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People Share Their Most Mundane Celebrity Encounters

Close Encounters of the Celebrity Kind

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On his 2014 album Mandatory Fun, Weird Al Yankovic sang all about mundane celebrity encounters in the song Lame Claim to Fame. In the lyrics, he mentions being in the checkout line behind Steven Seagal, sharing a public restroom with Jonah Hill and staying in the same hotel as Zooey Deschanel.

A lot of us have that friend who likes to say 'did I ever tell you about the time...' then recount a similarly underwhelming celebrity close encounter.

So Reddit user ghostx2 asked "What's your most mundane celebrity encounter?"

Here are just a few of the highlights.

Sharon Needles

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I once stood behind Sharon Needles at a Lady Bunny show. She stepped on my toe by accident

It was awesome.

Edward James Olmos

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I saw Edward James Olmos on a flight once as I was boarding. He smiled and nodded. My wife wondered why I was grinning like a fool at an old Mexican man.

Stephen King and Molly: the Thing of Evil

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I was sitting on the beach at 7am watching the sunrise, next thing I know, some weird guy is walking behind me with his dog. He looked super disheveled and creepy, and he just kind of waved and kept walking. It was just my mom, stepdad, and I on the beach. That's when we realized who it was - it was Stephen King.

Here's a picture of my mom with him, she was totally caught off guard as he's been her favorite author for decades.

Patrick Stewart

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I waved at Patrick Stewart and he waved back.

Johnny Knoxville

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Sat next to Johnny Knoxville on a plane once.

LeVar Burton

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When I was younger, we went into NYC for something or other, and Levar Burton was at the table next to us. Since I was a kid and watched Reading Rainbow, it was awesome. I was also too shy to say hi or to want to bother him, so he was just there, being left alone.

Shaq

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I was walking into a movie theater bathroom and Shaq was washing his hands. Had I been there 30 seconds earlier I could've stood beside Shaq at a urinal. DAMMIT!

John Goodman

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I saw John Goodman during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I said "I love your work Mr. Goodman." He said, "thanks."

Kid Rock

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My work van broke down in front of Kid Rock's house. While waiting for tow truck I was asked to move by security, when I explained why I was there he came out with a beer. Chatted 10 mins and went back in.

Robert Redford

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I was eating at the restaurant by Sundance Ski Resort. Robert Redford strolled by, walking on lemon wedge that was on the floor. A lemon seed flew out and hit me on the ankle.

Suge Knight

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Walked past Suge Knight and his entourage. Thought to myself, "was that Suge Knight?" and then some girl was like "OMG, that was Suge Knight"... then I was like, "Yeah, it was Suge Knight"

Stephen Hawking

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My friend held the door open for Stephen Hawking, at a Holiday Inn.

Sal Vulcano

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Sal Vulcano from the Impractical Jokers rides with my company a bunch. One time just cause I wanted to talk to him cause i'm a fan I called him to give him his drivers info and he apologized a bunch for various things.

Which is apparently a thing he does, I learned it on the Inside Jokes episode that he doesn't do well socially and apologizes out of nervous habit and it turns out to be true.

Something like "Yea sorry, I can't check my phone sorry, we're taxiing to the gate now sorry".

Eminem

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Saw Eminem getting a slushy at 7-ELEVEn. I too was getting one and said "how's it going" in a very casual manner barely giving notice kind of way. Dude behind counter was acting like the President of the United States just walked in.

Mark Ruffalo

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Used to work in SoHo, NYC, and one time Mark Ruffalo came in with his kids. When he got to the registers, the cashier didn't recognize him. He asked Mark if he had an account with the store, and then needed to look Mark Ruffalo up by phone number. Mark gave a number that, presumably, was his agents, because when the cashier searched he got back like Julia Roberts, Samuel Jackson, and some other celebs. Cashier looked legit confused, and it wasn't until he was like, "Okay, what's your first and last name?" and Mark went, "Ruffalo, Mark" that the cashier got all red and was like "OMG I LOVED YOU IN THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT."

Mark played it very cool, was super casual, and just in general was a nice dude, even though he obviously wanted to GTFO.

Simon Pegg

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I sold some stationery to Simon Pegg when I was working at Borders.

I honestly did not even think it was him at first because it was like a regular Tuesday afternoon. We really didn't say anything throughout the transaction, but at the end I asked him, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like the guy from Shaun of the Dead?" And he replied in a voice I easily recognized, "I am the guy from Shaun of the Dead."

Gary Busey

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Gary Busey took a photo of my wife and I on our honeymoon in Hawaii. He was surprised we asked him to take our picture instead of the other way around.

Criss Angel & Daniel Tosh

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I saw Criss Angel and Daniel Tosh walking down the street together in Vegas, I said I was a fan in passing and Tosh told me to go f$#% myself.

Robin Williams

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When I was 7 or so they were filming a Jumanji scene right down the street from my house (where Robin Williams handcuffs the cop to the car or something). I climbed a tree in my front yard to watch the filming. In between takes Robin saw me and waved at me. I was way to nervous to meet him.

If you watch the scene it ends with a camera pan and the scene cuts right before it would show my old house and the tree I was in.

Was He Nicer Than Chevy Chase?

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President Ford tossed me a nickel at a parade.

I was 5. I ate it.

I remember my mom holding my head over the toilet as I was vomiting it back up- saying "Damn President Ford!"

Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

Keep reading...Show less