Famous Faces Interlude

These are some of mine!

I'm sure I'm missing a few, but these are some of my bestest spots.  Admittedly the majority were at work and I do have an unfair advantage but I still get SO excited when I see people I recognise.

So, from the top:

Nicole Kidman - Came in to watch a show at work with her little tiny husband Keith Urban.  She looked like a tall, beautiful but incredibly thin alien.  He had nice hair.

Ralph Fiennes - He starred in a production of Oedipus so I saw him quite a bit around the theatre.  You pronounce his name "Rafe" not "Ralph".  He reminded me somewhat of Leonard Rossiter in some ways.  I happened upon him at one point whilst walking round the dressing room block in his pants - he did not look pleased to see me.  I wonder why?

Richard Wilson - I resisted the temptation to shout "I don't believe it!" at him.  He came along to see a show with Ian McKellen and was by far the camper and more flamboyant of the two.  My colleague suspected he might have been breaking in some new teeth.

Simon Callow - Walked past him at the bar.  He laughs VERY VERY LOUDLY.

Al Pacino - Stood by a concrete pillar, waiting for his (very attractive) assistant to collect his tickets for him.  I might have thought he was trying to look inconspicuous if he wasn't wearing sunglasses.  Indoors.  At night. Tit.  And he was very short and had scary eighties hair.

Jude Law - Came to the desk with his daughter to pick up tickets for the family show last Christmas.  Was very nice and polite and down to earth but his hairline had definitely begun to retreat.  Promised his little girl ice cream.

Vanessa Redgrave - Starred in a show at the theatre and used to see her lots in the canteen. She looked like she needed a burger because she was so thin but seemed to exist on hummus and crudites.  She once squawked at my friend who was wearing a gold sequined top and 'Nessa thought it was "Quite fantastic!"

Ian Hislop - One of my personal heroes on Have I Got News For You I was really really hoping that he'd be nice in person - I wasn't disappointed.  He asked to get a message to one of the actors in the show he was watching and despite the fact that I became extremely stupid when faced with his genius he was patient and smiley regardless.  I figured out what to do in the end.

Helen Mirren - Is about to be in a new production of Phedre at work.  Passed her in the corridor a couple of times and she actually quite small; about my height!  I always thought of her as taller than 5'4.  She also accidentally joined onto the back of one of my tours the other day which made the group very squealy and excited.

Juliet Binoche - Did a dance type show last year with a famous choreographer called Akram Khan.  She is the star of an anecdote on my tour about making complaints about the dressing rooms which illustrates the fact they are a bit like hospital rooms, only with less glamour.  I'm still trying to get over the fact that she's kissed Johnny Depp.

Tamsin Grieg - The woman of my dreams!  Or the woman I most want to be. She was in a show too and did a couple of talks while she was at the theatre.  She's very wise as well as lovely - one thing she said that stuck with me was that if you are faced with two possible ways to go, if one seems impossible, that's probably the one you should take.  She also bought my friend who works on Stage Door a bottle of champagne when her show went on tour because she'd helped her find her mobile phone when she lost it.

Stephen Mangan - Hurray!  The first one not at work!  But still in a theatre.  And a Virgin Megastore.  I am only a few short steps away from stalking this man.  But in my defence he said I had a lovely smile when I met him, and is just awesome.  I have already waxed lyrical about him before so I'll stop.

Bill Bailey - I was at a pub in Soho and saw him having a chat with a couple of people outside the theatre where his stand up show Tinselworm was playing.  I also saw him a couple of years before that in a Pret a Manger.  He was recognised by someone (not me) who asked for a picture and he was incredibly friendly and accommodating.  Greyer than I thought he would be though.

Sophie Okonedo - She stood in a long box office queue for a good long while waiting patiently and looking gorgeous.  When compared to so many other actors who think it's their god given right to be FIRST at ALL times it was amazing and lovely to see.

Miranda Richardson (Queenie) - Is completely and utterly scatty.  I've met her a few times and every time she's been baffled by everything but very friendly and giggly with it.  She has usually lost something and doesn't know where she should be.

Russell Brand - Completely changed my opinion of him within five minutes. Before I met him I thought he was a poncey twat and his comedy was shite.  I still think his comedy is pretty shite but I think he's marvellous. Basically this dramatic change was wrought by his flirting with me and being very charismatic generally.  He had come to review the family show before Xmas and his friend who had the tickets was running late.  He was offered the VIP room but turned it down, choosing instead to sit in the foyer by the stairs where he proceed to get swamped by every school party that came up the stairs, signing autographs for hundreds of very excited kids.  And he flirted with me and made me blush.  Does that make me shallow? Probably.  Do I care? No.

Jeremy Irons - Played Harold MacMillan in a show shortly after I first started working at the theatre.  Kept holding doors open for me dressed in a series of very strange outfits which made me thank him while passing through and pulling silly excited faces after he couldn't see me anymore.  My favourite was green jodphurs with stripey multicoloured socks and brown shoes topped by a bomber jacket and a Kangol flat cap worn backwards.  Quintessentially the eccentric Englishman, he lives in a castle.

James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff - Saw them walking along the South Bank arm in arm one sunny Saturday afternoon looking very happy ad loved up.  One of those couples that just seem so normal that you do a double take when you realise you recognise them.  Or your first impression is that they might be your neighbours or someone you went to school with and you only realise later that actually you know them off the telly...

Anna Chancellor - Been in a few productions at work.  Possibly a bit do-lally - I once encountered her while walking down some stairs holding a tall standing lamp.  She almost walked into me then shrieked with laughter at me "Oh gosh!  Don't you look FUNNY!!"  I walked on, smiling but bemused. WTF?

Ian McKellen - Always wearing a lovely soft camel coloured coat and tends to be turned out very well.  Seen him a few times before the theatre too, usually surrounded by a bevy of young gorgeous men.

Dawn French - Me and Dawny - we're like that: X.  I looked after her phone for her to charge it when she went in to watch a show.  She is exactly how she is on TV in real life too - LOVELY.  Yay for her.

Cameron Diaz - Looks SO normal in real life!  You'd never guess she was this beautiful movie star at all.  She was just wandering around the foyer with that model guy that Jennifer Aniston also went out with.

Basically without working in the theatre I would have seen a couple of the ones above along with David Mitchell getting off the tube and Melvyn Bragg in a linen suit walking around Piccadilly Circus.