I checked meeting John Cleese off of my bucket list this week.
Photo credit: Joy Asico.
He was doing a screening of "Monty Python & The Holy Grail" at the Warner Theater, followed by a Q&A, and then a brief meet-and-greet for people who had special tickets such as mine. It could have been just a photo op, but we actually got to speak for a moment and he was really kind and fun to talk with. When I was walking up to take the photo first thing he said was, "Oh, good" because I was tall, as is he.
He asked what I did and I said I was a journalist with Foreign Policy and he asked if I knew he had started as a journalist for a year and I said that I did because I'm reading his book. Later he hung around and signed a poster for me, made sure I didn't need anything else signed, and I shook his hand and said thank you again.
Sometimes celebrities in those situations seem rushed and bothered but toward the end it was just me and a couple other fans and it felt more like a cocktail party than some requirement in his night. Just a really kind person.
So DO meet your heroes, I guess.
