The only difference between a celebrity and an ordinary citizen is that the former spends a significant amount of time behind the camera. And, while we may overreact when we meet them, it wouldn’t hurt to treat them lightly as well. And this is what several individuals did when they didn’t even recognize that the person they were talking to was quite a big deal. As it turned out, the celebs likewise played along, giving no indication that they might be famous.
Thus, here are the top ten times when folks had very casual talks with celebrities and had no idea.
1. Presidential Confidentiality
“No, but I remember hearing Pres. George H.W. Bush tell a story about vising an old folks home and chatting with a pleasant older lady in a wheel chair. After a while he asked her, “Do you know who I am?” She replied, “Ask at the desk. They’ll know.” –Quora
2. The Southpaw That No One Recognized
“Yeah, but not in quite so many words. When my husband was still sleeping one early Saturday morning, I brought our German Shepard with me to get petrol in the car and pick up a few picnic necessities. When I approached, I noticed a luxury car and a couple of people approaching the driver, who was handing them something. They all left within a few minutes. He approached me as I was ready to get back into my car, and we exchanged pleasantries. He admired my dog’s appearance and offered, “Would you like my autograph?” Seriously! “Only if you want mine,” I said.
He took a business card from his pocket, asked for my name, scribbled something on the back, and handed it back to me. I put it on the dashboard without looking. I handed him a napkin with my name scrawled on it, and we said our goodbyes. I informed my husband about my interaction with this man and gave him the card at breakfast. “Oh God! Are you insane… “Did you meet him and not recognize him?” I looked at my spouse with a “Who HE?” expression on my face. The card was from Jamieson’s, a hip bar and restaurant on the same street as our office, and it was signed and written on the back by the owner himself, Sugar Ray Leonard… the boxing champion. German Shepherd carryout.” –Quora
3. The Lone Beatle
“I used to work in a camera shop, and someone came in to pick up a camera that was being fixed. I inquired about his name. Paul McCartney was there. He introduced himself politely. There was no attitude at all. I met him several times after that, and he was always a pleasant, real person.” –Quora
4. J-Law Has Never Been One For Show; Also, That’s One Date To Talk About
“In 2008, I dated Jennifer Lawrence. I met her during a Santa Monica yoga class. When I first met her, I had no idea who she was. I started talking to her since I thought she was cute. She told me I shouldn’t watch a lot of TV and that she was on a bad TBS show. She eventually gave me a lift home from class, and I requested for her phone number. We went out a few more times after that, but I quickly discovered she was just 17 at the time. But it was fun getting to know her regardless. I lost contact with her after a few months since her career was taking off. Now it’s kind of a trip when I see her in movies.” –Quora
5. Meeting Johnny Cash Can Be Quite A Moment For People
“Well, I met one celebrity who didn’t exactly say, “Do you know who I am?” He simply introduced himself. My father had gone 300 miles in the cold to watch this man play in the nearest “large” city to our rural hamlet in the early 1960s. He’d brought my brother and myself along. We stopped in the city to eat at a diner and, lo and behold, the dude was there. My father, who was never bashful, approached him and requested him to greet my brother and me.
So he approached and said, “Hi, my name is Johnny Cash.” My brother and I were both pretty bashful at the time, and we couldn’t even look him in the eyes. He dug into his pockets and took two guitar strings, one for my brother and one for myself. So I never got to say I didn’t know who he was because he pre-empted that possibility. It was my one brief encounter with a celebrity.” –Quora
6. When Has Sean Connery NOT Been Good-Looking?
“I was approximately 18 years old and working at a business in Carmel, California. This happened 30 years ago. A man entered and brought his belongings up to the desk to be checked out. When I asked for ID and he handed me his credit card to pay, he responded, “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I refused to apologize. I read his name again, Sean Connery, and told my mother, who freaked out! She was madly in love with him! I had absolutely no notion. Yet he was a handsome older man.” –Quora
7. Some Would Say Meeting Jeff Goldblum Was A Truly Jurassic Moment
“Yes, my wife did. We were staying at a lovely hotel in Vancouver, BC for a brief vacation, where a lot of celebs supposedly stay when filming. She went to the hotel gym and took the elevator back up with Jeff Goldblum. She recognized him as an actor, but all she could say was, “You’re the guy from the Apple commercials, right?” (This places the meeting in time). “Yeah, I am,” he replied. And she stated her spouse (me) would be annoyed if she didn’t get a name (as she’s showing him around the hotel gym).
“Jeff……,” he responds. And she adds, “Yes, sorry…….” He then reveals her his complete name. The best part of this story is when she returns to the room after her workout and tells me, “I met a superstar in the gym!” “OK, cool,” I say. “Who was he?” Then he adds, “Jeff GOLDMAN.” “Who?” I think to myself. a.m. to p.m.) “Yes, I’m not sure who it is,” I say. “The Apple commercial guy!” she exclaims. And then I’m like, “You mean JEFF GOLDBLUM.” “YES! “You’re right!” –Quora
8. The OG Rolling Stones
“I was getting my hair cut at a Fantastic Sams in a little town in Santa Barbara County in CA. The girl who cuts my hair is originally from Mexico and has obviously never heard rock music. She informed me that this gentleman had come in to have his hair cut. He was really courteous to her, she stated. He went outside after paying and returned with a guitar. He began singing to her.
She couldn’t figure out what all the hoopla was about once he left. Her coworker inquired as to her knowledge of who he was. She stated, with a strong accent, that she had been told he was someone very famous. Meek Yagger is his name. Mick Jagger is the man in question. She expressed her embarrassment at him singing to her in front of her coworkers. He didn’t question her, “Do you know who I am?” but I believe he could tell she didn’t, and that was probably an unusual occurrence for him. But that’s only a guess.” –Quora
9. When One Meets Derek Zoolander, One Also Meets Asian Jim
“I work in media creation, and in 2009, we were creating a corporate video for the annual Walmart Annual Meeting. They routinely bring in a major star to host, and this year was no exception. So Ben arrives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a small entourage, and we whisk him away to the local Walmart, where we are filming a short comedy piece with Ben portraying a cashier. We were working quickly because the main concert was the next morning and we needed to shoot and edit this piece before sleeping that night.
We had grips and makeup artists dressed up as customers, and Ben asked one of his traveling buddies, an elderly man named Jeff, to join in on the fun and run the cash register behind him. We got the shots when Jeff dressed up in a Walmart shirt. As we neared the end of the shoot, the production assistant went around getting signed releases from everyone who appeared on camera. With her mouth virtually dragging on the floor, she returned the release from Ben’s pal Jeff The Cashier. It was correctly and totally filled out and signed…..Jeffery Katzenberg. We were all major movie fans and worked in the industry, but you don’t expect to see someone of that caliber flying under the radar, thus NONE of the crew had recognized him. In this antique photograph, you can plainly see Mr. Katzenberg operating the register behind Ben.” –Quora
10. Working At A Bar Is A Straight Up Pandora’s Box
“In 1994, I was working as a bartender on Rockey Street. I’d finished my shift and gone to Rockerfellas, the bar next door, for a beer. I walked in, past an extremely inebriated Englishman, went inside, and sat down next to his two friends. I started a conversation. They said they were English, I said I was French, blah blah blah… I observed a bunch of incredibly lovely ladies staring at them and told them, but they appeared unconcerned. They were their groupies, according to one of them. “Really?” I asked. “Do you play in a band?”… “Have you heard of us, Depeche Mode?” Was the answer… FACEPALM… I felt ashamed and began asking silly questions… But they did sign an autograph for me.
And simply squirmed away. Going home was the most epic thing. My girlfriend was always aware that I’d have a few of beers after work but never remained up so late. “I imagine you’ve been pissing it up with your drunken friends?” I said, with a small grin on my face, when I returned home. She didn’t believe me until I brought her the autograph and she asked my inebriated friends who had witnessed me sitting with Martin and Alan. Dave was drinking with other people outside.” –Quora
