Celebrity City

Posted by Jen
Filed in City
September 17, 2006

What do you do when you see a famous person in Vancouver? My reaction varies. Depending on my mood, location, and the general vibe in the universe, I may do any of the following.

A) Ignore the person entirely.
B) Smile, as if to say, "Yes, I know who you are, but of course I'm too classy to bother you."
C) Smile wanly, as if to say, "Yeah, you're famous. Woop-dee-doo."
D) Apologetically say hi and something like "I loved you in *insert movie or whatnot here*" then hurry away.

This weekend, I was at Kits Beach buying a Nanaimo bar when I noticed there was an actor in line behind me. The guy's name is Timothy Omundson and he's not exactly an A-lister (far from it), but I've seen him in a lot of stuff and I enjoy his work. He was in the girly drama Judging Amy (sporting a rad moustache), and in Deadwood and CSI and a host of other things. And I wanted to say hi. I felt overwhelmingly like I should say hi, because I think Omundson is a really likable actor, who might appreciate being noticed. But I didn't. I figured the poor guy was just trying to chill with his adorable toddler-size kid and it would be tacky to bother him.

I don't know, though. Would it have? Would a quick compliment have been unwelcome? How do you tell?

Since moving here, I've seen my fair share of actors cruising the city. Each time, I feel plagued by indecision about what to do. Maybe it's just me.

Image of Omundson as Carlton Lassiter on Psych, from Wikipedia

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I'm horrible at recognizing actors and other celebrities... Makes it interesting at film festivals, where I can be talking to someone for 10 minutes before realizing that they're in three films playing at the festival...

Posted by: Richard Murray

at September 17, 2006 10:33 PM | Quote Comment

Probably a good thing if it helps people keep their egos in check.

Posted by: Jen at September 17, 2006 10:39 PM | Quote Comment

Timothy who?

Posted by: bcneocon at September 17, 2006 10:42 PM | Quote Comment

Omundson

Posted by: Jen at September 17, 2006 11:49 PM | Quote Comment

I usually don't say anything because I feel like it would be weird and/or rude. Even if they're flattered and happy to talk to you, it's still... "Hi, you're so and so? I loved you on such and such." And they're like "Thanks! Way to recognize me." And...then what?

Posted by: Brenda at September 17, 2006 11:54 PM | Quote Comment

Def tacky, i think.

Posted by: statusq at September 18, 2006 10:35 AM | Quote Comment

DEFINITELY people should be left alone if they have their kid with them. And, to be honest, I'd leave 'em alone the rest of the time too. Think of it this way, if you saw a guy that you vaguely recognized as being a bus driver but out of context, say at the beach, would you go up to him and say, "hey, I loved you on that number 6 route the other day"? No?

We're way too sycophantic to the film & tv industry in this city anyway. Let the celebs pass unheralded, I say.

Posted by: cat at September 18, 2006 3:07 PM | Quote Comment

I agree. Can you imagine how annoying it would be to have random strangers constantly interupting your daily activities? Sure, it's nice to receive some recognition now and then, but damn, I'd go crazy! It's no wonder so many of the rich celebs prefer to hole themselves up in West Van.

Posted by: ryan sorochan at September 18, 2006 10:32 PM | Quote Comment

I dunno, the other day I had about 4 people come up to me and ask for directions in a very short span of time and I was all, 'Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.'

Posted by: heather at September 19, 2006 12:22 AM | Quote Comment

Last week my friend saw Sarah Polley at Vij's. She had to wait ages for a table just like everyone else (ha!). The next day, she was on the same flight to Toronto as that same friend. He spoke to her in the lounge. She didn't seem bothered.

Posted by: C at October 10, 2006 5:40 PM | Quote Comment

Three years ago I was a supervisor in one of those info booths at the PNE and Hugh Jackman came up to us to rent a wheelchair (his stunt double had injured himself). My staff in the booth were begging me to let them take pictures with him and get autographs, but I said no. The dude was in a crazy public space and there was no way I was gonna allow my staff to add to the hundreds of people that were no doubt gonna mob him that day. But funny thing is he still had to leave his DL with us while he had our wheelchair, just like everyone else!

Posted by: Alvar at October 14, 2006 11:58 PM | Quote Comment