Have you ever met anyone famous?

[Misanthropic Monster™]

I have met a few famous people in brief passing at conventions or even just out in the wild (like the time I saw Jonathan Ross in Forbidden Planet!), but the one 'famous' person I met which actually meant something to me and was a rather intimate meeting was the time I met Chris Sanders. He is the current director of Dreamworks, but more importantly, he is the creator/designer behind Lilo & Stitch - a franchise that means a lot to me - and he did all the voice acting for Stitch in the movies.

It was a super surreal evening where we went for drinks and had pizza (it was the first and only time I'd ever had Pimm's and liked it because it was in this iced pitcher with fruits and herbs in it!)

The only reason this even happened was because my friend works in the industry, and was collaborating with Chris on an art project for a book that was being released where my bud was doing some ink work and colors. They were meeting up to discuss this, and my bud asked if I could come along as I was (and still am) a HUGE Stitch fan boy. Chris agreed and so my bud called me and was like 'do you wanna meet Chris Sanders' and my autistic ass was stunlocked for literally 5 minutes before I said 'yessss!'.

It was such a bizarre thing - he was in the next town over anyway working with Nic Cage on some post voice acting stuff for the Croods (to give you an idea of how long ago this was!) and so he was staying in town for a few nights anyways.

Speaking to Chris all evening was surreal... It was like an interactive DVD special features segment, but live! He went into great detail about how much disdain he had for Disney for how they treated him over his intellectual properties, and how they've done a lot of things post the movies that he was never asked about or had any input in etc. He also said he'd never work with them again and much preferred DreamWorks as a company.

I got a lot of insideinfo on Stitch lore though which was the best part for me! Chris gave me an official copy of the tantalog which I still have. One thing he told me was that the tantalog was actually based on an old Hawaiian language - which I did not know! I know that Chris has stated in a TikTok video that the actual meaning of "Meega, nala kweesta" is so vulgar that he could never actually say it - but that evening I met him, he told me what it meant! I'm gonna take it to my grave haha.

I filmed him saying some really derpy stuff on my old camera in Stitch's voice, got a nice photo with him (that I have framed in my office) and got his sig on a doodle of Stitch which was done on the back of a napkin at the bar we were at and it somehow has still survived in the little frame I have it in.

It was one of the best experiences I've ever had and one of a plethora of reasons I very much miss that friend who made it possible - they're no longer in my life but I think of them almost daily.

If anyone here has met anyone famous or even just someone they're a huge fan of and it meant something to them - please share! How did it affect your life? Is it a memory you will always cherish? When and how did it happen? :)

Other minor examples for me is (like I said above) seeing Jonathan Ross buying anime in FP, I met Tom Ska at MCM and he hugged me, I met Terry Pratchett at GenCon, I briefly communicated with Rowan Atkinson as a kid (like, when I was 9 years old) because my uncle did some work for him and I remember simply referring to him as 'Mr Bean' the entire time....... that's about it!

[CableCat]

  That is sooooooo cool that you got to meet the voice of stitch!!

Famous people I've met? Hmmmmmmmm... Well, I met Rob Riggle (The Hangover and 21 Jump Street). It was very brief. I was working a small-time gig that was motorcycle-related. He happened to be involved with a Marine Corps Retiree/veteran biker group's charity ride/event. So I met him briefly outside of the context of his celebrity status and movies! He was chill, it was cool to see him in a normal-life context.

My old manager at a different job got to drive Terry Crews around a resort in a golf cart, personally escorting him while he was on the property. He said Terry Crews was one of the nicest people he had ever met. He said it was the most chill few days he'd ever had at work, and Terry Crews was just a normal dude but also one of those people that is really genuine.

I also got to meet Stan Lee many years ago. (Rest in Peace!)

I've been in very close passing proximity to other major celebrities and big names, but I rarely get to formally meet or talk to them. And honestly? I'd rather keep it that way! A lot of the celebrities I could come in contact with are not the kind of people I would want to be around. And I'm talking in the major politician, movie star, and super famous singers kind of way, not like people who are voice actors, artists, or behind-the-scenes people.

[Misanthropic Monster™]

That is sooooooo cool that you got to meet the voice of stitch!!

Famous people I've met? Hmmmmmmmm... Well, I met Rob Riggle (The Hangover and 21 Jump Street). It was very brief. I was working a small-time gig that was motorcycle-related. He happened to be involved with a Marine Corps Retiree/veteran biker group's charity ride/event. So I met him briefly outside of the context of his celebrity status and movies! He was chill, it was cool to see him in a normal-life context.

My old manager at a different job got to drive Terry Crews around a resort in a golf cart, personally escorting him while he was on the property. He said Terry Crews was one of the nicest people he had ever met. He said it was the most chill few days he'd ever had at work, and Terry Crews was just a normal dude but also one of those people that is really genuine.

I also got to meet Stan Lee many years ago. (Rest in Peace!)

I've been in very close passing proximity to other major celebrities and big names, but I rarely get to formally meet or talk to them. And honestly? I'd rather keep it that way! A lot of the celebrities I could come in contact with are not the kind of people I would want to be around. And I'm talking in the major politician, movie star, and super famous singers kind of way, not like people who are voice actors, artists, or behind-the-scenes people.

I totally agree with the last part of this post - a lot of people who are famous aren't the sort of people you wanna really know. Oftentimes I find if I know too much about a person it can often ruin some aspects of the thing they created or were a part of (big example is Jon K who made Ren and Stimpy - he's a huge a-hole despite the fact Ren & Stimpy is one of my fave things ever)

But anyway it's super cool you met Rob Riggle!! And really cool your old manager got to hang out with Terry Crews, I've never heard a bad word about that guy! People think he's totally cool - like Keanu Reeves sorta level!    Just a really solid human being.

[CableCat]

People think he's totally cool - like Keanu Reeves sorta level!

Could you imagine: Chat hour with Keanu and Terry? And they do nothing but exist naturally and chat about whatever they want.

If they got along well in real life (idk if they do), I would totally listen to that.

[Misanthropic Monster™]

omg that is an amazing idea for a podcast or something haha

[ferdvonvestra]

I haven't had any ~in the wild~ encounters with famous people lol, but I do go to cons! My all-time favorite meet and greet I went to was meeting Robbie Daymond. He is SUCH a nice person! I was really really nervous, but honestly by the time I got to the front of the line and got to talk to him, it was a fantastic experience!

I've also got to meet Griffin Burns, Cassandra Lee Morris, and Anne Yatco! <3

[candycanearter07]

I haven't had any ~in the wild~ encounters with famous people lol, but I do go to cons! My all-time favorite meet and greet I went to was meeting Robbie Daymond. He is SUCH a nice person! I was really really nervous, but honestly by the time I got to the front of the line and got to talk to him, it was a fantastic experience!

I've also got to meet Griffin Burns, Cassandra Lee Morris, and Anne Yatco! <3

I've only been to one con being a Vintage Computer Fest, I got to meet a couple cool tech youtubers! Other than that, I don't think so.

I totally agree with the last part of this post - a lot of people who are famous aren't the sort of people you wanna really know. Oftentimes I find if I know too much about a person it can often ruin some aspects of the thing they created or were a part of (big example is Jon K who made Ren and Stimpy - he's a huge a-hole despite the fact Ren & Stimpy is one of my fave things ever)

But anyway it's super cool you met Rob Riggle!! And really cool your old manager got to hang out with Terry Crews, I've never heard a bad word about that guy! People think he's totally cool - like Keanu Reeves sorta level!    Just a really solid human being.

Death of the Author?

[Eunice]

I have! Trying to remember them all: Simon Ward, Robert Addie, Bob Monkhouse, and Eric Sykes. I don't know if you'd count people met briefly at conventions. But if so: Robert Picardo, Nana Visitor, Walter Koenig, everyone from Firefly (except Nathan Fillion). Writers: Christopher Priest, Frank Herbert (I had to sit with him and keep him company during a signing session in an SF bookshop), Anne McCaffrey, Tanith Lee, oh goodness, too many to remember.

[Absentmind]

I actually saw the lead singer of Bastille when I was in London the other week, Me and my mate were at a pub in Shoreditch, sat outside doing a bit of day drinking as one does and my mate was like "yo thats the guy from bastille" and I was like "oh... ok". Not a fan of his music and I sat there thinking "Damn, I wish that was someone from a band I actually liked", my friend wasn't a fan either. We kinda looked at him from our stools outside of the pub we were at. There was something funny about seeing a famous musician get on a London lime bike and cycle away though.

Wait, does this even count as meeting him? I wanna say yes since I was like 6 feet away from him, watching him go about his life, some say thats the most intimate form of knowing someone  . Ok i'll stop being pretentious now. It was interesting in seeing him none the less!

[halcybutton]

i've never met anyone face to face, but i was like 200 feet away from a scene filming for the first avengers movie. it was pretty cool seeing how big of a camera crew and everything there was. i was in the area to see a football game or something i think, it's ages ago this happened at this point edit: also forgot to add that while i've never met him in person, my dad knows the voice actor for tetsuo in the dub of akira (along with his other roles like tai in digimon)

[Pinklady]

Maybe not as exciting as the other responses but my mother has close connections to the film industry,this nepotism means I have easier/better access to meeting actors than other people, my favorite of which being David Naughton (American werewolf in London)Very nice guy, I got a picture from him & he signed a poster for me! He was a sweetheart.

Another occasion I met R.A. Mihailoff (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, a film I have yet to watch, but I hear it’s not very good)  a shame, I love the former two movies. We didn’t really talk, we just took a picture and we sighed a poster for me.

Hope this was a good response!!

[nemmoue]

I met Kent Osborne (the screenwriter) when I was 17 and got him to agree to meet with me in his home to show him my portfolio.  god, it was such a bust.     I thought he'd be a great industry outlet or path into some kind of work but he basically just shrugged me off, even though he thought my portfolio was "impressive for someone your age".  idk if i ever really got over it, it was a big blow to my desire to try and "make it" in the arts hearing this dude blow air into some.. less then savory projects he was attatched to at the time while i am seething that *i am a better artist then this guy will ever be!*.  in retrospect I definitely went into the whole thing with WAYYY too much pride on the stake and WAYYYYYY too full of myself.  but gosh, if I'd gotten a bit of encouragement and not another round of person-with-more-money-then-me saying "Go To School So You Can Have The DEGREE",    i may not be so bitter about the art industry now.. （；^ω^）

[Misanthropic Monster™]

It's been so cool reading everyone's reply to this! I honestly feel like it's more common than people realise to meet someone 'famous' even if it's in passing. There are so many connections and ways to know someone 'famous' like my example - if it wasn't for my buddy who literally worked in the industry, I'd never had met Chris Sanders! I feel like there's probably a lot of people who met famous folks through their connections/friends/family etc. It's fascinating!
 

[ConnorTheVGFan78]

I've never had any spontaneous/unexpected encounters with celebrities or famous people, but I have attended several meet-and-greet events.

My most recent celebrity encounter happened at a local comic con, where I got to meet voice actor Rodger Bumpass (he voices Squidward on SpongeBob SquarePants). Now this meet and greet was one I was really excited for, not only because I'm a huge SpongeBob fan, but also the last meet-and-greet I tried to attend with Mr. Bumpass got cancelled due to weather/travel related reasons. As soon as I got to the convention, I immediately headed towards the meet-and-greet area, got a photo-op ticket, and got a photo with him. I didn't really say much to Rodger, mainly because I was too nervous and excited, but I did at the very least say "Thank you so much for the photo!!"

Later in the convention, I spotted Mr. Bumpass obtaining a SpongeBob LEGO set from a vendor, and got to hear him briefly talk in his iconic Squidward voice. I don't remember what he said, but just getting to hear him do the voice that was part of many childhood memories live & in person was so awesome, and an experience I'll never forget.