The Best Celebrity Sighting EVER!

On October 21, I started an awesome new job.

On November 3, I crushed my sub-4 goal at the New York City Marathon.

And on December 14, I saw Mr. Will Ferrell at a bar.

I AM OBSESSED WITH HIM, SO THIS IS MAJOR and definitely up there with a new job and marathon goal-crushing.

Yesterday, I started feeling like I had a cold, so I decided to skip planned drinks with friends in favor of rest.

I was in my jammies, all ready to go to sleep, when I saw one of the girls post on Facebook that Will Ferrell was at the bar they were at, Harlow.

ARE YOU STILL THERE? IS HE STILL THERE?

She answered yes, and yes, and I got ready faster than I ever have and hopped into a cab.

I walked in and couldn’t find my friends, so I made a beeline for the bar and ordered a glass of bubbly. I must have looked so sketchy as I just kept looking around the bar, hoping to either see my friends or Mr. Ferrell. The bartender and I started making small talk, and I told her that I’d rallied because I heard Will Ferrell was there.

“Oh, yeah. He’s in that private room behind us.”

There was a glass wall separating the bar from the private room area, AND SURE ENOUGH, WILL AND VIVECA (his wife, obvs, it’s not weird at all that I know her name) were about 20 feet from me, right in my line of vision.

I DIED. I felt like I’d won the lottery.

Any time anyone walked out of the room, I turned to see if it was him. Nope.

I stood there and thought about what I’d say to him if he happened to walk over the bar to me and say, “Hello, I couldn’t help but notice that we share the same affinity for elf culture.” Would I just stand there and quote his movies to him? Would I tell him OMG HOW MUCH I LOVE HIM? Would I tell him that we have the same marathon PR? (P.S. Competitor had a great interview with him the other day about his running. P.P.S I just Athlinks stalked him and he has done a whole bunch of races under his own name!)

As it turned out, my friends found me while I was contemplating this, and I went to join them at the table. As people in his party started leaving the private room, I basically turned and stared to see if he’d come out, flanked by the other members of the Channel 4 newsteam.

I probably blew up my own spot being a total fangirl, because he went out the other door.

But since I first saw Elf in 2004, I’ve dreamed of this day, seriously. I’m meeting Jillian Michaels at an event next month, and then I can basically die of celebrity sighting happiness.

Anchorman 2 comes out Wednesday but I am being a complete and utter fangirl and doing the Super Ticket so that I can see it tomorrow. I’ve waited nearly 10 years for this. I can’t wait two more days.

Favorite Will Ferrell movie? And/or favorite Will Ferrell scene? What’s your best celeb sighting or whom would you die to see somewhere?

30 comments on “The Best Celebrity Sighting EVER!

  1. Alison

    ELF!!! I fell in love with that movie when it came out and I feel like I was harassing people to watch it for YEARS, so glad it has finally developed the cult following it deserves.

    I am embarrassed to admit I have not seen Anchorman, but I did stumble upon the Anchorman 2 set about 6 months ago — I was walking down 6th Avenue and noticed a lot of people dressed hideously (plaid, polyester, weird collars). I watched Paul Rudd and Will stand around for awhile looking pretty fly. No actual filming happened (god, film sets are really so boring), but it was cool to see them just goof around.

    Reply
    1. Theodora Post author

      @Alison: WAIT THEY FILMED IT HERE?? Paul Rudd was actually one of my first NYC celeb sightings when I saw the Will Ferrell George Bush thing on Broadway years ago.

      Reply
      1. Theodora Post author

        OHH. I just looked up the plot. I’ve been trying very hard to stay away from Anchorman 2 news because I want to be completely surprised.

        Reply
        1. Alison

          @Theodora:
          Yes, they were filming at the Time Life building — didn’t seem like a pivotal scene, but I have no idea about the plot of this one. Oh, and a friend of a friend played Condoleezza Rice in You’re Welcome America (she was pretty amazing, right?) — she had great things to say about the experience, and my friend said Will was very nice and friendly when they went backstage.

          Reply
  2. meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles

    I love him, how fun that you saw him..I totally would have jumped out of bed too. I probably love Old School the best, or maybe his appearance in Wedding Crashers. Anything he does makes me laugh…Interestingly enough, I met the man Anchorman is based on and spent a lot of time with him as he is a close friend to a friend of mine.

    Reply
  3. Ada

    That is amazing! Did you feel like you were in glass cage of emotion? I have a huge crush on Will Ferrell. (Also I love lamp.) I love Anchorman and Elf, but honestly, my favorite Will Ferrell movie is Stranger Than Fiction. He is adorable in it!

    Reply
  4. Katie H.

    Oh, I would have been super-excited to see Will Ferrell! Elf is DEFINITELY one of my all-time favorite movies. But Jillian Michaels might even make me MORE excited. I saw her on tour last year, and even though I had paid for a ticket to see her, I still spent the whole show pinching myself that this was really HER right in front of me!

    Reply
  5. Carla

    I love, love, love Elf! Although I wold not say I’m a die hard Will Ferrell fan. And I didn’t know his wife’s name. But now I do. πŸ™‚

    Congrats on your celebrity sighting! None for me.

    Reply
    1. Theodora Post author

      I mean, duh. I looked up to see if he was married and then saw her name. It’s kind of hard to forget! I am DYINGGGGGGGGGGG over the chance to meet JM. I have never responded so quickly to a PR person’s email. Ever.

      Reply
  6. Stacie

    I would have completely freaked out too! It’s Will Ferrel! I

    I met Zachary Levi outside of his broadway show ‘First Date’ back in September, and he just happened to be eating at the same restaurant as me after the show. I literally thought I was in heaven.

    Reply
  7. Katie @ Live Half Full

    I met Dave Coulier on a plane. My friend and I followed him to baggage claim where I tapped him on the shoulder and said “are you Uncle Joey.” He replied “Dave Coulier, why yes I am” and we took a picture with him. It was awesome.

    Reply
  8. Taryn

    That is SO exciting! I was in the city today and kept hearing so many celebs were in town for random Christmas things, but we didn’t see anyone. I would’ve freaked if I saw Will Ferrell.. and I totally would’ve rallied for a celeb sighting like that, too!

    I saw Bill Murray at a baseball game earlier this year. One of the best days ever. I didn’t bother him, but my boyfriend practically stood back to back with him and I definitely snuck a pic!

    Reply
  9. fiona

    Reasons to move to NYC – random celebrities in the same bar as you – AMAZING. Now you can retire from everything. Also – thank you for putting the only post-race photo of me that has me looking normal on your 2013 running post. Made my morning last week πŸ™‚

    Reply
  10. Rebecca Jo

    I’d die… totally… I LOVE him!!! Best movie? Besides Elf? Talladega nights. My best friend died & after the funeral, I watched it for the first time. Its just what I needed. She would have laughed with me…

    My pass-out-& die celeb? Hugh Jackman… I’d die.. simply die.

    Reply
  11. Tracy Schwartz

    Elf!!!

    Where I used to work many celebrities would come in; however many of the employees wouldn’t recognize them. One day John Mayer walked in and was literally two feet in front of me. I had to hide all emotion and it was very hard.

    Reply
  12. Nicole

    After reading today’s post, I’m beginning to think Will is following you around NYC πŸ™‚
    In Chicago I’d see a lot of the Kennedys and also once saw Rod Stewart on MI Ave – he’s very short.
    Best, though, was seeing Hugh Grant and Colin Firth in Amsterdam. They were promoting Bridget Jones 2 – and were staying at the same hotel.

    Reply

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