Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen, The Wrestler ) was in my car for three days last year. Hollywood didn’t plan it that way, it just happened. I was given the pickup by a travel agent who we are very friendly with. I waited in the airport for this big Hollywood star and out walks this tiny little beautiful creature with eyes that grab you and force you to look into their beauty. All I could think of was , “how can they let this little girl travel all by herselfâ€. It was blisteringly hot and she had on a gothic rock and roll overcoat which to me meant that she is one of the girls who are always cold. She had looping to do in the city and stayed downtown. She initiated conversation and for the next three days I felt like I had a little sister to watch over. she told me about her new CD, her work with Mickey Rourke, some stuff about Thirteen, and her life in the theater. She shared her sense of humor with me about Hollywood and her boyfriend Marilyn Manson, SHE EVEN TEXTED ME AND TOLD ME TO SAVE THE NUMBER! She even told me that “it’s so hot, please take off your jacket, man !†Of course I couldn’t tell her that if my mother knew a client saw me out of my jacket, she’d roll over in her grave!! Naturally, I turned into a teenegaer wondering if she would like this or that suit each day. And I’m supposed to be mr. cool. I suppose I won’t hear from her again as her career gets better, and other people arrange her cars, but this experience showed me that my reluctance to take celebrities (you never hear from them again in my biz ) was foolish. but I must confess that I do hope she’ll call us again. RUSSELL FIGAREDO
I own a limousine company and I have met some of my favorites, let me tell you about a few of them. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF DRIVING Mickey Rourke AROUND IN MY TOWN CAR LIMO IN NEW YORK. ALL MY CLIENTS MET ME BY TALKING TO ME. MOST CELEBRITIES ARE COLD, IN AND OUT OF THE CAR PEOPLE, NO MATTER WHAT RIDICULOUS REQUESTS THEY MAKE OF ME. Mickey Rourke AND HIS ASSISTANT J.P. MADE A POINT OF TALKING TO ME, ASKING ME ABOUT MY BUSINESS, TELLING ME THEY LIKED MY RING AND CUFFLINKS. AND THEY HIT ME OFF LOVELY!!! HE LEANED OVER TO THE FRONT TO SHAKE MY HAND AFTER I TOLD HIM HOW MUCH I LOVED POPE, ANGEL HEART, DRAGON ETC…WHICH THEY NEVER DO. SOME ARE DOWNRIGHT CREEPY. I DO THE JOB I DO, WITH ALL THE SERVICE, BECAUSE I LOVE IT, I DON’T NEED APPLAUSE. BUT ONCE IN A WHILE IT’S NICE FOR SOMEONE TO SAY THANK YOU. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY 100 PERCENT POSITIVE EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD IN MY CAR WITH A CELEBRITY,WITH EVAN RACHEL WOOD RUNNING RIGHT BEHIND HIM. I WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU, THOSE OF YOU WHO UNDERSTAND IT WHEN I SAY, †HEY, I DON’T HAVE TIME TO SIT AND WATCH THE SUN COME UP, CAPICHE?, I DON’T HAVE TIME†RUSSELL FIGAREDO