"Became Very Arrogant": 40 People Who Knew Celebrities Before They Were Famous Reveal What They Were Like

I can't remember before my aunt was famous (Alex Kingston- played River Song in doctor who) but I remember going to her wedding and meeting Matt Smith who played the Doctor in doctor who and him fixing my flip-flop, the best moment of my life ever.

Kesha.

Total nerd. 1600 on her SATs. Quiet. A bit of a social outcast. Nice, though. You could tell she cared about others and wouldn't ever hurt a flea.

A close family friend was best friends with Tom Cruise before he got famous. I didn’t believe her and she showed me pictures they have taken together like a Vegas road trip, camping, etc. He was really awesome but as soon as he got an ounce of fame it went to his head and he became very arrogant and a fame w***e

I went to middle school with Justin Bieber, even played on the school soccer team together. I always thought he was a d**k, really stuck up and self centred.

But for the longest time I legitimately thought his name was Justin Beaver, and I would call him that every time I talked to him and I always wondered why he got to angry.

So maybe he was only a d**k to me.

When my dad was in the Army, he and some other army members were invited to the filming set of Saving Private Ryan. They were asked to show the actors how to hold guns and how to act like real soldiers. He told me that he met Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks during his time there. He said that both of them seemed like nice people, but said that Tom Hanks in particular was incredibly down to earth, genuine and has a great sense of humour. I know this is after he became famous, but it's nice to know fame didn't turn him into something negative.

Tyler the Creator - Exactly the same. We were all concerned at how bizarre he was.

He would call people “a table” or something incredibly random and the sense of humor caught on in my high school. The fame did nothing, he’s still strange and a sweetheart.

Went to middle school with Megan Fox for a bit. She rode my bus and she mostly kept to herself. Most of the guys would fight over who was going to sit next to her but she was very shy and didn't really have much to say.

When I was really young I’d go the reptile park, originally owned by Bob Irwin and passed on to his son Steve. Steve was always nice, would do all the lizard and croc shows, would hang out and chat afterwards. My dad would take me there occasionally and Steve would seem to remember us, treated everyone like an old buddy.

This was before he became famous obviously, and the small reptile park became the Australia Zoo. In my final year of high school I got in the zoo for work experience and they let me stay on. Steve was rarely there, and when he was he’d avoid guests (because they would swarm him and he’d get nothing done) but when I did run into him he was always super nice and still acted like that old friend.

Didn’t say crikey nearly as much as you’d think. That’s definitely something aussies say but he really played that up for the cameras as his catchphrase. Unfortunately he died later that year so... right up til the end he was just a lovely person

Edit: getting a lot of similar questions and comments sooooo
1. No I’m not from Beerwah. I had to travel 45mins each day to get to the zoo, it was worth it.
2. Aussies do say crikey. I think it’s more of a Queensland thing and usually said by older generations.
3. Steve’s dad Bob is an awesome dude too who I also had the pleasure of meeting outside the zoo

Fun story: first time I ran into Steve while working there he was holding two coconut halves up to his chest like a bra and sheepishly put them behind his back when I walked into the staff area as the others around him burst out laughing. It was some joke, I forget what it was, I just walked in at a very awkward moment.

My dad was good friends with Will Smith before the Fresh Prince days - Will actually showed him the pilot before it aired. Fast forward however many years to After Earth and Will invited us on the set. His first words when he saw my dad 10+ years later was “the philly crew is back!” Both will and Jaden are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet

My dad also did all of the work on Will Smith’s and Jazzy Jeff’s cars back in the day. Had a little too much fun in Will’s Jeep and flipped it on its roof. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

Jennifer Lawrence. I moved to Louisville middle of 7th grade year. She was my first friend, and the first person I had a sleepover with. We hit it off. She was very different from me, a cheerleader, came from a lot of wealth, but her family was really awesome and we were both kinda weird and outgoing so we become good friends very fast. Her family owned a farm that had a children’s summer camp (Hi-Ho) and we went to it a couple of times, she had one of her birthday parties there! I remember her kissing our friend Jon under a trampoline. We talked about it for way too long! We hung out fairly often until she moved to NYC a year and half after we met.

We started taking acting classes together in 8th grade at a local theater here in town, Walden Theater. It’s funny because on our first day, we had no idea we were both taking the class. I walked in to the first one, and there she was. We were both so excited to have a friend! We were in the first level of the theater but after a couple weeks, both moved to the intermediate class (we were the oldest people in the class, so that’s why they moved us up so fast)

We carpooled together to Walden Theater every Tuesday and Thursday for acting class. I would ride the bus home with her, her mom would take us to class, then my mom would pick us up and take her home. She was a natural at acting, I’ll tell you that. I was still somewhat shy, but she could pretty much be given any character and even though she was 14, you’d believe it. She ALWAYS talked about how she had a photographic memory, and that’s how she was able to remember lines so easily. And she did. It was insane.

*i have read where she said she’s had no prior acting, but this isn’t true? I’m not sure if she said this for a part of her look, or maybe she considered it informal, but we definitely took acting classes our entire 8th grade year

I will say, what you see with her is what you get. She was always very quirky, kinda weird (which was funny because she was so preppy presenting, but really wasn’t like that), she was very loud, made her presence known. It’s been bizarre seeing her in interviews because she acts the exact same.

I remember she moved to NYC to pursue modeling between 8th and 9th grade. It worked because soon after she was in a commercial for Burger King and a couple of MTV’s “My Sweet 16” commercials as well. She was doing online classes for our high school (Ballard High School) and came to visit one time in 9th grade and another in 10th grade. I squealed when I saw her, I genuinely missed her. I had no idea she was about to become one of the most famous actresses of our generation.

I always hear she comes to town for holidays, but at this point I have no idea how to contact her. She had a private Facebook for a while (assuming it was really her, for a time, I had a few fake accounts for her request to be my Facebook friend, along with a lot of people we went to school with), the last time we spoke was for my 21st bday (I’m 29 now) but I would love to catch up with her. I can’t help but wonder if she remembers me.

I still have her yearbook photo she signed hanging up in my room, our yearbooks and a couple photos from a disposable camera.

My aunt went to highschool with obama and apparently he was called barry. Otherwise he was basically the same.

I went to high school with Post Malone. We graduated the same year. He always wore a suit to class and was that nerdy dedicated kid. Glad to see how his life turned out. I hoped nothing for the best for him and now I listen to him all the time haha. I’m just a rando to him though. We never really talked

I went to high school with Sandra Oh. She was funny, dynamic, smart, outgoing, and very into drama. In one school play, she played what I will call sort of a mime character - she didn’t have lines but was still a big part of the action, commenting on what was going on through her actions. Anyhow, in one scene as she was exiting the stage she banged her head on one of the props - you could hear the loud bang- but she was a pro and just carried on. It has been great to see her have such success, and I love that she has kept in touch with her close friends from high school (you can spot them at awards show sometimes).

My older brother went to school with Chris Pratt, and was in his German class. Chris told the teacher his older brother was in Germany and said he could grab her a piece of the Berlin Wall. Two weeks later Chris grabbed a piece of concrete from the sidewalk, spray painted it, and gave it to her. The last time I check (2018) it was still there.

Chris Evans was really obnoxious as a popular local teenage actor. Imagine his character from Scott Pilgrim but as a kid. He grew up and grew out of being obnoxious and I’m happy for his absurdly successful career.

I knew Robert Pattinson about 15 years ago. Nice guy, friendly, a lot of fun to be with. He lived by himself in the centre of Soho, London, in a tiny one-bed flat that I think he felt like the romantic vision of a starving artist, or at least wanted to.

He had a weird side. He'd say random, violent, depraved things. He was obsessed with Jack Nicholson. He never really gave a f**k, he had confidence and he was always himself, and he knew he could be deliberately contradictory and he used that as a personality trope. But he was a good guy, and I get the impression he's very comfortable with himself now that he has developed his career, that he acts very well, and that he can pick and choose his roles based upon what he wants to do and who he wants to work with.

Twilight for him was always a means to an end, and I think he worked it very much to his benefit, and didn't compromise himself.

I went to Junior High with Norah Jones. She was the most sincere and serene person. She was fun to talk to and she never gave a hint of who her father was. The night she won all those Grammys was very telling that she hadn't changed a bit.

I went to high school with Mark Ruffalo. He was nice. He was “one of those thespians”. Our high school had an acting group that challenged the students to get out of their shell and do things in front of strangers like introducing yourself as the wild fairy of the woods and presenting them with a flower.

We didn’t talk much, but like I said, he was a good guy.

I went to high school with Dacre Montgomery. He was a d**k with a huge ego in high school and I saw him recently when he came back to his home town and seems like hes still a d**k with an even bigger ego now. I can't watch Stranger Things without rolling my eyes every time he comes on screen.

I had a teacher who taught drake. Apparently he was a nice kid but then got really douchey when he started getting famous.