simple question.
I think for most I’d really want to keep my distance. What would I really say to Johnny Depp except “Hi I’m an old lady who really enjoys your films”?
I do like to tell musicians at small clubs after the set that I enjoyed their music. A few times I’ve had nice conversations. But big stars - I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable at a official “meet and greet” at a concert.
How do you guys feel?
Could and have, on many occasions.
Sure, why not? Esp. since my favourite actor right now is Nathan Fillion and he seems like he’d be charming in real life too.
In some areas, such as music (I’m a professional musician/producer) I’d most likely just talk shop/life with them, and have done so numerous times.
In other areas, such as authors, film and tv actors etc, I’d probably try to play it cool and just chat with them, but depending on the person and how big a fan I am, I’d most likely either dork out or be starstruck and tonguetied.
I’ve met one of my favorite music artists, several times–Alan Parsons. He’s the nicest, kindest, coolest guy ever. He’s the type who can make everybody feel at ease.
As for another–Neil Peart of Rush–not a chance. I would never want to meet him. He’s notorious about not meeting with fans (he’s very shy around strangers and tends to come across as a bit of a jerk to the uninitiated because of it). Though I would enjoy talking to him, I wouldn’t ask him to try; it would be disrespectful of his time, IMO.
I don’t really have a “favorite author” per se, but I’ve met some authors I like (Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Chuck Palahniuk, and Mike Stackpole) and they’ve all been very nice and down to earth. A favorite I haven’t met, J. K. Rowling, I would love the chance to sit down and talk with. Ditto Stephen King and Graham Masterton (a British horror author).
Absolutely not. I’d be afraid that I’d not like them. I try to avoid seeing actors whose work I enjoy when they pop up on talk shows. They invariably turn out to be morons.
Exceptions would be authors who pour enough of their personality into their works that I’m pretty sure I know if I would like them or not.
No. I’m shy and unsociable and would be absolutely tongue-tied. What the heck would I say? “Hi, Josh Groban, I’m a big fan. Are you dating anyone? What happened with you and January Jones? Tired of singing opera-type stuff? What are your thoughts for your next album? I love your singing, I have all your CDs.” Like he would want to hear that from some complete stranger!!! I wouldn’t seek out an autograph or photo, or make them talk to my friend over the phone, either. What if they were irritated, or told me to take a hike? I’d be devastated!..I would venture to express my admiration for an author’s work if I was at a book signing, though.
I don’t think I’d have any trouble talking to Geddy Lee, and I’d love to meet him. He’s the entire reason I’m a bass player. And Infovore, I’d love to meet Peart, but I think I’d approach him more as a fellow book-lover than as a fan (though I am a big fan). Trade book/author suggestions, rather than talk about Rush.
Probably not. I just want a picture. You can’t disappoint a picture.
I have met some of my childhood favourites.
I spent a good chunk of my childhood singing The Cat Came Back so I was so excited when Fred Penner was coming to the theatre I was working at. One of my favourite work memories was during that show. I had to do an army crawl onstage and hide behind the set. When the Cat song started a giant inflatable cat blew up and I snuck up behind it, grabbed it’s big inflatable ass and made it dance.
At work I also met Dennis Lee. It was less exciting, but I grew up reading Alligator Pie, and now I am reading it to my children.
I have, and there have been nice encounters and awkward encounters. I think a bigger issue for me than celebrity is just that of trying to make conversation with a stranger. I think I like it best when it’s a panel at a convention. It’s laid back, context appropriate, and you can ask questions.
I enjoyed a little bit of that celebrity feeling when I was in college and had an unusual name, so people I didn’t know would often say hi to me because my name was hard to forget and made me seem familiar to them. And for the most part I liked it.
I think it’s fine to treat celebrities you’d treat any other stranger, with interaction appropriate to the context. On the street just a passing ‘hi’. Sitting next to each other maybe some small talk. Etc.
Love it.
I would meet my favorite actors and so forth, even if it is awkward. It’s worth it.
I have - twice. Nick Lowe (I hope my user name doesn’t give it away 
)
He’s extremely charming, very gracious and has the most magnificent white hair. Truly a lovely, lovely man.
UT
I have met several of my favorite authors and actors[I used to go to cons a fair amount] and have met several of my favorite musicians over the years.
Usually I tend to just say hi, ask for an autograph and spell my name for them. I have a reluctance to get pictures taken with people because I detest having myself photographed. I have had dinner with a couple of my favorite scientists … I used to help coordinate seminars for the company I worked for at RIT back in the late 70s and early 80s, and helped shepherd around the talent. Paul Berg has a wicked wicked sense of humor.
Hell, I was too shy to say anything to a couple of my favorite performers (Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne) when I passed them on the sidewalk a while back. I think it runs in the family; my brother was struck dumb when Robert Plant walked by our table at Fat Tuesdays many years ago.
Well it took me 20 years but I JUMPED at the chance to finally meet the Pet Shop Boys. They were very funny and pleasant.
I met Douglas Adams at a book signing. (Mostly Harmless, I believe.) And couldn’t think of a single word to say to him. I was like "Uh…uh…this one is “To Betsy and this one is to Shirley.” He said “Is that Betsy ‘ey’ or just ‘y’?” and I was so tongue tied I almost couldn’t answer him.
There’s someone else I’m dying to meet, but there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of it happening.
ETA: I would only be comfortable meeting a famous person in a “I’m actively being a celebrity” type situation like a signing or meet & greet. I wouldn’t go up to someone eating dinner or shopping or what have you because I’d feel like I was intruding.
I met my favorite musician and I ended up not liking him after a while. I was friends with people who knew him even better than me. It’s soured me on his music.
I did meet some guys from one of my favorite bands, and was like “You guys should be friends with me” and we did become pretty good friends and hung out a lot whenever we were in the same state. But then the band broke up and that sort of sucked.
It was also weird to know peoples’ personal lives and listen to their lyrics. I don’t like listening to my close friends’ music or reading their stories, so it was weird from that aspect too.
But you’re right it is weird to meet people like that. There are plenty of people that I admire but would have no idea what to say to them and probably would rather not meet.
Sure, why not? It is getting harder for me though. I’ve always been somewhat shy but the older I get the shyer I get because I look so damned unhip and uncool and not like someone anyone would want to meet. Strange to say but I’m not old enough yet. A couple of decades on I’ll be old enough to be that hip, cool, eccentric old person and it’ll be easier.
I love meeting directors though. I’m a director junkie and it’s always a thrill. I’ve met a couple of my favorite directors: Guillermo del Toro and Danny Boyle (both awesome), but most of the other biggies I’ll probably never get a chance to meet (David Lynch, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Peter Jackson). I’ve met several other directors I like a lot (such as Alexander Payne, Tarsem Singh, Philip Noyce, Gavin O’Connor) plus many many little-known/up and coming directors such as Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Joe Cornish (Attack The Block), and Mike Cahill (Another Earth) to name a few. Directors are often so dorky themselves that I don’t feel as self-conscience around them.
I’ve met a lot of actors but none of my favorites. I think I’d feel weirder around them (see first paragraph) and I’d have to gather a lot of courage to meet them. Double or triple for writers, because I’m so uneducated and highly inarticulate. It would be painful for all involved.
I’ve met 3 of my 4 favorite musicians: Kate Bush, Happy Rhodes and Jane Siberry. I’ve never met Peter Gabriel. Kate and Happy are sweet and delightful. Jane is very very reserved. I’ve met dozens of other musicians I like a lot but I feel lucky to have met those 3. I desperately want to meet Gabriel at some point before either of us goes.
The best is when you can meet them in a non-fan situation.
My wife and I met singer/songwriter Victoria Williams by being invited to dinner with her by a friend. We admire her immensely, but she’s not on the list of people that would render either of us tongue-tied. We were able to talk as normal people do, and she wound up visiting our apartment after dinner so we could loan her a replacement recording Walkman - hers had died, and she was stuck on a tour bus opening for a band composed of guys, playing guy music. She later wrote to thank us, and said she was using it to record new songs, and we told her that it could be put to no better use.
I’ve met Todd Rundgren several times, and he is notoriously sarcastic (Andy Partridge of XTC describes Todd as the only American who really understands sarcasm). So talking to Todd, you are taking the life of your ego in your hands. But I have met him at fan events, before and after concerts, etc. But the best time was at SIGGRAPH, where we talked about computer graphics like two huge CG geeks.
I talked to Kate Bush on the phone before I ever met her in person. I learned to edit videotape by creating a music video to one of her songs, using clips from the movie that had inspired it (with several important contributions from my wife). She got our telephone number from the editor of a Kate Bush fanzine, and called to talk about editing (this was just before she started directing her own music videos). I don’t know how helpful I was, because I sounded like a blithering idiot, which I was. We met her later, and I was a lot more mature and could talk to her like a non-blithering idiot, but she was on a promotional tour, so the opportunities to just talk were non-existent.
I started out in tech as a sound engineer, so I’ve met a good number of famous and talented people, but Kate was the only one to make me blither.
I’d really like to meet Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush, Alice Cooper, and a couple of my fave authors before I get too old.