10 Celebrities Surprise Us With Their Nerdy Sides

Do you think that celebrities always have to be professional and serious with their work? If yes, you may need to think again, as many celebrities are famous for their antics, but few are famous for their shockingly geeky hobbies when they are not on television.
For example, legendary musician Megan Thee Stallion danced alongside Jennifer Walters in a light-hearted post-credits scene in the current episode of She-Hulk, a newly released MCU TV series. Although the comments have been mixed, there is little question that Megan consented to the appearance because she has a genuine interest in "nerdy" things.
With the acceptance of geek culture in the mainstream, celebrities have been much more open about their hobbies. After all, being a star or influencer in Hollywood does not exclude somebody from having geeky hobbies. Scroll down and explore some of those “nerdy” sides of the most famous celebrities we all love in this post.

#1 Kanye West

Source: Getty Images

Kanye West's creative abilities are undeniably affected by his interests. Kanye West, in particular, has long been a lover of anime, notably the 1987 blockbuster Akira. Kanye isn't afraid to express his affection for this film, and it shows in many of his works.
Stronger, his song video, famously draws influence from the film's stunning imagery. He's even gone as far as visiting the Akira art show and seeing the artist, Katsuhiro Otomo, in person (via Reddit). Still, the most striking (and fascinating) example of his Akira obsession came when he saw a random Top 10 Anime list on YouTube and passionately disagreed with it on Twitter.

#2 Robert Pattinson

Source: Getty Images

Robert Pattinson may have been an icon for book nerds in the late 2000s as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise, but that's not what he wants to be known for. His primary hobbies are graphic novels and JRPGs. In particular, he enjoys Final Fantasy VII and its remake, as he highlighted those in an interview with the French show Clique X during The Batman press tour.
During these interviews, his nerdiness is humorously encouraged by The Batman co-star Zo Kravitz. On a more serious note, his love for graphic novels was a huge influence on the way Pattinson plays Batman in the new film. Instead of the typical candidates for Bruce's characterization, such as B: TAS or The Killing Joke, he mentions the relatively obscure - which is known as Batman: Shaman.

#3 Robin Williams

Source: Getty Images

Robin Williams is still regarded as one of the most influential stand-up comedians of all time, and his acting abilities will never be forgotten. His range was remarkable, proving to the world that whatever they believed he was, they were most likely mistaken. In between dramatic parts and humorous stand-up, he enjoyed playing video games and watching anime, like the average Japanese teenager.
He was a fan of Nintendo's classic games and, as most people know, named his daughter Zelda after the famous video game franchise, and even appeared in an official ad for it. As he explained in a Reddit AMA, he also had a strong passion for old '90s anime, particularly the renowned Neon Genesis Evangelion, which possibly explains the series' oddly specific portrayal in One Hour Photo.

#4 Jamie Lee Curtis

Source: Getty Images

Jamie Lee Curtis is a well-known actress and possibly one of horror's most recognizable Scream Queens. Throughout her entire career, she has been conspicuously absent from drama. It's most likely because she spends most of her leisure time with her family playing video games. She is a well-known Street Fighter enthusiast, and she even went to EVO disguised as Vega.
Her quirky hobbies have been shared with her family as well. She shows her support for her children's quirky pastimes, such as Warhammer 40k and World of Warcraft, on Twitter. Her greatest claim to geek celebrity was officiating her own daughter's wedding while dressed entirely in a World of Warcraft costume (per GameRant). Curtis believes that no matter how old or famous someone is, their hobbies are their own, and she accepts that.

#5 Henry Cavill

Source: Getty Images

Henry Cavill is another famous actor with a charmingly geeky side, which has an effect on his profession. This "Superman" guy is a well-known gamer who lobbied to play Geralt in The Witcher Netflix series. He previously live-streamed himself building his new gaming system on Instagram, and his decisions earned him the moniker "the face of PC Master Race."
Some people may not know that he famously missed an audition for Superman because he was in the middle of a World of Warcraft battle (per Game Informer). Fans are thrilled he landed the part, albeit perhaps not as much as he is.

#6 Samuel L. Jackson

Source: Getty Images

Iron Man (2008) introduced Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., in the post-credit sequence that established a worldwide franchise. Of course, Jackson has returned often in future flicks of different MCU series. He even appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. early on, but his first full-fledged main part will arrive shortly in Secret Invasion.
This appearance, while not as amusing as another fantastic contender when he and Maria Hill appear in Avengers: Infinity War, is by far one of the most significant moments in the MCU. It properly established the franchise's ambitions, and fourteen years later, it remains just as exhilarating.

#7 Joe Manganiello

Source: Getty Images

Most people would believe Joe Manganiello's interests are more "normal" for a Hollywood celebrity because he has the appearance and charm of a leading guy. It turns out that the contrary is more accurate. Manganiello enjoys geeky pastimes such as tabletop role-playing games.
In fact, Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus canonizes his lawful evil Paladin Tiamat Arkhan The Cruel, and he can even be summoned for help (per D&D Beyond). He appears on D&D shows like CelebriD&D with this persona regularly, and his wife, despite her perplexity, appears to be quite supportive.

#8 Israel Adesanya

Source: Getty Images

Israel Adesanya is one of the most fearsome MMA fighters in the world. At 6'4", 185 pounds, and a win-loss record of 23-1-0, Adesanya is not a man to be taken lightly. Despite this, one of his sources of motivation for being the strongest in the world comes from the most unexpected of places: anime. We may be surprised to know that his motivation comes from watching his favorite anime characters.
Some of Israel Adesanya's terrifying tattoos, as he revealed to WIRED, reflect motifs from Naruto and The Last Airbender. Adesanya has always expressed his enthusiasm for anime and comic novels. Rock Lee, Naruto's Taijutsu instructor, is understandably his favorite character. Nothing indicates loyalty to a character more than putting their strength concept into action in real life.

#9 Michael B. Jordan

Source: Getty Images

Michael B. Jordan rose to prominence in films as an everyman athlete, playing Steve Montgomery in Chronicle and Adonis Creed in Creed. It's tempting to draw conclusions about an actor's likely real-life passions based on his or her credentials, but that's an antiquated way of thinking. Michael B. Jordan, in reality, is a great anime lover, as he revealed to HIGHSNOBIETY in 2019.
Michael B. Jordan was a huge fan of shounen and mecha anime even before he became Wallace from The Wire. These passions have infiltrated his depiction of Killmonger in the MCU. It's quite obvious on an episode of What If? (an MCU TV series) when his character reveals explicitly that the mecha designs he presents to Stark are inspired by anime.

#10 Megan Thee Stallion

Source: Getty Images

This list would be incomplete if Megan Thee Stallion was not included. Although Megan is making the rounds on the meme circuit thanks to her She-Hulk cameo, her geeky side has been on display on her Instagram several times. She is a major admirer of the shounen anime My Hero Academia in particular and has even cosplayed as Todoroki in a photoshoot for PAPER magazine.
This is not a one-sided fan connection. Yoshinori, one of Kohei Horikoshi's aides, is a tremendous fan of the musician. In fact, they've used Megan as a model for drawings of Pro Hero Miroku, as shown in this sequence of tweets.