Celebs are just like us — well, not always. If you’ve talked to people who’ve met celebs out in the wild, then you know sometimes they are just regular people. Like when Elijah Wood came into my coffee job years ago — dude was just stoked to eat some donuts! But other times, stars live up to their “reputations,” like one of the people on this list whom I served once. Let’s just say, she was chilly at best.
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Recently, Redditor Available_Round_3172 asked, “What’s your most random encounter with a famous person? Where was it, and how was the vibe?” Obviously, all of these stories are alleged, and we must take them with a grain of salt (even the good ones, haha), but that didn’t stop me from enjoying every last one. Here’s what people had to share:
1. “One morning, in 2004, I was riding my bike in Berlin. As I went through the Brandenburg Gate, I was on the sidewalk, like a dick, and in front of the Hotel Adlon, there was a group of fast-moving people who appeared. They came out of the hotel, and they were almost curbside when I came within millimeters of taking out a tiny blonde woman. As I came to a screeching halt, almost flipping off my bike, she grabbed my handlebars as the last act of defense. Luckily, I didn’t run her over or hit her, but I scared us both and apparently pissed off the entourage because, as I instantly and profusely started apologizing, some big dude started dragging me off my bike. She told him to stop and said to me, ‘You’re fine,’ and smiled before climbing into her car. Funny thing is, I had no idea who she was during the five-second incident until the muscle let me go and said, ‘You’re lucky Miss Witherspoon is so nice.”
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2. “My friend swears on his mother’s life that he was walking alone at night, holding a Big Gulp on a Chicago suburb street, when he felt someone walk up from behind him and take the Big Gulp out of his hand. He stopped walking and saw Bill Murray standing next to him. Bill Murray took a sip, handed it back to my friend, and said, ‘Nobody will ever believe you,’ before walking away. This was around 2003 or 2004, when my friend was about 19 or 20. Nobody believed him, but he says it was the best moment of his entire life.”
3. “I stopped at a 7-Eleven in Brentwood in LA. There was a woman at the lottery desk who asked me if I’d ever filled out one of the tickets. I hadn’t, but I told her we could probably figure it out. Five minutes later, she and I had managed to fill out three tickets each, and that’s how Bette Midler and I played the same lottery numbers. We didn’t win, but it was a fun five minutes.”
4. “I saw Mark Ruffalo at a Publix in Pembroke Pines, FL, and I was fucking shocked. He was just sitting outside on a bench. Nobody was talking to him. I said, ‘Mark, what the fuck are YOU doing here?’ He goes ‘Eating, man.'”
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5. “Was in a high-end restaurant in NYC, and my grandmother said, ‘I think that’s Gwen Stefani who just walked by.’ She had walked behind me to take her kids into the bathroom, and when she came back out, I was looking up at her, and she gave me the nastiest look I’ve ever gotten from anyone. This was when she was still with Gavin Rossdale. She was wearing white linen overalls, a neon yellow sports bra, and hot pink and neon yellow sneakers.”
6. “I was photographing an engagement session in Venice Beach one afternoon. I heard a shutter from a camera and thought, ‘Who the hell is shooting on a 1DX??’ My next thought was, ‘Maybe it’s paparazzi?’ And then Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin came walking out of a restaurant. This was when True Blood was VERY popular. Stephen looked at me angrily because he saw my camera. I responded and pointed, ‘I’m photographing their engagement session, not you.’ He laughed and said, ‘Have a nice day.'”
7. “I’m friends with a band that was on a big arena tour, and I had a backstage pass. The tour was sponsored by Rockstar and Grey Goose and had a bar set up backstage. At some point, they closed it, and my buddy said, ‘If you need anything else, just go into our green room. There’s a mini bar in there; you can take whatever.’ So I went into the green room I thought was theirs. The lights were off, and I couldn’t find the switch, so I went to pour myself a drink in the dark. Then I heard a really creepy ‘hello’ from behind me. I turned around, and Jared Leto was sitting cross-legged on the couch in the dark. I apologized for going into the wrong green room, and he said, ‘No worries, you can stay.’ I made up some excuse and got the fuck out of there. He was very polite, but it was so fucking weird. I’ll never forget when Jared Leto scared the bejeezus out of me.”
8. “I meet a few through my work occasionally, so I don’t know how random that is (and a lot of them are in politics). The best was meeting Susan Sarandon at a protest. The vibes were so chill I didn’t even realize it was her at first.”
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9. “I was at a karaoke bar in Waikiki, and the place was super crowded. I was alone and saw an open seat at the bar. I sat down, ordered my drink, and started to talk to the guy next to me. It took me a while, but I told him he looked familiar. He said, ‘OH, no, I’m nobody.’ As soon as he said it, it clicked; it was George Takei! He’s a super nice guy.”
10. “I proposed to my wife at a restaurant in Lahaina. Afterward, Michael Keaton, at a nearby table with his family, leaned over and offered his congratulations. He told me, ‘Well done.’ I thought Batman just gave me kudos.”
11. “I physically ran into Julia Roberts while she was at Disneyland with her kids when I was about 11 or 12. I wasn’t looking forward and suddenly ran into a woman. She didn’t say anything, but her energy was very kind, and I didn’t feel like she was annoyed or upset with me. I looked up and immediately recognized her, and a moment later, my mom and I noticed the crowds trying to take photos of her on their phones. My uncle was a cameraman on one of her movies and has not-so-nice things to say about her, but I don’t like him very much, so I’m going to stick with the gut instincts that I felt in that moment, which were that she seemed like a very nice lady.”
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12. “Robin Williams and I used to buy comic books at the same shop — shoutout to Comix Experience on Divisadero in SF. I’d always nod to him as if to say, ‘Hey. I recognize you, but I’m not going to be a dick.’ I ran into him coming from his therapist’s office. Literally, we walked into each other. He made sure I was okay, nodded, and gave me a wink. No idea if he recognized me, but it was a sweet random moment.”
13. “I held the door for Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman at Blockbuster. I’ve seen a ton of country stars. In fact, my friend’s dad worked with Keith, and as a surprise for my friend’s sweet 16, he came over and played a handful of songs for a group of teenagers, and then just hung out and let us ask him questions for an hour. Awesome dude. But seeing Nicole Kidman, as a cinephile, was akin to how Gimli looks at Galadriel. She felt regal. And before I could stop myself from saying it, I said, ‘I love your work.’ I got the impression they felt the earnestness of a teenager, and both were like, ‘Thank you so much! That’s so kind!’ The two older guys working the counter were like, ‘Nice, dude!'”
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14. “In the late ’90s, I was playing blackjack at The Mirage in Vegas, just me and the dealer. I heard a very familiar voice behind me ask if I’d mind if he sat in. I turned around, and it was Jack Nicholson! I said, ‘Sure, have a seat.’ We just had a little idle blackjack table chit-chat. He lost three hands in a row, said, ‘That’s enough for me,’ got up, and left. He was super cool, and just seemed like a regular guy.”
15. “I was on one of those tiny commuter planes heading home when I saw a woman who looked familiar. I just figured she was someone I knew in passing (maybe the mom of one of my son’s friends or something). I started chatting with her, asking how she was doing, how’s the family, etc., while trying to figure out where I knew her from. After a few minutes, it dawned on me that it was Meg Ryan.”
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16. “When I still took the bus to/from work, I used to walk past a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh that hosted a lot of people. I would usually see visiting hockey teams there, but one day, I accidentally locked eyes with a random guy sitting on a bench outside the hotel. I immediately thought I knew this dude, but wasn’t sure from where. Then it hit me. He’s Willem Dafoe! For some reason, I instantly laughed out loud, pointed at him, and just said, ‘What the fuck are you doing here?!?!’ He looked back at me and started laughing as well, and said, ‘Hello, friend!’ And I just kept walking.”
17. “I randomly met two guys from Stranger Things at bars on different occasions. Turns out the woman I was seeing was also dating one of them, lol. Jamie Bower is still one of the most genuinely nice guys I’ve ever met. I don’t date men, but I fell a little bit in love with him.”
18. “I was a cook at a small diner in a nowhere town and went out front to grab a drink. I turned around to open the can of soda on the counter, and Helen Hunt was seated in a booth a few feet away, eating the food I had just cooked for her. She was really nice and down to earth.”
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19. “Don Knotts was a jerk. I saw him in a Mercedes sports car next to us on the way to a play he was starring in at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in LA. I was maybe 13 and adored him on TV. Our cars pulled up alongside each other at a stoplight. We were SO excited and waved. He flipped us off (really) and drove away. It’s an ugly memory.”
20. “I was in college in the early 2000s. One day, I was walking through Astor Place wearing a yellow cotton shirtwaist dress with a cute multicolor floral pattern. Parker Posey stopped me on the street and told me she loved my dress. Probably the coolest I have ever felt in my life. 😅”
21. “25 years ago, I was parking my motorcycle in front of the IHOP in Philly when Danny Trejo walked out and said, ‘Nice bike.’ 10/10, would highly recommend.”
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22. “I drove for Uber part-time for a few years after college. I believe it was 2015, and I ended up getting a ride request from Michael J. Fox and his wife! At first, when they got into my car, I didn’t think anything of it until I turned around and said hi to them. I told him, ‘You look like Michael J. Fox,’ and he was like, ‘Oh, I get that a lot.’ 😂 😁 I was smiling the whole ride, trying to play it cool because I knew it was him and his wife, Tracy. I was hoping they couldn’t see me smiling so hard, haha! They were super nice and sweet. I’ll never forget that!”
23. “I was leaving the pub one night, and I felt like a kebab, so I crossed the railway and went to an ATM. Then a black limo pulled up, and Kylie Minogue hopped out in a tiny mink coat with her wallet in hand. She was followed by a giant man who positioned himself between us and threatened violence if I didn’t piss off. I stuffed my library card into the ATM, causing it to close, and then bolted.”
24. “I literally bumped into Nicolas Cage at East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley, CA, one year ago. He was there to buy spiders; I was buying poison dart frogs. We talked for a bit about the spiders he wanted and the dart frogs I wanted. He was very nice and super cool with everyone who approached him.”
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25. “I went through security with Famke Janssen in Toronto. I recognized her right away. Although not a huge fan, I was instantly starstruck. I could not believe how beautiful she was in person. Luckily, my 8-year-old daughter was with me to break the ice and politely ask for an autograph. I was a staring fool.”
26. “I was at a Broadway show, and I saw Jason Alexander sitting a few rows behind me. When I went to wait at the stage door for autographs, he was hanging out in the alley as well. Our encounter was the dumbest series of sentences I’ve ever said in my life: ‘Are you Jason Alexander?’ I asked. ‘I think so,’ he answered. ‘I watch Seinfeld all the time on TBS,’ I replied. Then I died.”
27. “Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell walked right past me at the Pecan Street Festival in Austin about 20 years ago. They bought a blooming onion-type dish and sat in the doorway of a 6th Street bar eating it. I was completely taken by surprise at how short Kurt Russell is.”
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28. “I met pro surfer Kelly Slater. I was walking down to the beach with my board, and he ran past me in a hurry (like he forgot something in his car) and told me, ‘Get out of my way!’ I was pretty upset for several years before finding out he was a cool dude, and it was just a bad day. A year after that, coincidentally, I met pro surfer Rob Machado while swimming out to the lineup. He struck up a conversation with me. Literally the coolest dude I ever met.”
29. “My daughter used to live in the West Village, and her building was next to (a much nicer) one where Julianne Moore lived. She was very pleasant, and I have a picture of me, her, and my granddaughter.”
30. “I have repeatedly run into Martin Sheen at demonstrations. We have a nodding acquaintance. He is a powerful speaker, like a preacher on holy fire.”
“I saw him at the airport in Vegas back when The West Wing was on. I was OBSESSED with that show. I yelled out, ‘Oh my god, it’s the president!’ And he did a little salute to me. What a guy!”
31. “We didn’t speak, but Dame Judi Dench did give me a friendly wave from the back of her Rolls while I was riding a unicycle. I happened to be passing by the RAH the night one of the Bond movies premiered; she was just arriving as I passed.”
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32. “Steven Tyler lived in my building, so I rode the elevator with him several times. My impression was big hair and lips, and the bevy of women he always had with him. They ignored me. He was so skinny I wondered if he could ooze through the door.”
33. “I saw Rachel McAdams on a car rental bus at KC airport. As I was getting off at my stop, I got the courage to say, ‘Are you Rachel?’ She said yes, and then I said, ‘I thought so,’ and I stepped off the bus. I regret not starting a conversation earlier, as I’m sure she would have entertained it.”
34. “I met Tony Shalhoub when I was working as a receptionist at a hotel during the Super Bowl. Super nice man, and very down-to-earth. He paid for his hotel room, checked in, and went on his merry way like any other normal person. I believe he was a fan of the Steelers at the time.”
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35. “I saw Diana Ross at the Atlanta airport once, going through the security line nearby. She was friendly to people. She’s also so tiny that she made her large bodyguard appear eight feet tall.”
36. “In the ’80s, I was a carriage driver, and on Mother’s Day 1982, I gave Madeline Kahn and her mother a ride. They had me take them up to near the Museum of Natural History, where they had lived when Madeline was little. They tipped me real good.”
37. “I met Sharon Stone while she was here in Vegas filming the movie Casino. I didn’t even know who she was at first; we were talking about nutrition when I suddenly realized, ‘Holy crap, I’m talking to Sharon Stone!'”
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38. “My wife and I ran into Donald Sutherland in a grocery store. When I saw him, I told my wife I thought it was him, and she didn’t believe me. He looked right at us and said hello as we got closer, and after saying hello, I told him I loved his character in Kelly’s Heroes. That got a good chuckle out of him. He introduced himself, and then he told us how he almost died making that movie, being sick with the flu. He asked if I wanted an autograph, but I’ve never been into that. We just said thanks for him taking the time, and we all went back to our day. It was a fairly normal life encounter; I would have totally sat with him and drank a beer, though. RIP Donald.”
39. “Circa 1980, I was on a glass elevator at the Hyatt in Phoenix at night, looking at the city lights. We got to the top floor and the elevator doors opened. We just stood there. An obviously annoyed woman asked if we were getting off. No. Just looking at the city. She got on with two men. Partway through the ride, one of the men sidled up to me and asked, ‘Did you see that guy sunbathing in the nude?’ I was 19 and grew up fairly sheltered, so I thought he was a pervert and took a big step away from him. We got to the lobby, and the three exited. I looked at my friend, who was plastered into the back corner of the elevator with huge eyes. I asked if she was ok. ‘Do you know who they are?’ she asked. I didn’t. ‘They were John Travolta, Danny DeVito, and MariLu Henner.’ They were in town to watch Tony Danza box. I had no idea. 🤣 Wish I had recognized DeVito.”
40. And lastly, “In the late ’80s, I briefly met Eugene Levy at the Mountainview Mall in Midland, Ontario, Canada. Those eyebrows were unmistakable. My mum and I crossed paths with him, and we were both in awe. 🤩”
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Have you ever had a run-in with a celebrity? Tell me who and what happened in the comments, or use the anonymous form below. Your response may be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed article!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
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