“He Was The Most Popular Kid In School”: People Who Knew Celebrities Before They Became Famous Are Sharing What They Were Like
“He was the most popular kid in school — but he was also super nice and a genuinely good guy. I’m really happy to see him have so much success.”
Celebrities! They’re just like us. Well, sort of. It’s easy to forget that before famous people hit it big, they were just regular people. So, Redditor Testie_Tickler asked, “People who knew celebrities before they made it big, who was it, and what were they like?” Here are some of their stories.
1. “Natasha Lyonne and my girlfriend became friendly in the late ’90s. We hung out a bit in the East Village. She’s exactly the same — a salty old New York cabbie trapped in the body of a downtown cool kid. She’s funny as hell.”
Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images
2. “Chris Hemsworth. His manager was my buddy, and I used to get him into clubs and take him around LA, introducing him to people. I’ve run into him a few times since he blew up, and he always gives me a bear hug and tells whoever he’s with, ‘She babysat me when I moved to LA.’ I love him. He’s the sweetest guy.”
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3. “Tony Hawk was just a regular skater kid like everyone else. He did have the only full-sized half pipe in town, which made him a big local celebrity, but other than that, he was just one of us. Laid back and nice to everyone.”
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4. “My sister’s ex-boyfriend went to a Christian camp with the Jonas Brothers. This was around the time they were just starting to hit it big. He said they were jerks.”
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5. “I have friends who knew Pedro Pascal when he was a struggling actor in New York City. He used to come into the coffee shop where my friends worked and chat with them about auditions and plays he was in. He even comped them tickets to a few of his performances. For a while, he used to comment on their Instagram photos of their kids and wish them happy birthdays and whatnot (he still might, but I’m not on Instagram anymore to see them). Obviously, they thought he was a great guy. And for him to stay in touch with a couple of baristas years after he knew them seems to prove he is.”
Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein / WireImage
6. “I was friends with Jennifer Anniston before “Friends”. She was a very sweet/cool girl. We were hanging out in her apartment when she got the call that she was up for a character on 21 Jump Street (that never came to fruition). We used to play Wallyball (volleyball in a racquetball court), and I’ve been to many dinners and parties with her and her close circle of friends. It was pretty cool seeing her years later skyrocket to stardom on Friends. I still have her old number in my phone book.”
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7. “Bill Nye and I got our Engineering degrees in the same class of about 800. I knew him a bit, and he seems to be pretty much the same as he was then.”
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8. “Emma Stone. I sat next to her freshman year in History class. She was really sweet and funny!”
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9. “I went to the same school as Luke Wilson. He dated my older sister’s best friend, so I knew him during his senior year in high school. He was always a nice guy, and on the random occasions I bump into him in Dallas, he’s the same friendly guy I knew. He was also a really good athlete. He held the 800m record for our school for a long time.”
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10. ” I went to a small, very expensive private boarding school with ‘Lana Del Rey.’ Every time I read interviews with her saying she grew up poor, which is very confusing.”
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11. “I grew up with Matthew Lillard. He was always the class clown. He was born to play Shaggy.”
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12. “I worked with J.K. Simmons and Sandra Oh before they were famous (both worked regularly, though.) I don’t have a bad thing to say about either of them. I have periodically seen Sandra since then and can say that she is still a wonderful person. (I haven’t run into J.K., but from what I hear, he’s still awesome, too.)”
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13. “Jennifer Lawrence. She was a neighbor in my stepsister’s Brownie’s troop, and they went to school together. At one point Jennifer pet sat my goldfish, and she almost killed it.”
Axelle / FilmMagic
14. “I grew up with Chris Stapleton. He was the most popular kid in school, but he was super nice and a genuinely good guy. I went to one of his shows when he was just starting to blow up and talked to him afterward; he was exactly the same. He seemed sincerely happy to see me and talked about a few old times before he had to go. I’m super happy to see him have so much success.”
Debra L Rothenberg / WireImage
15. “Adrian Brody was a putzy kid at the summer camp where I was a counselor. I remember him being allergic to chocolate.”
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16. “Zach Galifianakis. He’s a great guy. Kind and easy to be around. We worked together and were drinking buddies, so we shared a lot of nights/mornings together.”
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17. “Ben Affleck was my little brother’s best friend, and I used to babysit him and Casey when they were really little. They were nice kids.”
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18. “My parents both knew Ryan Gosling when he was going to the high school they worked at. They always talk about how nice and polite he was. My mom worked with special needs kids, and she still talks about how Ryan (who was already a bit of a celeb) would always take time to talk to them and sit and chat.”
Kayla Oaddams / FilmMagic
19. “In my first job in Seattle I knew Brendan Fraser a bit, before his fame. He was very friendly and humble and sweet. He was also gorgeous, much more in person than on film.”
Phillip Faraone / Getty Images for Vanity Fair
20. “Jesse Palmer of the NFL and Bachelor fame. I went to high school with him. We weren’t close, but I’d call him a buddy. He was athletic and a bit of a jock but an overall nice guy. He was funny and charismatic. I’m not surprised he got to where he is.”
Mike Pont / WireImage
21. “Adam Sandler and I were in the same dorm at NYU. He was really irritating to me, but I was a real asshole back then, so I don’t trust my opinion of him.”
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22. “I was friends with Greta Gerwig in High School. Yes, the high school she wrote Lady Bird about. She’s exactly how she seems: quirky, hilarious, kind, and extremely intelligent. I’m so happy for her and all of her success.”
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23. “Kenny Chesney lived in my apartment complex near Nashville. Used to bring his guitar out to the pool, play, and sing. He was a hell of a nice guy, very humble and funny.”
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24. And finally… “I knew Elon Musk before he was a household name. He was an entitled piece of shit back then, too, and he surrounded himself with idiot yes-men. I wish nothing but the worst for him.”
Pool / Getty Images
