James McAvoy’s Awkward Run-In With Jennifer Aniston Is the Biggest Testament of 'Never Meet Your Heroes'

You know the age-old saying “Never meet your heroes”? Well, it’s not exactly a hard-and-fast rule, but more of a cautionary tale. After all, meeting someone you admire so much could quickly backfire into disappointment.

For James McAvoy, he recently revealed to Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that he once ignored that critical phrase and met his celebrity crush, Jennifer Aniston, when he was first starting out in the business.

“I was at a party when I was really young. I was like 22 in LA. And I met Lucy Liu and Lucy Liu was really, really nice to me,” the Speak No Evil star remembered. “She was like, ‘Come meet my friends.’ There was a big circle of her friends and one of them happened to be Jennifer Aniston, and I got parked right beside Jennifer Aniston.”

Standing right next to the Friends star, we’re sure McAvoy was tingling with anticipation waiting to be introduced. “And just as [Liu] was like, ‘Hey guys, meet my new friend James’ … instead of saying that, she got pulled aside by a guy she went to high school with,” he remembered. “She went away and I was just left standing with all these people going, ‘Hey, what’s up, I’m new in town.’”

Making things even worse, McAvoy talked to Aniston about the only thing that came to mind. “So you’re Jennifer Aniston and you’re in Friends,” he told her. Talk about awkward!

Looking back at the moment, McAvoy admits it was all his fault. “I did meet her and it wasn’t great, not because she’s not great,” he said. “It was rough, but she was lovely.”

Maybe it’s time for a redo?

Currently, McAvoy is starring in Speak No Evil, a horror movie about an American couple and their daughter spending a weekend at a British family’s idyllic country estate. “In this movie, you get to scare people and entertain people at the same time,” he told Late Night with Seth Meyers. “He’s kind of a fun character to watch and spend time with as an audience but at the same time, he’s really upsetting to be around. That’s like a strange tightrope to walk.” His new movie is in theaters now!

Before you go, click here to see all the celebrities who ended up dating their celebrity crush.