The Real John Cleese

Driver

I Have to let this be known, I was in my local cd shop on the weekend, just browsing through the specials, and when i looked up from my indepth search for some bargains there was John Cleese standing there before me, I was very quiet in approaching him, as we all know stars dont really like to be bothered, I only was going to pay the guy a compliment, i didnt want any autographs or photos, but as soon as i uttered the words "excuse me" he bluntly replied,"YES, I AM!" and turned his back on me, well to my disscust
I turned around and said "I only wanted to say, I loved you in Fawlty Towers, thats all" and then turned my back on him. lets see how he likes it. but i just want to say it doesnt matter how famous you are you should still be nice to people, as we have feelings too, I dont think i could look at him in the same light again:(

CrBoy

Some celebrities are just asses... they're rich and famous because of the average people... but that's not the way they think I guess...

beardog03

everybody has a bad day..

sometimes the little things that he and others have to deal with everyday, get`s old..

not everybody is nice and happy all the time..not even famous people..

especially famous people..

IMHO...of course

cfrizz

Driver, you may well have been the 100th person to ask him. As much as I like a celebrity, I would not approach them in public unless they were at a public function.

They are entitled to their privacy just as much as we are.

ND13

I wouldn't take it too personally. From what I've read and heard about JC, he's a relly cool guy. Like Bear said, he must have been having a bad day. I'd like to think that's the way it was and unless you want to ruin the image you had of him, as a great comedic and dramatic(to a lesser extent) actor, try to do the same.

Driver

yeah i know , and i shouldnt have talked to him but i had grown up with this guy on the tv in the uk and i just had to say hi, i guess it not good to meet one of your heros

cfrizz

It is good to meet your heros. It's just not cool to barge up to them on their personal time.

Think of it this way: to Cleese, you were that annoying A-hole telemarketer that always calls at dinnertime.

Friends learned not to call me around that time cause they would be snarled at everytime I answered the phone.

Thank God for the Do Not Call List!!!!

janmike

He is where he is today because of the fans. The same is true for all people in that position, Actors, Sports figures, TV personalities....

If the people don't buy, turn out, attend or whatever, end of story.

Don't like the heat, select another profession.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I don't buy the 'actors need their own personal time' bit. They choose the life they live, and the wealth and fortune that comes along with it - along with that comes fame...

If you don't like the fame, attention, and lack of privacy that comes with being a star, then find another profession, but don't try to convince me that you have a right to privacy...

MacLeod

Polkmaniac x2!

I dont blame them for punching photographers when theyre at home or trying to have some private time but you go out to a mall and browse around a local CD store you should expect some people to apporach you.

And before you start whining about needing your privacy just start counting your millions that you made for a months work and maybe you wont think some fan asking you for an autograph is such an inconvenience.

Driver

The thing is i didnt want anything from him, nothing at all, i just wanted to give him a compliment, I felt i was treated in a rude mannor, i was discreet and polite, it would have been nice to be treated like a person, and i just wanted to have a little politness back on his behalf, is that too much to ask for?
I could have shouted at the top of my voice "HAY EVERYBODY JOHN CLEESE IS HERE"
but that would have been uncool, i definitely didnt bombard the man. And one more thing if a telemarketer called me i would still talk to them like a person and let them know in a gentle mannor that i wasnt intrested, as they are only doing a job like the rest of us.

cfrizz

Then you are 3 people that celebs can do without. There are plenty of other fans out there that WILL respect their privacy the same as they would respect yours.

All performers owe us is the best job acting that they can give. If they do that then they have done their jobs.

Toxis

can you imagine how annoying it must be to have everyone everywhere you go have something to say, whether it's bad, good or overbearing? I can't imagine having a huge psycho fan go all nuts over meeting me or seeing me or breathing the same air I'm breathing. That freak me out and get super annoying real fast. I don't blame him one bit.

Demiurge

He isn't entitled to privacy in a public place anymore than the rest of us. Look at the statement, privacy in public doesn't make sense. That said, he's entitled to react the way he did just like any of the rest of us. He just needs to realize someone might come to a board like this and tell them that their experience with him was less than pleasant. He also might want to know who he's reacting to like that. What if it's a writer?

The way I see it is this...if you're out an you see an attractive woman and you strike up a conversation is that wrong? Can't she tell you to buzz off?

In the end actors and actresses are not like everyone else. They chose the public eye and the fame. While they can react however they'd like they have no entitlement to privacy in public. In a CD store? Who cares? Eating dinner while he's talking to someone else? That's rude. But I wouldn't come up to anyone in the middle of dinner and bug them.

cfrizz

We have our privacy due to our annonimity. How many strangers do you walk up to & just start a conversation with?

Regardless of the fact that we see them on tv, they are still strangers. A quiet nod hello is fine, but to just walk up and start talking like you know them, I think is wrong.

BlueMDPicker

Driver wrote:

I turned around and said "I only wanted to say, I loved you in Fawlty Towers, thats all" and then turned my back on him. lets see how he likes it. but i just want to say it doesnt matter how famous you are you should still be nice to people, as we have feelings too, I dont think i could look at him in the same light again:(

Hindsight is, of course, 20/20 -- but, it would have been classic if you'd replied "Your mother was a hampster and your father smelled of elderberries. I **** in your general direction!"

Driver

well i guess we have alot of different opinions on this topic, and i never talked to him as if i knew him, beacuse i dont, but lets remember that a stranger is a friend you havent met, i wouldnt have met my lovely husband if i hadnt talked to him, or all the wonderful people in my life, if i hadnt talked to them, so how do we proceed in our lives with out the freedom of speech? the answer is we dont, we would be very lonely people and lead shallow lives. so in conclusion im glad i approached JC and as for the reaction, well i guess i'll get over it, but at least my live is now richer for meeting him, what ever the circumstance

Demiurge

Driver wrote:

well i guess we have alot of different opinions on this topic, and i never talked to him as if i knew him, beacuse i dont, but lets remember that a stranger is a friend you havent met, i wouldnt have met my lovely husband if i hadnt talked to him, or all the wonderful people in my life, if i hadnt talked to them, so how do we proceed in our lives with out the freedom of speech? the answer is we dont, we would be very lonely people and lead shallow lives. so in conclusion im glad i approached JC and as for the reaction, well i guess i'll get over it, but at least my live is now richer for meeting him, what ever the circumstance

You're right about that. A stranger is a friend you never met. Does John Cleese have any friends? I'm sure he does. He reacted rather wickedly before you even had the chance to compliment his work. He didn't even know what you were going to say. Sounds like a real jack to me. His actions are his choice, but him just saying 'Thank You' after listening to what you had to say would have been the end of it and this thread would be totally different. We might have started talking about his movies and someone might have gone out and bought one. Who knows.

His right to be rude and your right to talk about it.

ND13

BlueMDPicker wrote:

Hindsight is, of course, 20/20 -- but, it would have been classic if you'd replied "Your mother was a hampster and your father smelled of elderberries. I **** in your general direction!"

Classic!!!

Danny Tse

Demiurge wrote:

Who cares? Eating dinner while he's talking to someone else? That's rude. But I wouldn't come up to anyone in the middle of dinner and bug them.

My sister did that to Harvey Keitel. Asked him for an autograph while he was dining in a Chinese restaurant. I was with her waiting in line and I almost fainted as she walked toward his table. However, he was really gracious and signed on a napkin. Chatted with my sister for a couple of minutes.

My sister was disappointed afterward that she thought he was William Shatner.

Demiurge

Danny Tse wrote:

My sister did that to Harvey Keitel. Asked him for an autograph while he was dining in a Chinese restaurant. I was with her waiting in line and I almost fainted as she walked toward his table. However, he was really gracious and signed on a napkin. Chatted with my sister for a couple of minutes.

My sister was disappointed afterward that she thought he was William Shatner.

HAHAHA! I've heard some rather good Shatner stories.

Yeah, it's nice when even when you do stuff like truly interrupt them they aren't all jerks even if we are.

brettw22

I would have yelled "I JUST WANTED TO SAY HI YOU ARROGANT ****" as he was walking away like a little ****........put him in his place I say.

halo

Are you sure you can't attribute his response to typical dry British wit?

Anyhoo, my friend had a similar experience with Jeff Gordon at the Chicagoland Speedway this summer. "Excuse me Mr. Gordon, I'm a really big fan - could I please have your autograph?" Gordon (who had nothing in his hand(s)) picked up a Pepsi bottle and said "Sorry, my hands are full". Then he had a really long run of bad luck and missed the Chase for the Cup. Karma's a b*tch!

bobman1235

In my opinion, you like celebrities for their acting / performing skills. If you're basing yoru opinion of them on their personality, you're wasting your time. You'll hear stories about every person in the public eye being a dick or a nice person, and you'll NEVER know if it's true. Just ignore all the stories and look at them for what they are - be it a comedian, actor / actress, race car driver, etc. You "pay" them (via royalties, going to see their movie, watching them race) to perform that task, not say hi to you in the street. While I don't feel bad for them for having toe deal with it, at the same time I do n't think they "owe" us anything at all aside from doing what we originally paid for.

BlueMDPicker

I think your thread title says it all, Driver. You saw "the real John Cleese" versus something you were hoping he might be. It also appears that he was completely in character for the series you enjoyed him in. Character actors usually draw heavily from their own character.

halo

bobman1235 wrote:

In my opinion, you like celebrities for their acting / performing skills. If you're basing yoru opinion of them on their personality, you're wasting your time. You'll hear stories about every person in the public eye being a dick or a nice person, and you'll NEVER know if it's true. Just ignore all the stories and look at them for what they are - be it a comedian, actor / actress, race car driver, etc. You "pay" them (via royalties, going to see their movie, watching them race) to perform that task, not say hi to you in the street. While I don't feel bad for them for having toe deal with it, at the same time I do n't think they "owe" us anything at all aside from doing what we originally paid for.

He had a Pit Pass from his employers (a racing memorobilia store). I think he was entitled to an autograph but that's just my $0.02.

cfrizz

Beautifully summed up in a nutshell!

bobman1235 wrote:

In my opinion, you like celebrities for their acting / performing skills. If you're basing yoru opinion of them on their personality, you're wasting your time. You'll hear stories about every person in the public eye being a dick or a nice person, and you'll NEVER know if it's true. Just ignore all the stories and look at them for what they are - be it a comedian, actor / actress, race car driver, etc. You "pay" them (via royalties, going to see their movie, watching them race) to perform that task, not say hi to you in the street. While I don't feel bad for them for having toe deal with it, at the same time I do n't think they "owe" us anything at all aside from doing what we originally paid for.