There’s a lot of performers I admire immensely. But along with six other people, I had dinner with him in 1983, at a sci-fi convention in Kansas City. He was wonderful to us, the starstruck fans, making sure he had individual time in conversation with each of us. And his sense of humor! He said he’d told the convention organizer he’d do anything to help out. “I said I’d sit naked on a silver platter, surrounded by parsley, with an apple in my mouth!” So the waiter brought out a little silver dish, holding an apple with parsley. Takei promptly bit into the apple and laid his chin down on the dish! And let me take a picture of it!
Best convention souvenir EVER!!! I’d love to meet him again.
I did also have a picture of all of us at the table together. The guy who took that shot on my camera? Anthony Daniels!!!
I’ve already done this with my favorite performer, so I’d have to go with my second favorite. And who that is varies depending upon the day of the week, time of day, and relative humidity. But whomever it is, is go for it, even just to sit there gobsmacked for an hour or so.
I thought about Matt Damon, but I think I’ll go with Quentin Tarantino. I once theorized that the best plane trip ever would be sitting next to Quentin from NYC to LA. The WORST plane trip would be a cross-Atlantic trip with Quentin. Too much of a good thing
Plus, I think Quentin would be satisfied with a half-decent, non-chain-restaurant Chinese buffet. I could swing that.
As to actors and actresses, I really have no connection to them that would make me want to talk to them. They aren’t their characters; they are just people who play characters.
As to musicians, I don’t think I’d have anything much in common with my favourites. Where I find their lyrics affecting, I suppose there might in some cases be something to talk about. But musicians are probably either bored or reticent or both concerning their lyrics.
And I really have no interest in sitting through a dinner of small talk between a fan (ie myself) and a person who is there because of a competition, and almost certainly doesn’t want to be there. I suppose a problem I have is that I tend to like introverted art, and so my favourite performers are unlikely to be the type of people who are actually going to look forward to dinner with a stranger.
Actually if it can be any performer, I think a comedian would be my preference. Billy Connolly would be a hoot as a dinner companion: both a good sense of fun and absurdity while also clearly being something of an intellectual, underneath the zanyness. Rob Sitch (who you wouldn’t have heard of unless you are Australian) would also be great.
