Inside the Glitzy Life of a Red Carpet Escort

Chris Gaida is a celebrity escort—no, not the kind of escort Charlie Sheen favors, the kind that gets paid to squire celebs down the red carpet. “He's reliable and fast and trustworthy,” says Queen Latifah’s executive assistant, and "he's not bad-looking either.” An escort’s job is to make sure the stars get where they’re supposed to be—whether it’s a rehearsal or an awards show presentation—on time and without incident, and Gaida has escorted Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Julia Roberts, and Steven Spielberg, among others.

Gaida shares some of his favorite stories with the Daily Beast:

• While escorting Cyndi Lauper, they were dropped off at the wrong entrance and had to navigate the MGM Grand casino while trying to evade a mob of screaming fans.
• Sharon Stone once asked him to walk ahead of her and not look back. The second time he escorted her, however, “she gave me a big hug and acted like we were best friends,” he says.
• Casey Affleck, a vegan, freaked out when he saw chicken sandwiches in one green room, Gaida claims; Affleck’s rep denies.

(More celebrity stories.)