# TV/movie family resemblance **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553 "2011-09-16T20:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/21 "2011-09-17T00:14:13Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Going back a ways, I thought “The Walton” kids all resembled each other passably… A few weeks ago I saw an episode of _The Waltons_ in which one of the kids (?? Ben) got it into his head that he was adopted because there was something hushed up about his birth. He remarked, in way of support for this idea, that he didn’t look like any of the other Walton children. John Boy told him that none of them look like each other. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/22 "2011-09-17T00:33:02Z")
Jerry Doyle played Bruce Willis’ younger brother on an episode of Moonlighting. They really do look like brothers. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/23 "2011-09-17T01:50:21Z")
I think Michael Fishman looked like Roseanne. Sara Gilbert kiiiinda looked like them. Nobody looked like John Goodman and neither Becky looked like anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/24 "2011-09-17T01:56:08Z")
The [Eppes family](http://www.jewishjournal.com/images/photos/numb3rs.jpg) on _Numb3rs_ all look like they’re related. Of course the show was completely recast to accommodate the casting of David Krumholtz by hiring the most Jewish actors they could find. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/25 "2011-09-17T02:26:47Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Just for fun, to invert the topic… > > The most striking example of two people who bear no resemblance to each other being cast as family members I can think of is Kenneth Branagh’s film of Much Ado About Nothing, which cast Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington as half-brothers. (Don John and Don Pedro, respectively.) The one that always comes to mind for me is slightly less ridiculous: _Marathon Man_. Dustin Hoffman and Roy Scheider as brothers. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/26 "2011-09-17T02:42:15Z")
Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick were cast as sisters in _Something To Talk About_ based on their resemblance. Carrie Ann Inaba and Diane Mizota were cast as twin sisters in the Austin Powers movies despite the fact they are unrelated. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/27 "2011-09-17T02:48:38Z")
An old sitcom, starring Suzanne Somers, was “Step by Step.” A single mom marries a single dad, and they had a few more problems than the Brady Bunch, but nothing that couldn’t be solved in a half hour. Patrick Duffy played the dad. And his oldest son, JT, was portrayed by a young man, Brandon Call. Every single week, I would marvel at how much the dad and the kid looked like each other. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/28 "2011-09-17T04:05:45Z")
The Weasleys credibly resemble one another, although the twins really are twins. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/29 "2011-09-17T04:48:14Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I think Michael Fishman looked like Roseanne. Sara Gilbert kiiiinda looked like them. > > Nobody looked like John Goodman and neither Becky looked like anyone else. this was the first i thought of, i thought they did a good job casting a believable looking family, although i think the original becky was a better fit than sarah chalke’s becky. my contribution: james franco playing willem dafoe’s kid in the spiderman movies. definitely believable as father and son. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2011, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/30 "2011-09-17T06:52:05Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Jerry Doyle played Bruce Willis’ younger brother on an episode of Moonlighting. They really do look like brothers. That was Charles Rocket. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/31 "2011-09-17T15:29:47Z")
On the Lifetime series, Army Wives, the younger actresses looked enough like Dana Delaney for me to start a similar thread a while ago. After the first season though, the younger daughter was recast, and the older daughter wasn’t on anymore. Another couple on the same show have a son and the actor who plays him really looks like a believable distribution of genes from both of the actors who play his parents. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/32 "2011-09-17T15:39:04Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That was Charles Rocket. Ah. A little digging says that Doyle played a “David Addison Wannabe”. It’s easy to see why. The memory plays its little tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/33 "2011-09-17T15:42:52Z")
Ever notice on Full House that the duaghters looked more like Joey than Danny or his late wife Pam? I do see a resemblance between Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones on 2 1/2 Men. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/34 "2011-09-17T15:44:30Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > The Weasleys credibly resemble one another, although the twins really are twins. To look at, perhaps, but listen to them, and it’s clear that each actor (except the twins, obviously) came from a different corner of the British Isles. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick were cast as sisters in _Something To Talk About_ based on their resemblance. So much mouth… ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/35 "2011-09-17T19:45:57Z")
The WORST example of family resemblance is again, from a TV sitcom, starring Henry Fonda, about a cop in the suburbs. There was even a mind-numbing opening song, about “Primrose Lane…” Henry Fonda was the dad. Ron Howard was the oldest boy. And the youngest was played by a kid who had made a commercial that everyone thought was “cute.” Problem is, the cute kid from the commercial had a British accent. Everyone else in “The Smith Family” was generic suburbia, except the youngest with his British accent. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/36 "2011-09-17T20:25:18Z")
Again with Reese Witherspoon… In [Four Christmases](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369436/), Reese’s sister was played by Kristen Chenoweth. They should always play sisters, in every movie they make. Also, they’ve both got that southern accent thing going. [Reese](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000702/) [Kristen](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0155693/) ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/37 "2011-09-17T20:34:20Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I always thought they did a really good job casting [Modern Family.](http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Modern-Family-modern-family-7554980-2560-1920.jpg) Bah, Lily looks nothing like either one of her fathers. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/38 "2011-09-17T20:35:33Z")
[The Sopranos](http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/03/22/tl_family_before.jpg). Especially Carmela & Meadow. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/39 "2011-09-17T21:07:17Z")
In the BritCom [Fortysomething](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzuglRS2T0U), Hugh Laurie played Benedict Cumberbatch’s father. There’s definitely a resemblance, but I also love the House/Holmes/Sherlock connection… The show wasn’t a big success, so they both went on to Other Things. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553/40 "2011-09-17T21:25:41Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I always thought they did a really good job casting [Modern Family.](http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7500000/Modern-Family-modern-family-7554980-2560-1920.jpg) I don’t think Sarah Hyland looks like she could’ve come from the mating of Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell at all. Likewise, Jesse Tyler Ferguson does not look like I’d expect the offspring of Ed O’Neil and Shelly Long to look. > [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Lea Michele’s character on Glee is adopted, and eventually she met her biological mother, played by Idina Menzel: > [Wow they look alike.](http://crushable.com/entertainment/idina-menzel-definitely-not-lea-micheles-gay-lover-on-tv-at-least/) Rachel’s not really adopted. Early on she said something about how her dads provided sperm but she’s not sure which one’s stuff got the job done (despite one of them being black). It was good casting on her biological mother, I have to admit. And a case of characters seeming related more for mannerisms and such than just physical resemblance, I think Mae Whitman on Parenthood does a fantastic job of coming off as Lauren Graham’s daughter, even though they don’t look so much alike. Hell, nobody on that show really looks much alike, for that matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-movie-family-resemblance/596553.md?page=3)