Celebrity bodyguards have a hard job. The gig is glamorized in movies — high-speed chases, shoot-outs, and of course the occasional romance — but in real life the hardest parts of the job are the most mundane. Be friendly, but not a friend; be helpful, but not an assistant. Cosmopolitan interviewed an anonymous celeb bodyguard and got some details about the tricks of the trade.
Here are the most surprising things we learned from Cosmo's interview:
1. Bodyguards aren't interns or assistants, and overstepping celebrities will sometimes ask them to run errands like picking up kids or walking pets.
2. Rookie mistake: Don't be a "buddyguard." Friendship isn't the goal.
3. Crazed fans do exist, and they are victim to an interesting psychology: "[Social media has] allowed fans the 'perception' that they are engaging in direct conversation with the celebrity... the 'obsessive' fan cannot make the distinction that when the celebrity is saying 'good morning' or 'I love you all' on Twitter that they are not just talking directly to them," the bodyguard said.
4. Glamorous perks can include global travel and Michelin star dinners: "If you go to a fancy restaurant and there's a low degree of risk, you bring more attention to them if you stand over their shoulder with an earpiece," the anonymous guard said. "Instead, you sit at your own table and keep a low profile. And the best way to keep a low profile is to have a plate in front of you."
5. More often than not, a bodyguard's job is to protect celebrities from themselves, a.k.a. the tumbles and bruises that everyone is prone to.