Recently I had a huge celebrity crush of mine, well, crushed. Via the most reliable source on the planet (no, I'll never divulge) I learnt that the ever-talented, lovable and seemingly charming actor, Sam Rockwell, may, in real life, be more like someone who just yells at minimum wage waiters, totes men's magazines under his arm on the way to a restaurant toilet, and isn't opposed to getting around town in tracksuit pants sans any underwear underneath.

Sure, okay, it's a trio of things that don't necessarily make him any worse than your average schmo. But, for me, it's been enough to take that once untouchable sheen and rub it clean off.

With one down, I fear there's now even more celebrity crushes set to go. But rather than just sit here and take it, it's time to make a stand (or, more specifically, a list.)

Behold our top ten celebrities whose various deeds - on camera, in one way or another - unequivocally prove that they will never 'do a Rockwell', and would be nothing less than totally amazing human beings should you ever be lucky enough to meet them.

Whether you're after an autograph for your nephew, change for the parking meter, a jump-start for your car, or an apartment to crash for the night, if you happen to see any of these fantastic famous folks nearby, approach with full expectation and without fear.

10. Reese Waters
Comedian Reese Waters is not a household name in Oz, but anybody who's shared tea and cannolis with a civil Mike Tyson must be a scholar and a gentleman where I come from.



9. Bill Maher
The Left's answer to Bill O'Reilly, Bill Maher giggles at his own jokes and is generally quite brutal with his deliveries. But 95% of the time his cross-hairs are focused squarely upon the same things I hate. If you feel anything like he does towards the BP oil spill disaster (see the video's 2 minute mark onwards), then he would totally help you out in a bind, I just know it.

8. Stephen Fry
Charming, polite, eloquent, extremely knowledgeable and able to recite Dirty Harry Callahan's dialogue on a whim. It's well known that these are the original, prime ingredients for awesomeness.

7. Dan Aykroyd
So, it turns out that Dan Aykroyd is even more "meet-able" than I once thought - i.e. he's a raging UFO nut. The long-standing spokesperson for America's UFO institute, he's even adamant that alien's have been breaking our Earthly laws.

Driving home the points of his unorthodox beliefs, Dan's even made a vodka based on them. I watched this whole video waiting keenly for a punch line or a laugh track. There wasn't one. A-mazing.

6. Tina Fey / Amy Poehler
There's a million more examples of these two's immense comedic talent but, as the set of an Unscripted interview falls apart here, they flow seamlessly off-script into some casual, comedic fun, and a sure-fire look into their truer personalities. Exhibit A for Awesome as follows.

5. Paul Rudd
Plenty of celebrities, actors and otherwise have shown their faces on Sesame Street, but few have "brought it" as much as Paul Rudd inside a planet Earth costume. I mean, he's really into the environment, and that's a huge tick from me.

4. Natalie Portman
After decades of airing Inside The Actors Studio, Natalie Portman officially tops all previous guests' answers to the host's notorious question "what is your favourite swear word?" Sigh.

3. David Lynch
There's no pinpointing exactly what goes on inside the mind of David Lynch, but you just know he's an amazing, stick-it-to-the-man kind of guy when he decides to make a cigarette commercial as unintelligible as this:

And then he responds to an interviewer's question about product placement in films like this:

2. Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins polarises a lot of people - I suppose being the world's most fervent, outspoken atheist will do that. But his atheist opinions originate simply from his intense passion as a scientist, leading to many of the most memorable and oddly charming retorts. Endearing to watch, your beliefs aside.

1. Conan O'Brien
When Conan O'Brien was fired from/quit the NBC Tonight Show it was amidst a bitter, murky air that had been lingering for weeks amongst the show business community. In his final monologue, in his final episode, Conan chose to take the high road. His class and, in particular, his appeal against a cynical world (the last 30 seconds of the video), actually brought me a tear or two. If you ever find yourself minus a shirt, there's another one waiting for you on Conan O'Brien's back.