I live in Los Angeles and even though it happens more than other cities, I don’t actually spot celebrities frequently in my day to day life. It happens, I once walked a crosswalk in front of Kevin Bacon in his car stopped at a red light. Since Angelenos rarely use public transportation, you don’t see them there. Usually you have to go to celebrity populated areas to find them. But I hear that celebrities use the subway and walk around a lot more in New York. I’ve also heard that they do that because people generally leave you alone. Such was not the case when a fan of Ben Stiller’s found herself seated by him on the subway. When she noticed who was next to her, she flipped the hell out.
You know all those times when you imagine what you would say or do if you encountered someone famous that you liked? In your head, you act cool and say the perfect thing, right? I have to believe this is not what that lady saw in her head when she imagined meeting Stiller. But I love how genuine it is. Just complete raw emotion. I think the best part is when she realized her hair is pinned up and starts frantically undoing it while shouting, “My hair, no!” And how she ramped up her insistence that she loves him as if he needed more convincing.
Stiller’s reaction was pretty precious too. Going off his body language, he looked amused when she first recognized him. I’m sure this happens all the time. I think the hair thing made him laugh but the more she goes on, he became embarrassed, as if he doesn’t think he deserves this much admiration. By the time the cameras came out, he’d regained his composure and was really quite sweet about the whole thing. I have to believe this made his day.
And damn, he’s aging like a fine wine in that subway look, isn’t he?
Photo credit: Twitter and WENN Photos
I live in London and have seen quite a few celebs in the street and cafe’s around Soho (a lot of agents are based around there).
So far:
– Kit Harrington (he’s really short)
– Charles Dance
– Bill Nighy
– Stephen Fry (he’s very tall)
– Andrew Scott
– Benedict Cumberbatch (I was at a gig in Camden)
– Michael Gambon
– David Tennant
– Aiden Turner (he was being mobbed by a bunch of over excited women and Hobbit fans)
– Martin Freeman (in a bar)
EDIT: To add Sienna Miller and Tom Sturridge in a bar in Primrose Hill.
I would have been very excited about Andrew Scott, Martin Freeman, and Bill Nighy.
I’ve met Bill Nighy a few times now. He is lovely!
I would freak over David Tennant. Love him to pieces.
Mmmmmm, David.
My weirdest/favorite celebrity sighting when I lived in London was Claus von Bulow on the tube. I only noticed him because of his subtle and immaculate suit and handmade shoes. The coldest, most reptilian eye contact I’ve ever experienced. 100% sure he killed his wife.
I’d trust that eye contact any day. True story: I was in a courtroom when I was 12 or 13 years old. A friend’s dad was defending a guy accused of murder. The guy turned around and I made eye contact with him once (he was looking for someone, not me). I was sure he was innocent. Everyone thought I was a silly kid. 8 years later, he’s released from jail because the guy who did confessed, and killed himself. Made me realize I could trust my gut.
On my 1st day in London I saw Thom Yorke on my way to the Tate. Of course I continued walking as if nothing had happened. But deep down, I was feeling like this lady.
Omg, Stephen Fry and Bill Nighy! Sigh.
I once walked past Katie Holmes in NYC, she was coming out of a coffee shop. I did a double take and debated saying something but didn’t – no one else seemed to notice and no one said anything either! I also ran into The Strokes at JFK once, they gave us their autographs and were very polite but no one was really hassling them (I was in high school at the time).
those were the only celeb interactions I’ve had that were unplanned though.
sorry.. nyr here and the subway is the best way to travel in the city; people just want to get to where they are going and not be hassled. I think she’s a friggin moron and beyond rude. and likely a tourist.
Spoken like a true NYrker 🥴
you should check out the comments on gothamist.
http://gothamist.com/2019/04/04/ben_stiller_subway_nyc_video.php
@mycomment Yup. That said I don’t disagree with you!
I’m a Londoner and ITA, the ones the freak out when the see celebs are totally the tourists or teenagers.
I assumed she was a tourist as well. I live in DC but spend a fair amount of time in nyc and people there just don’t give a toss. They want to go about their business and let you get on wth yours.
Yeah, she was pretty cray. Her unpinning her hair was so weird — did she think he’d suddenly swoon and fall in love with her? So bizarre. He seemed pretty mortified, as did the surrounding people.
She prob wanted her hair down for the pic. I don’t think he seemed mortified.
Lol this reminds me of the scrunchie episode of Sex and the City when Carrie mumbles under her breath “she’s not from New York”
I always remember that episode as the one where her boyfriend and his fragile ego broke up with her because he couldn’t deal with the slightest criticism.
Oh come on – tourists don’t take the subway with their hair pinned up! She wanted to unpin it to get a picture with him and b/c she felt ridiculous talking to one of her idols or maybe crushes with it up. I think she’s just a dramatic lady lol
For real.
I think it’s hilarious. I would like do something similar. I want to go to NY, hopefully I won’t run into people with your attitude. I mean I get where you are coming from I live in a beach town in Florida. Butttt….tourists are a big part of your economy. And if locals are rude, highly doubtful we would visit again.
if you want directions/recommendations – not a problem; if you’re a 12yo loosing your shit over seeing an nsync member – not a problem.
i get stopped at least 2x a week by people looking for an address/directions. nyrs are always accommodating for that.
if you’re an adult cornering a celebrity you see on the subway with no way to exit, leave him/her alone.
God I totally agree. I don’t think that made his day. I think he was horrified. And possibly a little worried about his personal safety. The vibe in NYC is you leave famous people alone. Just like you leave strangers alone. Grow up, woman!
I laughed at your comment bc it was my first thought and I am also from NY
My favourite celeb encounter was Bill Nighy. He was in a sharp suit, newspaper tucked under his arm, jaunting down the street with a spring in his step and a wry smirk. Seems he is exactly as he is on screen in real life.
Nighy is spectacular!
Ben Stiller seems like a really nice guy!
I met Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) years ago. He was lovely! And Monica Lewinski once shopped in a store where I was working at the time. She’s really beautiful. Her skin was amazing.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.
Okay but Mr Rogers is the pinnacle of awesome. I’m so envious!
I grew up around the corner from Mr. Rogers. I am fascinated by how people revere him.
When my sister lived in NYC she would see celebrities all the time. She saw Robert Deniro and once saw JFK jr walking down the street eating ice cream. I once saw Heavy D and Joel Gray in Greenwich Village. I saw Fran lebowitz getting off a bus in Manhattan and saw “Coco” from “Fame” riding the subway.
I lived in LA for 4 years and the only celebrity I ever saw was Elizabeth Berkley in a restaurant once.
I lived in Manhattan for 3 years and on the street I’ve run into Nicole Kidman, Paula Abdul, Will Smith, Hilary Clinton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly (they were together), Ron Rifkin, Geraldine Ferraro, and probably a few others that I’m not remembering.
John C. Reilly in the wild?! I am super jealous! He is my fave actor! Walk Hard really shot him to the top of my list. He has been around for so long and deserves more recognition. Just a delightful actor.
I saw him at the Women’s March London 2017! He was wearing a 3 piece tweed suit with matching hat!
At the time I lived between where The Late Show filmed (when it was still Letterman) and where The Daily Show filmed (when it was Jon Stewart) and I think that John C. Reilly was doing a show at Studio 54 which was 1/2 a block away from my apartment. I’m sure that being within that radius increased my celebrity sightings.
I’m so jealous I love Hillary
I love how the seated couple tried to ignore it and then got up and got out of the way of her and the video.
It’s funny but not cool.
I’ve encountered quite a few celebrities here in Boston – they come here to work in the theaters or concerts, visit schools their kids attend, work on films and get medical procedures in our hospitals. They’re usually just trying to get where they’re going or eat their meals in peace. And people should let them do just that.
ah I live in the Boston area and used to live in DC and I am OBLIVIOUS to celebrities. I always thought I’d be cool and chill. Then one day I was standing in a hotel lobby and Conan O’Brien walked by. I legit almost ripped the suit coat of my friend standing next to me. I didn’t say anything to Conan, but I freaked. (And I literally have never even watched an episode of his show.)
Omg, i love Conan
My partner played peekaboo with Rob Schneider’s kids on a vacation, and that’s the closest celeb sighting I’ve ever had. I argued it wasn’t him the entire time until we recognized his wife.
I feel like even I would recognize Stiller though.
I had this chat with a friend about spotting celebs. Because I’m not British she thought I’d be mesmerised to see celebs which can happen super easily here. But I’m not at all. Obviously I’m the kind of person to whom this happens all the time, from Brian Ferry (at one of the events I was working for) to Thandie Newton and so many others. An acquaintance just spent a whole afternoon with Brad Pitt because he’s friends with an artist who is exhibiting in Europe and she’s an art advisor – I just thought it must be a drag to hand out with someone who people look at all the time.
Thing is: these people – most very famous actors – are not my heroes. I could not care less about Ben Stiller even if I enjoy him in some films. I am far more impressed with writers, film-makers, graphic novelists etc. Peele, Jim Jarmush, Tom Waits etc. And, obviously, they hardly get the same reactions because the celeb effect is all about an irrational feeling of familiarity and recognition IMO.
The Brentwood Country Mart is the hive for celebrities in LA. Definitely for pap shots but also for coffee and post soccer game lunch with the fam. I regularly saw stars in their normal habitat: , Gwyneth and Chris Martin pre conscious uncoupling, Anthony Hopkins, Dennis quaid, Michael Keaton, Sandra Bullock. Anyone who got papped there and then complained about the invasion of privacy is full of it— paps appear out of nowhere, celebrity drives up, take a bunch of pics and then they scatter. Always planned and orchestrated.
Oh man! I wish I knew this two weeks ago. My friend was vacationing in LA and she was really disappointed not to run into even a single celebrity.
He does seem to get better looking with age. Nice. I guess it just a luck thing. Subway is great because generally everyone just want to get to their destination and try not to look around so much, so it’s a good way to get around without being noticed. On the other hand, there are all types of freaks coming out in tunnels of subways. Not that this lady is a freak.
Nah, this lady is definitely a freak. Albeit a harmless, somewhat funny one. Anyone acting like this in a subway in a big city is breaking MAJOR social contracts.
Oh hon, you’re way too uptight. I’m really rethinking visiting NY, sounds like the perception of rude people might be right. Lol
“Dodgeball” has been playing a lot on Encore lately, that movie is hi-larious! White Goodman is one of his best-ever characters. Tropic Thunder, Starsky & Hutch and Mystery Men are other favorites of mine. He’s a comic genius when it comes to making his characters juuust short of over-the-top.
I’ve never actually met a celebrity, but my bff and I were in NYC many years ago (1999) and we saw Val Kilmer getting into a limo. We shouted his name and he smiled & flashed us the peace sign.
Have you seen him in “The secret life of Walter Mitty”? If not, I highly recommend it. Not a typical Ben Stiller movie but he was Wonderful!!! in it. Very inspiring and heartwarming. Oh my gosh I love Mystery Men and haven’t seen it in years, I know what I’ll be watching this weekend!
isn’t he a notorious douche bag? i feel like this situation was she was over the top and he handled it nicely.
and ben stiller is very good looking and aging well. looking back – he was totally hot in reality bites and he was also hot in that movie keeping the faith where he plays a sexy rabbi.
agree with ALL of this
yes he’s a douche
yes he handles it really well
yes he looks amazing- def aging really well- but yeah he WAS hot in reality bites and Keeping the faith
a 19 year old thinks troy was hot. a 35 year old knows michael was hotter.
Glad I’m not the only one who thinks he’s a db and I love all the celeb spotting stories on this piece.
I’m in Chicago and my two biggest celeb sightings were Morrissey (strolling along the lakefront) and Rupert Everett (crossing the street in front of my car).
Having been a huge Smiths fan it was tempting to say something to Morrissey but it didn’t seem right. He was with a companion and they seemed deep in conversation. He knew I recognized him, though, because I almost wiped out on my bike right in their path and we made eye contact as I sheepishly rode off.
I love that your celeb sightings are two British celebs… in Chicago!
I’m glad you just pedaled on through
Esmom. While I love Morrissey and The Smiths, he’s well known for being an irascible guy. I was reading up on him once and I discovered that him and Robert Smith (another fave) were feuding at one point. Bit of trivia I hadn’t known about. Anyway, it was on this British website and there were people speculating on who’d win in a fight. Everyone was for Robert since the consensus was that he was in reality a very nice man and as one man put it “much, much less of a tosser”…haha. I would have pedaled onward as well, while inwardly freaking out.
The only celebrity I’ve ever seen was Thom Yorke in Paris. And yes internally I geeked out but I played it cool and instead bumped him really hard when we crossed the street 🤦🏻♀️ Not my best moment but I touched Thom Yorke!!!!
I’m so oblivious I never notice anyone and I’m fine with that. I have no desire to bother a celebrity. I see you on tv and you play a role but you’re not that role and so what do I care about you outside of seeing you on a screen? I worked at Neiman Marcus one year and would always hear so and so was there but never saw. Besides not many people you’d see in Paris. Most people rich enough take a taxi and I’m not hanging around the 8th or on the Seine. They don’t really venture outside of that. When I saw Thom Yorke it was Fashion Week and he was coming from the Pompidou, which isn’t a fashion week place.
Speaking of Pompidou I was almost forgetting the art fairs I work in or go to: lots of celebs, especially the King and Queen of Spain in Arco, Madrid! Also Brigitte Macron at Fiac, Grand Palais, in Paris. Plus Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (back in the day) who I’ve missed according to the people that were with me.
In 1997 I waited on Patti Smith in a tiny restaurant in small town Maine. I was a teen at the time and a HUGe fan. No one I worked with even knew who she was.
About 10 years later, I was living in NYC and was talking to my boyfriend at the time about waiting on Patti Smith. As I finish the story, she comes around the corner and we bump into each other!!
About a week later, my fancy boss (think Miranda Priestly) gets an invite to a talk at the Met Museum on my favorite painting. He doesn’t want to go so he gives me the invitation. Who is speaking on the painting? None other than Patti Smith, as it’s her fave too.
I never said anything to her but maybe I should have.
dying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (maybe she is following you)
Have you ever heard Tig Notaro do the bit about how she kept bumping into Taylor Dane? Your story reminds me of it. If you can, go to YouTube and check it out. It’s hilarious.
Oh yes I love Tigs bit about Taylor Dane!
You should have said something to Patti, albeit quietly and without unpinning your hair. Patti is one of the nicest, most genuine, down to earth people in the world and she loves meeting and talking to her fans.
when i met her i went crazy and said “it is my great honor to meet you” and she said “thanks” and i said “thanks, she said humbly” and then she just looked at me like i was crazy cuz i was. lol forever
I just ran into Helena Bonham Carter in London last week. She was so low key just out shopping with friends. I didn’t talk to her, just freaked out silently to myself.
I was on the same flight as Rachel Bilson once. Before boarding I asked her to watch my bags while I used the loo and then I watched hers. She was really down to earth as well.
vancouver: ms. kd lang. i was working at a vegan restaurant and tried not to help her but she forced me to by asking if the vegan butter was free 🙂
many times patrick neil harris, jon bon jovi, buble, Tim MF Burton,
in New York: met Patti Smith, met Toni Morrison (never recover from either), stupid Woody Allen with his wife (step daughter), Kyira Sedgewick, Ben Stiller at Noam Baumbachs talk and I NEVER APPROACH or even acknowledge them (except for the veggie butter thing 🙂
oh and GLORIA MF STEINEM on the train (with us working schlubs) and she gave up her seat to my mum so we could sit together. also my mum fan girled.
Awww, that’s cure about your mom fangirling Gloria Steinem on the train. I’d love to meet her, TBH!
I have encountered a few celebrities while traveling abroad.
– Anne Hathaway at Columbus Circle (this was post The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted) having a discussion with her bank regarding a mortgage (I was waiting for someone to arrive and she was on the phone right next to me. I had to move a few feet away)
– Kirsten Dunst on her way to China Town in NYC.
– Gael Garcia Bernal (twice) once in Magdalene, Paris, and the other at a movie theatre in Buenos Aires.
– Timothy Spall at St Paul’s.
I never felt the need to approach them. I always feel embarrassed.
I met many others through work, but they don’t count.
It’s a little weird, but I think she just didn’t want to have her hair pinned in the picture she took with him.
I wonder if the reaction/attention made him nervous for his safety? I have only been to NYC one time, and the only celebrity I saw was Damian Lewis walking down the sidewalk one morning. He was with a little girl I presumed to be his daughter, so I didn’t approach him. However, I did manage to make a total awkward fool out of myself the one time Darius and Mark from Hootie & the Blowfish were sitting in the same section as me in the weather-delay-crowded Charleston airport and then wound up on my flight to Atlanta! I saw Scarlet Johanssen from about 20 yards away when she was a special guest at a Mardi Gras ball a long time ago, and she looked like a 6-year-old in very heavy make up- I don’t know where she gets the “curvy” description from.
I once ate dinner in NYC next to Joey Fatone when NSync was still Together and quite popular. My cousin and I (both of us around age 24 at the time) acted like we didn’t notice him but my mom and my aunt (around age 55-60) acted giddy the whole time. After he left, we found out they thought the bodyguard was the famous one and had no idea who he was. 😂
Am I the only one who thinks that this really sweet lady is a special needs person, along with a few other subway passengers that she was sitting with? It looks like they were on a group excursion or something, and Ben Stiller hopped on the train.
I wear a part time babysitter in high school, and the couple who I worked for, had adopted a special needs teen. She was the sweetest young lady ever, and even though we were the same age, she communicated a lot like this lady, and did not communicate as well and as effectively as her younger siblings.
I hadn’t thought of that, but it is entirely possible. It would also explain why everyone around her is being so patient with her.
For those who do not commute via busy city train systems, you need to understand the frustration of being packed in and sweaty, tired, trying to hold all your personal belongings, double-checking that no one has nicked your wallet, etc. This kind of over-the-top behavior would annoy the ever-loving hell out of me.
If you’re right, Ain’tNoTelling, I can see being as chill as Stiller and the other passengers were. Thank you for the new perspective.
Omg, no, she’s just excited about seeing him! I guess I must be weird, I could see getting all excited like that if I met a celebrity.
Super obscure celeb encounter…late 80s, Edmonton, Alberta. Superstore (large grocery store chain) cashier, express lane.
Stella Stevens. Looking adorable and casual. Came through the till, I was just 20 yrs old, but I grew up on Love Boat, Fantasy Island, etc. Stella Stevens was a fixture on those shows. I said something like, hello! It is so nice to meet you! That’ll be 19.95, here’s your change! Have a great day!
I think she was in town for a dinner theatre gig. Still. She was lovely, huge smile and I floated all day from my brief brush with a celebrity!
Jake Gyllenhaal bumped into me once on NYC. He was really sweet and apprlhixed profusely. It’s nyc, I used to live there but it seems every time I visit, I see a celeb. Recently saw Ryan Reynolds, Zazie Beetz (who complimented my hair!), Robert DeNiro and Macaulay Culkin. If they are doing their own thing like taking the subway, walking down the street, I don’t bother them. They are living their life. I try to respect that.
I once saw Joe Montana at Nieman Marcus’ restaurant. He was waiting for a table with his wife the same time I was waiting for mine. I didn’t approach him but I was fangirl dying inside.
He looks just like he does on tv.
I once walked behind actress Morgan Fairchild, at the Vancouver airport, at customs. She is very tiny and the customs official looked smitten.
I saw Forest Whitaker filming at the Toronto centre mall. He is also very small.
I spotted Susan Lucci and her husband at Harrod’s in London, again, very tiny, wearing 5 in heels.
I have met Deepak Chopra, who, exudes a glowing warmth.
Was in line behind the first Bachelor and Bachelorette, Trista and Ryan at a small Colorado airport. Another mom and daughter urged us to talk to them, they were saying goodbye to each other (not married yet) but I declined, saying, “we’re Canadian, we don’t do that.” (LOL) Trista was on our plane, but heading to LA.
I have also been on stage with Doug and the Slugs, if anyone remembers them.
They are nearly all tiny!! Once you know how small an actor is, then you know how small everyone is around him or her. For instance, Dennis Quaid is a small man. Maybe 5’6″ tops. We were eye to eye when I met him and I’m 5’6″. At the same party, Patricia Clarkson was teeny tiny and Julianne Moore is the teeny tiniest. I think it helps with getting parts if you are very short.
Similarly, once you know who is tall, like Geena Davis for instance, she can only play opposite tall guys. The tall women mean work for the tall guys. Uma Thurman is *really* tall. Saw her with her mother in the fruit & vegetable market. Her mother was also tall and beautiful. I think Laura Dern may be tall (never saw her in public). Trying to think of other tall people, but mostly, they are all short! And very often, lollipop heads, meaning their head is slightly larger in proportion to the rest of their bodies. Apparently that photographs well.
I saw Tom Waits in a costume shop standing next to a mask of Gerard Depardieu, I was in the middle of saying “look it’s Gerard Depardieu” when Tom turned to look at me. It was the oddest moment for my teen self who was at the time the biggest fan of Tom Waits. He was about to say something but my comment left us both dumbfounded and was forced to retreat and spy from a distance. The next time I saw him he was buying a mop at the grocery store and I pretended not to notice.
I never even think of L.A. having a public transit system, I don’t know why. Note to moviemakers: why aren’t there chase scenes on L.A. trains in movies?
The way this piece starts out is confusing, but I’m pretty sure Stiller was on the subway in NYC. LA doesn’t have a subway system to the best of my knowledge.
@amayson1977: LA has had a subway system since 2009, if IIRC. You can travel all the way from North Hollywood, to Long Beach. I have taken the subway there (LB) several times.
Aint No Telling: You mean since the early-mid 90’s, not ’09. I remember them digging up for the red line in ’93 and the blue line was well in place in ’97. Was a 90’s teen/LA girl : )
LA has an AMAZING transit system for such a giant metro area. I know because I did college in the city and didn’t drive till I was 23. I now live in PDX which touts it’s system but it’s nothing compared to LA’s, plus it costs much more and is not reliable.
PS my random sightings:
Alanis Morrisette + Fiona Apple, separately, each in different vintage stores on the same day, in town for the grammy’s I think, in 98. Wasn’t a fan of either so didn’t care, just kept on shopping.
Lorelai Gilmore at my neighborhood market in 06 – the one I should have said “hi” but decided to let her be.
Lots of others – some high profile but not really worth mentioning. Never saw anyone I really cared about 🙁
Not to brag but I once bumped into Constantine Maroulis. Bo Bice too. I can never forget following Canadian rocker, winner of Rock star Inxs contest, J. D. Fortune on his way to the parking because I thought he was Adam Scott.
I was a stage hand and a fan club member so I saw a lot of A list people but seeing them doing normal chores gives me a different excitement.
I saw Carrot Top running down the sidewalk in Winter Park, a suburb of Orlando. I stopped and looked because he was shirtless and had an incredible body! I was so mortified when my eyes wandered to the face and it was GASP Carrot Top!!
That poor man! I don’t understand how people can carry on like that. He’s riding the subway, living his life. He’s entitled to peace and privacy. This woman’s freakout had the whole damn subway car in his face. So many people say he’s an asshole but he was very pleasant in that situation, which must have been exhausting for him.
I hung out in LA a lot during my party years and saw/met a lot of celebrities. A friend of a friend was an agent and she’d get us into parties and clubs. The funny part was I never recognized anyone, they always had to be pointed out to me. They looked so normal and not like what I saw on the screen or video and it was very confusing trying to figure out if the person I was talking to was the actual person on the screen. I usually ended up sounding like an idiot and just stopped talking to anyone remotely famous.
Ive always gotten a douchey vibe from ben stiller myself
My sightings from living in NYC:
David duchoveney in a vegan restaurant. Had to do a double take because it WAS him but he looked so different. His face was quite aged so they must put a lot of makeup on him for shows
Rachel Weiz walking with then partner director Darren arnofsky in the west village. It was night but she’s beautiful
Director James Cameron in restaurant in Soho. His fancy $$ bright color car was parked outside and had some sign or maybe it was his license plate say “terminator” or something like that haha
I encountered Ben Stiller in Vancouver’s Seabus Station, and I was just having That Day, that kinda day where everything is just shit, and then I look up and this glorious man gives me a glorious smile with full eye contact and… I couldn’t handle it, and went on my gruff way. Ben, sorry. Your hotness registered. I just had shit to deal with that day.
Fuck my life, I should have given him my number.
I used to own a restaurant and back in the early 2000s helped Keanu Reeves escape paparazzi via the private basement exit. He was incredibly polite, sweet and lovely. And very tall. And did I mention lovely….?
Keanu Reeves, love him.
I have heard many times that Keanu has very good manners and is generally chill and a nice guy about meeting his fans.
It must be so tiring to always be noticed. And now, everyone wants a photo too.
Ben Stiller is aging very nicely.
Pfft. I’ve lost count of all the “famous” people I have seen in NYC and elsewhere. My very first week in NY as a young twenty year-old, I saw next to Susan Sarandon in a restaurant. After that: Dustin Hoffman, Sterling Gray, Willem Dafoe, Bernadette Peters, Robert DeNiro, John Kennedy, Marisa Tomei, Garrison Keillor (surely one of the weirdest looking people ever), Chrissie Hynde, Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, John Slattery (incredibly handsome in person), Iman, Malcolm Gladwell, Isaac Asimov, CAPTAIN KANGAROO (I kid you not!), Elliott Gould, Christy Turlington, Edward Burns, Robert Downey Jr., Richard Gere, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Audre Lorde, Delroy Lindo once auditioned for me in my living room, David Byrne, Kelsey Grammar (who was also sitting next to me in a very cramped restaurant and changed his seat when he realized I recognized him), Carol Kane, Mike Myers, John Sayles (once sat next to him, thigh to thigh, at the car mechanic), Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Clarkson, Mamie Gummer, Mikhail Barishnikov, George Abbott, Madonna, Peter Dinklage, Eric Bogosian, Philip Glass, Tim Robbins (carrying a hockey stick), Candice Bergen… I’m sure I’m leaving out many.
And this does not include all the well-known people I have met through my work. I think most people just don’t look at other people or else simply don’t recognize a person out of context, because I see well-known people everywhere.
And you leave people alone so they can have their life.
Hiya, long-time lurker, second time poster here. 👋🏻
I’m German but used to live in London for many years and had my fair share of celeb spottings and one actual run-in:
Stephen Fry, Peter Capaldi, Miriam Margolyes and comedian David Mitchell on two different evenings at the same, actually not that fancy a restaurant.
Tilda Swinton during the interval of Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Hamlet at the Barbican. She was there with her two partners.
Speaking of BC: I once queued right behind him at a literary book festival buying, er, a book. Very slim and wiry build, surprisingly not as tall as I expected from watching Sherlock. Martin Freeman must be incredibly short …
Alex Skarsgard passing by a fancy hotel in central London. Stellan Skarsgard walking near Trafalgar Square having a heated conversation with a female companion.
Dame Judy Dench at the table next to me and my friend at the restaurant where were having her birthday lunch. She was playing Queen Titania at a small local theatre in a suburb of London. She kind of swooshed in, sat down at the table with a group of her fellow cast and me and my friend almost choked on our olives. We didn’t speak to her but from the way she acted around her fellow actors we could tell she had incredible charisma and a warmth about her. But that wasn’t all. Once we recovered from the shock Richard E. Grant walks in with his wife and daugther and – after saying hello to Dame Judy – sits down at the other table next to us! My friend and I then went to see Midsummer Night’s Dream that evening and what can I say: Judy Dench was in her late 70s at the time and even though she portrayed Queen Titania, who is a very sensual woman in her prime, Judy Dench was the essential Titania. A very memorable afternoon and evening.
My favourite celeb encounter happened in July 2009 in the then new Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. It was early afternoon and the check-in area almost devoid of any other passengers. Most check-in desks were unoccupied except for one in the middle of the big terminal hall. So I aimed for that one with my huge suitcase in tow. As I was approaching the desk I could see a man at the opposite end of the hall going for the exact same desk. As we got closer to each other I kept looking at him and wondering: ‘His face looks familiar… How do I know him??‘ And the moment we both turned to walk to the desk, it suddenly hit me: Colin Firth! I was so shocked that I stumbled and fell over my own feet and my suitcase while Mr. Firth made use of my clumsiness by getting ahead of me in the queue. As I scrambled to my feet he turned around once and looked at me (I like to think to make sure I was ok, not to laugh at me). I just stood behind him acting very cool on the outside but on the inside I was fangirling (and feeling very embarrassed). He‘s an incredibly attractive man, very tall, slim and with an impeccable dress sense. Sigh.
That reaction was a bit much. Last time I was in New York, I saw Giselle Bunchen walking around Soho. My SIL was with me and said it wasn’t her because she wasn’t tall enough, but it most certainly was her. We just walked on by and minded our own business.
My favorite celebrity sighting was Anthony Bourdain in 2016. It was classic, he came into Chateau Marmont for happy hour, walked by us and sat at the next table. I loved his show so much and it was a fun moment that day. Just moments before I told my husband that a trip to LA is complete when you see somebody famous…. haha and in walks one of my favorite stars. We didn’t gawk at him or impose. Miss him so much.
I waited on Andre 3000 when I was still serving. He’s just as cool as you’d think he’d be. I came out on the patio to him wiping the rainwater off his table. I said “Oh no, let me get that for you”. In the smoothest voice he says “Naw, a little work is good for me”. Whoo.
Also, a friend of mine ran into Owen Wilson at a club here in Atlanta. She goes “Hey you’re Owen Wilson!” And he completely ignores her as he pushes through her. Not at all surprising. He’s not known for being much more than a douchebag.
In Toronto, early nineties my friend and I were at a small cinema one very cold winter night. She starts hitting my arm and saying “Idaho”. And I’m like what the hell are you talking about? I look up and then keeping looking up and right in front of us is Keanu Reeves (very tall). He looks at us and we look at him and then he takes off running upstairs to the balcony level. We break down laughing hysterically. We don’t know if he left or what happened to him, but honestly we weren’t going to bother him. He’s about my age so we were around 25. Gorgeous man
This summer I saw Anthony Kiedis of RDCP in Venice. His dog kept coming to my table and I wasn’t 100% sure it was him. He was really small and wore a lot of make-up. Everyone around us acted like nothing was going one, but the moment he left, everyone started taking secret pictures 🙂
I’ve seen so many celebs around NYC, I’ve lost count.
My Ben Stiller story:
One time I was walking by NYU and saw him coming towards me. He was in a white t shirt and black jeans. We made eye contact and I could tell he knew I recognized him. I gave a meek smile and went on my way. (I don’t bother celebs when they’re going about their day to day lives).
The very next day, I was again by NYU for whatever reason, and again I saw Ben Stiller cominh towards me and he was in the exact same outfit; like a uniform. Again eye contact, this time he said “Hello again.” I replied “Hey” and went on my merry way. LOL
I feel like “Bella Bella” above. I’ve lived in Manhattan for decades, during which I’ve seen just about every celebrity imaginable. At a certain point it becomes more a matter of who you haven’t seen rather than who you have. I used to run into a lot more of them, but I don’t think NYC is the hub for the arts that it once was, and so not quite as many just walking around. During the Bloomberg years rents ran so high that it drove away young people interested in the arts. Without them the ‘scene’ lost much of its juice and now isn’t what it used to be. Years back Al Pacino, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Steve Van Zandt, lived in buildings right down the block from me. I’d see them all the time. But as the NYC art’s scene lost its verve, people like that moved away.
In reading the article and comments I started to think back to famous people I’d seen on the streets. One of the first I encountered when I had just moved to NYC was John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who I saw just walking by Central Park. I was a huge Beatles fan as a kid, and so that was a major event for me. I think Lennon’s murder had a lot to do with the expectation of people leaving celebrities alone in NY. At one time famous people thought it part of their work to be ingratiating and polite to the fans. But after that, celebrities no longer could rely on who it was that wanted to greet them. Who could blame them? Since then, even if you say hello to many celebrities in NYC, they won’t look back, acknowledge, nothing. They want to make it home, not wind up on the front page of the NY Post.
Considering that, I think Stiller was a pretty good sport. Plenty of celebs in NYC would have been scared as all heck with someone going off the beam like that. Especially in a setting that you can’t get away from, like a moving subway. Good for Ben for handling it so well.
I passed by Hulk Hogan and his wife in a hotel when I was visiting LA. During the same trip, I noticed the brother from Wonder Years, Jason Hervey, at a bar – he was very short.