Daniel Craig surprises Oprah at an open air taping in Central Park

19-Sep-2009 • Event

Move over, Shakespeare - it was Oprah in the park causing all the commotion Friday.

Stars, sunshine and long lines of fans welcomed the queen of talk to Central Park, where she taped her television show.

Visit NY Daily News for pictures.

Crowds began massing before dawn to get good seats and a good look at guests like "Wolverine" hunk Hugh Jackman and James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

The two leading men made a surprise appearance, welcoming Oprah Winfrey to the city while plugging their new show.

"Daniel and I are doing a play on Broadway," Jackman told the swooning audience.

"We were just going for our morning jog around Central Park and we just wanted to come and say, 'Hi.'"

They were followed by Mariah Carey, who sang a ballad from her new album and chatted about her upcoming movie, "Precious," next to her husband, Nick Cannon.

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa dashed across town after hosting "Live with Regis and Kelly" to sit beside Winfrey, and even Mayor Bloomberg showed up.

Winfrey, who chatted to fans during commercial breaks, revealed the latest entry in her wildly popular book club: a collection of short stories by Nigerian-born Jesuit priest Uwem Akpan, "Say You're One of Them." Free copies were given to the audience.

"It was wonderful. It makes me feel special she thought of doing her show in New York," said MTA bus operator Dominique Turner, 43, of East New York, Brooklyn.

Turner finished work at 2 a.m. and was in line at the park's SummerStage at 4 a.m. "It was better than I imagined," she said.