This week my column for Fanning Out is about some of my favorite favorite celebrities and the amazing things they do in their spare time to help others. I encourage you to read it, especially if you’re like me and you often feel frustrated by all the news coverage of the negative things celebrities do (*cough*Bieber*cough*). There are a lot of celebrities out there who genuinely care about their fans and the world in general, and I think it’s better to focus on the good, rather than the bad.
The column was originally inspired by this tweet from Zachary Levi:
His tweet was a response to this blog on Tumblr. Fans of Levi already know what a great guy he is in real life, and this is just further proof.
A friend of mine brought the tweet, and then the blog, to my attention last week and it just struck me how genuine Levi’s words were. And for a celebrity like him – who I’m sure is not only busy with work, but also with running a business and planning for Nerd HQ 2014 – to take time out to reach out to a fan and let them know he cares is just incredible.
There are so many stars who use their fame and influence for good. Aside from the ones I mentioned in my column, Norman Reedus has sponsored charity auctions for fans with cancer; Christian Bale visited victims of the Aurora shooting in the hospital; after Hurricane Sandy Anson Mount spent a lot of time helping to clean up neighborhoods in New York and New Jersey and the list goes on.
I love seeing the human side of the people that I watch on TV or in movies and I love stories about celebrities who actually care about something other than making more money, getting awards, media attention and whatever else the self-obsessed stars tend to care about. It reminds me that the people I admire are just people too. Sure, they have a much cooler job than me and get to hang out with a lot of other awesome people, but really they’re just like us. At least, stars like Zachary Levi are.
Not Another Dumb Blonde 