So I "met" JK Simmons at the airport the other day

[culturejam]

Just in case you didn't see this on Instagram...

I had a big fluxup with my flight from Newark that necessitated me to hop into a taxi and ride to JFK (nobody beats the Van Wyck!!) to get to my destination. I was very annoyed by the whole process, as it pushed back my arrival by several hours.

As I was sipping a craft beer at a mid-terminal bar, I looked over saw a familiar face. Having lived in and around NYC for the last 15 years, I have seen many TV and movie stars out in public spots. Usually I opt to leave them be, as I assume it must be annoying to have people come to you all the time and bug you. But I'm a huge fan of JK, so I immediately jumped up and just started talking to him.

To his credit, he indulged my star-struck blathering with the utmost in politeness and civility. To my credit, I kept the entire encounter to about 20 seconds because I knew he had some place to be and he really didn't want to be talking to me. I rattled off all the shows and series and movies I saw him in, and proclaimed my true fandom, and then meekly asked if he would indulge me in a selfie. He agreed and I got the shot quickly and nailed it on the first go. Then I said, "I'm really glad things are blowing up for you. You deserve it."  To which he replied, "Yeah, I've had a pretty good run the past couple years. Thanks!"

And then I went back to my beer. 

[madbean]

Awesome encounter! He'll always be Cave Johnson to me.

[Willybomb]

Nah, he nailed Jonah J. Jameson in Spiderman IMO.

[pickdropper]

So, I see two possible outcomes to you approaching him like a rabid fanboy:

1.)  He filed charges against you
2.)  He tried to sell you insurance

So which one was it?   

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Always loved his characters. Best played in the Law and Order series. Also... spectacular in Whiplash. Still one of my most favorite movies to watch. If you haven't seen it... I HIGHLY recommend it!

[flanagan0718]

He's the man! He was PERFECT as JJ Jameson in Spiderman. I like the voice roles he's done lately too. he was the mayor in Zootopia and the villian "Kai" in the new Kung-Fu Panda movie. He seems like he would be fun to hang out with.

[raulduke]

Cool.

Whiplash was the standout for me in what I've seen him in.

Awesome film!

[jimilee]

That's really cool. I'm not really a hound either, I'd rather just shake a hand more than anything, and some are better left to a sighting. They my blow your perception of them, and nobody needs that!


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[alanp]

Awesome encounter! He'll always be Cave Johnson to me.

That's the Cave Johnson guy? Cool!

"Science isn't about why, it's about why not! Why is so much of our science dangerous? Why don't you invent a special safety door that doesn't hit you on the butt on your way out, because you are FIRED, mister!"

"Some say great science is built on the shoulders of giants. Not here. At Aperture, we do all our science from scratch. No hand-holding."

Haven't seen those movies, though. Or the TV series.

[jkokura]

Cool story. As an introvert, I tend to leave celebrities alone when I see them. Mostly up here in Canada it's Hockey Players, but occasionally we see big stars in big cities.

JK seems like one rad dude. I saw an instagram pic of him working out a while back. Guy is ripped.

Jacob

[GermanCdn]

I was on the JK Simmons forum, and he has a post about how he met Forest from F(x)......

Really loved him in that sitcom he was in with Jenna Elfman, but it was too high brow and didn't last.  Go figure.

Always cool when you get to meet someone you admire, and even cooler when they are not complete d*cks about it.  Half the time when it happens to me, I defer to not bothering them because I assume they get enough of it.  Met Kal Penn at a gas station in Choteau, MT, about 10 years ago (after Harold and Kumar, before he went to work for Obama).  Didn't say anything to him, cause he was heading into the washroom and I had just offered up a demon sacrifice which I did not want to have to apologize for.  He ended up holding the door for Bonnie as she came out of the convenience store, and she didn't realize who he was until I pointed it out, at which point it was "Box in his car, I need a picture with Kumar!"  Which I also didn't do, cause I could see how a visit from the State police would follow that....

[Haberdasher]

Good actor, but he'll always be Schillinger to me, lol.

[culturejam]

Good actor, but he'll always be Schillinger to me, lol.

To me as well. He's always going to be Schillinger (pronounced: Schillin-Ger, of course!) as well as Skoda.

[mrclean77]

Ah - I'm glad I got to catch the explanation.

When I visited some friends in LA a few years back, they had quickly grown used to seeing celebrities of all sorts out n about. We went out to the strip one night and for each celeb I passed by, I felt a superhuman amount of will power had been hiding in me for my whole life. So many suppressed shrieks - I felt like at any moment, a hormone-crazed boy band fan was going to burst out of my 6'4" frame.

[aballen]

Cool encounter.  Anyone remember him in the HBO series Oz?  He was so convincing in that role, I couldn't buy him as a nice guy when I saw him in other roles... eventually I realized that was a character.