# One actor playing twins: how do they do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655 "2020-08-09T15:37:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/61 "2020-08-12T12:54:32Z")
I was going to mention this one and all its cheesy glory… “Since their mom got drowned in a lake, Dad’s taught the twins to bake” (or something like that). ---
**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:** [August 12, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/62 "2020-08-12T14:52:23Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > > Here’s a scene with them together, but they don’t walk around each other: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0yaRZbki6U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0yaRZbki6U) > > Found it in a video about remastering - [you can see it around the 1:36 mark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYh-9aa8Gjk). Right you are - thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/63 "2020-08-12T19:04:22Z")
“Start The Revolution…” was a great film, but “Big Business” (1988) had a scene where both sets of twins were intermingling with each other while spinning around. No split screen magic happening here. I honestly have no idea how it was done pre-CGI. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/64 "2020-08-12T19:42:34Z")
Are you talking about this scene? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zkZ43zj01b0/hqdefault.jpg "Big Business - The Reunion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZ43zj01b0) It’s clearly done with split screen. There’s even a wall running up the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/65 "2020-08-12T19:48:20Z")
Yes. The part I can’t figure out is at 1:33. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/66 "2020-08-12T19:56:56Z")
With the women in constant motion you can hide the split line as they move across it. Under normal circumstances it would look like a blurry line where the edges might not line up in places. The spinning of the women as they cross and the others also in motion makes that line almost unnoticeable. I have not done it myself, but I’m sure if you were to examine the scene frame by frame, you’d see some blurry lines. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/67 "2020-08-12T20:09:07Z")
They might have tossed doubles in for that scene. Notice them obscuring their faces. It’s only momentary since they are already splitting the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/68 "2020-08-12T22:38:18Z")
This scene was mentioned in post #14. I think, though, that in the case of _Orphan Black_, the most important piece of equipment they had was Tatiana Maslany. There were so many scenes like the famous dance scene where it was easy to forget that only one actor was playing several of the characters in the scene. Her skill as an actor playing people who are _not_ twins and have very different personalities and quirks was just exquisite to watch. So, I think one important tool to pulling off a “twin” scene is to have the right actor to work with. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/69 "2020-08-13T14:32:45Z")
She’s very good in the current HBO miniseries _Perry Mason_, too, playing a charismatic but troubled radio evangelist in Thirties L.A. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/70 "2020-08-14T00:08:21Z")
John Waters pulled the trick with Divine in Female Trouble, except he had a twist. Divine appeared as both a woman and a man and even had sex with himself/herself. There’s nothing really censorable here, but it might not be really safe for work material. [This is Dawn Davenport Hello Hello - Divine / Female Trouble - YouTube](https://youtu.be/rd14Oe_lWMI) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/71 "2020-08-14T23:49:35Z")
Run it slowly. They use doubles. It’s a composite shot, too. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/72 "2020-08-25T02:55:27Z")
Here’s how they did it for the recent HBO Max movie _An American Pickle_, with Seth Rogen playing an Eastern European guy, miraculously preserved in pickle brine for a century, and his American great-grandson: [An American Pickle | Featurette | HBO Max - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn02ssAccgY) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/73 "2020-08-25T23:58:39Z")
David Canary portrayed twins Adam and Stuart Chandler on _All My Children_. As far as I know, this was fairly easy – they would just cut from one character to the other. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/74 "2020-08-27T04:03:02Z")
Using doubles can’t be overstated, though. A TV movie about the Dionne quintuplets was made about 15 years ago with no trick photography at all. Since there were no living identical quints in the world at the time (in fact, I think the Dionnes are the only ones definitively known), and not even an identical set of quads the right age and gender to play the Dionnes, the casting director just put out a call for identical twins and triplets who fit the general description of the Dionnes. She lucked out, and found two sets of triplet girls who looked very similar to one another-- that is, each set was identical, and one set strongly resembled the other. They were about 8 months apart, so one set averaged taller, but the Dionnes were never all the same height, anyway. In long shots, they used one set, and two girls from the other set, and in full face shots, used only the older set-- only the older set ever had lines. I said there was not trick photography, and there wasn’t, in the editing booth, nor any computer manipulation, but sometimes the camera would pan in and out, and when it panned in, one girl might speak a line, while the others rearranged themselves, so the next one to deliver a line was standing in the correct place, in order to have always one from the older set speaking. This could happen in a scene where each of the five had a line, but only the older three actresses delivered them. It was very effective. From behind, or from a distance, and dressed alike, they did look like a matched set of five. Doubles are used all the time in films to save time and money, or bruises on a lead actor. If a script calls for a remote location shot, and it would be necessary to lose a week in the studio while the lead actor flew out to whatever the location is, got over jet lag, filmed for a couple of days, flew back, got over jet lag, and then it was Sunday, so filming didn’t resume until Monday. If the types of things done on location don’t require the actors’ face to be shown a lot interacting with the location scenery, it’s easier to send a double to do the location filming (2 to 3 hours of footage may be needed in order to edit down to the 15 minutes needed for the movie, and that could take two days with setting up and tearing down equipment, setting light for each shot, etc.), and also take several shots that can be greenscreened into the footage with a few 2 or 3 minute close-ups of the actor’s face. Then, of course, there are stunt doubles. Actor’s aren’t chickens, and they aren’t out of shape, but sometimes stunts are very specialized; sometimes they require several takes to get right, and stunt people are cheaper to pay to film a scene over and over; and stunt people are always under the risk of cuts and bruises. You don’t need to be constantly hiding these on your lead actor. Then there are body doubles. If an actor in under 18, a body double has to be used for a sex scene, and some actors over 18 insist on them for sex scenes anyway. An actor or actress recovering from surgery may have a scar they don’t want filmed. An actress could be pregnant, and not showing under her clothes, be be obvious, when naked for a sex scene, or various other reasons. So considering how often doubles are used, Hollywood doesn’t bat an eye at using them for people playing their own twin. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/75 "2020-08-27T04:26:01Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > (in fact, I think the Dionnes are the only ones definitively known), You clearly don’t watch enough TV. > **[OutDaughtered](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OutDaughtered)** > > OutDaughtered is an American reality series on TLC starring Adam and Danielle Busby, parents of the only American all-girl quintuplets on record. The series debuted on May 10, 2016 and premiered its eighth season on February 23, 2021. > The Busby family consists of Adam and Danielle Busby, who have been married since 2006; eldest daughter Blayke Louise; and quintuplets Ava Lane, Olivia Marie, Hazel Grace, Riley Paige, and Parker Kate. > Adam and Danielle had struggled with infertility, ultimat... ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/76 "2020-08-27T04:33:06Z")
They’re not all 5 identical. > Ava and Olivia are [identical twins](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin); Hazel, Riley, and Parker are fraternal triplets. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/77 "2020-08-27T04:49:57Z")
Yeah; aside from the non-identical issue, they weren’t around 15 years ago, when the film about the Dionnes was made, FWIW, I actually know a set of quints. Four girls and a boy. Two girls are identical, and the other three all fraternal. The title of that show is kind of a nasty joke on the archaic term “daughtered out.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/78 "2020-08-27T05:52:14Z")
That episode was just on last night. I was watching Claire during the courtroom scenes. There were moments where she kinda, maybe looked a bit different, but it may have been my imagination. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/79 "2020-08-27T06:13:00Z")
I just finished watching it. There was a courtroom scene where she was seen just sitting at the prosecutor’s desk several times. That would match up with imdb description. She wasn’t credited, normally that would indicate she had no lines. I couldn’t pick out any differences in appearance but I’m not real good at that. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655/80 "2020-08-27T06:30:50Z")
It was her demeanor that seemed different to me, not really her appearance. She turned to look at Jack and something in her expression just didn’t look like Jill. But, I never made a point of watching Jill Hennessy when she’s in the background, so maybe she’s always like that. There were also a couple close-up shots during that sequence, but those could have been shot later when Jill was available. But yeah, it’s an odd little bit of _L&O_ trivia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-actor-playing-twins-how-do-they-do-it/917655.md?page=5)