# Actors/actresses you think are the same person **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [August 25, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519 "2005-08-25T01:03:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/1 "2005-08-25T01:03:43Z")
Until I looked them up on IMDB, I had no idea that [John Corbett](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0179173/) and [Paul Rudd](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748620/) were different people. I thought that the guy in _Clueless_ was the guy on _Sex and the City_ was the guy on _Friends_ was the guy in _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_…and so on. My roommate had a similar issue with [Tilda Swinton](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842770/) and [Cate Blanchett](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000949/). What other actors/actresses (and I guess musicians, too) did you think were the same person until you learned otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/2 "2005-08-25T01:08:53Z")
[Bill Paxton](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000200/) and [Bill Pullman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000597/) are really the same person. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/3 "2005-08-25T01:12:38Z")
Charles Durning & Brian Dennehy ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/4 "2005-08-25T01:19:54Z")
I intitially thought the daughter in _Traffic_ was Julia Stiles. Turns out it was Erika Christensen, and many people have confused the two. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/5 "2005-08-25T01:20:40Z")
Tommy Lee and Tommy Lee Jones. Jerry Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/6 "2005-08-25T01:27:44Z")
Julie Warner and Maura Tierney. I also saw **Dragonslayer** recently and I could’ve sworn the girl was Maura Tierney. Nope - Caitlin Clarke. Tell me she didn’t [look](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/198/2847/640/cc_dr04.jpg) just like Maura Tierney in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/7 "2005-08-25T01:34:58Z")
Helen Hunt and that other actress who looks a lot like Helen Hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/8 "2005-08-25T01:37:18Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > Helen Hunt and that other actress who looks a lot like Helen Hunt. Heh. [Leelee Sobieski](http://adorocinema.cidadeinternet.com.br/personalidades/atores/leelee-sobieski/leelee-sobieski04.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/9 "2005-08-25T01:38:33Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > Helen Hunt and that other actress who looks a lot like Helen Hunt. Leelee Sobieski looks like a young Helen Hunt. We used to joke that Skeet Ulrich was “the poor man’s Johnny Depp.” ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/10 "2005-08-25T01:39:14Z")
The first time I saw Leelee Sobieski, I thought she was Helen Hunt. I am still struck by the [resemblance](http://www.mortalwombat.com/Image/sep6.jpg). Another uncanny likeness is shared by [Jeff Bezos and Kevin Spacey](http://www.mortalwombat.com/Image/sep3.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/11 "2005-08-25T02:00:45Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > I intitially thought the daughter in _Traffic_ was Julia Stiles. Turns out it was Erika Christensen, and many people have confused the two. I thought Julia Stiles was Kate Hudson. [QUOTE] Tommy Lee and Tommy Lee Jones. Jerry Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis.{/QUOTE] That would be Tommy Lee Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/12 "2005-08-25T02:09:14Z")
[Julia Roberts](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000210/) and [Monica Potter](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005321/). They even sound alike. And Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry” was a dead ringer for Matt Damon. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/13 "2005-08-25T03:05:59Z")
Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi from Babylon 5) is also known as Bruce Willis. _Definitely_ the same guy. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/14 "2005-08-25T03:24:15Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi from Babylon 5) is also known as Bruce Willis. _Definitely_ the same guy. I saw Jerry Doyle at a science fiction convention once. He joked about his resemblance to Bruce Willis. He said he was expecting that some day he’d run into Demi Moore at a darkened bar, and sparks would fly. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/15 "2005-08-25T03:29:14Z")
I was just checking out at the supermarket and I was wondering why they used Brittany Murphy as the cover model on this month’s Cosmopolitan but didn’t mention her name on the cover. Then I saw they did mention Scarlett Johanson’s name and realized I had mistaken who it was. [Here’s the picture.](http://magazines.ivillage.com/cosmopolitan) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/16 "2005-08-25T04:17:42Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I saw Jerry Doyle at a science fiction convention once. He joked about his resemblance to Bruce Willis. For that matter, I consider the Bruce Willis character in _The Fifth Element_ to be essentially Garibaldi in a different job. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/17 "2005-08-25T04:25:52Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > I was just checking out at the supermarket and I was wondering why they used Brittany Murphy as the cover model on this month’s Cosmopolitan but didn’t mention her name on the cover. Then I saw they did mention Scarlett Johanson’s name and realized I had mistaken who it was. > > [Here’s the picture.](http://magazines.ivillage.com/cosmopolitan) Now I think Scarlett is way prettier than Brittany Murphy, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/18 "2005-08-25T04:50:06Z")
[Heather Thomas](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001793/) and [Heather Locklear](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000181/). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/19 "2005-08-25T04:53:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Now I think Scarlett is way prettier than Brittany Murphy, but YMMV. I agree. So why would she want to be made up to look like Brittany Murphy? ---
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/20 "2005-08-25T05:18:26Z")
I had this problem recently with Shane Brolly and Billy Crudup. I was watching _Coffee and Cigarettes_ recently and because I was refusing to believe Cate Blanchett was playing both roles in her segment, I had convinced myself that Sarah Wynter was playing the role of the actress, and Cate was playing the role of the dark-haired cousin. I continue to have that Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton problem, and I’m glad I’m not alone in that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519.md?page=2)