My Friend’s Embarrassing Run-In With Ethan Hawke

This is very late in the comments, but where did you get those flats? I love them.

My daughter was studying in Rome this summer, and while out one evening with her roommate, saw a man walking a dog who looked very familiar. They went up to him and said, “Excuse us, but you look like Ted Danson,” to which he replied, “I feel like Ted Danson.” He told then he was in Rome for a movie his wife was filming, let them pet the dog, asked them about their studies and gamely took photos with them. Just lovely!

During college I worked at a very posh hotel in Beverly Hills where all the celebrities stayed. You’d think I would have been accustomed to star gazing, but when Andre Agassi suddenly appeared at the front desk in his lycra tennis trunks, shirtless and sweaty from playing in a nearby tournament in 90 degree heat, I became tongue tied and useless. He handed me a stack of papers and asked if I could fax them for him. He wanted to wait, so in my woozy state I made a feeble attempt at small talk by trying to ask an already mind numbing question made all the worse when I heard myself say out loud to his face, “So it must be really hard to play when you’re so friggin hot.” I wanted to die. He just smiled and chuckled. I started saying on rapid fire repeat, “it’s so hot, it’s so hot, it’s so hot” but by that time all my colleagues who had overheard me were silently cracking up, until everyone in the lobby was laughing out-loud. Needless to say I’ve never been more embarrassed. Thankfully, AA was gracious, kind and even managed some self deprecating humor in response, although I can’t remember a word of what he said.

I didn’t realize I was in conversation with a football celebrity and told Luke Kuechly that I don’t even like football, more of a soccer fan. Oops 😬

So is Ethan Hawke the NEW Kevin Bacon??!

I actually have crazy Ethan Hawke run-ins. Three to be exact. The first was in NYC, then second in the New Orleans airport, and the third at a museum in Paris. The third time I got the courage to go up to him and say “this is crazy but I’ve seen you on three different occasions in three different cities” He was so gracious and friendly. My mom was there and looking at me like, who the hell is this man you’re talking to. I just know one day I’m gonna run into him again.

I live in Australia, so not huge celeb-spotting scope. But some years back I was lining up to collect tickets for the show Avenue Q with my husband, and in front of us in the line was a man with his gorgeous little daughter sitting on his shoulders. He was telling her ‘we’re going to this show because Mummy’s friends are in it’. I was commenting quietly to my husband that the little girl was so cute but the dad must have heard me, and turned around and gave me a big smile. The second he did I knew he was ‘someone famous’ because he was far too good looking to be ‘a normal guy’, but I had no clue who he was. After we had collected our tickets I saw him head over to his wife, who I recognised as the Aussie actress Jacinda Barrett, and then after googling her I discovered he was Gabriel Macht, from Suits. That’s as close to a celeb as I’ve gotten!

When I first moved to NYC, I worked in SoHo. One day as I walked west on Grand Street, I saw a woman with stunning butterfly wings on. These were larger-than-life, feathery wings. I was so taken with the wings that I didn’t, at first, notice the person. She was flanked by two people, one woman on each side. And the woman with the striking wings casually strolling down Grand Street in SoHo was, I then noticed, Björk. Of course.

I have a pretty funny one…I was a flight attendant working First Class when I saw a man sitting with a very beautiful woman. I ran to the back galley and excitedly told my fellow flight attendants that Mick Jagger was on our flight! Turns out it was actually Steven Tyler with his daughter Liv Tyler!

Haha! I love this, and I bet he was amused as well! I ALSO have a funny Ethan Hawke run in story! I was in Romania on business, about 6 months pregnant with my son, and noticed a familiar looking face in the lobby of the hotel where I was staying. We both headed toward the elevator, and as we got in we kept making strange eye contact and I finally said “I’m sure you’re someone famous, but I can’t place who!” and he graciously put out his hand and introduced himself as Ethan Hawke. He then asked me what I was doing in Romania, and I couldn’t bring myself to say much more than “work” – to which he just replied “enjoy your work!” as I got out of the elevator. Oddly – my sister then ran into him one week later in NYC!

It’s mid-00’s, I’m new in LA and a bit naive. A new friend invites me out for a night with her friends and the group’s real nice – unassuming though a bit hipster, quirky and even kinna shy. Yet we’re popping into bars – breezing past the lines, bottle service, the works.

New to all this star treatment, I’m really feeling myself and don’t even question it. I even have the nerve to flirt shamelessly with a cute guy in the group.

We step outside together for some fresh air when a group of women swarm us. They’re sure he’s the guy from this or that movie and start a frenzy, but he insists they have the wrong guy and they eventually leave us.

Alone again, I say to him, “You should’ve just had some fun and pretended to be that guy!”

He looks at me bewildered and laughs kindly, “I am THAT guy.”

My face must have froze while my brain worked out the evening’s events in under a second. I’m pretty sure my response was something like, “Oh really? That’s neat!”

This is not a love story. But from time to time, I’ll see his face on my screen and fondly remember the young girl I was all those years ago.

Y’all. I lived in NYC for a summer where I interned for ElleGirl (RIP), so I made it my MISSION to scour around for events that would maybe, slightly, possibly involve a celeb encounter. During that time, Crazy, Stupid, Love came out and Ryan Gosling is my ride-or-die, all-time celebrity crush. I was going to go to that movie premiere come hell or high water. I worked late and then walked myself over to the Ziegfeld Theater to wait behind metal barricades. The celebs started arriving. Julianne Moore, Jonah Hill (?), Steve Carrell, Emma Stone… they all pull up in shiny black cars while the rest of us sweaty women were waiting for our north star, Ryan Gosling. Finally, FINALLY he shows up and comes over to do autographs. My knees buckle and I start to shake. I begin to understand how Beatles fans fainted when they saw Paul McCartney because one strong wind and I’m a goner. I’m thinking, “This is my chance. He’s your free pass. Say something memorable!” What do I come up with??

“I like your shoes!”

Kill me.

For undergrad, I went to Minnesota State Mankato which is also where the Vikings football team trains in the summer. I was an RA in the dorms so I would move in early and overlap with the players who also would stay there. We were told to not bother them so that’s what we did. But one day I bumped into like two of them and they asked me why none of us ever said hi or tried to take photos with them. I was like oh, we were told not to! They seemed relieved to know that it wasn’t them and that they definitely didn’t mind if we interacted or wanted photos. It was both funny and sweet.

This is hysterical, I love it!

That’s not embarrassing, it’s great! And makes for a really good story! Thanks for sharing.

In 2004ish, I had just finished university and was looking to become a makeup artist for film and television. I was looking for the right school/program to help me get into the trade, which naturally brought me to a school in Burbank, CA. Naturally my mother didn’t want me going to check it out alone, and naturally she booked us in at The Beverly Hills Hotel for a few days while we did. This became a getaway trip for my mother while I seemed to just be along for the ride. I was nervous everytime I saw a celebrity (and there were many) because I didn’t want my mother gasping or gawking. But one night, after my mother had a few glasses of wine at the restaurant and we were getting into our elevator at the hotel– who happens to enter the otherwise empty elevator but Dame Judi Dench! I was just ready for this night to be over, and prayed my mother didn’t recognize her. We were a few floors up, and things were looking promising when all of a sudden I hear my mother gasp! Like, loudly.
“Oh wow! Oh hello– You are so incredible, I just love you!” my mother says/slurs.
Judi Dench was very gracious and smiled and said “oh, thank you.”
That could have been the end.
But nope, the gushing continued, but this time more incoherently.
“You are just fabulous! Wow. How about that. I love you and your work! Oh Dame Lady Bench!”
My jaw dropped open. I couldn’t quite believe the exchange happening in front of me, and of course had nowhere to escape to.
At this point the elevator stopped on Judi Dench’s floor (we were staying higher up, perhaps lower floors serve celebrities for this very reason), and she backed out of the elevator with her hands open palmed in front of her in a ‘thank you’ gesture that also said ‘you stay there’.
It was a silent ride just me and my mum until we reached our floor next. It wasn’t until we had stepped out that my mother said “Did I say ‘Bench’ ?”.
“YOU DIDN’T *JUST* SAY BENCH, you called her ‘DAME LADY BENCH’ !” I cried. I didn’t find it funny until the next day.

This was years and years ago, but I took my grandma to get sushi down from this ice rink. In the middle of lunch, my grandma quietly whispers to me, “Michelle Kwan is in the booth next to us.” I say, “Sure she is” and went back to eating lunch. After we’ve paid, my grandma leads us out and I look over at this booth as I’m walking past it. Sure enough, it’s Michelle Kwan having lunch. My jaw is on the floor & I’m just standing there gaping. My poor grandma mutters a quick apology to her and drags me away. As soon as we’re out of ear shot, she goes, “Told you it was Michelle Kwan.” Apparently her home rink was down the street and she was in throes of prepping for her last Olympic season.

Moral of the story? Listen to your grandmothers, ya’ll!

I have visited NOLA twice and both times came across actors I deeply admire. The first visit was in 2012. I was pulling up to Willa Mae’s Scotch House (a must for fried chicken fans) and I saw Wendell Pierce standing outside, in a suit, talking to someone. I beamed at him, like a weirdo, and he just smiled and waved. I was way into the show Treme at the time so seeing him in NOLA was surreal.
In 2015, I was back in NOLA during Marde Gras, checking out a night art show. I rounded the corner and there was Michael K. Williams, and my heart just soared. He smiled and nodded a hello. I hope I nodded back; I don’t recall because I was so enamored. Both those sightings, interactions were gifts of life!

Most of my celebrity sightings have been while visiting NYC — Elle McPherson, Gigi Hadid, Barbara Walters, John Travolta, Cheri Oteri, Paul Shaffer. But I’ve got to tell you the story about the celebrity that approached me. We live in Chicago and my teenage son’s hockey team was playing for the state championship. The team played a crazy exciting game resulting in no goals for the other team and an overtime win. As my husband, son and I are leaving the arena, David Eigenberg (Chicago Fire, Sex in the City) came up to us and congratulated my son on playing “a great game” and the team’s win. He is such a warm and kind person!

I love all these stories!! My favorite is from eating in a sushi restaurant with a friend in New York about 10 years ago. It was a tiny place with tiny tables, and we were seated next to Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin. We had a funny exchange about rearranging the tables so someone could get out, and they both just seemed like the nicest guys. I was sitting next to Kieran and it was SO hard not keep sneaking looks at Michael Cera the whole time. This famous face! Right there! Hard to look away.

*Madonna

I had just moved to Portugal 5 years ago and had to get my fingerprinted at the American embassy. I knew Madona had also moved here so I joked with the lady that was fingerprinting me and the guard at the door “what about Madona, she should need this too” The lady then asked my why was I was I asking that…5 min later I go down the garden that separates the main building from the entrance still thinking about Madona (like maybe our fingers touched the same ink?) and open the door to leave and get my stuff back from security (they keep your purse, phone) and as I was walking out MADONA was walking in, but I had to stand there and wait for her to put her shoes and belt back, in other to leave, my heart almost came out of my mouth! as she passes by me, I just gave a little smile and she smiled back! It was just me, her and the embassy security guard int he same room.1 min after the encounter comes the guard from upstairs after me and says “Did you see who just got in???” Sweet <3 Then I spend 5 minutes asking all the questions to the security guard!

I lived in Soho on Avenue of the Americas between Prince and Spring Street and once Jon Stewart was sitting on the steps to my building playing with his kids and his wife standing nearby the steps.

I was returning home and started to slow down when I noticed him … we locked eyes and he probably thought I was going to fan-out (which I did in my head) but I just needed him to move so I can walk up these 5 steps to the door of my building. I think I said “I live here” and he said “o k a y” and did not move.

Awkward! And then I fumbled with my door code so overall it was an embarrassing encounter.

In 1988, I was a student at FIT in NYC. It was a weekend, I was on W. 27th Street headed somewhere and a man with two little red haired twin girls stopped me and asked me where the closest McDonalds was. It was Ron Howard. I gave him directions.

I also met Keith Haring at the Tower Records that used to be close to NYU. He was very sick at that point and I told him how much his work meant to me and thanked him.

I browsed the same table at an outdoor flea market in the west village at the same time as Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. I didn’t say anything.

This makes me think of the time I met you, Joanna! We were at an event in NYC, and I spent about 75% of the night trying to strike up the courage to say hi and tell you how much I love your blog (and the remaining 25% desperately wishing I’d worn more comfortable shoes). I was kicking myself for being too shy when you came over and asked me what lipstick I was wearing. I wasn’t wearing any, and I remember feeling like I’d blacked out for a minute. I hope my answer made some kind of sense, and I hope I remembered to thank you for the compliment!