15 Celebrity Encounters From People Who Genuinely Didn't Know Who They Were

Reddit user palexander_6 was riding the ski lift and having a nice conversation with the man sitting next to her. After they'd got off and gone their separate ways, her friends informed her that it was none other than Jack Black.

Buzzfeed Community member livinforjesus was at the beach when a stranger approached him and asked if he'd mind turning on the water for the shower. They were confused by the request but obliged anyway. When they got back to their towel, their cousins told him that stranger was Justin Bieber.

"I think I was in the middle of selling her a jacket and some art from the Whitney museum gift shop before I truly recognized her. She was amazingly tall and I got to bask in the glory that was Ripley. " - Reddit u/OGstickerparty

Buzzfeed Community member laurabellejean's mother unknowingly became pool buddies with Pitbull when she was living in L.A.. When he finally told her that he was a rapper, she wished him luck and said she'd try to find his music.

"My wife took my son to the zoo, and he wanted to read every little plaque in the reptile area. My wife was distracted for a moment, so he asked the nearest stranger to read the plaque for him. My wife turned around to see Scarlett Johansson happily reading the info to him." - Reddit u/mojomann128

Reddit user diskebbin's husband was sitting in a bar, having a lovely chat with a stranger a couple of stools over. After the stranger left and her husband went to pay the bill, the server told him it was already taken care of — by Chuck Norris.

Reddit user gregorykay was playing Starcraft on Battle.net when they got a message saying "Not sure if you care, but you just beat Ben Affleck." After they asked him to prove it, they received an IM with a link to Ben's official website. There, written in red, was a proclamation about how he'd just lost at Starcraft.

Buzzfeed Community member squirreltooth's mother was selling her wares in a flea market when she thought she spotted a celebrity. She approached the young woman and asked if she was Tracey Gold from Growing Pains. The woman smiled and said that her name was Reese — as in Reese Witherspoon.

Redditor Syntactic_Acrobatics was just 10-years-old when their mother took them to the Bronx Zoo for the first time. They met three other kids and had a great time spending the day looking at all the animals. Years later, they realized the three kids were Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.

Reddit user Resviole's mother owns a small Asian grocery store. When a heavily tattooed young man entered the store, she mistook him for a criminal. It turns out that the young man was actually Post Malone.

As the story goes, XANA12345 was waiting in line to order her food when Pierce Brosnan cut in front of her and began rhyming off his order. She became furious and started screaming at him to get back in line.

Reddit user dutchman3532's father was riding an elevator next to a very famous basketball superstar. He stuck out his hand and said "Shaq, it's nice to meet you." To which the man replied, "I'm Magic Johnson, but it's nice to meet you too."

Reddit user whereegosdare thought they'd spotted their friend John in a crowd. They kept calling his name but he wouldn't turn around. They ran after him, spun him around, and were terrified to realize that "John" was actually Ethan Hawke.

"I was just having drinks with friends after work when this guy ran past me and almost knocked me over. I yelled, 'HEY!' and then realized that it was Owen Wilson, who was making a VERY fast getaway on his bicycle with his dog following. No hard feelings!" - Buzzfeed Community / raec4

Redditor Ken_the_Andal was grabbing a drink before a basketball game and sat down at the bar next to a stranger wearing a ball cap and sunglasses. They talked for a few minutes before the stranger introduced himself as Justin and walked away. Afterward, the bartender informed them that the stranger was Justin Timberlake.

h/t: Reddit