Actors Who Are Forced To Field Creepy Fan Requests
Celebrity fan culture has long been a fascinating and perplexing phenomenon. From the early days of Hollywood and the attendant magazines of the 1910s to the hyper-focused observations of commentators on Tik Tok, our cultural fascination with stars has bred some pretty odd phenomena. Within the field of academia, these passionate fan-slash-celebrity connections are known as parasocial relationships, which essentially means a one-sided relationship where the emotional investment is not reciprocated.
Actors have a unique place in all this, as fans often conflate them with the characters they play — characters that become a meaningful part of these viewers' lives. There have always been those fans out there who take things a little too far, treating the objects of their affection as if they were no longer human beings. And then there are encounters that don't necessarily cross a moral line but do weird us (and these actors) out a little bit.
Fans ask actors for things all the time — autographs, photos, their hand in marriage, etc. — but some of these demands are stranger than others. From dancing to choking to doing weird voices and making silly faces, here are the actors who get the creepiest requests from admirers.
Fans want Aubrey Plaza to be mean to them
Aubrey Plaza has a very distinct persona — both in and out of character — and it's one of the things fans love most about her. She often plays characters who might be described as mean or rude, the most famous of these being the deadpan April Ludgate from "Parks and Recreation." She frequently employs her signature sarcastic wit during talk show appearances and told a hilarious story about fan encounters on Conan O'Brien's show.
Plaza revealed that when she meets fans in public, some of them expect her to be mean, or they back away from her because they're scared. For example, she once had a couple come up to her and ask her to "say something mean." She replied, "Leave me alone," which the couple found hilarious. They kept wanting more, so she repeated the sentiment, this time with the addition of an expletive. "And they loved it," Plaza concluded.
Plaza recounted an even stranger story that took place at a bar. She recalled the time when a man came up to her and asked her to punch their friend in the face for no discernable reason. "A lot of people want me to be mean to them, they want me to berate them in public," she explained. While Plaza seems to take these reactions in good fun, she asked on Buzzfeed's "Thirst Tweet" segment — which takes requests like these to an R-rated level — "What did I do to deserve this? I'm a nice person."
Someone asked Killing Eve star Jodie Comer to strangle them
British actor Jodie Comer has received widespread acclaim for her performance as Villanelle in the Phoebe Waller-Bridge-penned series "Killing Eve." Despite the fact that she's a dangerous assassin who would not hesitate to snap necks, many fans have a deep love for the character and her many quirks.
Comer has experienced this slightly perverse adoration firsthand, and she told Graham Norton about one of the strangest encounters she's had. She recalled the moment when a fan asked her for a photograph, which she happily obliged, only to have this fan whisper in her ear, "Will you strangle me?" Understandably, Comer found this to be a rather odd request, and she did not indulge the favor. Luckily, her publicist jumped in and immediately squashed the inquiry, for which Comer seems quite grateful.
Were she really a Russian assassin, she certainly would have satisfied the appeal, but Comer's actually just a nice girl from Liverpool who doesn't seem to have violence on her mind. One could be forgiven for seeing Comer only as Villanelle, however, because her astounding acting on the series — as well as all those accents — make for a pretty compelling performance.
People want Maisie Williams to add their name to Arya Stark's kill list
It's not all that surprising that the actors from "Game of Thrones" are consistently mobbed wherever they go. The series is HBO's most popular show of all time and averaged an audience of over 18 million viewers during its final season. Moreover, the show is filled with complicated mythologies and thrilling action, narratives that spark the imagination of fantasy-loving fans.
Maisie Williams, who played the young assassin-in-training Arya Stark, has witnessed firsthand just how devoted "Game of Thrones" viewers are. Speaking with Elle, Williams revealed that she gets called Arya on the street all the time, which she finds strange but understandable. But some fans take it one step further. Williams divulged that her most passionate supporters ask her to recite Arya's "kill list" out loud and add their own names to it "so they can record it on their phone." If that sounds a little odd to you, well, Williams agrees. "And I do, but that's really creepy!" she finished.
Everyone wants Macaulay Culkin to do the Home Alone face
Though he hasn't acted a whole lot since the 1990s, Macaulay Culkin has one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. During an appearance on her show in 2018, Ellen DeGeneres told Culkin, "You look like you're still like 4 years old." This sentiment is something Culkin clearly encounters a lot, and he responded that "it's a curse and a blessing."
DeGeneres asked Culkin whether people still come up to him and ask him to put his hands up to his face as he does in the "Home Alone" poster, and he replied that they most certainly do. How does Culkin respond to these requests? "No. Been there, done that already, guys. I'm 37 now, okay?" He also added that he tries not to go out much during the holidays because that will forever be "his season," whether he likes it or not.
One imagines it would be a weird experience to see your own face everywhere during the Christmas season, and Culkin described the film's ubiquity as "background radiation" that time of year. The one occurrence he finds especially strange is that people actually want to sit down and watch the film with him, something he thinks is "both flattering and creepy." While many people would pay good money to look eternally boyish, Culkin's comments illustrate that perpetual youth is not all it's cracked up to be.
Jake Johnson dislikes bro hugs just as much as Nick from New Girl does
"New Girl" is one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 2010s, and fans of the show adore the eccentricities of the main characters. When Jess (Zooey Deschanel), a goofy and optimistic teacher, moves in with three single guys, the expected shenanigans ensue. One of her roommates is Nick (Jake Johnson), a curmudgeonly bartender who becomes her love interest later in the series.
Fans love Nick's surliness and his aversion to feelings, and actor Jake Johnson has experienced this firsthand, albeit with mixed results. Nick is famously not a touchy-feely person, and one of the most hilarious scenes in the series is the moment when Schmidt (Max Greenfield) tries to hug Nick in the bathroom and is met with violent refusal. (In a later episode, Nick tells Jess, "I'd give you a hug, but my shirt smells pretty weird today.")
It turns out, Johnson dislikes hugs from men just as much as Nick does. The actor revealed that he is frequently asked for hugs from men who are fans of the show. "It confuses me a little. We'll have our arms around each other and I'll think, 'Our ears are touching'", he joked. "It's not offensive. It just doesn't need to happen." He went on to explain that hugging other men is just not something he does. He gave the example of his brother, who he's very close with, but has hugged only 15 times throughout their lives. Where's Schmidt when you need him?
People hand Walking Dead star Brighton Sharbino their babies
Actress Brighton Sharbino took part in two of the most shocking scenes in "Walking Dead" history, so it's not that surprising that she gets some of the strangest fan requests out of all the actors on the series. Sharbino played Lizzie Samuels, a young girl who survived the zombie apocalypse with her sister, Mika (Kyla Kennedy), and was left under the care of Carol (Melissa McBride). Lizzie kills her little sister, thinking she'll come back as a zombie. Following Mika's death, Carol makes the difficult decision to kill young Lizzie in cold blood.
Child murder is a pretty heavy subject, and fans seemed to have latched on to Sharbino's performance with a similar intensity. She told EW that the most bizarre request she gets has to do with babies. "People will come up and have me pretend to suffocate their baby for a picture," she revealed. To make matters even stranger, Sharbino was only a teenager at the time of these encounters. You'd think most parents would see a 14-year-old and ask them to babysit their child, not faux-suffocate them, but I guess some people just have a unique relationship with zombie content.
Predictably, Sharbino's not the only "Walking Dead" star to field weird fan requests. Josh McDermitt, who's best known for his character Eugene's signature mullet, told the New York Post, "One fan wanted to bite my hair and put it in their mouth!" He did not accommodate that request, retorting, "That's disgusting! I just washed [my hair] in grime and, more importantly, I don't know where your mouth has been."
One fan wanted to adopt Tom Felton
"Harry Potter" is one of the most popular book and film series in history, so it tracks that fans of the story would be especially passionate when it comes to meeting the objects of their devotion. As you'd expect, series stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have had their fair share of unique fan interactions over the years. But it's actually Tom Felton, who plays the lovably villainous Draco Malfoy, who has one of the most interesting stories of them all.
Although Felton has appeared in numerous other films and television shows since his stint in the Potterverse, Draco remains by far his most recognizable role. The "Harry Potter" fandom has yet to die down — with many fans believing it should continue to flourish without its creator, J.K. Rowling – and Felton has witnessed this fervor directly. He told Yahoo! that the strangest encounter he's had with a fan involved a request for familial contact. "One man wanted to adopt me," Felton recalled. "He had changed his name legally to Lucius Malfoy and wanted me to change my name to Draco Malfoy and to legally adopt me. I declined!"
Felton also explained that some fans are still angry at him — or his character, as it were — for his treatment of Harry Potter. Nonetheless, Felton still identifies with the much-maligned house of Slytherin, noting, "They get the most done! They have the most freedom."
Alfonso Ribeiro always gets asked to do the Carlton dance
Few things capture the audience's attention like a funny catchphrase or a goofy pose. Think of Urkel's endlessly quoted "Did I do that?" motto from "Family Matters," or even Macaulay Culkin's famous surprised face from "Home Alone." But, as Culkin has often noted, it can be both "a curse and a blessing" to have been part of something that is so ingrained in people's minds.
Alfonso Ribeiro, who is perhaps best known for playing Carlton Banks on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," is all too familiar with the pitfalls of being associated with such an iconic piece of pop culture. Appearing on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Ribeiro responded to a question about Carlton's most legendary move on the show, known as the Carlton Dance. "I typically get asked to do the dance pretty much every day of my life if I go outside," he explained. "I don't have a love for it like they do, you know?"
He revealed that he doesn't do the dance for people when they ask, and he actually finds it quite strange that they feel compelled to request this of him. 'I'm ... I'm not dancing for you, I'm a Black guy, I'm just not dancing for you. It's not gonna happen," he said. He went on to say that he has a difficult time understanding what makes people think it's okay to ask a random person to dance for them, though he still tries to have empathy for the fans' passion, as he noted on Today.
Fans love to be choked by Mads Mikkelsen in photo ops
Mads Mikkelsen may be a charmer in real life, but the Danish actor has a knack for playing creepy and downright evil characters. He is probably best known for portraying Hannibal Lecter in the NBC series "Hannibal," and has also brought villains to life in films like "Casino Royale" and "Fantastic Beasts." And of course, we can't forget the time he tried to cross Rihanna and was rightly tortured for his sins. His talent for playing villains — as well as his natural affability, as evidenced by his agreement to be in the Rihanna video — has led to a pretty devoted fan base.
Naturally, many of his supporters are attracted to the twistedness of characters like Hannibal and the perverse desires these roles allow Mikkelsen to embody. If you know anything about fan culture, it probably won't surprise you that Mikkelsen's fans often have some rather strange requests for the man. A cursory glance at Mikkelsen's photo ops reveals a common theme: Mikkelsen enthusiasts really want him to choke them. Though we aren't privy to Mikkelsen's thoughts on the matter, his willingness to lovingly strangle fans — and the impressively composed face he makes while doing it — seems to indicate that, at the very least, he's not repulsed by the request.
One person gave a first-hand account of their experience being choked by Mikkelsen, noting that he wrapped his hands properly around their neck but made sure to be gentle. It looks like we might have to add "tender choker" to Mikkelsen's resume.
Pedro Pascal is constantly asked to do the Mandalorian voice
Pedro Pascal may be best known for his dashing good looks and cheerful personality, but "Star Wars" fans probably know him best by his voice. On "The Mandalorian," he plays Din Djarin, a bounty hunter who travels the galaxy with his adorable sidekick, Grogu. Because Din rarely takes off his helmet, he's primarily recognizable by the sound of his voice, which Pascal imbues with a deep, grave tone.
Pascal spoke about encounters he's had since appearing on the series while on The Graham Norton Show and noted that many of these interactions revolve around the sound of his voice. He revealed that fans of the show often want him to do the "Mandalorian" voice around their kids because he's not detectable as the character otherwise. Pascal understands why he gets this request so frequently, but he's not so keen on acquiescing — just not for the reasons you might think.
Pascal explained that the reason he dislikes doing the voice for kids is that it sounds wrong without the helmet on. "It sounded so inappropriate because it's actually kind of a very breathy, low-register, bedroom voice," he said. "It's just, like, so creepy. 'Close your eyes and listen to my voice.' No, it doesn't work," he went on. Pascal's explanation for why this particular request is uncomfortable is quite solid, and we hope this story might cause excited fans to take a moment to think before they ask their favorite actor to do something so weird.