People Who Were Friends With A Celebrity Before They Were Famous Share Their Story

Oh.

I went to high school with Sandra Oh. She was funny, dynamic, smart, outgoing, and very into drama. In one school play, she played what I will call sort of a mime character - she didn't have lines but was still a big part of the action, commenting on what was going on through her actions. Anyhow, in one scene as she was exiting the stage she banged her head on one of the props - you could hear the loud bang- but she was a pro and just carried on. It has been great to see her have such success, and I love that she has kept in touch with her close friends from high school (you can spot them at awards show sometimes).

mgov999

I went to school with Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley from Harry Potter). I was into acting too, so we had done a few school plays together. He was really nice, very chill, a good laugh. I haven't seen him since school days, but he kept coming to classes whenever he wasn't filming, was always happy to chat about the movies. Sometimes he'd need a little break from so many people wanting to talk, and would come and hang out in the library, and honestly, you'd never know he was in the biggest film series at the time.

Honestly, I think a lot of these answers boil down to if they want fame or not. Rupert loved what he was doing, but didn't care about being famous and having people kiss his butt. Just a nice normal kid.

calls_you_a_bellend

Daisy.

A co-worker of mine met Daisy Ridley while on a backpacking trip, got to know each other pretty well while traveling together. She told my co-worker that she wanted to become an actress, looks like that panned out pretty well. They said Daisy was an absolutely lovely individual.

TentCityVIP

HEEEEERE'S JACK!

My grandfather taught Jack Nicholson in High School math class. Said he was rebellious but wasn't too bad at math.

detroit_smash_ur_dad

WHAM!

My grandmother and mum were really good friends with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley from Wham! They got invited to concerts and got to sit in special seats etc. And a few years ago me and my family stayed with Andrew Ridgeley in his guest house in Cornwall for a weekend. But, they seemed to me like they stayed really nice to my grandparents and mum. And Andrew Ridgeley was very kind to my family when we met him.

Zaja123123

First class, humility in action.

A friend of mine is buddies with Paul Rudd. Says he's exactly the same and a great human.

toodleoo57

Friends and I went to a basketball court a few years back shortly after a rainstorm... half the court was wet and half was dry. Saw a man and his son playing on the dry side, so we hit the wet side, no need to force a father and son out! After a few minutes, the father walks over and offers to switch, says he and his son are just shooting around, no need to keep a game from the dry side... at first we say it's all good, enjoy, but he insists, graciously of course. We get to the other side and realize, the father was Paul Rudd. First class, humility in action.

chucklingjoo

The Giving Queen....

My coworkers dad grew up with Queen Latifah in North Jersey. His whole family loves her because they were about to lose their house, so she paid it off for them. They've never said a bad thing about her.

(Queen Latifah, if this gets back to you, thanks for what you did for your friends in NJ. Phil's a really cool guy.)

sashimi_girl

Johny be Funny.....

My mom is friends with Johnny Knoxville's cousin. She met him once and had no idea who he was. She said he was nice and funny as all hell. She didn't realize until years later she'd even met him until I showed her one of his movies. From what I gather he's a normal dude and pretty hilarious.

GudatPickinUsernames

Smartypants...

Kesha.

Total nerd. 1600 on her SATs. Quiet. A bit of a social outcast. Nice, though. You could tell she cared about others and wouldn't ever hurt a flea.

TheOftenNakedJason

No good at footy but. 

My Dad went to school with Steve Irwin, reckons he was exactly the same as a young fella. He would be away from school all the time on trips with Bob to rescue and rehome crocs all over Australia. No good at footy but.

kuramasusanoo

Dreamy Steve.

I went to college with Joe Keery aka Steve Harrington in Stranger Things. He was my college boyfriend's suite mate and just the nicest guy. His hair has always been dreamy and amazing. Last time I saw him was at a viewing of the Hateful Eight after we graduated and he still made a point to come over and say hi! piggieees

Wesley. 

My Grandpa(RIP) owned a grocery store in Miami in the late 70s. Wesley Snipes and his friends once stole some candy from his store and when he caught them he let them have it. Since then Wesley and his friends were regulars. Once, Wesley left his bike in front of the store and it got stolen (was a pretty bad area). My grandpa gave him his old bike that he kept in the back of the store. My uncle took over in 2001 when my grandpa died. In 2007 he came back to the store while my uncle and cousin were there, to ask about my grandpa.

My uncle said they talked for a little over an hour about how he my grandpa treated him like a son. When he found out my grandpa passed he felt guilty he didn't visit sooner. He embraced my uncle and cousin and left. My uncle said he told him they plan on having the building repainted while they talked. About a week later a crew of painters arrived and told my uncle they were already paid to have the building repainted. Such a genuine dude. Shaka-Zulu1

Norah. 

I went to Junior High with Norah Jones. She was the most sincere and serene person. She was fun to talk to and she never gave a hint of who her father was. The night she won all those Grammys was very telling that she hadn't changed a bit. imbackwards

I believe this. I've met her twice after her shows and she was super nice and took pictures and signed autographs. Once she had a little dog with her. I didn't expect someone as famous as Norah Jones to actually come out and meet fans after her show, but she did. hall_residence

Rachel.

Work in a restaurant about 15 years ago as a manager. Rachel McAdams walked in for an interview. She was still in acting school and serving table to pay for it. She worked at my restaurant over the course of the next 2 summers, serving on our patio. Still friends to this day. She hasn't changed a bit. Still bikes to get groceries. Pymm

Mark. 

I went to high school with Mark Ruffalo. He was nice. He was "one of those thespians". Our high school had an acting group that challenged the students to get out of their shell and do things in front of strangers like introducing yourself as the wild fairy of the woods and presenting them with a flower.

We didn't talk much, but like I said, he was a good guy. vman4402

Gordon. 

My aunt used to work with Gordon Ramsey's mother but never made the connection. Once they were out for lunch and he ended up coming in to see his mum and met my aunt in the process. She said he was so lovely and polite!! Plus my dad has a bunch of Gordon's old jumpers he didn't want anymore. Not signed or anything like that, it's just a fun family story now. BaffledAndBemused

Same People. 

I knew Bret & Jemaine (Flight of the Conchords) back in the late 90s / early 2000s, and met Taika Waititi a few times too - I was a big fan of his art at the time, there was one painting of someone in a bathtub that stuck in my head. (I knew Bret better than the others, because he was in a reggae band with my good friend Barnaby).

As far as I can tell, they are all... exactly the same. paulfknwalsh

Tom.

Friend of mine was friends with Tom Hanks in high school and went to prom with him. He still writes her personalized BDay cards on one of his typewriters. ScottishHeat

Dolly.

I live in the town where Dolly Parton grew up, and practically everyone above the age of 50 who grew up here claims to either be a distant relative of Dolly's, or they claim to know her in some way. Everyone has their story of the time they met Dolly. It's pretty obvious, but regardless of who you talk to, Dolly has always been sweet and generous, but everything has simply grown exponentially due to her fame. Examples are the millions of books she gives out for free to children around the globe each month, or how she gave out $10,000 cash to many of my close friends after their houses burned in a fire a couple years back.

Thousands of people are employed here and work for one of the businesses she owns, and it's a tad strange to see when you walk in, but the birthing center at the local hospital is funded by and named after her. I honestly can't think of one person I know who doesn't like her. Dolly's heart has only gotten bigger because of fame. 2ndbestguyyouknow

Fox.

Went to middle school with Meagan fox for a bit. She rode my bus and she mostly kept to herself. Most of the guys would fight over who was going to sit next to her but she was very shy and didn't really have much to say. binnygeo