Bermudian hospitality apprentice Nick Thomson would dearly love to tell us about all the celebrities he’s catered to over the past several days — including many of the best-known names from the world of cinema.

But guarding the privacy of Hollywood’s biggest stars was part of the honour code for the select crew at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) — and the city’s iconic Ritz-Carlton hotel, which is hosting the event.

“It’s amazing meeting these guys, but they use the Ritz-Carlton because of its strict privacy,” the 22-year-old told The Royal Gazette, explaining that many luminaries customarily check in under aliases.

The constant swarm of fans, spectators, paparazzi and celebrity-junkies outside gave the actors excellent reason to guard their profiles.

And Nick’s four-day stint at the 39th annual TIFF, which runs through September 14, didn’t just involve providing for the stars’ needs.

As a lobby ambassador in a task force of ten, part of Nick’s job often meant preventing overly devoted fans from sneaking their way in to find celebrities’ rooms.

“It was an amazing, crazy experience — I felt like they didn’t even need to pay me for being there,” said Nick, last night setting off back to Florida State University after being summoned to Toronto by Bermuda’s own Tim Terceira, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton.

The son of former United Bermuda Party Cabinet Minister and retired dentist Dr Clarence “Tessi” Terceira, the Ritz-Carlton boss had been impressed with Nick’s conduct during his eight-week internship at the luxury hotel this summer.

So much so that last Wednesday, Nick found himself being called away from FSU, where he double-majors in hospitality and business finance, to be flown to one of the world’s biggest and most influential film festivals.

Asked if he could get course credit for his TIFF tour of duty, Nick laughed.

“Unfortunately not. But one of the Florida State PR reps is going to put it on the web site.”

Surreal experiences included a ten minute chat with an actor and director with nearly 30 years of awards to his name.

“It was crazy — I wasn’t star-struck, necessarily, but there I was talking to this guy I’d seen 20 times before in movies. I took him up to his room and talked to him.”

Perhaps stranger still was a two-hour excursion by subway on the bidding of another celebrity to obtain an obscure brand of toothpaste.

“There’s no such thing as ‘We can’t do that’; there’s no request that we’ll say ‘no’ to,” Nick explained. “Nothing is impossible.”

Seven hundred people at a time would pack the hotel’s ballroom for a ceaseless programme of events. The lobby would be packed. And the driveway as well, right up to the barriers.

“When Tim Terceira asked me to do this, it was obviously a little out of my comfort zone,” Nick said. “And I had to leave my classes and head for Toronto. But Mr Terceira did such a good job of making me and the whole team feel comfortable with our jobs. It was a really great experience.”

Originally from Ord Road, Warwick, Nick said his tentative plan after senior year in FSU was to pursue a Master’s degree and obtain some more overseas experience.

“But ultimately, I want to return to Bermuda,” he added.

His advice for other young Bermudians in the field, perhaps not surprisingly, was to pursue internships and connections in the hospitality world.

“Work on getting an internship,” he said. “Especially in this industry, it opens up a world of opportunities and connections that you’d never have before.”