Claire Danes Phone Conversation - Pt. 2/2

Here's the story:

Back in college, I was a social recluse and Internet junkie. I sat in my dorm room and chatted online with strangers on IRC every night. On the evening of my otherwise lame 21st birthday in 1997, I found myself chatting with a girl who claimed to be Claire Danes. After some persuading, I asked if we could talk on the phone, because I wanted to know if it was really her.

So she called. As we talked, I got the idea to flip the switch on my analog answering machine to record the conversation. If this really was Claire Danes, I thought it would be pretty cool to get it on tape. Of course, it was only one of those 15 minute mini-cassettes, so that's as much of the conversation as I got. As I remember it, the whole conversation lasted about 30 minutes.

Claire discussed her first time drinking, her ex, her celebrity friends, her upcoming movie ("U-Turn"), and her computer dumbness. I discussed how poor I am, how I don't watch TV, how I don't go to the movies (as a film major, no less), and how I don't travel. I'm going to come right out and say that I was a pretty big loser back in the day, so be nice.

The whole time I was chatting, I wondered if it was really her. I didn't know her voice, and I wasn't familiar with her work. Back in 1997, the web wasn't what it was now. It was sometimes tricky to find information and verify facts. But I did the best I could, furiously querying IMDB as we talked, fact-checking every bit of information she revealed. Everything she said checked out. While it was more likely to be an obsessed wannabe, I got the feeling that I really was talking to Claire Danes.

She had called me, and I didn't have caller ID or anything, so at the end of the conversation, I asked for her number. She refused, saying it probably wouldn't be a good idea giving her number out, seeing how she was famous and all. I asked for her e-mail address, but she wouldn't give it to me. I tried to figure out some way to continue my correspondence with her, but she wouldn't bite. So our conversation ended, and that was it.

For the next 3 years, I wondered. Was it her I talked to? Would I ever get a chance to find out?

Amazingly, in December 1999, at the beginning of a life-changing trip to Australia, I spotted Claire Danes boarding my plane on my way down to Sydney. While I couldn't manage to talk to her on the plane, I vowed to myself to catch up with her once we landed. After getting off the plane, I finally caught up to her in baggage claim. Grasping at the opportunity to put my mind at ease, and knowing that if I didn't take this opportunity to get my question answered that it would bother me for the rest of my life, I went up to her. Sensing that she didn't want to draw any attention to herself, I quickly told her my story and asked if it was her I talked to. By this time, she was quite famous, and she quite famously pulled her parka hood over her head before blurting "No, I don't do that kind of thing!" and scurrying off to her ride outside. So it wasn't her. Finally, my question was answered, and I could put my mind at ease.

A few weeks ago (December 2007), I found the tape of our conversation and listened to it for the first time in 10 years. Now that I am more familiar with her work ("U-Turn" was awesome!) and her voice, and with more robust search engines for fact-checking, I am almost POSITIVE it's her.

So here is the conversation (broken up into 2 parts because it's too long). The whole conversation is up on my site here:

http://www.jeffnyveen.com/fun/claire/

What do you think? Was it Claire Danes I talked to on the phone?

Claire, if you're out there...

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• claire
• danes
• telephone
• conversation

[copyright1982]

It's funny how people are saying, "It's DEFINITELY not her" or "I'm CERTAIN it's her" Truth is, there's no way of knowing for absolute sure.

Having said that, I've seen no less than 5 of her movies spanning her career and that sounds absolutely nothing like her. It was most likely a fan fulfilling a fantasy of being her favorite movie star for a short time.

If you fact-checked online, who's to say this girl didn't, too? Plus, why would the real Claire lie to you?

Signs point to no, I'd say.

[spinfly]

This was the dawn of the Internet, and I was a lot geekier than almost anyone I knew. She may have more resourceful than myself and able to find answers faster than I could find questions to ask her, but I find it more likely that she was an obsessed fan who knew these things beforehand. That is, if it wasn't Claire herself.

I gave theories for why she might lie to me in the story.

[GabrielleFaeth]

whether it is Claire or not, i have to say that recording your conversation with her & putting it on youtube is pretty low in my opinion.

She called you coz she trusted you enough to not think you'd post your conversation on the internet. you really abused that trust.& we wonder why famous people have trust issues?

Also,having had the conversation on in the background whilst typing this, not actually listening to it, her voice towards the end doesnt sound so much like Claire Danes.

[spinfly]

Based on how I have been treated by celebrities in the past (other than Claire Danes), I'm not entirely sure that they are all that trustworthy, either.

Either way, if it is in fact Claire Danes, and she wants me to take it down, all she needs to do is ask.

[dwjensen]

I completely disagree, packrat182. I've been a fan for years and this sounds JUST like her.

[RLviddy]

I think it sounds like her. As for people saying this is a bad reflection on you, well--at least it's different, and not another music video. She's very interested in talking to you. It's just a very bizarre situation!

[SuperSwagger91]

It really does sound like her & she sounds very laid back and relaxed. If it wasn't really her then whoever it was done a fighteningly good job of pretending to be Claire Danes and it's really quite random that someone would do that in the first place. I don't think it's wrong that you recorded it either, surely most young guys would record a telephone conversation with a hot Hollywood actress lol.

Either way it's a really interesting......and quite strange story!

[SirReptitious]

As others have pointed out, its amazing how there are people saying it sounds just like her, and it sounds nothing like her. ;-p I believe it sounds just like her. So it was either her, or someone that sounds just like her. BTW, if you havent seen it since this happened, you REALLY need to watch My So-Called Life. Even after all these years, its still a fantastic show. Its a shame that she wasnt friendly at the airport. What a bummer...

[castelinaria]

.... I don't feel entirely convinced about all this - is she a journalist too or - just manages a magazine ? ... Please answer me quickly ! :)) Claire!... Regards from Castelinaria

[definetelyours]

I've watched a video from 1996 with her on Letterman and I compared the voices and the way of talking and it DOES look like her.

HOWEVER, there are many crazy people who can pretend almost perfectly their idols' voices and manias and those thing, so I guess it will never be possible to find out whether it's her or not ^^

[montyhopeful]

it's definitely her !

[ReliableInsider]

@ReliableInsider

Or rather, we can't know for sure whether the recording is fake, but you can, because you recorded the tape.

Why would someone -pretend- to be someone just to fool a stranger on the phone? She doesn't sound cagey enough to be doing something dumb like that.

It's probably her.

[ReliableInsider]

That doesn't sound like her voice but, as we've all experienced, telephones really distort people's voices. The human voice is complex and telephones aren't quite fancy enough to capture pure sound.

She throws in details that are accurate.

It's very easy to fake something like this, but, if you're not faking it, then I doubt someone would call someone up and put that much time into faking it for an audience of one person.

In other words, we can know for sure, but you can, spinfly.

[chansirlong]

There is no way this is Claire Daines. It sounds nothing like her. Nothing.