Meeting Your Idols and Being Disappointed

[strawberrisc]

Today I almost met somebody who has been a big figure in my life. It took ages to pluck up the courage to speak to them and I was totally dismissed. I wasn’t being a “gushing fan” and it was a setting that was laid back. Everyone else was lovely. Have tou ever met someone you admire and wish you hadn’t?

Just recalled some more

Absolute sweethearts (especially JC) Jason Connery, Terry Wogan, Lloyd Cole, Claire Grogan
I worked in same building as Angela Rippon and she was a vile cow bag(everyone's opinion) and so stuck up. Coffee machine was by her desk yet on one occasion she still pushed me out of way to get to it

HIlarious/ fun - Carol Thatcher ( a scream, and turned the air blue) and Lionel Blair

Waves to all of the Rammstein fans. P.S Can we have more Rammstein behind the scenes stories please?

I met the guys at Download. I say met but really I met Till(my favourite) and wandered past the other five in a Till induced daze. He was so lovely. He was so soft spoken and a little shy, but very attentive and focused when I talked to him. I complimented his poetry and he seemed sincerely surprised and pleased. We shook hands. I have touched the hand of a god.

Did I mention that he has the most extraordinarily beautiful eyes?

It's disappointing to hear that about Reesh though not terribly surprising considering his reputation. I'm pleased to hear how lovely Till is.

Mark Williams frequents the pub in the village he lives in and is apparently lovely.

My cousin worked at a pub he was a regular at a few years ago.....maybe the same one. Like the other PP's, not a bad word to say about him

@JustLetMeStapleTheVicar haha! Just a canter, but I'm seeing them next year so I'm sure it''ll break into a full trot once he starts blowing flames all over the place. Very jealous! Is Flake as lovely as he seems? Dying at the car mat story, Jesus, I definitely had a few posters of him around my bed as a teen though.

Spieluhr, he's SUCH a sweetheart (and I agree with you about the eyes!). Paul and Flake are both hilarious offstage, I'm massively fond of Paul, such a lovely bloke.

All this talk of fanny trotting/cantering/galloping has now resulted in the 'Black Beauty' theme tune getting stuck in my head

I'm so happy that you loved Till. He seems like such a sweet easygoing guy most of the time, and I love how modest he is considering his status. He's always so lovely on the making of videos. Also considering his shyness and the fact that he near constantly has a camera stuck in his face he seems to be very considerate of the fans and their demands for pictures, though admittedly he does often look like he's being held hostage.

Paul seems super sweet though he's so hyper sometimes I think I'd find him exhausting.

Flake is my second favourite(though doesn't give me the fanny gallops like Till. He's so awkward and adorable.

It's a miracle that the band didn't kill Richard during Mutter era. I like him, though barely met him, but he certainly seems like hard work. Little wonder that only Till would talk to him back then.

Apologies but Rammstein always brings the fangirl in me out.

Joe Pasquale at Chatham airfield about a decade ago.

We weren't even remotely considering approaching him, he's certainly not one of my heroes and our group was the only other group there - waiting for a relative to have a flying lesson for their birthday.

He started turning his collar up and pulling his hat down and trying to hide behind the people he was with.

Not enough eye rolls in the world for that one.

Paul's not always hyper, he can be surprisingly introverted and quite anxious at times. Flake marches to the beat of his own drum, is incredibly intelligent and very, very dry. I love him too!

Richard was a nightmare to the Nth degree when he was abusing coke. Although I'm oddly pleased that you barely noticed him at the Download meet and greet, as that would've pissed him off MASSIVELY (something I always enjoyed doing!)

No apologies necessary - just don't go buying car mats with their faces on!

I met Dan Stevens just after Beauty and the Beast came out. I was torn between not wanting to interrupt him and embarrass myself or regretting it forever – I've loved him since that first episode of Downton Abbey.

I'm so glad I did as he was absolutely lovely and chatted to me for about 10 minutes about the film and even apologised for that terribly sad Christmas episode of Downton.

Don't remind of the car mats. I've never gotten over those.

Paul's talked about how he finds it difficult to trust people which is such a shame. I do think that his ultra happy personality is a bit of a mask sometimes.

I noticed Richard because he was talking to Till at the signing, the queue had temporarily stopped while friends and I were right in front of him, Richard had forgotten his lighter and Till made a joke about Richard being in a Rammstein of all bands and still not being able to get a light, but as soon as I'd met Till(he was first) I just went to mush and drifted past the others in a daze. I think thank you was as much as I said. It wasn't intentional.

I saw a clip years ago of Richard and Till at an award ceremony. Richard entered and the crowd were pretty hyped, but then Till entered and all you could hear was Till's name being shouted. Poor Richard's ego has probably never recovered.

P.S Any more opinions/stories/facts on your experience with Till? Yes I'm that shameless.

So as not to derail the thread completely. I met Gary Lineker once. I was at an event and joined a queue just because it was there and I assumed that there were some freebies as it was so long. Gary Lineker was at the end of it. He was lovely.

I found Jeremy Paxman to be kind, interesting and engaging, was fabulous to dd.
Fred Durst, he's lovely, funny and reads New Scientist on the tour bus. Wes too, is great and very quiet!
I had the pleasure of meeting Terry Wogan a few times in intimate (small gathering) circumstances. He was a lovely, gentle, funny and kind man.
Tony Robinson is a 'do you know who I am' person.
Gordon Brown, unfailingly polite and kind.
I met Mick Jagger by accident at a gig years and years ago, lovely, intelligent, very polite.
Charlie Watts, quiet and unassuming.

Most of my idols are dead or in science field and not celebs so I can't really answer the OP. The only one I probably have is Victoria Coren- Mitchell. LOVE her and desperately hoping she is fun IRL
I've met lots and lots of famous people as I randomly seem to be friends with a lot of people who work in radio/film/fashion (God knows why or how! Don't even live in London!) and really have never had a bad experience with any - maybe because I met them on social occasions and so didn't feel they had to be "on" if that makes sense. I have one actual celeb friend who is a very normal person who happens to have a job that makes her famous. Also dated a fairly famous stand up comedian/comedy show panelist a million years ago (much more famous now than then) and met people through them.
The worst always seemed to be the offspring of famous musicians and actors who often act like the world owes them something.

The only weird/negative experience that comes to mind is with (brace yourselves) Timmy Mallet!! He did a PA at my uni and was hideously lecherous.
I'm sure there was another absolute stinker but I can't think... Sleep deprivation. It will come to me
Ultimately they have good and bad days like anyone else. A few mentioned on this thread as being rude or dismissive are close personal friends of friends and really are nothing like that in real life so can only imagine they were having crappy days. That said, I feel there is never any excuse for out and out rudeness, especially when your fans are not always what makes you - that's down to talent - but 9 times out of 10 are who sustain you and deserve to be treated with a bit of respect.

Spieluhr That’s a great story! Not surprised Gary Linekar is lovely.

I also saw Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen at Gatwick once with his two daughters. He was very smiley and nice to people who spoke to him I’ve also met him and he was a delight. So friendly and funny. Very relieved because he was my childhood idol (I was a strange child)

I’ve met a few celebs, mainly at book signings so you’d expect them to be “on” anyway. They’ve all been nice but that’s to be expected for these sorts of events I suppose. Still, there are a few who appeared genuinely lovely:

Jeremy Kyle- (I was a student and watched a LOT of JK in the mornings with my best friend so we thought it would be funny to meet him) Very funny, put everybody at ease, really approachable

Rylan- An absolute peach. I’m not sure whose idea it was, but rather than the conveyer-belt kind of signing, he was in a penned off area and only one person was allowed through at a time. Meant he had a proper conversation with every person. He chatted to me as if he knew me, complimented my outfit, spent a fair bit of time talking before signing the book. I was supposed to be going on This Morning the next day (it never happened in the end) and told him this, so as I left he shouted across the shop “bye Bleach! See you at work tomorrow!” I felt like I was his friend

Alexander Armstrong- Thoroughly charming. He was with Richard Osman, who was also very nice, but AA was wonderful. Incredibly warm and forthcoming with conversation. I was the last person in the queue and they stayed on for over an extra hour to make sure everybody had their books signed. Even though they’d had a long day, they showed no signs of impatience by the time I eventually reached them.

Judi Dench is so warm and funny and friendly, and John C. McGinley (Dr Cox from Scrubs) is one of the nicest, most down to earth humans I've ever had the pleasure of spending time with. Legend.

I served Nigel Havers in Harrods once and he was a twat, and when I was a waitress in Uni, I once spent a whole evening serving the golfer Ernie Els and his rowdy pals only to get what was the equivalent of about 4p as a tip. Knob.

A close friend is in a line of work where he meets many famous faces, and I can confidently confirm that Peter Kay is indeed a horrific human, as is Chris Evans (DJ not Captain America). Craig Revel-Horwood is lovely apparently, and Martina McCutcheon a self-indulgent arse.

James Corden apparently one of those people who is lovely to those who can promote his career, and hideous to the "hired help". Billy Connolly the opposite - treats everyone like they're his best mate and has all the time in the world for them.

DH met Prince Philip just before he retired from official duties, and he was utterly hilariously grumpy (as one probably tends to be when one is 95 and constantly dragged from place to place). We also both met HM Queenie, and she's unendingly polite whilst still giving the impression of being someone's bored gran while you talk.

I've heard lovely things about Stanley Tucci based on a colleague's interaction with him, and ditto for Alan Rickman (RIP - still so sad).

Paloma Faith, what an up herself arse. Be nice to people on the way up because you might meet them again on the way down.

Oh I do have a not-so-good one too. Pat Sharp was hired for an appearance at my student union club night and he was very ‘friendly’ to me. Not quite leery, but he made a beeline for me out of my group of friends and made me dance around the stage with me. When I asked if we could have a photo, he winked and said “anything for you baby”. Bit uncomfortable!

@AlmostGrockle OMG Blaze Bailey out of Wolfsbane I used to love him!!

Not an idol per se but I paid for a meet and greet with a famous drag queen from Rupaul's Drag Race and unless you were buying them a drink, they couldn't be less interested in you, was gutted.

noway my DH met the DofE at about the same time. We have just about paid off the mess bill fine for his slight social mishap of calling him "mate". They had been rigorously drilled in what to call him and when to speak to him. DH after a few rums had a brain blank and plucked mate out of the air. The DofE didn't seem to care bit DH was in serious trouble with several of his officers, fortunately their Commanding Officer his good friends with the DofE and knew DH wouldn't be dragged off to the tower.

Not idols but have met
Chuckle bros- funny but a bit creepy
Status quo- sat and had a brew with francis and ric - lovely lovely people!
Harry kewel (footballer) lovely
Terry venebls- smarmy
Alan smith (footballer) - funny really down to earth
Andy peters-funny and laid back
Helen flannigan, bit dippy but really nice
Brooke vincent (think thats her name the other webster sister on corrie) -she was young but acting like an entitled little madame.
Geri halliwel- really down to earth! So sweet and polite
Louise redknapp really sweet
Simon webb- such a sweet guy, so polite and funny could of talked to him for hours (didnt know who he was till he had gone!)
Peter kay- wanker, actually asked him to leave the premisis and he was refused entry to the pub next door because he was acting like such a knob.
Robbie- entitled prick but i still think hes brilliant.
Jennifer batten (lead guitarist for Michael Jackson) amazing woman even got a xmas card from her!
Been wave at by Samuel l Jackson a i stood open mouthed across the street!

I took my niece (then aged 10) to a meet and greet with One Direction. Two were lovely, friendly, all smiles and charm. The others acted as if they couldn't give a damn, stank of cigarettes and were very dismissive of their very young fans. I guess they were tired of endless touring and promotion but my niece was very disappointed, and it wasn't cheap either. They stopped doing meet and greets on their next tour, a wise decision.

@Opheliasgoldenwine go on do tell! I've heard a few tales from my friends working in various gay villages. Latrice is always a favourite!