They say you should never meet your idols – but this might not always be the best advice.

A group of people who had chance encounters with celebrities have shared their heartwarming experiences on Reddit.

In response to the thread ‘Are there any celebs you’ve met in real life who are genuinely nice and kind?’, one user revealed they used to work at a “fancy hotel” where they met several celebrities.

They said: “I used to work at this fancy hotel where random celebrities would sometimes stay when working on projects or touring. The nicest celebrities I met were Shaq, Lee Pace, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Daniel Radcliffe.”

Another user chimed in about Shaq, saying: “I was going to post about Shaq as well! I am from Orlando and he was always doing kids events. I’d go to every single one and he was always so nice. Also my mom was a server who served him and said he was very polite and a great tipper. He tipped her $500 (in the 90s) when she was pregnant with my sister.”

Someone else shared a sweet story about meeting Selena Gomez when she was just nine-years-old. She said: “My mum’s camera wasn’t working but she tried to help and offered to take a few pics. I couldn’t get many words out because I was star struck but nonetheless she was so kind.”

While they haven’t rubbed elbows with the stars themselves, one user shared a secondhand celebrity encounter where their friend met Adam Sandler and described him as “super nice and down to earth.”

Echoing that sentiment, another chimed in: “I’ve met Adam Sandler and your friend is right – he’s so nice and unassuming. He was at a pizza place next to where I worked at the time, so I asked him if he had a chance, if he wouldn’t mind stopping by after they were done, since I didn’t want to bother them as they were getting food.

“I never actually expected him to walk in later with Sadie. This was like 2007, so she was just a little munchkin then. We talked a little bit and then I was able to get an autograph for my brother before he went back to be with the rest of his family. I’ll always talk him up over that maybe 10 minute experience.”

Another user recounted meeting Miley Cyrus during her visit for Lollapalooza, saying: “I met Miley Cyrus when she came to my country for Lollapalooza. She was very very nice and took time to take pictures with fans and give us autographs, even though she was visibly tired. She was also really down to earth, which is really cool considering she’s been in the spotlight since she’s like 12.”