Stephen Mangan has admitted to making a horrible mistake while meeting his idol, Robert De Niro, validating the old adage that you should never meet your idols – but not for the reasons you may assume.
The 54-year-old Green Wing actor came on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday to discuss his film A Gaza Weekend, a film about a pandemic that was shot during the outbreak.
However, as the conversation shifted from on-screen mishaps to real-life blunders, Stephen revealed a surprising encounter that went wrong with The Godfather’s Robert.
He began: ‘I was at the Tribeca Film Festival a few years ago and Robert De Niro and I, well, there was a room full of people, but he’s there.
‘He’s my hero, and I’m very bad at going up to people and saying, “I think you’re great and I just want to say thank you for what you’ve done.”
‘But I just thought, I’ve got to with him and [I had] several false starts, and then I gave myself a talking to, like when are you going to be in this situation again?
‘So I walked up to him, and I said, “Hello, I’m Robert De Niro”.’
Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley were left in hysterics, as Stephen continued: ‘He looked rather puzzled.
‘And he said, “No, I’m Robert De Niro.”
‘And then he walked away, end of the conversation.
‘That was me meeting my hero, it didn’t go well.’
‘The worst moments make the best anecdotes,’ Susanna tried to reassure Stephen, with Richard later making a quip: ‘I’m Stephen Mangan.’
‘What an idiot I am,’ a defeated Stephen added.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1.
Source My Celebrity Life.
