This film critic has met – and interviewed – some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Jack Nicholson. Tom Hanks. Kevin Spacey. The actor formerly known as The Rock.
But my favorite interview wasn’t with an A-lister.
Rosemary Harris has had a long, fruitful career including winning a Tony Award and an Oscar nomination. Modern audiences know her best from the “Spider-Man” films. I sheepishly admit that’s the case for me. So when I saw her at a celebrity-packed event for the Kennedy Center Honors a few years back I made sure to ask her a few questions for the story I was writing for The Washington Times.
How often do you get to chat up Aunt May?
Later in the night I started thinking about the conversations I had had with the celebrities in the room. Everyone was very cordial, and yet whenever I would see them again in the crowded hall they avoided me or pretended as if we hadn’t met minutes before.
In a way, we hadn’t. It was a professional exchange, nothing more. I didn’t expect to become fast friends with the likes of Paul Simon or the other mega-stars in the room. But it would have been nice for the celebs to throw me a smile, a nod, something to recognize we had just spent some time chatting.
It just felt … odd.
As I was leaving the building that night Harris spotted me and pulled me aside.
“Did you have a nice evening?” she asked, speaking directly at me with real curiosity about my answer.
I smiled and told her I did, not minding being on the receiving end of a question for a change.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This phenomenon isn’t limited to A-listers. Most high school athletes I’ve interviewed pretend I don’t exist once I put down the notebook or turn off the tape recorder. It’s worse with pro and college football players.
Interesting, JohnFN. Again, I don’t want to be the geek who thinks I’m best buds with Ben Affleck because I asked him three questions. But it feels odd when the interaction ends and the wall gets thrown back up.
I understand what you mean, but I think you would at least get acknowledgment you exist. Once the tape recorder is off, it’s like you go back to being a part of the wall. Explaining this to people who are like, “You interviewed Ohio State’s coach!” is usually a huge letdown for them.