# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/141 "2019-07-22T16:07:06Z")
Vin Diesel and The Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/142 "2019-07-22T16:27:29Z")
Gerard Butler and Clive Owen Amy Adams and Isla Fisher Lance Reddick and Idris Elba Sarah Hyland and Mila Kunis Elisabeth Shue and Elizabeth Banks > [@AK84](#): > > Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard. Yeah, that’s actually become A Thing: [Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard Prove Once and for All They Are Not the Same Person | Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/jessica-chastain-bryce-dallas-howard) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/143 "2019-07-22T18:52:15Z")
I saw _ **36 Hours** _ when it came out in 1965. For years, I thought the main Nazi was played by Arthur Hill. Imagine my surprise 50 years later to find the actor was actually Rod Taylor! Watching shows like \*\*\*Columbo \*\*\*back in the '70s, I always used to confuse Patrick O’Neal and Peter Lawford. There was a guy back in the '60s and '70s who used to do “… And it costs no more!” types of commercials and was a ringer for perennial game show host/panelist Bill Cullen. I don’t think I ever found out what his name was. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/144 "2019-07-22T19:19:41Z")
Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Connelly. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/145 "2019-07-22T21:30:48Z")
Lance Henrickson (Millenium, Bishop from Alien) and Tobin Bell (Saw) ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/146 "2019-07-22T22:46:38Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > BAnna Friel and Haylay Atwell. Maybe they’re both just English brunettes, but I can barely tell them apart. Other than the “English brunette” part, I just can’t see it. For one thing, completely different body types. Both gorgeous, regardless. * * * Musicians rather than actors, but… I was sure [Leon Redbone](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiZvrrxzMnjAhViHjQIHRegCl4QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebaghdadpost.com%2Fen%2FStory%2F41217%2FLeon-Redbone-acclaimed-singer-and-guitarist-dies&psig=AOvVaw2BgThSI3EqJTRVHgGOge-J&ust=1563921778219385) was [Frank Zappa](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjSpbCazcnjAhUTNn0KHe4ACAgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fuproxx.com%2Fmusic%2Ffrank-zappa-testimony%2F&psig=AOvVaw0RlUMm1p8LVoPzZTWWZQzM&ust=1563921878956779) playing a gag on us (a la Andy Kaufman with his “Tony Clifton” character). Then Frank had to spoil the joke by dying sixteen years before Leon. Some people… ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/147 "2019-07-23T01:52:13Z")
Only one of this pair is an actress, but I thought a lesson that any party should have learned from the 2008 presidential election was that you should never nominate someone who’s a dead ringer for a comedian who can parody them on TV during the election season. Almost immediately after Sarah Palin was chosen as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, well before the first _Saturday Night Live_ sketch about her, I heard people talking about how much she looked like Tina Fey. The only difference was a change in the glasses. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/148 "2019-07-23T04:51:02Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard. Fairly easy, IMHO. One of them’s one of the most beautiful, talented women in movies, and the other is Opie’s kid. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/149 "2019-07-23T05:05:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Fairly easy, IMHO. One of them’s one of the most beautiful, talented women in movies, and the other is Opie’s kid. You seem to have a more discerning eye than even they do. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/150 "2019-07-23T13:08:46Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > I always got Steve McQueen and Paul Newman confused. I have no idea why. It’s the blue eyes. They’re both in _The Towering Inferno_, which proves they’re not the same person. But to me, they look nothing alike. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/151 "2019-07-23T15:04:42Z")
Drummer Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili peppers looks a lot like Will Ferrell [Chad Smith - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Smith) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/152 "2019-07-24T14:36:12Z")
Without reading the whole thread… Albert Finney and Brian Cox are either Doppelgangers or twins separated at birth, and you can’t convince me otherwise ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/153 "2019-07-24T21:47:04Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > I always got Steve McQueen and Paul Newman confused. I have no idea why. I used to have the same problem (and I had completely forgotten about it until now). I think it was perhaps enhanced by two common acting techniques: first the pensive look to their right (toward the left of the screen for the audience) with a look combining contemplation, confusion, and wonder, and second a reaction shot that is so pronounced it is almost a double take (but really isn’t a double take at all). The second one used no dialog that I ever recall, but it is the bases of the term: “You are really gonna take it there?” I couldn’t tell you a single example of either of them doing it at a certain time in a certain movie – but I can picture them both doing it on screen and in different wardrobe (multiple times). The first look could be: “what do you REALLY mean?, how should I handle this?, or if I don’t pull a rabbit out of my metaphorical hat- bad bad things are gonna happen”. I have the distinct impression of watching both men think right before my eyes. Plus of course, the blue eyes thing. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/154 "2019-07-24T22:41:54Z")
I don’t know exactly what it is about them, but Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon totally look the alike to me, or they did when they were younger. It made _The Departed_ very difficult to follow as I kept getting their characters mixed up. As far as people with similar sounding names goes, I used to always confuse Jack Nicholson (the actor) with Jack Nicklaus (the golfer). Actually I had to Google them just now to make I had it right. ---
**Author:** ![wellanuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/155 "2019-07-24T22:41:57Z")
I was sad to hear that the actress who played the Sheriff in the movie _Fargo_ became the public face of the recent college admissions cheating scandal. I knew it was the same person because she must have met her husband on the set of the movie. It was only last week that I realized Felicity Huffman and Frances McDormand are not the same individual. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/156 "2019-07-24T23:29:16Z")
There is always people confusing Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Javier Bardem. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey\_Dean\_Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dean_Morgan) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier\_Bardem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Bardem) And from the WWE there is John Cena and Darren Young [https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-connection-between-Darren-Young-and-John-Cena](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-connection-between-Darren-Young-and-John-Cena) ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/157 "2019-07-25T13:59:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s the blue eyes. > > They’re both in _The Towering Inferno_, which proves they’re not the same person. > > But to me, they look nothing alike. No one’s ever seen Lee Horsley and James Garner together. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/158 "2019-07-25T17:10:25Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > There is always people confusing Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Javier Bardem. > > [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey\_Dean\_Morgan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dean_Morgan) > [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier\_Bardem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Bardem) > > And from the WWE there is John Cena and Darren Young > > [https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-connection-between-Darren-Young-and-John-Cena](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-connection-between-Darren-Young-and-John-Cena) I mentioned in some other thread awhile back that I saw John Cena in a promo for something on Nickelodeon where he was playing multiple characters, and it struck me that he \* literally \* looks like Jim Varney on steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/159 "2019-07-25T17:14:03Z")
As I mentioned in the Rutger Hauer thread, I used to get him and Wings Hauser mixed up. Not only are the names somewhat similar, the kind of look alike. After a while I stopped because Wings totally disappeared from the landscape. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519/160 "2019-07-25T17:57:41Z")
Kit Harrington and [Christopher Abbott.](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3571592/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-you-think-are-the-same-person/318519.md?page=9)