20 celebrities who turned out to be good people in real life (21 photos)

Netizens shared their stories of random (and not so random) meetings with a variety of celebrities, but they all had one thing in common: they turned out to be surprisingly nice people in real life.





1. “Arnold. I met him at the Arnold [Classic] in 1996 and at the bodybuilding gym in 2000. There weren't any cameras around and he was still incredibly motivating. He told everyone that you could see how hard they worked and how great they looked. He signed photos for children and smoked cigars like a locomotive. Great guy. 100% real man."



2. “Morgan Freeman. We are from the same state (Mississippi). I was having lunch near his hometown when I spotted him. He took the time to talk to me, despite my huge fanboy grin, and paid for my order before leaving. Best lunch of my life. In short, I met God."





3. “I remember seeing Keanu Reeves in New York a long time ago when I was a young (and probably very annoying) teenager. I shouted, “Hey, Neo!” and then mimed dodging a bullet from The Matrix. He looked back at me, laughed and repeated the same gesture as a sign of gratitude. It's such a great memory because I feel like anyone in his position could have shrugged it off in annoyance and it would have been justified, but instead he was a good guy and played along with me. I will never forget this."



4. “A few years ago, my grandmother (then about 75 years old) went to chemotherapy sessions in Boston with Adam Sandler’s father. Every week she watched as Adam Sandler, wearing sunglasses, came with his father to chemotherapy. She had stage 3 cancer at the time and was under a lot of stress, and I swear Adam Sandler was rubbing her back and calming her down before he walked in. Unfortunately, his father died that same year, but my grandmother made a full recovery. I never really liked Adam Sandler's work, but the way he treated my sick, elderly grandmother was incredible. I hope this doesn't get lost in the rest of the comments; I tell this story all the time and no one believes me. But it really happened. He's a great guy."



5. “Lady Gaga. I sat down next to her and asked another person to take a photo of us. I complimented her performance, but overall I was extremely nervous and embarrassed. I quickly stood up to leave, but she grabbed me, told me to sit back down, and demanded that I talk some more and take a couple more pictures. It was amazing."



6. “When I was 2 or 3 years old, I often met an old man with a small white dog in the grocery store. One day he came up to me and handed me a basket. He invited me to walk the dog while filling a basket with candy (which he later paid for). This happened every time I saw this man at the grocery store. You walk the dog, you get candy. This man turned out to be Gene Wilder. I got candy from Willy Wonka himself.”



7. “Believe it or not, Marilyn Manson. This was in 2000. My brother had cancer and had the opportunity to meet him. He brought my brother all sorts of souvenirs and sat and chatted with him for several hours, played video games with him, played the guitar and even read comics to him. And all this is at our home. My brother passed away 3 weeks later and he was wearing an MM T-shirt when he died.”



8. “Steve Buscemi meets up with my friend every year on 9/11 at the old firehouse where her father died on 9/11 worked—they go out to dinner with a huge group of people, but he always tries to spend as much time talking with my friend as possible. I've been going with her for the last few years and the first conversation I had with him really showed his character. I don't remember verbatim, but we were just chatting and he said something like, "So, how do you know [girlfriend]?" “Oh, well, we met at a camp for people whose parents died on September 11th.” Do you know what he answered? “Well, that makes you family.” He's the sweetest person."



9. “I was playing paintball with Robin Williams and my goal was to run to his hideout and shoot him right in the face, he was going to be my main prize. He was enthusiastic about it and spent the rest of the day giving me comments and tips as the game progressed. Really nice guy, considering I just shot paint in his face."



10. “Rowan Atkinson and his family were in the same heli-skiing group as me and my family in Chamonix, France (it was a private group, but the guide we hired got pretty seriously injured so they had to combine the groups). My family was very excited as we all really love BlackAdder, The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Bean, etc. When he, his wife, his daughter and my family first met, we introduced ourselves to his big fans and asked for autographs. He said he had a better option and invited us to dinner after we finished skiing. It was the funniest dinner of my life."



11. “Tom Hanks. I was at a friends wedding in Las Vegas and as we were taking pictures in the Atrium (VIP entrance) he came out of the double doors behind us and said, “Hey! Are you having a wedding? Can I take a photo too?” We all freaked out [really] until we realized it was Tom Hanks. He took pictures with everyone and was overall a very nice guy.”



12. “Kourtney Kardashian. She was pregnant with her first child when she came to the homeless shelter where I was volunteering. No cameras, she came there all alone to play with the kids, and even stayed after to help me sweep and clean.”



13. “Darth Vader, aka James Earl Jones, is from my hometown in Michigan. I worked in my grandfather's store in a small neighboring village in the same county - as a reward for my hard work, my grandfather invited me to breakfast on the morning of my last day at the most popular hotel in the area. Since it was early on a Friday morning, there weren't many people around - just us, one couple and an elderly man with glasses reading a newspaper at a table. As we started to eat, an older man started reading his newspaper out loud in a very familiar voice - we both turned to see who it was and it was James Earl Jones! And then grandpa was like, “Hey Jimmy, long time no see!” Maybe you’ll come and sit with us?” He actually came over, introduced himself to me, and we shook hands—as they started talking, I learned that my grandfather had been a very good friend of Jones in elementary school before he moved out of the area. His voice sounded like gold and he was a very sociable and cheerful person - when we were about to leave, he paid for our breakfast and then signed the newspaper he was reading and gave it to me.”



14. “One summer I was working at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, a private resort. It was during Comic-Con, and many of the celebrities performing there were staying with us - since we were a five-star hotel, all employees were told that if anyone asked the celebrities for an autograph or a photo (or even just talked to them outside of work duties ), he will be fired immediately. One guy decided it was worth it and was fired on the spot, and apparently Will Ferrell heard about it because for the next day or two he walked around the hotel asking employees if he could give them an autograph and take a photo with them (cameras he didn't have one, so the staff used theirs and later emailed him the photo). Super cool guy."



15. “Ryan Gosling once paid for my parking on Hollywood Boulevard. We parked in the same parking lot. He was leaving and we were arriving, and I decided to exchange a few words with him. He asked where I was from, why/who I was here with (spring break, 9 friends, 2 cars). And he was like, “Oh, you guys have an extra 40 bucks to spend on stupid parking? Yes, you are rich." I chuckled and was about to say something in response, but then he said the coolest thing: “Don’t worry about parking today, dude, I’ve got your back all weekend. Happy spring break!” It was so great. He is JUST AS good in real life as he appears to be. Here's the proof, I'm wearing a white T-shirt."



16. “Paul Rudd. I was at The Decemberists concert and in between performances I went to the women's restroom. Paul Rudd stood at the door, clearly waiting for someone. Have you ever had those moments when your mouth just mouthed words without your brain's permission? Exactly. As I walked past Paul Rudd, I crossed my fingers like pistols and said, “Hanging out in front of the women's restroom? A great way to pick up women” and walked past. I heard him laughing when I entered the toilet. I was torn between the satisfaction of making him laugh and the disappointment of acting like a fool. When I came out of the bathroom, he saw me and started laughing again, so I walked up to him and told him I had no idea why I said that. So we laughed a little together and had a nice chat. He was a really nice guy, not even as a celebrity, but just as a cool guy. Although, I think back now and realize that not a single woman came out of the restroom or approached him while he was waiting, so I still don’t know why he was hanging around there. Maybe he really attracted women.”



17. “Paris Hilton. My car broke down on the autobahn in Germany. We managed to get to what looked like a parking lot with a hamburger van and toilets in it. I was in a terrible situation because I didn't speak German, I had no money on my phone, and I didn't have any information with me on who to call if it broke down, so I had no idea what to do. I unsuccessfully asked the guy at the burger van for help and he apparently didn't speak English so rather pathetically I started crying. And then a huge old American man showed up and invited me to tea in his motor home (it wasn’t real tea, but that’s not the point). There was another guy in the van and fucking Paris Hilton! I am not kidding. She was very nice, made me a sandwich, hugged me, and then talked to me for 30 minutes about some old radio shows she bought at some show in Friedrichshafen. I didn't understand most of it. She said that when she's not working, she likes to travel around Europe and go to radio and broadcast shows, and no one ever recognized her, as if she was hiding under a hat. Then they towed me to the auto repair shop at about 40 km/h (which is scary on the autobahn). Oh, and she got into my car and asked permission before she lit a cigarette.”



18. “This is probably cheating, since this celebrity is a family friend. When I was in 6th grade, I was given an assignment to write a biography of any celebrity and dress up as her during a report. I chose David Bowie because I love his music and he's a good guy. My dad told David about my assignment, and one day he called us at home to discuss the report. He told me a little about his job and his background (the kid's PG version, of course), and he couldn't wait to hear how it went. It's presentation time and I'm dressed as Ziggy Stardust. I'm nervous, stumbling on every word, etc. David calls again later to see how it went and asks me if I did his British accent. I admitted that I didn’t do this, he seemed upset, but laughed it off. Best school assignment of my life."



19. “Mila Kunis. I met her at a bar in Manhattan a few years ago (at the end of That '70s Show, if I remember correctly). My friend offered to buy her a drink, she very funny refused. He left in confusion, and I chatted with her for a good half hour. Nice girl."



20. “I waited on John Malkovich's table a couple of years ago. Quite reserved and unassuming, and he's also just as weird as he seems. We had craft paper and crayons on the tables at this place (an art themed restaurant) and he drew a picture of a house. I still keep the drawing.”