It’s not every day you bump into a celebrity, and if you do there’s even less chance of successfully being granted a photo, but for this family, their day was about to get a whole lot more interesting. They had decided to go on vacation to Montauk, New York when crazy things started to happen, and they never saw it coming. Alex Cabana was a proud father and after spotting Matthew Broderick, he did what any father would do; he asked for a photo with his daughter.
While he was trying to take the perfect photo, he started to realize something, and it was that a stranger wasn’t moving out of the shot. Cabana asked the unknown gentleman to move, thinking that it would be a simple matter of asking, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. The man wouldn’t move, which frustrated Cabana. However, when he showed the photo to his family, he realized the mistake he’d made.
As many good stories start, it began with a family vacation. It wasn’t meant to be a big one, just an excuse to get away and spend some quality time with the closest people to him. They decided to go to the south shore of Long Island, and they found themselves in Montauk. Montauk is a small town so, unlike the big city of New York, they weren’t on the lookout for something mind-blowing just around the corner.
It all started on a family holiday Of course, this would be a vacation they would remember for the rest of their lives, but they had no idea that everyone else would too. What they didn’t realize was that what happened next would lead them straight into the path of Matthew Broderick and the mysterious photobomber.
While it might have seemed like an impossible situation at the time, they would have no idea that the whole fiasco would resurface about a decade later and go viral over the internet, with thousands of people commenting and sharing in the hilarious situation. A friend of the family managed to get hold of the story and decided to share it on their Twitter.
They had no idea it would go viral They were probably very shocked to see the story reach so many people but, thankfully, they received a mostly positive response. It even evoked a reaction from the mystery person in the background, which was equally as hilarious. It’s fair enough that people won’t recognize every famous person there is, but this one was pretty darn famous, we bet Cabana was slightly embarrassed when he realized.
When you’re a parent, there’s almost always a low-key family emergency going on, but Alex Cabana was ready for anything. His little girl had developed an ear infection, and they had to sort that out as soon as possible if she was going to enjoy the trip too. This is ultimately what led them to the place where it all happened, and it’s where you would least expect it.
It all started with his daughter Cabana had no choice but to find some medication for his daughter’s pain, so he made the decision any parent would make, and they turned around to find a pharmacy. When he got there, he was shocked to see how long the line was in this tiny little town. Obviously, it seemed that day was a day everyone needed something from the pharmacy.
Alex was getting irritated with the line. It was taking a long time, and he really needed the medicine for this daughter. As if that wasn’t enough, he wasn’t even next in line. The person who was in front of him could obviously feel his frustration, potentially feeling the same way, and decided to strike up a conversation.
There’s something strange about that guy It must have been quite strange, as he wasn’t immediately recognizable, so Alex was desperately scrutinizing this man, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. The two had a positive chat, talking about various day-to-day things, although Alex continued to struggle over why this person seemed too familiar to him. Was he someone he’d met once years ago and had forgotten? There was no putting his finger on it.
After working through all the thoughts he had in his mind, Alex Cabana finally realized it must be someone famous, but he just couldn’t work out who. Alex had a plan though, he had managed to leave the pharmacy before the mysterious famous person did, and so he decided to wait for him outside.
He realized something This made it more private for both of them, as Alex likely took into account that, if he was famous, then he probably didn’t want a load of people coming up to him for autographs outside a pharmacy he’s just visited. When they finally emerged from the store, Alex asked him who he was, and was pleasantly surprised, so he did what anyone else would do.
Thankfully for Alex, he was right, the person was most certainly a famous actor, and it was none other than Matthew Broderick. Once he had established this, it all fell into place, and Alex had recognized Broderick from arguably his most famous film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.’
Matthew Broderick of course! This was exciting for Alex as he was face to face with a celebrity and one who was more than happy to have a chat on the sidewalk. Alex had to seize this opportunity, it was likely never going to happen again.
As anyone would when faced with a famous celebrity right in front of his very eyes, he just had to take a photo. He asked if Matthew Broderick would be happy to take a photo with his daughter, giving his daughter the opportunity of a lifetime.
He just had to get a photograph Broderick was only too glad to comply and leaned over to pose for the picture. Of course, that was the moment that Alex realized this stranger was looming in the shot, and he couldn’t understand why which is when this next thing happened.
A family friend took to Twitter, not expecting what they were in for, and totally unprepared for the scale their post would reach. They decided that this encounter was worth sharing with the world, even if it was in their small corner of Twitter.
A family friend took to Twitter So they started with a whole thread of tweets, slowly unfolding the story for everyone to read, and to work out what was so unique about this particular Matthew Broderick story. After all, plenty of people had likely bumped into him. But people soon started to catch on that it wasn’t about Matthew Broderick at all…
Of course, all this happened many years ago, and it’s only because the story went viral recently that it has resurfaced. However, there is a crucial participant who has been overlooked, and it’s Nicole.
Nicole’s claim to fame After all, it was her having the photo with the Ferris Bueller actor that set everything off in the first place. Nicole enjoys this claim to fame, finding it equally hilarious ten years on. In the photo, her face is blurred to protect her identity, but she’s more than happy for everyone to know on her own terms.
Alex, of course, went home and told everyone he could about what had happened. He became well known in his neighborhood as the man who got a photo of Matthew Broderick. At this time he was 42-years-old, and he lived around Queens.
Alex Cabana is proud of his achievement However, it wasn’t just that Alex had managed to get a photo of Broderick and his daughter together, it was mainly the entertainment that Alex did not recognize the person who was standing behind, especially after becoming mildly irritated by his presence there.
These things don’t always go viral, but when they do, they really do. A Twitter user with the handle ‘HonoredSpirit’ posted the story, probably hoping to reach a few people who would enjoy the story, but it turns out the rest of the world also enjoyed it, with it reaching up to 20,000 likes.
The reach was insane They probably didn’t foresee media outlets such as New York Magazine reporting the story and making it even more famous. So, who was the mysterious person, and why was it so funny?
So, as Alex was taking the perfect picture of Matthew Broderick and his daughter, he realized there was an awkward stranger in the way, ruining it.
He asked him to move He couldn’t work out if it were an innocent bystander, hoping to get the same thing, or whether it was a friend of Broderick’s. Alex couldn’t help himself but ask if he knew the person, possibly checking to see if he was comfortable, and it turned out that he did.
While most people might then think that the friend might be famous, this clearly wasn’t something that went through Alex Cabana’s mind, but at least he wasn’t some random bystander.
Matthew Broderick’s friend In conversation, Broderick told Alex how they had both decided to go to Montauk for a random day out, just like Alex and his family. Everyone likes a change of scenery every once in a while, and you don’t always need to go too far to get it.
Most people would probably take a hint and automatically mind out of the camera’s shot, but this guy was just not getting the hint and wouldn’t move even after Alex had politely asked him to.
He wouldn’t get out of the shot This was a frustrating situation for him, because if he were to ask him a second time it might be seen as offensive, and he wouldn’t want to upset anyone. So he carried on as normal and decided to take the picture with no idea who he was really taking a photo of.
How wrong he would have been. After what was a pleasant-but-awkward encounter, Alex just resigned himself to the fact he would have to crop the man out of the photo.
He thought he would just crop the photo All he had wanted, aside from getting his daughter the medication she needed, was the perfect photo of his daughter with the super-famous person they had randomly bumped in to. Of course, if he had brought his wife or another family member with him, he may have recognized the stranger, especially after what happened next.
It’s a long story to get through, and Twitter users couldn’t help themselves but get to the bottom of the situation, so they stuck with the story.
Even Twitter users were confused It didn’t take them long to realize exactly who had refused to move from the photo, and it wouldn’t take Alex long after he got back to his family, and he told them everything that had happened. Matthew Broderick’s friend’s identity was soon to be revealed, and it was going to shock his entire family, and then the world.
He showed his family the photo as soon as he got back to their car, showing everyone including his wife and father. They had no idea what they had missed, but they were about to have a shock when they realized what Alex had done.
He showed his family Alex’s wife reportedly gasped in shock at the picture, but Alex still didn’t understand what the problem was, or what she had spotted. She told him to look a bit closer at the picture and see what was wrong with it.
He did as his wife asked and looked a bit closer, and after some time finally realized that there was something familiar about the man.
He finally recognized him Alex had no idea but as soon as he realized, he exclaimed that he actually saw him every night, and was gobsmacked that he didn’t recognize him beforehand. He was pretty glad he got the picture of him now he finally knew who he was, what a lost opportunity that could have been!
Of course it is! Who else would be so stubborn? We’re sure the ultra-famous comedian understood, he was wearing shades and a baseball cap, after all. So, Alex finally understood why the man was being so awkward.
Jerry Seinfeld, of course! He was being his good ol’ funny self, but also providing Alex with a hilarious story, probably realizing that he would eventually find out. No doubt Alex was mortified at how rude he may have come across to Seinfeld, but it did end up being a funny story.
The internet can be full of amazing things, and some Twitter users made reference to an iconic scene in Jerry’s famous ‘Seinfeld’ series. It’s been classed as the original photobomb, as one character gets caught in a photo he’s not supposed to be in.
The first ever photobomb So, of course, this meant that Jerry Seinfeld himself had to do this himself, staying true to his comedic spirit. No doubt Broderick had a pretty good idea about what was going on and was cracking up inside.
Matthew Broderick and Jerry Seinfeld are really good friends, which was probably why they wanted to go on a day trip out together. Apparently, they go back way back together and meet up a lot.
Good friends We wonder how often this has happened to the duo, having two famous personalities side-by-side must be pretty cool for people to come across unless you’re the unwitting Alex Cabana, who had absolutely no idea who he was until it was too late.
Ten years on, after it’s gone viral, even Jerry Seinfeld can laugh about it, posting his own joke to add to the mix. Thankfully Alex finds it hilarious all these years on too, even owning his own actions.
Laughing about it They probably have the picture on a wall somewhere in their living room, for every visitor they have to see. It would make a fantastic conversation starter, although we’re sure they’ve used the line on everyone by now.
Perhaps the best response to the story was Jerry Seinfeld’s because, well, he is a comedian after all. He posted to his Facebook page a link to the story and a new picture. It was the famous photo of the Beatles walking down Abbey Road.
Seinfeld making light of it However, Seinfeld made a little change to the picture. He photoshopped himself in the background and captioned the post with “I’m also in the Abbey Road photo if you look closely.” Obviously, people also went equally as crazy as they did for Cabana’s photo.
Nicole also got her 15 minutes of fame. She even created a Twitter account specifically to announce to the world that yes, she was the girl from the Matthew Broderick/Jerry Seinfeld photo. The admits, however, that because she was so young, she didn’t even know who the actors were at the time.
As we mentioned, the pic of her as a kid is her claim to fame and she is proud of her dad’s embarrassing moment because now she’s internet famous. When someone mentioned that episode in Seinfeld, she simply replied “it happened to me in real life.”
Perhaps the funniest part about this whole situation is that Jerry may even be a bigger celebrity than Matthew. While obviously everyone knows Broderick’s biggest movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most famous comedians in the world.
He did, after all, have a show with his name in the title for almost ten years. The fact that Cabana recognized Matthew before Jerry is pretty impressive. Then again, he was wearing a hat and sunglasses.
While we like to act like celebrities are on top of the world and live these luxurious lives of never-ending glamour – okay they pretty much do, but whatever – they are also only human. This means that they are just like us.
They like to go on vacations, wear regular clothes, hang out with their friends, and act like goofballs. That’s exactly what these two buddies were doing. Seinfeld was hilariously photobombing this picture and Broderick was doing his best to go along with it.
At the end of the day, there is the question of who was being rude? Was the guy standing in the background, refusing to move out of the way being a bit obnoxious, or was Cabana who kept trying to get the stranger out of his picture being a little bit rude?
Well, it turns out neither of them were really in the wrong. Cabana had no idea who Seinfeld was at the time and just wanted a good pic of his daughter, and Seinfeld was just being funny and trying to give the guy what he knew would be a memorable photo.
Regardless of what the initial thought process was that went through Cabana’s head, he is probably grateful that Seinfeld did not end up moving out of the way.
Still hilarious Ten years later and this photo is still hilarious and it has even made Cabana and his family internet celebs, even if their fame will fade eventually. It certainly made their trip to Montauk one of the most memorable experiences of their life and now they can say they met not just one, but two of the most famous men in the world.
Perhaps this slightly embarrassing moment taught Cabana to be a little bit more observant when he is out and about. Yes, he was distracted by the fact that his daughter was ill and that he was standing in such close proximity to a celebrity.
More observant However, if he was paying closer attention, he probably would have noticed that it was Seinfeld. After all, his wife realized it in a matter of seconds when he showed her the photo.
Well, it turns out Cabana wasn’t even the only person who didn’t recognize Seinfeld in the background. In fact, multiple people said they had to take a second look to understand what was going on in the photo.
Also didn’t notice Not everyone could just glance at it and right away see two stars. So, maybe Cabana wasn’t totally out of his mind for not being able to pick up on the fact that he was taking one of the most legendary pics ever.
