Got some Breaking Bad merch you’d love Bryan Cranston to sign? Bad luck – he won’t be autographing it any time soon.<\/p>\n
“After 18 years of signing everything for fans – I’m retiring,” the star has announced on social media, complaining he has been “overwhelmed by requests”.<\/p>\n
The actor said he “loved meeting fans” and would “personalize pix in person”. “But that’s all,” he insisted.<\/p>\n
“Thanks for your understanding,” the 61-year-old concluded. “See you on the street – we’ll take a selfie!”<\/p>\n
Cranston is one of a number of celebrities who have sworn off giving autographs, which can have a monetary value.<\/p>\n
Professional autograph hunters are often found at premieres and other events, collecting celebrity scribbles on relevant memorabilia.<\/p>\n
Yet there are stars who prefer giving autographs to taking selfies, which can be both time-consuming and intrusive.<\/p>\n
Should you ever find yourself in their vicinity, here are a selection of notables who have expressed a preference.<\/p>\n
Ten years ago, Ringo Starr declared he would no longer sign memorabilia for fans and that he would throw away any fan mail he received.<\/p>\n
“I’m warning you with peace and love I have too much to do,” said the recently knighted former Beatle, who turned 77 last year.<\/p>\n
Starr said the measure was “in direct response to an inordinate amount of items which have recently appeared for sale on eBay.”<\/p>\n
“I was signing and then they were on eBay the next day,” the drummer rued in an interview two years later. “So I just decided, I think I’ve done my share.”<\/p>\n
At the height of his fame, comedian Steve Martin was so inundated with requests for autographs from fans he had personalised business cards printed to deflect them.<\/p>\n
“This certifies that you have had a personal encounter with me and that you found me warm, polite, intelligent and funny,” read the cards, which also bore a copy of the Roxanne star’s signature.<\/p>\n
Jonah Hill was also reported to have used the tactic, though the business cards he allegedly handed out were rather less flattering to the Superbad and Moneyball star.<\/p>\n
“I just met Jonah Hill,” the card in question allegedly read. “It was a total letdown.”<\/p>\n
Emma Watson isn’t averse to giving fans an autograph – but she draws the line at stopping for a selfie.<\/p>\n
“If someone takes a photograph of me and posts it, within two seconds they’ve created a marker of exactly where I am within 10 metres,” said the star of Beauty and the Beast and the Harry Potter films.<\/p>\n
“I have to carefully pick and choose my moment to interact,” she told Vanity Fair last year. “Children I don’t say no to, for example.”<\/p>\n
Bill Murray will give you an autograph if you ask for one – but it won’t necessarily be his name he signs.<\/p>\n
While playing at a Pro-Am golf tournament in 2015, the Groundhog Day star used a permanent blue marker pen to sign Miley Cyrus’s name – on an autograph seeker’s forehead.<\/p>\n
Last year Murray magnanimously exchanged autographs in return for $20 (\u00a314) donations to the Puerto Rico relief fund.<\/p>\n
When a man offered him a meagre $3 (\u00a32.10) for his signature, the 67-year-old was filmed telling him to “go get a job and come back”.<\/p>\n
Grime star JME – real name Jamie Adenuga – revealed in 2015 that he has a response all ready for anyone asking him for a photograph.<\/p>\n
“Can I get a selfie JME?” tweeted the MC, whose big brother is Mercury Prize winner Skepta. “Yeh, if you’ve got my music on that phone you can.”<\/p>\n
Actress Shannon Purser, meanwhile, leapt to the defence of her Stranger Things co-star Finn Wolfhard after he was criticised for not stopping for photographs outside his hotel.<\/p>\n
“No actor is under any obligation to stop for anyone,” she tweeted last year. “Finn is an incredibly kind human. But he’s human and he needs breaks too.”<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Got some Breaking Bad merch you’d love Bryan Cranston to sign? Bad luck – he won’t be autographing it any time soon. “After 18 years of signing everything for fans – I’m retiring,” the star has announced on social media, complaining he has been “overwhelmed by requests”. The actor said he “loved meeting fans” and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":397734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[137],"tags":[16747,623,16748],"yoast_head":"\n