If you have never met a famous person you should believe the stereotypical general reaction: "they're so tiny!" This is not to say that actors are shorter than average. It just betrays the curious distorting effect of seeing someone in reality whom you have only known blown up to incredible proportions on movie screens or who have perhaps occupied more space than is natural in your dreams. It would probably take celebrities all being 7' tall in real life to not provoke this "they're tiny!" reaction.
I myself am 5'10" which is the exact average height for a white male (indicated by the red line and Matt Damon in this illustration -click to enlarge). I find it terribly disconcerting to imagine meeting Johnny Depp. We would look directly into each other's eyes. Despite the largesse of my fandom we are the same size?! I almost don't believe it. But it's true. It was somehow more comforting to brush shoulders on the sidewalk with the 6-foot Uma Thurman my first month in New York seven years ago. It also felt right see Hugh Jackman (6'2) towering over his fans waiting for autographs outside his Broadway show. Meeting the 5'5" Julianne Moore who I have (literally) built shrines to and painted portraits of and seeing her look up at me while I babbled incoherently in her divine presence was just totally bizarre.
They are tiny in real life, despite their enormous stature in our celluloid dreams.
