Running into a famous person?

[canbelto]

Also, idk if this counts but I met Elle Fanning outside the stage door of Appropriate and Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli outside the stage door of Enemy of the People.

Elle was very beautiful even though she was just wear sweatpants and uggs, and Jeremy Strong was very friendly. Surprisingly so given all the news articles about how intense he is when he's shooting.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Having lived in West Hollywood since the 90s, I run into them all the time, at the gym, in line with the groceries. I’ve been here so long that sometimes I don’t even realize anymore if I’m standing next to somebody.

Last month I was going in to a restaurant in Beverly Hills, and Jessica Lange was coming out as I was going in.

Gosh, so many interesting experiences a year after I moved here I was at a coffee shop and the girl in front of me was the actress punky Brewster.

A long time ago Jodie Foster was at a coffee shop at the corner of my street and I remember going up to her and having diarrhea of the mouth. Lol.

Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, James Gandolfini, Victor Garber all used to come into my work, which was a gym. I remember Eric McCormack came in, and he was bizarre, will from will and grace. I like to observe. I’m an observer.

 

[Lynn226]

I was once within arms reach of Patrick Swayze and Cameron Bright when they were filming a movie in West Edmonton Mall (that I'm pretty sure you can only buy in West Edmonton Mall honestly) because my friend and I got recruited to be extras when they needed more people. Didn't get the chance to meet them though.

My dad recently retired from being a gate agent for one of the airlines and he met a few semi-famous to famous people. The ones I specifically remember are Kurt Browning (because he got me Kurt's autograph), he said Kurt was super nice and engaging. Jamie Salé and David Pelletier were also on that tour and he said they were very cold and standoffish but this was around the last time they split up IIRC.

Charley Pride played here a couple of times and my dad met him both times and he was apparently very nice to all the staff.

I've met Jamie and David. Both were nice, but Jamie talked in circles in a word salad sort of way. David was very engaging. I really liked him.

Sasha Cohen, Shae-Lyn Bourne, and Jeff Buttle were fantastic, too.

 

[Winnipeg]

I saw Leonardo Dicaprio in a Paris cafe. He was looking like he wanted to be incognito so I did not say anything.


At Worlds earlier this year, I was walking from the Sheraton to the rink and was stopped at a light when Tara and Johnnie walked up to the same light. I started talking to them because I like their commentary and we chatted the entire walk to the rink - they were both very engaging and easy to talk to!

Years ago I was at Skate Canada and Alexi Yagudin was seated close by (it was not the men's event). I could not believe how many times he was asked for his autograph and he never complained and was super nice to all the young kids (and older kids)!
I did not try and talk to him because I felt he was getting enough interruptions by the autograph searchers.

 

[sk8pics]

Scott Baio went to my elementary school. His sister was in my class. I guess I don’t remember that much about him, though!

 

[overedge]

Noam Chomsky stepped on my foot. It was a reception at a conference. I was walking past him, behind him (I honestly didn't know it was him) and he moved backwards without knowing I was there. He was really nice and apologized quite profusely.

 

[quartz]

The author Kelley Armstrong, and Rachel McAdam’s mom, are locals that come into the bookstore. That’s all I got.

 

[gkelly]

So that's more like a famous person running into you.

 

[Amy L]

I lived in the same town as Ron Paul. I've seen him around several times in various service jobs. He was nice enough, no complaints or anything.

One of my high school history teachers told us a story about when he was in high school he was performing at some county fair where Lyndon Johnson had a campaign event. He needed to go to the bathroom, so when he was making his way over he passed a bunch of Secret Service agents. No one stopped him, so when he opened the bathroom door he saw Mr. President himself sitting on the toilet. Now that I've heard stories about him, he definitely had a lot of "bathroom humor". I wonder now if he actually wanted someone to find him on the john. It certainly gave that teacher a story for the rest of his life!

 

[skategal]

I saw Jason Priestly in the high end children’s store buying clothes for his kids on behalf of his wife (so he said.)

It was when DS was small and I was in there pushing a stroller and looking for clothes for him when this very loud, exuberant OTT man comes in acting like he’d had a few too many beers or had been smoking some wacky tobacky.

My first thought was “Who is the idiot getting on with this?” I turned around and saw it was Jason Priestly.

At least he was happy and treating the staff well and thanking them profusely.

They seem amused by it all.

 

[SkateSand]

I ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Sun Valley Lodge one summer I was there for one of the weekend ice shows. He was behind me so I heard him before I saw him and just knew it was him before I turned around and confirmed it. I didn't try and speak to him but he seemed very friendly with everyone.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

I was flying from Groton, CT, to Washington, DC, and had to change planes in NY. I was sitting in the waiting area when a woman came in and sat across from me. She wasn't wearing any makeup and had her hair pulled back in a low pony tail and was carrying a Saks 5th Avenue garment bag. I recognized her but nobody else did. She realized I recognized her and said hello and I said hello back and we talked briefly. She ended up sitting across from me on the plane. Nobody seemed to recognize her until she got off the plane and a man was there to pick her up. He was holding a large sign that read "Lauren Bacall." She was one of the Kennedy Center honorees that year and had flown there for the ceremony. Still beautiful with or without makeup, casually dressed or in formal attire.

I met Madeleine Albright in the restroom when she visited my agency as part of our mentor program for our interns. We talked about her pin collection. I met Joe Jonas and Bonnie Tyler on a Caribbean cruise to see the 2017 eclipse. Joe and his band DNCE were the performers for a concert and Bonnie was the featured performer at the end of their concert to sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Joe and DNCE. My friend would bring along a chicken stuffie named Jack as our mascot on cruises. Joe and his band asked to borrow Jack for a ride on the carousel. When he returned Jack, Bonnie came over to ask us about the chicken and pose for pictures with Jack and us.

 

[kwanfan1818]

When a lot of films and TV shows were filmed in Vancouver, BC before the exchange rate went to par and Ontario the industry east, there were a ton of actor and director types wandering around and living their lives temporarily around town, and I wouldn't have recognized any of them if they ran into me physically.

The time I became aware of any of this was when the wifi in the hotel I was staying at went down, but you could hard wire at a few places in the lobby. There I was minding my own business, and this obsequious guy shouted "Ray, RAY!!!!!) and ran over and hugged him. (Body language said, Ew.) After he'd gone up the elevator, the person sharing the couch said excitedly, "That was Ray Liotta!!!!!!!" and then told me that was the hotel where the "talent" stayed when they were in town working. (This was before air bnbs.) I stayed there because it was a good deal on Expedia that weekend. Who knew?

 

[Aussie Willy]

My most recent encounter with a famous person was Australian singer Montainge who represented Australia at Eurovision two years running (because of Covid). I went to her gig and then she did a meet and photos with fans afterwards. Very generous, friendly and engaging.

Oh and met the UK Ru Paul's Drag Race queens from Season 4 when they came to Hobart. They were lovely, fabulous and hilarious.

 

[Jay42]

The author Kelley Armstrong, and Rachel McAdam’s mom, are locals that come into the bookstore. That’s all I got.

That reminded me that the cosmetics manager at my job used to work in one of our Vancouver area locations before she moved here and Ryan Reynolds mom went there to get her makeup. She was always really nice to them.

 

[sk9tingfan]

I used to live in Bedminister, NJ doring the mid-1990's. One Sunday afternoon, I was at the local Kings Supermarket and happened to look up to see Steve Forbes doing his own grocery shopping(unfortunately immediately recognizable by his terrible skin). Later that year, I was at the Metro Park, NJ Amtrak station on the Dunkin Donuts line when I spotted him again. I recognized him, pointing him out to my fellow travelers and one man said," How do you know it's him? What would he being doing taking the train?" I replied that I used to run into him at Kings.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Sun Valley Lodge

In October he was on my flight from London to Los Angeles in First class. The flight attendant in my section let me go up to first class so I could do a peek a boo, normally I would not be allowed. He was standing up, and he was shorter than I thought he would be.

 

[Jenny]

In October he was on my flight from London to Los Angeles in First class. The flight attendant in my section let me go up to first class so I could do a peek a boo, normally I would not be allowed. He was standing up, and he was shorter than I thought he would be.

I can see that - one time we did a tour of a studio in LA that included various Batman franchise costumes, and some were surprisingly small, including his.

You also mentioned living in LA - I used to spend a lot of time there for both business and pleasure, and I spotted tons of major celebrities. In certain restaurants and certain hotel bars, it's pretty much a guarantee (ditto NY).

 

[Oreo]

I used to work as a tour guide for a 5-star hotel. Once I had to gate greet somebody at LAX (pre-9/11 days). Coming off the same flight was Celia Cruz. I was standing with her driver. You could barely recognize her—gray hair and in a wheel chair, all bundled up—but two days later she was performing in a bright blue wig and dancing her salsa at the Grammy Awards.

 

[TAHbKA]

2014 Olympics, going to grab some food between the competitions, seeing Oksana Kazakova. Melting, approaching, asking for a photo with her. She says `wait a second' and fetches Urmanov and Dmitriev to join the photo

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I used to work as a tour guide for a 5-star hotel. Once I had to gate greet somebody at LAX (pre-9/11 days). Coming off the same flight was Celia Cruz. I was standing with her driver. You could barely recognize her—gray hair and in a wheel chair, all bundled up—but two days later she was performing in a bright blue wig and dancing her salsa at the Grammy Awards.

I still listen to Celia. Le vita es un carnival

 

[Rob]

Waiting tables in NYC provided a lot of celebrity encounters. Most were nice or extremely nice. JKF Jr. could be badly behaved (breaking up with girlfriend at table, PDA with Darryl Hannah at table), but he was pleasant. Kennedys in general were not great tippers though.

I was walking down Broadway one day and I could feel that someone was coming up behind me on my left. Just as this person got next to me, he shouted my first name practically in my ear. I jumped and yelled "WHAT" at this person who turned out to be Mike Myers (SNL etc). He also jumped and looked at me like I was crazy. I said "You just shouted my name in my ear!" He said "oh no, that is also my wife's name and she's over there" (on the next corner). So I said "stop shouting!" We then both collapsed laughing, and he introduced me to his wife.

 

[overedge]

Shout-out to former FSU member Rex and his epic tale of Kim Basinger in the apartment laundry room (I miss Rex.)

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/alec-baldwin-suicidal-after-release-of-vm-rant-to-daughter-ireland.61106/post-1905098

 

[Lynn226]

2014 Olympics, going to grab some food between the competitions, seeing Oksana Kazakova. Melting, approaching, asking for a photo with her. She says `wait a second' and fetches Urmanov and Dmitriev to join the photo

I've met Urmanov. He seemed a little surprised that someone attending Skate Canada wanted to speak to him. Perhaps he didn't realize I'm American. He was quiet and polite.

 

[sk9tingfan]

I don't believe i'm violating HIPAA since all of the following are dead and have been for the last atleast 25+ years, I took care of William O. Douglas(Supreme Court Justice), Joseph Heller(wrote Catch-22) & met Kurt Vonnegut who visited him, but missed Mario Puzo(The Godfather). Kurt Vonnegut was a real nasty SOB.

 

[sk8pics]

I have met a lot of skaters over the years but I’ll just tell this one story. Oleg Ovsiannikov skated at one of the rinks I skated at and he was super supportive of adult skaters. One day after a weekend competition that I’d done, he came up to me as we all got on the ice for a session to ask me how I had done. I was a bad adult skater but I’d skated very well (for me!) at that event and told him it was the best I’d ever skated. He skated all over the rink, pointing to me and telling people, “Best she ever skated!” It was actually super sweet.

 

[Vash01]

Does running into skaters at competitions or shiws count?

At Skate America 2019(?) in Everett, Washington, after the pairs competition I was standing outside for the shuttle to take me to my hotel. Isaw Tarasova and Morozov coming out of the arena building. I went upto them and congratulated them on their win. Then I asked them if I could take their photo. They agreed, so Itook two photos. They were nice and friendly.

Inside the hotel, after the ladies competition, Isaw Polina Tsurskaya sitting alone in a chair. She did not have a good competition but I went to her and told her that I loved her skating. She smiled and said thank you.

 

[Badams]

Kurt Vonnegut was a real nasty SOB.

I'm probably not surprised, but still kinda bummed. I really enjoy his work.

 

[Andora]

There's plenty of celebrities I've seen or had brief interaction with, but the takeaway has always been how impressive some really are in terms of charisma. I met Justin Trudeau when he was running for leader, and I didn't "get it" until he looked me dead in the eye while shaking my hand.

I used to work in the MuchMusic/Chum building, so celebrities were always around and we weren't supposed to talk to them if we weren't working with them. Tom Cruise was beyond friendly to everyone even if we thought we weren't supposed to make eye contact. Randy Fennoli from Say Yes To The Dress had the softest hands I've ever shaken, and was too friendly for words. "Don't be a fan! Be a friend!"

But the interactions that usually rank with me are the smaller musicians I've seen over the years, usually Canadian, at small venues. I JUST met Bif Naked a few weeks ago and my inner 16-year-old was over the moon. Also jealous at how goddamn good she looked and sounded in 2024 compared to 1998. I'm so grateful for experiences like that, and opportunities to thank certain musicians for their music that affected me.

I've met Jamie and David. Both were nice, but Jamie talked in circles in a word salad sort of way. David was very engaging. I really liked him.

This is how I found them - when I met them together and when I met Jamie at BOTB. She's... charming without any wit, is how I would put it. Or self awareness. I don't think David is as easy going with so much direct attention, but he is friendly despite his discomfort, and that can't be easy. I met them together meet & greet after a random show, and I was over the moon to meet them considering I used to be a huge fan. I (apparently stupidly) mentioned how much I loved their "For You" program, and Jamie laughed at me, "we were just talking about that trash." David was actually lovely, smiled bigger after that, said something unabrasive to the tone of "we all have our favourites."

(Dubreuil & Lauzon were also at this event, and I enjoyed watching him basically not let her get out of arm's reach. It was kinda hot)

Shout-out to former FSU member Rex and his epic tale of Kim Basinger in the apartment laundry room (I miss Rex.)

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/alec-baldwin-suicidal-after-release-of-vm-rant-to-daughter-ireland.61106/post-1905098

I miss Rex. Truly an icon. Even without the story.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Oh, I forgot to mention my local Starbucks, which was called for years and years the big gay Starbucks, and closed two years ago was always a magnet for seeing celebrities inside. Janice Dickinson always came with her husband. We have photos of Renée Zellweger sitting by herself in 2012, John Cena would come and John Waters, Dustin Lance Black and his husband, Tom Daley, Gus Kenworthy came, and I would sit down and talk with Leslie Jordan from will and grace all the time, I mean all the time he was a fixture, and he would talk and talk and talk. He had so many stories, and he was just like his character on will and grace.

About 10 years ago Chris Meloni from Oz and was it law and order came in and all the gays would just stare. Lol.

Oh, and then tons of reality stars from bravo ..million Dollar listing, and Shahs of Sunset, a lot of the cast from those shows were always in my Starbucks.