Celebrity expert Mike suggested that we do our best to be genuine and natural before meeting someone famous. "Stay grounded and be yourself, it’s really just a situation of a person meeting a person. Keep it that way and you’ll keep the celebrity comfortable. You don’t want to scare them off!" he explained to Bored Panda that it's best to simply be yourself. It might sound hard when you consider what our beloved stars have accomplished in life, however, they're still human beings like you and me.
According to the expert, being polite can help create a positive encounter with a celebrity. "We tend to think celebrities are just being nice and kind because we think they have to do that to be successful. After all, who wants to admire a miserable celebrity? What we fail to realize is most celebrities are genuinely nice and kind, and you can definitely take advantage of that by being nice and kind yourself. That’s what creates a positive celebrity encounter," he said.
Mike also had some advice for any of you Pandas who might feel a bit nervous walking up to your favorite stars. "Celebrities have no problem being admired by their fans! Keep that in mind if you run into your favorite star. They know meeting fans, and interacting with them, comes with the territory, and is part of their chosen profession," he told Bored Panda.
"If you’re feeling nervous, just think to yourself, ‘This person is a star because of me. This person is successful because of me. I actually pay their salary by purchasing, or viewing, or listening to what they produce.’ Then go for it, as long as your timing is right and you’re not interrupting a personal or work moment," he noted that we still have to be mindful that we're not intruding.
Some time ago, celebrity and pop culture expert Mike explained to Bored Panda the dynamic between celebrities and their fans. Mike has met, quite literally, hundreds of stars during his decades-long career in Hollywood, and he’s been left with lots of positive experiences. In his words, the vast majority of celebs have been kind, gracious, and friendly.
Mike explained that stars know quite a bit about how their fans feel meeting them, so they go the extra mile to be nice to them. It works as an antidote to all the nervousness.
“Don’t be afraid to meet a celebrity! The majority are smart business people, and they realize their fans who watch their TV shows, stream their music, and buy tickets to movies and concerts, are paying their salaries. They want to be nice to you!” celeb expert Mike, from LA, explained that it’s in the stars’ best interest to be as nice as they can be. However, this doesn’t change the fact that many celebrities are genuinely kind.
“In my experience, the one constant I’ve noticed is the bigger the star, the nicer the celebrity. The established stars have it down and understand the importance of the celebrity/fan relationship. You usually only have a problem with the newer, up-and-coming stars. They at times don’t get it and may think they’re too good to interact with you. This attitude often backfires, and they realize if they want longevity, it’s actually not that hard to be nice,” he told Bored Panda.
Something that newer celebrities need to remember (and sometimes veteran stars need to be reminded of) is that they are always, always, always in the public eye. Even when they think that they aren’t. Nearly everyone’s walking around with a smartphone in hand or in their pocket, so celebrities need to be mindful that their every movement is being photographed, filmed, tracked.
Stars need to adapt to a mindset that means they’re always on display to the entire world. “So it does take some conscious effort on the celebrity’s part to be nice, just knowing every interaction, and everything they’re doing in public can be recorded. For some celebrities, in fact, I’d say most celebrities, being nice comes naturally. It doesn’t take any special effort, because it’s who they are as a person,” Mike said.
During another interview with Mike, I was very interested to learn about how working professionals and fans should interact with celebrities who come and eat at, say, a local restaurant. What’s more, even though most stars are wonderful people, some might be rude, so it’s best to know what to do in those extremely rare cases, too.
“It’s always best to stay professional at work, of course, and that includes trying to be pleasant. Having said that, no one deserves to be mistreated. If a celebrity, or anyone, is being especially rude, as a server I would step away and let my manager know,” Mike told Bored Panda.
