OT: Cases of Mistaken Identity
Slow news day, so I thought I'd ask about something that's been on my mind recently: cases of mistaken identity. What got me thinking about this is the recent Joe Rogan-Spotify issue. I've never listened to his podcast, and haven't really been following what's going on other than what I've seen in headlines, but the thought I kept coming back to was "wow, things really went south for that guy." Turns out I don't actually know who "actor/comedian Joe Rogan" is, and had been thinking of Seth Rogen this whole time.
At any rate, the best (worst?) case of mistaken identity I've ever had involved Dane Cook. Growing up I more or less knew who he was, and had a vague idea what he looked like, but the first time I really saw him in anything was the movie Waiting. Fast forward a few years, and I saw another movie he starred in, Good Luck Chuck. And my big takeaway from that was damn, he really aged. He was this young, good looking guy, and just a few years later he looked like shit. I was completely mystified. So I finally did some digging, and discovered that yes, Dane Cook did appear in Waiting, in a small role playing, coincidentally, a cook. And the guy who I had for years thought was Dane Cook was actually Ryan Reynolds...
Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience, going through life thinking someone was actually someone else. Bonus points if it was actually someone you'd met and interacted with, and who was probably like WTF. (Or maybe it's just me, and a function of my relative trouble remembering faces and names...)
February 16th, 2022 at 2:06 PM ^
My dad has had people think he was Joe Pesci in airports a few times before he lost a bunch of weight. He did have a striking resemblance to him when he was younger.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:10 PM ^
I'm 99% sure I saw Trevor Bauer at the Orange Bowl, walking around the concourse. I looked right him, and he at me as we passed each other and I thought, "That was Trevor Bauer." But if I'm being real, what are the chances that Trevor Bauer was walking through the concourse, surrounded by people, unnoticed? Did I actually see Trevor Bauer? (And I'm one of those people that never forgets a face. Unless it's a really forgettable face, then I might forget it).
February 16th, 2022 at 2:15 PM ^
One of these is Kristen Stewart...the other is Theresa Palmer.
I was out once in DC and I had a 5 min conversation with this guy I thought was comedian Corey Holcomb. I dont know if he thought I knew him or if he knew I was mistaking him for someone else, but he didn't say anything really other than laughing and nodding, making a small comment when I would say something. I think he may have been confused too, but I can't imagine I was the only person who ever did that to him.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:09 PM ^
aha! That's why Theresa Palmer seemed so familiar but couldn't recall any of her other movies.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:29 PM ^
We were waiting on the drum line, in front of Revelli Hall, prior to the game vs BYU 2015. This guy goes walking bye, looking about as much as Jim Harbaugh as a guy could without being him. Thin Block M on his hat, long sleeve blue shirt with the Block M, khakis and all.... He was carrying a case of Bud Light or Coors Light, pretty much a give a way, besides the timing of it.
It was quite a spectacle, he turned a bunch of heads. I laughed and then thought, "a grown man went through all that to look just like another grown man. That's friggin' weird!"
Other than that, In St. Louis for a conference, we saw this guy who looked just like Kevin Nealon at Westport Plaza. We asked him if he was Kevin, he said, "no, but I get that a lot". The next day during a break, someone mentioned it and this guy says, "It was him, he was at the Funny Bone comedy club last night." The comedy club was no more than two buildings away from where we saw him, but we weren't familiar with the area and didn't notice it.
February 16th, 2022 at 4:43 PM ^
I wonder if that was one of my former bosses. He bears an uncanny resemblance to Jim. There's been a couple of times where I've called him Jim and he laughed. To this day I call him coach. Ironically enough, his name is Ted.
February 16th, 2022 at 2:36 PM ^
im regularly mistaken as another white bald dude by someone who knows that white bald dude and thought i was him, only turns out im not, I'm just me. Another white bald dude. So i got that going for me, which is nice.
February 16th, 2022 at 4:08 PM ^
Same. When I was in college and had long hair, people thought I looked like Matthew Lillard from Hackers/Scream. Now, I am bald and my in-laws think I look like Scott Van Pelt.
February 16th, 2022 at 6:28 PM ^
My friend had something similar, white red-headed bald dude. He had some kind of doppelganger. Weirdly it lasted a fairly short period where people kept thinking he was this other guy but it's good it didn't last because people hated that guy. My friend almost got in a fight with some guy who came over yelling at him about whatever his beef was.
Funny thing is that same friend also looks like Louis CK. I never really noticed it but he got it a lot. Not close enough to actually be mistaken for him though.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:03 PM ^
I was asked on a regular basis if I was the bug guy from CSI (William Petersen) when CSI was a popular TV show.
I also (for some inexplicable reason) made the Dane Cook / Ryan Rynolds mistake and I suspect for the same reason. I suspect the credits are rolling somewhere and the names and faces are not in alignment.
The track team called me Renaldo (Nehemiah) but I think that was sarcasm.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:09 PM ^
I was one of the folks who thought Carl Weathers was Lando Calrissian until that kind of became a thing online which prompted me to actually look it up.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:10 PM ^
My golfing buddies call me "Enzyte Bob" and ask me to smile and wave for them.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:24 PM ^
I have a story that is slightly different involving my best friend and his wife. We always joke and flirt around. I saw them at the store about 6 months ago. I went up behind her,covered her eyes, and said 'Why don't you dump this loser and come home with a real man.' You know where this is going. It was not them. The guy wanted to fight me and the girl was a bit shook. I was mortified and turned bright red. I mumbled an apology and slinked away. I will never do that again! Now every time I leave my friends house they say don't go up behind strange women and cover their eyes. One of my top three most embarrassing moments.
February 16th, 2022 at 3:31 PM ^
Timothee Chalamet (Dune) is Natalie Dyer (Stranger Things)
February 16th, 2022 at 4:06 PM ^
I've always mixed up Dax Shepard and Zach Braff.
Dax Shepard Zach Braff
February 17th, 2022 at 12:18 AM ^
Combined, that’s about a thirteen-head.
February 16th, 2022 at 4:25 PM ^
For years I confused Butch Jones and Butch Davis. Sure, they look nothing alike, they weren't at any of the same stops, one is 15-20 years older than the other and they had completely different career arcs, but they did go by the same nickname.
Also, I refuse to believe that "Dabo Swinney" is a real person.
February 16th, 2022 at 4:25 PM ^
Nina Dobrev and Victoria Justice.
February 16th, 2022 at 5:26 PM ^
I often get confused for Mark Holton. (Chubs from Teen Wolf, Francis from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, and "its Enrico Pallazo" from Naked Gun)
February 16th, 2022 at 5:26 PM ^
Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murray
February 16th, 2022 at 6:38 PM ^
Bill Pullman
Bill Paxton
February 16th, 2022 at 6:41 PM ^
My boss looks exactly like Pete Townsend. They're roughly the same age. It's uncanny. Still trying to get him to do the windmill on an air guitar.
I still get Michael Sera and Jesse Eisenberg confused.
February 16th, 2022 at 6:47 PM ^
When I first moved to Chicago, I got approached by strangers quite a lot who told me I "looked just like Ryne Sandberg". I've aged better but he's got a few million reasons not to care.
February 16th, 2022 at 7:17 PM ^
I used to get Tony Stewart the race car driver but I have him by about 3 inches and haven't run over anyone...yet.
February 16th, 2022 at 9:46 PM ^
So, you’re 5’ 8” tall?
February 17th, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
the internet says he's 5'9"
February 16th, 2022 at 11:58 PM ^
Obligatory:
February 17th, 2022 at 6:24 AM ^
I always confuse Avril Lavigne with the stunt double they replaced her with when she died.