Today was a gorgeous, sunny fall day. Sweatshirt weather! I love it. I went online this morning to see if there were any street fairs going on. Sure enough, there was one on Park Ave South from 17th to 23rd Streets. I took the train (several trains, due to construction) to Union Square.
I love street fairs. I went up one side and down the other, looking for Christmas presents. I ended up with two pairs of reading glasses (just $7.50 each) and a $5 fanny pack for walking/jogging, plus a little something for my nephew Connor who likes to direct and star in his own movies.
Afterward, I was walking around the south end of Union Square, through the farmer's market, thinking "Man, it's really crowded." Passing between the vegetable stands, I saw a tall, good-looking, unshaven man heading toward me with his petite, unremarkable blonde wife and young child (I assumed) in a stroller. He was on his cell phone. I took a double-take because I thought I knew him. I wondered if we'd worked together or not. I memorized the face and kept walking.
Across the street in Filene's I couldn't stop thinking about that guy. Where do I know him from? Finally it dawned on me that he must be an actor. At Whole Foods I picked up the 40th anniversary edition of New York magazine and tucked it in my Filene's shopping bag. I thought and thought about it all the way home, but still I couldn't place the name of this actor.
At home I popped open my laptop, bound and determined to find this guy. I kept thinking, "Was he on CSI?" I could sort of picture him in a lab coat or uniform of some sort - in a serious role. I could even replay his facial expressions in my mind. (No doubt he appeared in Law & Order at some point, like every other NY actor.) I don't think I've watched a full episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, so I really couldn't say.
I went to IMDB and looked through the dozens of photos of actors who'd been on CSI, but that got old quickly. The list was too long and the photo thumbnails too small.
My next Google search on "new york actors" took me right to - would you believe - an article called "The New York Actor" in the 40th anniversary edition of New York magazine! The magazine still sat on the end table next to the chair I was in.
I flipped through the slide show of photos, hoping to find my mystery man. The photos are interesting because they show many of these famous actors and actresses as they look in real life - without the makeup. Meryl Streep, S. Epatha Merkerson, Patti Lupone, Ellen Barkin (ugh!), James Earl Jones. . . and then, there on slide nine was the celebrity I saw today!
It was Liev Schreiber.
And to think I was within 10 feet of him at the farmer's market today! Had I known about the magazine article, I could have figured it out on the R train on my way home.
A little research on IMDB led me to believe that the woman he was with at Union Square today, who walked directly to my right with her stroller, was none other than Naomi Watts, who last year had a baby with Liev. Now, the woman I saw with the stroller was not the least bit attractive. But after Googling "naomi watts no makeup," I can confirm it was in fact her. Right there at the farmer's market in Union Square - an event I've attended at least a dozen Saturdays in the past year.
It's about time I had another celebrity sighting! Not counting the Susan G. Komen race for the cure three weeks ago, it had been ages since I saw a celebrity on a NY city sidewalk. I live in NYC, for crying out loud! I should be bumping into Sarah Jessica Parker at the Pearl River Mart or Cynthia Nixon at Filene's on the upper west side. I should be rubbing elbows with more famous people! Hmph.
(Photo courtesy of New York magazine.)
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