15 Wholesome Stories About Celebrity Encounters That Can Make Your Day Brighter

Most of us think celebrities are so unreachable and perfect that we even forget they’re humans like us. If we cross paths with them, we remember it for the rest of our lives. Who would’ve ever thought we would see them in a shopping mall or a café when, just recently, we watched them on the big screen or listened to their songs on the radio?

Bright Side found 15 stories where people had the chance to see what celebs were like outside the big screen.

• I remember seeing Keanu Reeves while walking through New York a long time ago when I was a young, probably very annoying pre-teen. I yelled out, “Yo, Neo!” And then I obnoxiously mimicked the bullet dodge motion from The Matrix. He looked back at me, laughed, and mirrored the same move in acknowledgment.
  It’s such a great memory because I feel like anyone would have been justified in getting annoyed and shrugging this stupid kid off, but instead, he was a good sport and humored me. I’ll never forget it.
  © MrMandu / Reddit

• A co-worker noticed Robin Williams flipping through a book quietly at a bookstore I worked at. It was during the filming of Good Will Hunting, so he had a beard and wasn’t so recognizable. She said, “I think that’s Robin Williams!” He looked up from his book, smiled, and then put a finger to his mouth, saying, “Shhhh, I know.”
  © roadtrip-ne / Reddit

• I shared an elevator with Beyoncé back in the early 2000s. It was my dad, me, Beyoncé, and a hulking bodyguard. My dad didn’t know who she was and assumed they were a married couple and ranted about the man carrying all the bags himself. She laughed, he kinda giggled a bit, and they looked at each other awkwardly. Then they hopped off the elevator and walked straight onto a tour bus with her face plastered on the side, at which point my dad asked, “Wait, who is that?”
  © DJMOONPICKLES* / Reddit

• I met Helena Bonham Carter at the American Girl Doll store in New York City in 2011. She was there with her daughter and mom. I asked for a picture, but she said no because it confuses her daughter. She was nice about it, though. Same with her mom.
  © *****_a_goose / Reddit

• Tony Hawk came to our local skate park. After skating, he snuck out the back across the parking lot to the bowling alley. My 2 friends and I followed him, he invited us to bowl with him, bought us chicken tenders and french fries, and talked about skateboarding with us. 20 years later, I got to meet him again at our local skate park. I mentioned that as a kid, he treated us to chicken tenders and french fries. He was like, “In Amity, CT? Wasn’t the skate park called B17?” I was floored. He explained he had been having a rough day and just hanging out with 3 little kids made him realize how great life was.
  © Nadrojj / Reddit

• I met Stephen Spielberg at some benefit I got invited to as a teen due to having good grades. Not only did he have a super normal convo with me, but when I told him where I really wanted to work (but hadn’t been able to get an interview), he took me to the next table where the company’s CEO was and introduced me. Worked there for 5 years after.
  © h***uvabella / Reddit

• Probably will get buried, but I met Gordon Ramsay in Cape Town about 5 years ago. He was at a bar, and not a super fancy bar either. I went up and said hello, half hoping he would call me a ’’donut’’ or something, but he was really nice and asked me how I was. I told him I loved his shows and recipes, and he offered to buy me something to drink. Overall, a really nice man, and his demeanor is very calming.
  © GoCubsGo23 / Reddit

• I didn’t know who David Beckham was at the time. I was staying at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong and LA Galaxy was there for an exhibition game. There were lots of fan girls outside with posters near the front entrance. I’m in the elevator and he walks in. I give him a nod, and he gives me one back. I ask him if he knows what all the commotion outside is. He shrugs and says it must be someone famous staying there. We get to his floor, and he gives me a wave goodbye and exits.
  My work colleague later tells me that Beckham is staying there, I look up his pic online and realize it was the dude I was chatting with in the elevator.
  © L***waffle88 / Reddit

• I once walked outside of my house to run and grab a coffee. As I was waiting at a crosswalk, I began to recognize the fellow waiting in front of me. I said, “Excuse me, I don’t know if you know this, but you’re John Malkovich.” Then John extended his hand and said, “Indeed, I am,” and shook my hand. He was a kind gentleman.
  © jublah13 / Reddit

• I ran into Adam Sandler outside of a Planet Fitness in Brooklyn. As I was leaving, it looked like he was walking in. We made eye contact, so I stopped and held the door for him. He got to the door and stopped right before he walked through, in one of those fake poses that little kids make when you tell them to freeze. I stood there holding the door, confused. For about 5 seconds, we just stood there motionless. Finally, he turned his head and said in the stereotypical Adam Sandler voice, “Ahh, who are we kidding? I’m not going in there!” Had a giant grin on his face. We both laughed, and then he continued down the street.
  © WatchThe**** / Reddit

• My mom and sister met The Rock when he was still a wrestler. They had a couple of car seats and tons of bags and people were waiting, and then this massive guy offered to carry some things for them, and they happily took the help, he grabbed some bags and held the baby carrier with my niece in it and helped them off the plane and left. Afterward, people kept going up to them, asking how they knew The Rock, and they were very confused until someone explained who he was.
  © sendgoodmemes / Reddit

• I served Daniel Radcliffe his dessert at an event and tripped and spilled some of it on him, probably due to seeing that I was serving Daniel Radcliffe, and he stood up and started apologizing profusely to me. Was very sweet and asked if I was okay.
  © eggsmashumactually / Reddit

• I was a server for Tom Cruise. Pretty cool dude, tbh. Was a bit out of touch, but that’s to be expected. The funny part was he didn’t know what he could order off of our menu, so he had to call his nutritionist to find out what to get. Ended up getting fried chicken.
  © PM_urfavoritethings / Reddit

• I met Jim Carrey when I was like 11 at a party my parents attended. I couldn’t stop staring at him. He was behaving so normally and then when he noticed me staring, he did a mask facial expression and started staring at me.
  © someboooooodeh / Reddit

• I met Zac Efron at a bar. We were standing next to each other and just started chatting. He asked what I did, I asked the same. He said he was an actor, and he was starring in High School Musical. I said I’d heard of it but hadn’t seen it. My boyfriend (now husband) saw us, came up, and put his arm around me to show I was taken. My husband still loves to tell the story of when Zac Efron tried to pick up his wife. I don’t think he was hitting on me, just chatting and being friendly.
  © doubledimple / Reddit

What celebrity have you met in real life? Was it a positive experience?

Bonus

Try solving jigsaw puzzles to make your days even brighter!