Now and then, my partner will mention when he was at the same dinner party as Sylvester Stallone. When the actor's latest film was brought up in conversation, my partner truthfully expressed his dislike of it, much to the shock of other guests. A fan encounter with a selfie opportunity is one thing. Conversing with the person on a topic of interest is on another level. People recently shared their favorite experiences with well-known stars on a popular internet forum.
1. Hugh Jackman
The Aussie superstar is generally known as an overall nice guy, but one fan had a memorable experience dining in the same cafe as the actor. “We talked in depth about The Prestige, the ending, what it was like to be directed by Nolan, what pre-production was like and his rehearsals with Nolan/Bale, what reading the script was like, and how mesmerized he was in Bale's process during the filming of the movie.”
2. Sean Astin
Sean Astin is one versatile actor, starring in a range of films from Encino Man to The Lord of the Rings and, more recently, Stranger Things. One forum member recalls when he was working on set talking to another colleague about the movie The Force Awakens when Astin walked up to them. “Sean walks out of hair and makeup and hears us in the middle of discussing the film and says, ‘Oh, I have to get in on this!' He grabs a Sprite and hangs out with me for 20 min or more after wrapping, just geeking out about Star Wars. I got to chill with Sam Gamgee, talking Star Wars, and that's probably the nerdiest thing that's ever happened to me.”
3. Robin Williams
Up there with Keanu Reeves, Robin Williams was a star everyone wanted to meet. One user recalls a time they were working at a theater at their university, where they sat and chatted with the late brilliant actor for 20 minutes in the green room. “Those 20 minutes were amazing! I asked him about Hook and he was polite and asked me a bunch of questions about what I was doing in college and proceeded to just joke around the whole time.” A few years after their initial encounter, Williams returned to the university theater for another show and immediately recognized them.
4. Michael Douglas
Imagine hearing that Michael Douglas is jealous of you. That’s a memory one user has for the rest of their life. After making the “Dean’s List” at their university, they had to pick up a plaque at the Dean’s office. When they arrived, the Dean was talking to none other than Michael Douglas, who had been on campus filming. As if meeting Douglas wasn’t cool enough, when complimented on one of his movies, the Wall Street star responded by saying he was jealous that he never graduated college.
5. Jennifer Lawerence
One fan was blown away by the fact that Jennifer Lawerence went out of her way to live up to her promise of a photo for their sister: “She requested it be taken outside as not to cause attention. My sister waited a long time, but JLaw was still at her table. My sister and friend decided to leave, bummed they didn't get a picture with her. They walk out and get a couple of blocks away, and they hear a girl yelling at them, and it's Jennifer running down the street with her brother toward my sister and apologizing, and they got talking about stuff and got pictures.”
6. Christopher Lee
He loved playing the villain and was certainly good at it. Recent fans may know him best as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings franchise. “I would run into him every now and again at these small events with production workers,” recounts one person. “He would usually have a few people notice him and throw out a random question to someone just so he could get to know them. The guy loved talking about growing up in the UK and finding work as an actor after the war, even mentioning once how great it was recording an album. It usually ended in a little crowd listening to him tell a once-in-a-lifetime story.”
7. Topher Grace
Probably best known for his long-running roles as Eric Forman in the sitcoms That 70s Show and That 90s Show, Topher Grace has also graced the silver screen in movies such as Traffic. One forum member recalls when they discovered themselves sitting behind him at a comedy show and started speaking to him about the film. “I asked him what it was like to act with Michael Douglas. He said it was surreal but a great experience, and the movie gave him many more opportunities, and he was no longer typecast as Eric from That 70s Show.”
8. Nic Cage
Nic Cage has proven he can take on just about any role thrown at him, from arthouse films such as Vampire's Kiss to action flicks such as The Rock and even playing himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. “My wife met Nicholas Cage five years ago at a restaurant,” says a fan. “He talked with her for ten minutes about a couple of his favorite movies, and he even traded quotes from his movies with her. She took pictures with him too. He was beyond nice.”
9. Michael J. Fox
Even before he had his health issues, Michael J. Fox was known as a pretty cool and down-to-earth guy. A fan shared a fond memory: “When I was a kid, I had cancer. Every year around Christmas, Michael J. Fox would come to the hospital and do a round meeting with the kids, as this was Vancouver, so kind of a hometown thing for him. I was in post [op] and completely out of it, where legend says he asked me how many fingers he was holding up, and I guessed wrong. He took a photo with me, which I still have, and then he left in a helicopter which we all thought was awesome.”
10. Steve Zahn
“Steve Zahn used to come into the cafe I worked in all the time, and once we talked about working with Selma Hayek and Penelope Cruz,” recounts a forum member about the White Lotus and Righteous Gemstones star. He described Cruz as “The quiet, hot girl who sat behind you in chemistry class during high school and was nice to you even though you were a nerd.”
11. Keanu Reeves
Everyone wants to run into Keanu Reeves. No celebrity is known for being as lovely as The Matrix actor. “I met Keanu Reeves in a little breakfast diner in the FiDi (NYC) when I was in college, and he was filming John Wick 2,” says a contributor. “I offered to buy him his coffee 'cause I was and am such a big fan. He joined me at a table and talked for probably 35 minutes. Now, I have run into a ton of celebrities in the four years I was in NYC, and he was by far the nicest I've ever met.”
12. Michael Biehn
This actor is predominantly known for his work with James Cameron in sci-fi flicks such as Aliens and The Terminator. One fan got to discuss in-depth with Biehn a scene from The Terminator in which his character speaks via a recorded message. “I told him I always felt that their love started at that moment. He was like, ‘Yes! Yes! That's right. A small moment turned big because Jim was always open to it.'”
13. Russell Crowe
“I was a grip on The Next Three Days with Russell Crowe,” recalls a commenter. “We'd chat and have beers after wrapping and watch DVDs of his football team. I watched the screener for Robin Hood with him the day he got the FedEx. We just became friends over the month. I made fun of his band — they do ‘love ballads.' I laughed at it and asked, “Aren't you the Gladiator?” He tapped me on the chest and said, ‘They're from the heart, mate.'”
14. Jason Momoa
“Jason Momoa came into my restaurant in 2020 before the trailer for Dune even came out. I'm a huge Dune fan, so I was hyped immediately, but it didn't bother him,” says a film buff. “He made a reservation to come back the next day, and I brought the copy of Dune my dad gave me that he had bought in the 70s. As Momoa finished his meal, I asked if he'd mind signing it. His group finished up, and he made sure to catch me on his way out. He signed my book and talked to me about the movie for about 10 minutes. It was amazing.”
15. John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly's current work on Winning Time as LA Laker's boss Jerry Buss is pretty impressive, but before that, a forum member recounts talking to him at a bar. “He talked with us for about 30-40 minutes. At one point, a friend of his tried to bail him out by saying, ‘Hey John, we gotta go' or something, and John turned to his friend and was like, ‘When I'm done talking with these guys,' which was awesome.”
16. Ryan Gosling
One fan says they got to work with Ryan Gosling and managed to talk to him about some of his favorite Gosling movies, including Bladerunner 2049 and First Man. “I recently started to build film miniatures, and I got to see some stills of the miniatures from First Man. He also signed my copy of Bladerunner concept art with a passage from the baseline test. Genuinely the nicest dude.”
17. Bruce Willis
Imagine being a journalist, attending your first press junket for Red 2 in New York, and being booked to interview the screenwriters but getting to interview Bruce Willis. That's what happened to one forum member. “While interviewing the director, Bruce Willis popped in and said he heard this was my first press junket and that I was eager to speak with a cast member, so he sat down with me and gave me a half-hour interview. He couldn't have been nicer.”
Source: Reddit.