The Best Autograph Signers of 2013

Who are the best autograph signers in Hollywood? Which celebs are the nicest? These are my personal rankings of the best autograph signers in Hollywood for 2013. I based my rankings on my personal experiences with the celebrities, how friendly they are when interacting with fans, and how many autographs they signed.

Honorable Mention:
Andrew Lincoln.  Rick Grimes signs autographs almost as well as he kills zombies.
Matt Damon.  Incredibly nice and humble still after all these years.  You just don't see him often.
Christina Hendricks.  The Mad Men star has turned into a really good signer recently.
JJ Abrams.  So down to earth and mellow.  Seems to really want to give each fan a good experience.
Kate Beckinsale.  The Underworld star is a great signer and really fan friendly.
Olivia Munn.  Frankly one of the coolest women in Hollywood.
Jon Bernthal.  The Mob City star is one of the best signers, but I only saw him once this year.

The Top 10:

10) Russell Crowe.  No other celeb I've come across can command a crowd of fans quite like Russell Crowe.  When Russell says "Everyone get in a single file line" you listen.  He gets major respect from me because he is great about signing no matter how many fans show up (and trust me quite a few fans do).

9) Tracy Spiridakos.  The Revolution star won me over as a fan within two minutes of meeting her.  She is really freaking nice and signed a ton every time I saw her.  Anyone who asked for a photo with her got it.  I will definitely be cheering for her in her career going forward.

8) Kevin Bacon.  The Following star makes it on my list largely because of what I call the "100 yard walk".   I was at a Following press event and security had us stand about 100 yards away from where Kevin did press.  I thought there was zero chance of anyone signing as we were too far away.  Then when he was done with press he just walked over by himself and signed every photo we had.  I struggle to think of any other celebs who would have made that walk.

7) Jessica Chastain.  Jessica was a machine when she was promoting Zero Dark Thirty.  She seemed to be flying from NY to LA and back every other day.  I don't know when she slept.  But each time I saw her she would smile and come over and sign.

6) Robert Downey Jr.  I didn't get Robert at all in 2011 or 2012.  Well he made up for that in 2013.  He signed up a storm at the Ironman 3 premiere and went down every inch of the fan barricade.  Then made another appearance later that week and did the exact same.  He's the hottest actor on the planet right now, and Tony Stark seems to want to celebrate his box office success by signing for his fans.

5) Sarah Shahi.  Sarah continually impresses me with how good of a signer she is.  If she is by herself and has some spare time, she is going to sign as long as humanly possible.  It's quite amazing to see her just sign and sign and sign.  Respect, Sarah Shahi.  Respect.

4) Al Pacino.  This man is a legend.  And most celebs who have reached this status are impossible to get an autograph from.  Al Pacino is the exact opposite.  He is one of the most approachable celebs out there and if you see him he will sign.  I saw him a ton in 2013, and he signed nearly every time.

3) Kaley Cuoco. Kaley get the nod as the top signing actress of the year for me.  It seemed like at any kind of venue I saw Kaley she signed and signed often.  At fanfests, at award shows, at the airport, anywhere . . . she signed all over LA in 2013.

2) Norman Reedus.  "Boom" That's what Norman Reedus says many times when he signs an autograph.  And good grief were there a lot of booms in 2013.  I think it's safe to say no celebrity signed as many autographs this year as Norman Reedus.  I saw him a lot, he signed every time, and honestly he could easily have been number one.

1) Tom Cruise.  Tom Cruise gets my vote as the top autograph signer of 2013.   He wins this title based on the fact that so many fans come out to meet him, and how nice he is in interacting with them all.   Tom specifically gets to premieres early so that he can spend time with the fans.  Usually it's impressive when a celeb comes over and signs for 3 or 4 minutes, that's a long time for most.  Tom routinely spends over an hour with the fans.  He is my Best Autograph Signer of 2013.

The Worst Autograph Signers of 2013

Who are the meanest celebs? Who refuses to sign autographs in Los Angeles?  This is my list of the worst autograph signing celebrities in Hollywood for 2013.  My requirement is that all celebs who make the list have to be someone I saw in person in 2013. The list is in descending order with number one being the worst of the worst.

10) Johnny Depp.  This pains me to put him on this list.  He was my BEST signer of 2012.  But the fact remains Johnny only made two public hollywood appearances in 2013 and he did not sign, take photos with, or even barely wave at either event despite hundreds of fans coming out to see him.   With big name celebs like Johnny Depp you really only see them once or twice a year.  So not getting Johnny's autograph this year means I could potentially go two years without getting him.  My gut tells me he will be a better signer in 2014.

9) Jesse Eisenberg.  Jesse is just a quirky dude.  He doesn't like crowds.  He doesn't like signing autographs.  Honestly he just seems overwhelmed by the whole commotion of it all.  So I don't blame him for never signing in LA, he seems to have a legit fear of people.

8) Elizabeth Banks.  She just doesn't seem to want to sign autographs.  I saw her both at premieres and low key and every time she just didn't sign.

7) Liam Hemsworth. There seems to be a trend with the stars of The Hunger Games.  Many of the main stars just stopped signing autographs in LA.  Liam was never nice but he has only gotten worse since taking on the role of Gale.

6) Jennifer Lawrence.  I can't really blame Jennifer for becoming a really tough signer.  She has ascended from an unknown to basically the biggest star on the planet in a matter of a few years.  So hey I don't blame her for stopping signing in LA in 2013.   She's got a lot to deal with.

5) Channing Tatum.  Channing makes it on the list because of how much he has changed in the last year and a half or so.  He used to be really nice.  But suddenly he became a "sex symbol" and since then he seems to believe his only "real" fans are teenage girls.  Back in the days of Fighting, Stop-Loss, The Eagle, etc. Channing was super nice to guys.  He would sign.  He would talk to you.  He would take pictures with you.  But alas, Dear John and Magic Mike changed all that and now Channing seems to only like the ladies.  But hey, if you are a female fan and all you want is a picture with him . . . go to one of his events.  You will probably have a good experience.

4) Gwyneth Paltrow.  Literally every star of Ironman 3 signed at the premiere . . . except for Gwyneth.  She didn't sign at a talk show appearance later that month either.  She just isn't a good signer.  At all.

3) Tobey Maguire. This is nothing new.  Tobey has always been a notoriously bad signer.  So I guess it's my fault that I went out to three events to try to get his autograph this year.  I heard he signed in NY.  So I got my hopes up.  I shouldn't have.  He stayed true to form.  Spider Man does not sign autographs in Los Angeles.  I will not be wasting my time on him anymore.

2) Alison Pill.  There are so many Newsroom cast pieces out there with everyone on them but Alison Pill.  She didn't sign at the premiere.  She didn't sign at Paleyfest.  She didn't sign when I saw her at a different premiere.  Then she did a play for a month in Los Angeles.  A few friends and I each went on different days to see if she would finish our cast pieces.  We all got her one on one.  Each time she said "No".  There's something very wrong about the fact that it is easier to get Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, and Emily Mortimer autographs than it is to get Alison Pill.

1) Bruce Willis.  Bruce Willis is better than you.  He is. Just ask him.  There aren't many celebs I've met in person and that interaction has soured me to their movies, but Bruce Willis is one of them.   Bruce came to the Red 2 premiere then walked over and stood about 8 feet away from the fans and just smugly smiled at the fans asking him for a picture or an autograph.  Fans begged him "Can I get a picture with you?" "Can you sign one autograph?" "Bruce please" his response: "This is real life".  He walked up and down the barricade saying to fans "This is real life".  He ignored every autograph request, he ignored every photo-with request.  He does the same arrogant show at nearly every appearance he makes.  Bruce Willis you have earned your title as the WORST AUTOGRAPH SIGNER OF 2013. Congrats. This is real life.

Rob Zombie! Autographs! Photos!

Rob Zombie was out a while back and since I had never gotten him I decided I needed a few.  Rob was  really nice and signed whatever people had.   He is not someone you see a lot in LA so getting these was cool. 

Kaley Cuoco hosts Stand Up For Pits

I went to a charity function Kaley Cuoco was hosting a while back.  I got autographs from a few celebs who showed up including Whitney Cummings, Cheri Oteri, and Moby.  Kaley arrived with her new fiance Ryan Sweeting and did not sign.  So I'm curious to see if this will be a new trend of not signing when she is with Ryan.  We shall see. 

The Walking Dead Season 4 Premiere

The Walking Dead!!!! Season 4 episode 1 aired last night on AMC and I was at the premiere last week meeting the cast and getting some autographs.   It was a pretty great day.  All of the main cast is super fan friendly, so I was able to get most of them on my cast pieces I was working on.  A few of the main cast did not show up to the premiere (Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey), but everyone else who showed spent a lot of time with fans and signed a lot.   I don't feel like recapping every autograph I got, so I'm just going to show all the pics I took of The Walking Dead cast signing for the fans.  Here they are:

   

Machete Kills Premiere: Danny Trejo, Mel Gibson, & Robert Rodriguez!

I graphed the Machete Kills premiere last week and I did about as well as I expected.  Most of the celebrities in the movie were not scheduled to attend.  So I was really just going to try to complete some Rodriguez Trejo combos and maybe, just maybe, get a Mel Gibson.  I've never gotten him. 

Well Robert Rodriguez was the first to show and sign.  Robert is next level nice, and if I would see him more in the year he could easily make my best signers list.  At one point late in the night I realized that I had one 8x10 left unsigned and I went up to ask Robert.  The security usher near Robert decided to take it upon himself to not let me ask for an autograph and shoved his hands in my face and said "He's not signing!"  I didn't feel like arguing so I said "ok man no problem" and walked away.   Well I went and stood about 20 feet away with my back turned and suddenly heard "Hey man" from behind me.  I turned around and Robert was walking over to me and said with a smile "You want me to sign something?"  As I said he is ridiculously nice.  He signed my last photo and I thanked him and told him how much I loved Desperado. 

Next was Danny Trejo and he didn't sign as much as Robert, but Danny is pretty damn cool with fans.  I got him on my 27x40 of Machete and three 11x14s of Machete Kills.  I had put Robert on all four of the items, so I was glad to complete the four combos. 

Next was Mel Gibson.  Long story short: I did not get him.  He came over.  He started about ten people to my right.  Then he headed in the opposite direction.  So alas, I still have never gotten Mel Gibson's autograph.  Maybe next time. 

Later in the night I also got Alexa Vega on my one 11x14, so all in all a decent premiere.  

Andrew Lincoln: Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead! Autographs! Photos!

I was feeling some serious Breaking Bad withdrawal this last Sunday.   My favorite show is done.  It is no more.  A sad day indeed.  But luckily AMC will be starting up The Walking Dead on October 13th, so I can drown my Heisenberg sorrows with some zombies on the rocks with a Rick & Daryl chaser.  

Speaking of Rick Grimes I went for Andrew Lincoln recently and got a few photos signed.  Andrew is really ridiculously nice, and has stayed the same throughout the years.   The fans seem to be increasing exponentially, but Andrew still does his best to satisfy everyone with a big smile on his face.