Last month, Reddit user @RogueWolf300 asked people, "People of Reddit who knew celebrities before they were famous, how different do they act now?"
Obviously, these stories are unverified, but they're definitely fun to read. Here's what people said:
Tyler, the Creator:
"Exactly the same. We were all concerned at how bizarre he was. He would call people a 'table' or something incredibly random, and the sense of humor caught on in my high school. The fame did nothing — he’s still strange and a sweetheart."
Rachel McAdams:
"I'm a manager at a restaurant. Rachel McAdams walked in for an interview. She was still in acting school and serving tables to pay for it. She worked at my restaurant over the course of the next two summers. Still friends to this day. She hasn't changed a bit — still bikes to get groceries."
—Pymm
Jennifer Lawrence:
"I moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in the middle of seventh grade. She was my first friend, and the first person I had a sleepover with. We hit it off. She was very different from me — a cheerleader, came from a lot of wealth, but her family was really awesome and we were both kinda weird and outgoing, so we became good friends very fast. Her family owned a farm that had a children’s summer camp (Hi-Ho), and we went to it a couple of times — she had one of her birthday parties there! I remember her kissing our friend Jon under a trampoline. We talked about it for way too long! We hung out fairly often until she moved to New York City.
"I will say, what you see with her is what you get. She was always very quirky, kinda weird (which was funny because she was so preppy-presenting, but really wasn’t like that). She was very loud — made her presence known. It’s been bizarre seeing her in interviews because she acts exactly the same."
Joe Keery:
"I went to college with Joe Keery, aka Steve Harrington in Stranger Things. He was my college boyfriend’s suite mate and just the nicest guy. His hair has always been dreamy and amazing. Last time I saw him was at a viewing of the Hateful Eight after we graduated, and he still made a point to come over and say hi."
Tom Hanks:
"Friend of mine was friends with Tom Hanks in high school and went to prom with him. He still writes her personalized birthday cards on one of his typewriters."
Dolly Parton:
"I live in the town where Dolly Parton grew up, and practically everyone above the age of 50 who grew up here claims to either be a distant relative of Dolly’s or to know her in some way. Everyone has their story of the time they met Dolly. It’s pretty obvious that regardless of who you talk to, Dolly has always been sweet and generous, but everything has simply grown exponentially due to her fame. Examples are the millions of books she gives out for free to children around the globe each month, or how she gave out $10,000 in cash to many of my close friends after their houses burned in a fire a couple years back. Thousands of people are employed here and work for one of the businesses she owns, and it’s a tad strange to see when you walk in, but the birthing center at the local hospital is funded by and named after her. I honestly can’t think of one person I know who doesn’t like her. Dolly’s heart has only gotten bigger because of fame."
Jack Nicholson:
"My grandfather taught Jack Nicholson in high school math class. He said Jack was rebellious but wasn't too bad at math."
Justin Bieber:
"I went to middle school with Justin Bieber — even played on the school soccer team together. For the longest time, I legitimately thought his name was Justin Beaver, and I would call him that every time I talked to him. I always wondered why he got so angry."
Queen Latifah:
"My coworker's dad grew up with Queen Latifah in North Jersey. His whole family loves her because they were about to lose their house, so she paid it off for them. They’ve never said a bad thing about her."
James Cameron:
"My father is a long-haul trucker. He knew James Cameron in his 20s when he was a trucker too. Said the guy was always insanely smart and would go out and basically take every engine apart and put it back together, so if you needed your rig fixed and he was around, you'd search him out."
Kesha:
"Total nerd. 1600 on her SATs. Quiet. A bit of a social outcast. Nice, though. You could tell she cared about others and wouldn't ever hurt a flea."
Chris Evans:
"Chris Evans was really obnoxious as a popular, local teenage actor. Imagine his character from Scott Pilgrim, but as a kid. He grew up and grew out of being obnoxious, and I’m happy for his absurdly successful career."
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith:
"My dad was good friends with Will Smith before the Fresh Prince days. Will actually showed him the pilot before it aired. Fast-forward many years to After Earth, and Will invited us on the set. His first words when he saw my dad 10 years later were, 'The Philly crew is back!' Both Will and Jada are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet."
Lizzo:
"I met Lizzo back when she was hosting Wonderland on MTV. Friend of a friend. We've all got Detroit in common. I was living in Los Angeles at the time, and this was around 2016 and before she dropped Cuz I Love You.
"She's a total sweetheart, very down-to-earth, and can freestyle rap with the best of them. We all hung out at my crappy apartment, watched dumb movies on Netflix, and just vibed. So it's funny seeing her now after she's had a No. 1 song in the country and handled internet criticism."
Megan Fox:
"I went to middle school with Megan Fox for a bit. She rode my bus, and she mostly kept to herself. Most of the guys would fight over who was going to sit next to her, but she was very shy and didn't really have much to say."
Emma Stone:
"Emma Stone had an infinite amount of energy and was the popular girl who always had friends around her and led the group. Always smiling."
Did you know a celebrity before they were famous? Let us know about them in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.