“Took My Breath Away”: 50 Stories From People Who’ve Worked Around Celebrities

Ahh finally my time to shine:
My sister has worked on all the seasons of the Mandolorian show so far and is also helping with the movie. Pedro got to befriend her and ONE DAY while I’m on the d**n toilet in the morning, I get a face time call from her.
I answer going “ Heeeyyyy b***h!” And what do I get in return? A very classy, VERY sweet “ HEEEEYYYY BIIIITTTCHH!” From f*****g PEDRO PASCAL.

We talked for 15 mins and he was super f*****g nice man. He complimented my sister, we talked about his time on GoT and then he peaced out to shoot some scenes.

Met quite a few working in hospitality in Yellowstone NP in my younger days. Most I dealt with just want to be normal & do their thing. Wanted a meal or drink without staring or fan interruptions.

Hanging in a bar (dating the bartender) in 1986 with Jeff Bridges. We spent 2 hours talking about a whole bunch of things you’re not supposed to in bars-politics, environment, relationships, etc. He got up to leave & asked, “You know who I am, don’t you?” I said, “Sure, do Mr. Bridges.” His response? “Thanks so much for not mentioning it. It’s been a great hanging out with you.”.

My hairdresser worked closely with Christopher Walken as hair and makeup for a movie he worked. He was an absolute sweetheart, classy, kind and generous to everyone, including the crew.

He learned everyone’s names, wanted to know about their lives, and checked in often.

At the wrap party he brought everyone gifts, and invited her to dance - so they waltzed for part of the night. She has a huge signed photo of them together, and it was a really positive early career moment for her.

My dad used to work at a Sporting Goods Store in Idaho, and Robin Williams was in line at the register. A very entitled woman was directly in front of him making a big scene about a retail purchase that didn’t matter. He was seen to be making faces and directly making fun of her reactions right behind her.

The staff loved it! He was such a sweet man. Can you imagine getting made fun of by Robin Williams because you are being an a*s? 👌🏻.

Daniel Radcliffe hides at comic cons in full costumes. While he handed me his ID, I thought it was a Spencer’s prop. He was dressed in a Spider-Man costume.

Kevin smith has just always been a regular dude, he once handed me $100 to spoil my senior dachshund when she was on cancer hospice "she eats steak".

Worked with Mathew Lilliard. Nicest dude ever.

I worked in production at major celebrity events (movie premieres, award shows, sporting events) for a decade.

I've got anecdotes for pretty much anyone who was famous between the years of 2004-2014.

That said, one of the things I learned in that time was that it is incredibly incredibly draining to have to be "on" 24/7, and how unfair it is for people to judge you entirely based on one interaction that they'll remember (and dissect) for decades. Every. Single. Thing.

To misquote the late great Raul Julia, "for you, this moment was important. For me, it was Tuesday."

What I'm saying is that yes I can tell you stories about how super famous people were mean or nice or annoyed or sweet or angry but it's just one moment of their lives and everyone is imperfect. No one is just one thing or should be defined by just one interaction.

So I'll save all the scandalous stuff that would be blown out of proportion and out of context.

But because i can't give y'all nothing, here are some quick hits:

- Howie from the Backstreet Boys is incredibly, incredibly good looking. Like it took my breath away how handsome he was in person and I really wasn't expecting it.

- Megan Fox always had great breath. Like, notably minty fresh, 100% of the time.

- Paul Rudd makes sustained eye contact in a way that makes you feel like you're the only person in the room. But everyone in the room feels that way. The charisma just drips off of this man, it's wild.

- Nick Lachey always accepted the free gifts that were being offered to him but he'd give them to his staff and entourage. Would drive the sponsors nuts because the point was for him to be seen wearing and using these things, but I thought it was cool that he was taking care of his "people".

- Every celebrity is smaller than you think. Like, really really small. The one who shocked me the most was Prince. Everyone knows that he was short but he was incredibly slight, too.
Honestly though I never saw a celebrity who I wouldn't define as "slight". Even the men. Unless they were actively bulking up for a role, they are all much skinnier than your average dude. It's unnerving.

- A shocking number of celebrities either don't know how to drive, or have lost their drivers' licenses. Like, a significant percentage.

- D***s are done so casually and openly that it stopped being scandalous pretty early on in my career. Just everywhere.

- Most of the celebrities I dealt with were just desperate to be treated like normal people. Only a small handful were universally "difficult" or "demanding" 100% of the time.

Another celebrity I met back in 2017 was Jesse McCartney. He grabbed a few clothing items and politely asked to be let into the fitting room. He was super nice. I helped hang his clothes in the fitting room and closed the door behind him.

Then a coworker walked up to me and said, *“Did you see Jesse McCartney? D**n, he got fat. He really let himself go.”*
I just stood there frozen mouthing *He's in there!* (F*****g embarrassing!). He definitely heard the entire conversation.

I’ll never forget the way Jesse came out of that fitting room his shoulders slumped and his whole demeanor had shifted. I walked him over to the register. He ended up leaving almost all the clothes behind and just bought a hat and a couple of shirts.

Then, when it came time to pay he pulled out loose bills and coins from his wallet. He looked at me and said quietly, “I don’t have enough,” and started putting items back. I could tell he was going through it financially. I told him, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll give you a discount,” and he looked so relieved. It was honestly really sad I could just tell he was hurting and that moment stuck with me. Fame comes at you fast. I hope he's doing better.

Pamela Anderson is one of the most genuinely kind and wonderful people I’ve ever met, and appeared to be an absolutely wonderful mother. I’ve met her multiple times, starting when her sons were much younger, and she’s always been delightful. So unassuming as well.

I have regular access to some bands that were hitting peak famous in the days of bands where they would be in (and are in) “when we were young” fest. The thing that cracks me up is that these dudes are like dads now and whatnot. So I’ll go in to the dressing room and see veggies, hummus, and white claw. And they start calling their spouses and kids as soon as they get off the stage and recover from diving into the pit. It’s so wholesome. It’s adorable.

I’ve mentioned this before on similar posts, but I’ve waited on George Lucas’ table several times. He is very quiet, polite, good vibes, absolutely no trouble at all, and tips. 10/10, would wait on his table any day.

One I haven't shared.... My friend ran a smoothie shop in Montecito, and every single day Christopher Lloyd would come in, order the peanut butter smoothie with no chocolate (it didn't come with chocolate, but he always politely asked for no chocolate anyway), and just put the order under Chris.

He was a delightful polite neighbor.

I've worked with Steve Buscemi and he is the nicest, kindest, loveliest man you can imagine! I brought my 9 year old son to the set one day and he engaged him in a long and genuine conversation ("I bet you haven't seen any of my movies!" was his opener). Just the absolute best. A truly good person.

Gwyneth Paltrow brings her food preprepared most places in really nice glass containers. She then leaves the containers wherever she ate them and walks away. I had a set of her containers for a while but I left them at my parents house.

Daniel Radcliffe rolled his own cigarettes (when he smoked, no idea if he does now) and is genuinely as nice as everyone says he is. He always stood up for the crew in every respect, even if it put him in uncomfortable situations. Everyone called him Rad on set, and it’s true, he is rad.

A friend of mine has waited on taylor swift a couple of times and she tipped over 100% both times.

Worked with Victoria Beckham at one of her fashion launches in a London department store. Genuinely nice & funny woman who showed gratitude towards those working for her. Her launch was to include a 3 course dinner in the department store restaurant for her & business associates/agency ppl but she was anxious about eating a lot - she even asked to speak to the head chef to trim down her portion sizes without the other guests noticing.

I know someone who works with tons of celebrities. He says the most arrogant a*****e he ever worked with was Kevin Hart.

Jay Z has incredibly soft hands (softer than you’re thinking - softer than a very soft child - his hands are almost unnervingly soft)
Karlie Kloss is smart and funny and always remembered things about you — she also helped us with a huge project at work and literally packed boxes for several hours with hourly employees.
Anderson Cooper is just so nice it’s unreal. Big tipper.
Chrissy Teigan is an actual beast.