Never meet your heroes as you will only be disappointed?

"You should never meet your heroes as you will only be disappointed", is one of those sayings which has been around for years. I think it is better not to meet your heroes because they probably won't match up to your expectations in real-life. What do you think though? Do you have an experience of your own which either backs up this saying or undermines it?

 

Can't be disappointed with them if you don't have any heroes...

 

well if you're a reasonably intellegent adult you'll expect them to be only human (or sapients from some other world)
if you're not, its not their fault.

when i met nemoy in the green room at a sciffy con one time, i was not dissapointed at all.
same goes for foxamore at a furry con.

it helps to think of them as people, and maybe know then by their mundane names.
then again, maybe that's not the question.

 

Your disappointment is based entirely upon your expectations. If you're generous enough to allow them their humanity, with all that entails, you can appreciate them for exactly who they are; not some caricature of what you imagine them to be.

 

People forget that your idols are also people. They are not always available to entertain you. For example a lot fans get upset when they meet a comedian or musician. They say something like "tell me a joke" then tell all their friends they were not funny and kind of rude. It can't be turned on and off like that. What they do on stage takes a lot of work.

My avatar is Mike Gordon from the band Phish and he he famous for being "rude" but also great depending on the fan. It's all how you approach them. If you expect them to be people with flaws and not a perfect musical god you will not be disappointed.

 

Since nearly all of my celebrity friends are a combination of film directors, actors and classical musicians, they are exactly what I expect from them.

I had to laugh when you mentioned not expecting comedians to tell you a joke. I worked with Mel Brooks for a short period during his production of Silent Movie. Every second that I spent with him was just like a scene from one of his films. Whenever something turned out well, he told everyone to give me a lollypop. On one occasion, I was threatened with being hung on my horse.

By far the most sincere directors who I worked with were Fred Zinemann and Richard Attenborough. I worked with Richard for 37 years