackconrad

"I saw him on Granville Street in Vancouver like 15 years ago. I don't go gaga over people, but I looked at him, trying to determine if it really was him. He quickly nodded and gave me a little salute! Just that gave me the impression he's a good dude."

—u/acefrehleyrox

17. Hayden Panettiere

Amanda Edwards / Getty Images

"I've met the woman twice, and she is a gem. At my city's comic expo, she wiggled around the rules so some people could see her for free. Technically, she wasn't supposed to be at her booth until 2, so she'd show up early, and I guess she'd justify people seeing her for free with, 'Well, I don't start until 2.' So yeah, she wouldn't start charging people for autographs and photos until it was actually time to."

—u/mooseblood07

"Totally agree about Hayden. She is sort of an acquaintance...we did end up a couple of times in the same social setting, and I even chatted with her once. After talking to her, I finally realized that, 'Wow, not all celebrities are stuck-up assholes as I've always imagined.' She is a real darling."

—u/mikkeldaman

18. Jason Momoa

Mike Coppola / FilmMagic via Getty Images

"I met him in an elevator at a con while I was in a wheelchair. He *insisted* on wheeling me in, wheeling me back out (even though my floor wasn't his), and taking a picture with me. He was very sweet and very funny. I've met several people since who have met him, and they all say nothing but great things about the guy."

—u/ChaoticForkingGood

"Guy I used to work with, 'K,' was a carpenter in the film industry. One day as they were building sets, in walks Jason Momoa! He's all like, 'Hey, guys, what's going on in here?' and takes a legitimate interest in what K and his crew are doing and how they're doing it. Jason hangs out and chats like one of the guys for an hour, asks if he can try out some of their tools...then a frantic PA tracks Jason down to bring him back to the set so filming can start. Jason thanks the guys for letting him be there. A day or two later, Jason shows up to hang out again — and brings a stack of pizzas in case they hadn't had dinner yet. K could not say enough good things about the guy."

—u/Skimmdit

19. Peter Andre

Mike Marsland / WireImage via Getty Images

—u/That_Geeky_Mum

"I met Peter Andre at a function one time. What a lovely guy...down-to-earth, humble, and made a point of thanking the waitstaff for serving him."

—u/Difficulty-Agitated

"I met Peter Andre once when I was 7, at this outing/get-together thing for kids with disabilities in my area, I think to raise money for some charity or other, or perhaps just for the experience. I remember he got along really well with the other kids and me. In fact, it wasn’t until after the event that I even realized he was a celebrity at all; I’d never heard of him until this point. I even got a CD of one of his albums for free, thanks to that."

—u/Arqeria

20. Ryan Reynolds

Jason Mendez / WireImage via Getty Images

—u/ExpertOwl2839

"There was a bar movie theater in Utah called Brewvies that got slapped with heavy fines and a suspension of their liquor license due to a weird law that more or less prohibits serving alcohol in an establishment that shows lewdness and obscenity. The movie they showed that got them the heavy fines? Deadpool 2...well, a huge lawsuit commenced between Brewvies and the state of Utah, and a GoFundMe was started for Brewvies. Ryan Reynolds himself donated several thousand dollars to the cause and used social media to help the cause...Brewvies won the lawsuit."

—u/MountainWestRay

"My personal favorite Ryan Reynolds anecdote is when a woman posted on Twitter that she had her backpack stolen that contained a Build-a-Bear with her deceased mother's voice recorded on it. Ryan, unsolicited, posted a $5,000 reward for the return of the bear, no questions asked."

—u/mousicle

21. Guy Fieri

Steve Jennings / Getty Images

"He raised $25 million for restaurant workers in 2020, and he frequently cooks for firefighters who are fighting wildfires in California."

—u/oldasshit

"He can also officiate weddings and did a bunch of gay weddings."

—u/mad_fishmonger

"Dude gets so much unnecessary hate for the quirky things he says and his appearance, but he has done more for mom-and-pop restaurants than almost anyone ever. He gives them promotion on a global scale for free...he even continued Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives from his ranch home with his sons during the pandemic: Each episode, he would select four spots he loved and would have them send him the ingredients to make a certain dish of theirs. Over a Zoom call, he would ask them to guide him through making the dish and give a prize to who he and his sons thought had the best dish."

—u/pedote17

22. Danny DeVito

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic via Getty Images

—u/Nicksgroove27

"When I was a toddler, my mom had me playing in a park with my cousin where a movie was being filmed. My cousin fell and scraped her knee pretty badly at one point, and my mom was trying to take care of the both of us. Anyway, a short fellow came up to help her out, and soon enough, Danny DeVito was playing with me in the park! Needless to say, anyone who stops to help a mum who is clearly having trouble with her kids is A+ in my book."

—u/TyberiousofCanada

23. Jack Black

Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

—u/bigleroym

"I can confirm he is as funny in real life and also supports the arts in all forms. He is genuinely interested in people, takes his marriage and parental roles seriously, and loves good conversation. He has family where I live, so we see him around."

—u/DeadSheepLane

"I met the guy at JFK Airport around  2015 or '16. I was doing end-of-day inventory at almost closing, so there were almost no customers around. I was blasting rock music (Meat Loaf) in the store when someone suddenly said, 'Nice music, dude!' And I looked around and saw him. It turns out the gate for his flight to LA was right outside the store I was working at, and he had been listening to the music I was blasting for the last hour. He gave me a high five, then boarded his flight. It made my fucking day."

—u/ciscosuave

24. And finally, Ludacris

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

—u/improvality

"I used to go to a mostly EDM music festival called Shaky Beats in Atlanta. Ludacris was there, and it was one of the best performances, but when he spoke on the mic, he was spreading very genuine and kind messages. He just came off as a really great guy."

—u/ctgi8z9z1o

"I worked security for him at a show about 20 years ago. We only spoke briefly, but what struck me is how soft-spoken and reserved his real personality was compared to his onstage persona."

—u/arcamdies

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

Jul. 04, 2021, at 23:14 PM

Correction: The original version of this article used a photo of a Dolly Parton impersonator. Our bad!