Recently, I came across this Reddit thread asking, “People of Reddit, who knew celebrities before they were famous, how different do they act now?” and was so fascinated by the submissions. Here’s what people said:

The people who shared their stories allegedly speak from personal encounters. Obviously, we weren’t there when they happened, so feel free to take them with a grain of salt.

1. “I went to high school with Sandra Oh. She was funny, dynamic, smart, outgoing, and very into drama. In one school play, she played a mime character — she didn’t have lines but was still a big part of the action, commenting on what was going on through her actions. Anyhow, in one scene, as she was exiting the stage, she banged her head on one of the props — you could hear the loud bang — but she was a pro and just carried on. It has been great to see her have such success, and I love that she has kept in touch with her close friends from high school (you can spot them at the awards shows sometimes).”

2. “My grandpa owned a grocery store in Miami in the late ’70s. Wesley Snipes and his friends were regulars. Once, Wesley left his bike in front of the store, and it got stolen. So, my grandpa gave him his old bike that he kept in the back of the store. My uncle took over in 2001 when my grandpa died. In 2007, Wesley came back to the store while my uncle and cousin were there, asking about my grandpa. My uncle said they talked for about an hour about how my grandpa treated him like a son. When he found out my grandpa had passed, he felt guilty that he hadn’t visited sooner. He embraced my uncle and my cousin, then left. My uncle said he told him they plan to have the building repainted while they were talking. About a week later, a crew of painters arrived and told my uncle they had already been paid to repaint the building. Such a genuine dude.”

3. “Jennifer Lawrence. I moved to Louisville in the middle of seventh grade. She was my first friend, and the first person I had a sleepover with. We hit it off. She was very different from me: a cheerleader who came from a lot of wealth, but her family was really awesome. We were both kinda weird and outgoing, so we became good friends very fast. Her family owned a farm that had a children’s summer camp, and we went to it a couple of times; she had one of her birthday parties there! We hung out fairly often until she moved to NYC a year and a half after we met.”

4. “I worked in a restaurant about 15 years ago as a manager. Rachel McAdams walked in for an interview. She was still in acting school and serving tables to pay for it. She worked at my restaurant for the next two summers, serving on our patio. We’re still friends to this day. She hasn’t changed a bit. She still bikes to get groceries.”

5. My ex-boyfriend’s mom ran a pizza shop that P!nk worked at as a 16-year-old. I guess she would always be singing randomly at work. She’d use spoons, utensils, anything she could find to use as a fake microphone. But she wasn’t the best worker and would allegedly walk out on her shifts whenever she wanted without telling anyone. She just didn’t give a ****, even back then.”

6. “My aunt used to work with Gordon Ramsay’s mother, but never made the connection. Once, while they were out for lunch, he ended up coming in to see his mum, and met my aunt in the process. She said he was so lovely and polite!! Plus, my dad has a bunch of Gordon’s old jumpers he didn’t want anymore. Not signed or anything like that, it’s just a fun family story now.”

7. “I went to college with Joe Keery. He was my college boyfriend’s suitemate and the nicest guy. His hair has always been dreamy and amazing. The last time I saw him was at a viewing of The Hateful Eight after we graduated, and he still made a point to come over and say hi!”

8. “A friend of mine was friends with Tom Hanks in high school and went to prom with him. He still writes her personalized birthday cards on one of his typewriters.”

9. “I went to junior high with Norah Jones. She was the most sincere and serene person. She was fun to talk to, and she never gave a hint of who her father was. The night she won all those Grammys was very telling that she hadn’t changed a bit.”

10. “I went to high school with Mark Ruffalo. He was nice. He was ‘one of those thespians.’ Our high school had an acting group that challenged the students to get out of their shells and do things in front of strangers, like introducing themselves as the wild fairy of the woods and presenting them with a flower. We didn’t talk much, but as I said, he was a good guy.”

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11. “I went to middle school with Megan Fox for a bit. She rode my bus, and she mostly kept to herself. Most of the guys would fight over who was going to sit next to her, but she was very shy and didn’t really have much to say.”

12. “I went to school with Rupert Grint. I was into acting, too, so we had done a few school plays together. He was really nice, very chill, and a good laugh. I haven’t seen him since school days, but he kept coming to classes whenever he wasn’t filming, and he was always happy to chat about the Harry Potter movies. Sometimes, he’d need a little break from so many people wanting to talk, and would come and hang out in the library, and honestly, you’d never know he was in the biggest film series at the time.”

13. “A co-worker of mine met Daisy Ridley while on a backpacking trip and got to know each other pretty well while traveling together. She told my co-worker that she wanted to become an actress. It looks like that panned out pretty well. They said Daisy was an absolutely lovely individual.”

14. “I live in the town where Dolly Parton grew up, and practically everyone above the age of 50 who grew up here claims to either be a distant relative of Dolly’s or to know her in some way. Everyone has their story of the time they met Dolly. It’s pretty obvious, but regardless of who you talk to, Dolly has always been sweet and generous, and everything has simply grown exponentially due to her fame. Examples include the millions of books she gives out for free to children around the globe each month, or the $10,000 in cash she gave to many of my close friends after their houses burned in a fire a couple of years back. Thousands of people are employed here and work for one of the businesses she owns, and it’s a tad strange to see when you walk in, but the birthing center at the local hospital is funded by and named after her. I honestly can’t think of one person I know who doesn’t like her. Dolly’s heart has only gotten bigger because of fame.”

15. “My dad went to school with Steve Irwin, reckons he was exactly the same as a young fella. He would be away from school all the time on trips to rescue and rehome crocs all over Australia.”

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16. “My grandfather taught Jack Nicholson in high school math class. He said he was rebellious but wasn’t too bad at math.”

17. “I knew Robert Pattinson about 15 years ago. He’s a nice guy, friendly, and a lot of fun to be with. He lived by himself in the centre of Soho, London, in a tiny one-bed flat that I think he felt was the romantic vision of a starving artist — or at least wanted to. He had a weird side. He’d say random and depraved things. He was obsessed with Jack Nicholson. He never really gave a ****, he had confidence, and he was always himself. He knew he could deliberately be contradictory, and he used that as a personality trait. But he was a good guy.”

18. “My coworker’s dad grew up with Queen Latifah in North Jersey. His whole family loves her because they were about to lose their house, so she paid it off for them. They’ve never said a bad thing about her.”

19. “My grandmother and mum were really good friends with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley from Wham! They got invited to concerts and got to sit in special seats. And a few years ago, my family and I stayed at Andrew’s guest house in Cornwall for a weekend. But he stayed really close to my grandparents and mum. And Andrew Ridgeley was very kind to my family when we met him.”

20. “My mum knew Mel B from her high school. Apparently, she always copied other people’s homework.”

21. “Kesha was a total nerd. She got a 1600 on her SATs. She was quiet, a bit of a social outcast. She was nice, though. You could tell she cared about others and wouldn’t ever hurt a flea.”

22. “My brother used to play basketball with a bunch of people in high school, among those who would sometimes join in was Pete Davidson. My brother said he got ripped on a ton, and no one really liked him. But that might just be because he wasn’t great at basketball.”

23. “My eighth-grade science teacher dated Bill Nye. She broke up with him because, apparently, he didn’t like kids.”

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24. “I went to high school with Post Malone. We graduated the same year. He always wore a suit to class and was that nerdy, dedicated kid. I’m glad to see how his life turned out. I hoped for the best for him, and now I listen to him all the time, haha.”

25. “I knew Cillain Murphy back in secondary school. He was a few years older than me. Dude was super quiet, but really **** friendly. I remember when he was cast in 28 Days Later, and people were pretty hype for him, but a good few people didn’t think much of it. Once the movie came out, though, a lot of people changed their tune when they could see him actually act amazingly.”

26. “My best friend’s cousin is Tyler Posey. She said he was a sweetheart before his Teen Wolf days, and he still is now.”

27. “My mom knew Seal way back when he was still trying to be an architect, and she says he was always really nice. They didn’t stay in touch, but she said he went out of his way to foster genuine connections with people before and after his music started to gain traction. He always had star quality. Everyone would be drawn to him, and he’d engage with everyone in a way that really stuck. She always mentions that he was just a really sincere, deeply felt person.”

28. Lastly, “My bio teacher was friends with Rainn Wilson. They used to grab coffee often around the time The Office started. From what she described, Rainn seems like a pretty down-to-earth guy.”

Responses have been edited for length/clarity.

Did you know a celebrity before they got famous? Leave your story in the comments below, or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, leave a submission in the form below.

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