People share stories of meeting 10 celebrities who turned out to be genuinely nice in real life

Are celebrities genuinely nice?

Many of us are aware that our connection to celebrities is limited to us having parasocial relationships with them. They don't know their fans but their fans spend quality hours to know more about their favorite celebrity and their body of work. We eagerly look forward to their next acting venture or concerts and nobody wants to miss out on a chance at meet-and-greets where fans can have a face-to-face interaction with celebs. Sometimes those experiences go well, sometimes the celebs show their true colors and it turns out that they are not as nice as they are portrayed in media. But even outside conventions and press events, there are many people who have fortunately run into some celebrities and were pleasantly surprised at how genuinely kind and compassionate they were in real life. u/dontwrryboutme asked Reddit users: "What celebrity do you think is genuinely a good person and is not faking for the press?" The community came together to recall certain events when they met a celebrity out of the blue and the celebs left a genuinely nice impression on the common folks and here are ten of the best responses.

1. Dolly Parton

An old co-worker of mine was a limo driver for many years in our city. He drove lots of celebs, especially musicians who were arriving in town. He said in all that time meeting all those celebs, they never speak to you. Dolly Parton however, wants to know everything about him and on the ride back to the hotel after her show, she picks up the conversation where they left off and remembers what he had talked about. He was gobsmacked. He said he hadn't been a fan but he became one after that. u/Joey42601

2. Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves always seemed so genuine especially when you find some of the things he does under the radar because he doesn't want recognition. I can personally confirm this one. It's a small world and one of my good friends happens to be his dog walker whenever he is staying here in New York. I sometimes accompany him on dog walks when we hang out to spend time as he works, and he's a really cool and down-to-earth guy, super friendly and very kind. u/TheOneTrueWigglyBoi

3. Sean Astin

I met him once years ago at Dragon Con. I was wearing a Goonies T-shirt and went through the line just to say "Hi". We spoke for a few minutes, and then he asked what he was autographing for me. I told him that was okay, I didn’t have the money but just really wanted to thank him for so many good childhood memories. He picked up his Sharpie and looked over at his handler or whoever she was, and she shook her head no. Then he grinned and told me to lean over, and he wrote “GNSD” on the sleeve of my shirt. Said it wasn’t an autograph, so it didn’t count. He’s really excited and asks me if I know what it means. I’m stunned and can’t say anything, so he bursts out with “Goonies never say die!” I stuttered and thanked him, then promptly walked to the bathroom and started crying at how nice he was and that I got to meet him. u/sea0tter12

4. Danny Devito

I have a fun story about Danny Devito. When I was a toddler my mum had me playing in a park with my cousin where a movie was being filmed. My cousin fell and scraped her knee pretty bad at one point and my mum was trying to take care of the both of us. Anyway, a short fellow came up to help her out and soon enough Danny Devito was playing with me in the park! Needless to say, anyone who stops to help a mum who is clearly having trouble with her kids is an A+ in my book. u/TyberiousofCanada 

5. Fred Rogers

He would apparently, go to my church on occasion in his later years since it wasn't that far from his home. When my family first joined the church (UCC if you wondered), it was years after he had died. We noticed nobody was sitting in one of the pews close to the front, I'd like to say three rows away from the front and sat there. We weren't shy about being new. Suddenly, a line of people, basically the entire church, comes and lines up to tell us that nobody, absolutely nobody, had sat in the pew since Fred had died, and it was nice to see a family had. Apparently, he'd have liked that - and that's why the minister (a guy who was in his 90's no less) did his entire sermon on Fred. u/comped

6. David Tennant

I met him at a con and he is genuinely one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. He saw I was panicking a bit (my anxiety was high that day and he means a lot to me for various reasons) and he smiled this huge smile and said “Aw come on, I’m nice!” And you could just tell it was true. The next day when I got him to sign the picture from the “I’m nice!” moment he said, “Hello, Nataku!” And I just about melted into the floor. Both phrases are going to be in my mind exactly like that forever. It was genuinely lovely. He was so nice to his fans even though I’m reasonably sure he wasn’t quite sure where he was or what day it was. He was right in the middle of his "Good Omens" press tour. u/StargazerNataku 

7. Tony Hawk

When I was 10 years old, I went to a vert skating competition hosted by Tony Hawk. My parents gifted me backstage access: basically just a little meet and greet with the skaters. Well, my cousin got overheated and suffered a little heatstroke/exhaustion. Tony Hawk personally walked over to the medical tent we were at, ripped off his shoes, signed them and handed them to us. Then he invited us to basically relax and cool off in his tour bus! Such a fond memory of a super-kind individual. -u/jhan999

8. Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson seems like an awesome dude in real life. He does a lot of charity work and collaborates with his wife on a podcast. When I was a teenager, I ran into him at an ice cream shop and asked him what it was like to be recognized everywhere he went (this was during the peak "The Office" years), and he sarcastically replied, "It’s terrible" before chuckling and telling me that he loves being able to meet fans and seeing people get excited when they run into him. He took a photo with my friends and then we were off. u/jgilla2012

9. Dave Bautista

My wife and I met him a couple of years ago at a convention. Was surprised I was taller than him, but man was he jacked. He put his arms around our shoulders for the picture and I noticed that he smelled amazing. Because I have the tendency to say stupid things while nervous, I said "Wow you smell amazing", and without hesitation, he replied "Thank you, that means a lot," shook our hands and gave us a wink. Very brief interaction, but he came across as very genuine. u/deleted

10. Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa. I met him in an elevator at a con while I was in a wheelchair. He insisted on wheeling me in, wheeling me back out (even though my floor wasn't his), and taking a picture with me. He was very sweet and very funny. I've met several people since who have met him, and they all say nothing but great things about the guy. u/ChaoticForkingGood. Emilia Clarke who starred opposite Momoa in "Game of Thrones" revealed when she was new in the business and had to do risque scenes, he basically took her under his wing and looked out for her and made sure she wouldn't be taken advantage of, and the nudity requests and accommodations were reasonable. She had good things to say about him taking care of her during the early days of the show. u/jgilbs