14-year old Natalie Portman looks like 26-year old Portman?

[Mister_Rik]

@Arabella_Flynn

You’re conflating two skills here, in which it is perfectly possible to have wildly differing amounts of both trained competence and natural talent. You were trying to recognize a face you’re not familiar with in still photos taken many years apart. Quite doable, but some people are better at it than others. It’s similar to recognizing shared traits among the members of a family.

Your wife recognized someone from a low-def rendering of characteristic movements. Specific motions are often enough to ID someone, even if you can’t see their facial features very well. I have a friend whose eyesight is so appalling that when she was a little kid she thought trees really did look like the puffy things in coloring books; prior to glasses, she learned to recognize people at quite some distance by the way the colorful person-botch walked and stood.

I experienced this not long ago. There’s a young woman at work I like (I’d be all over her — figuratively speaking — if not for the fact that she’s half my age) who has been there for 4-5 years. I’ll call her “J”. A couple years ago, another young woman, whom I’ll call “A”, was hired. After “A” had been working for a couple weeks, I finally had to ask her, “Are you J’s sister?” And indeed she was. The thing is, the two of them look nothing alike. Different figures, totally different facial features, very different hair. The thing that clued me in was that “A” moved just like “J”.

[JustinC]

I honestly didn’t realize NP was in Leon. I’ve seen Leon several times but never looked at what the young girl did next.

[Bozuit]

I’m absolutely awful at recognizing faces. It’s not uncommon for to recognize an actor from their voice before their face. But Natalie Portman is one of the few that I’ll easily recognize in anything, even as a 14 year old.

[Arabella_Flynn]

@septimus

Very interesting comments, Arabella Flynn. And might help explain why I used to conflate Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke: do they have similar demeanors?

Went and had a look – possibly, if you’re dealing with photos that only really show the eyes? They do have the same sort of general big-guy ultra-casual way of shrugging and waving their hands around, but otherwise I’m not seeing it. For one thing, Rourke has hair. Did Bruce Willis ever have hair? I’m thirty and I think I’ve been watching him on-screen all my life, I don’t ever remember any.

Having seen some clips of Rourke on Inside the Actor’s Studio, with the sunglasses on, I’d have to say that in still photos I’d be more likely to wonder when Bono put on so much weight.

@Yookeroo

How about Bruce Willis and Moby and Michael Stipe?

None of them move even remotely alike. I can do a better breakdown than that, but I think it would be a bit much for a message board post. I picked apart seventeen seconds of the Avengers movie once and it took about three typed pages. If y’all are amused by this, I can start a dedicated thread.

[terentii]

@Arabella_Flynn

Did Bruce Willis ever have hair? I’m thirty and I think I’ve been watching him on-screen all my life, I don’t ever remember any.

Both Rourke and Willis have that “smoker look,” especially after about 1990. It’s like you can actually see the tar and nicotine poisoning their bodies.

[GuanoLad]

@Arabella_Flynn

Did Bruce Willis ever have hair?

Does a bird bee? Does a bee bird?

[TBG]

@Yookeroo

How about Bruce Willis and Moby and Michael Stipe?

Try again with Moby, Jim Rash, and JP Manoux.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

This earlier thread of Skald’s - than whom there is no greater fan of Natalie Portman on the Dope - may be of interest: Natalie Portman: beautiful, pretty, hot, or not? (special superficial poll) - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board