Over at Facebook, folks are winding down Doppelganger Week, which called on Facebook users to change their profile picture to a celebrity they’ve been said to resemble.
As it turns out, I’ve been said to resemble a broad array of celebrities. When I was in college, my father (around the same time he said my two sisters looked like Jessica Lange and Kim Basinger, respectively), maintained that I looked “just like” these knockouts:
Apparently age has treated me well, however. More recently, I’ve been compared to these women:
Um, yeah… right. Although I’m much happier to be compared to Kate Hudson or that actress who temporarily ruined Law & Order than either of the Rosies, I conclude from this mish mash of non-matching faces that I may not have a celebrity doppelganger. But, lucky for me, other writers do.
You see, much like my father, I also have a tendency to swear that people look “just like” someone else. I can’t run into Andrew Gross, for example, without reminding him he looks like that totally hot kid on Weeds.
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And poor Michael Koryta has surely lost count of the times I’ve pointed out his resemblance to David Duchovny.
Marcus Sakey‘s probably sick of hearing that he looks like Starsky.
The late JD Salinger bore a strong resemblance to George Gershwin.
JA Konrath sort of looks like Ben Roethlisberger.
And Barry Eisler might as well change his last name to Baldwin.
It turns out some writers have lookalikes I hadn’t thought of. Jason Pinter also played Doppelganger Week, posting a photo of Al Gore. Now, Jason, can you say “Lockbox?”
Laura Lippman tells me she’s often compared to Susan Dey. No surprise there, right?
But I was beyond amused to hear that in profile, she’s a dead ringer for a fellow journalist who loved Underdog, Sweet Polly Purebred.
With some writers, the identification of a lookalike’s a little more challenging. And, boy, do I like a challenge.
With someone like James Born, for example, it depends which photograph you select. In some pictures he looks a lot like that writer who once said I looked like Rosie O’Donnell.
But in other pictures, Jim, I’ve got to say it, you look more like MacGyver.
In my constant quest to identify lookalikes, I have an irritating tendency to tell friends they look like X and Y had a baby. Harlan Coben, for example, looks like the offspring of Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci.
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And Victor Gischler could be the long-lost love child of Meat Loaf and Mario Batali. (Wow, that sentence actually made me hungry.)
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So here’s today’s challenge: Who are the other doppelgangers? Do you have one, and this a good thing or bad? And which other writers have lookalikes that I’ve missed? Psychic gold stars for those who include links to photos!
Jason Pinter’s probably getting sick of hearing that he looks like Clancy Brown (the guy who played the villain in Highlander). I laughed hard at the Konrath/Roethlisberger comparison.
I don’t think I look like anybody.
I mentioned this one to you, but I think Tom Schreck looks like David Boreanaz. And JLB makes me thing of Tommy Lee Jones. I’d never seen that kid from Weeds, but yeah, he does look like Andy. The Harlan Coben one is hysterical!
This is great, Alafair – I’m not going to get a second of work done today, now.
I definitely see Stanley Tucci in Harlen Coben. Especially all that charm from Julie and Julia.
Marcus/Starsky, well, who HASN’T had that fantasy?
I’d pay to see a remake of MacGyver with Jim Born.
I get Kyra Sedgwick more than anyone else. I was at a Sundance fest several years ago that she was at and I’d hear people whispering behind me in lines that I was her. She had a movie there that everyone had seen so it should have been perfectly clear that I WASN’T her, this time, but I have never been so stared at – unnerving. One person came up to me and said – You’re Kyra Sedgwick. I said – Thanks, but actually, I’m not. He said – Yes you are.
At that point I started to wonder, myself.
I don’t have a famous doppleganger but I was once told I looked like Julia Roberts….must have been during a good hair/make-up day. ;-P
I love the comparisons you made. The first time I met Jon Clinch (Finn) I thought he looked like Martin Mull…he didn’t appreciate that. lol
What a howl, Alafair.
I also offer you: JD Salinger = Osama bin Laden
Alafair,
This was so wonderful. I laughed and laughed. Especially when I got down to your insights on Harlen’s lineage. Hilarious! And who knew your daddy had a lost son!
Well done!
Please be advised that I represent Harlan Coben in his lawsuit against you for libel, slander, and cracking wise. Immediately cease, desist (and stop!) all such doppelganging forthwith, if not sooner.
Paul Levine, Esq.
(I have been told I look like Harrison Ford. Wait! I meant Henry Ford).
Glad others are having fun with this. Jon Clinch totally looks like Martin Mull!
http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1183834736p5/58952.jpg
And Louise, I never thought I’d use the words Osama bin Laden and hilarious in the same sentence, but your comparison takes the cake.
Alexandra, you should have sold that guy your autograph.
As for the cease and desist notice, Paul, I really do hope I haven’t pissed anyone off. I get carried away, you know? Anyone named in the post has lifetime permission to crack wise in my general direction.
I’ve been lucky with the doppelgangers. I get Bono every week. Those who still remember The Graduate call me Dusty, or Dustin Hoffman. I was in a bar once and a guy insisted I was Sean Penn (I don’t really understand that one.) When I was in college there was a bit of Robin Williams in there. And occasionally there’s a Steve Perry comment. I’ll stick with Bono, if I have any say in the matter.
Stephen I see Steve Perry when I look at your picture so you should go with him…much sexier than Bono. 😉
I always get John Ritter. I don’t see it, but what the hell do I know?
When I was young and skinny and had long hair, I walked out of a backstage door right before a Tom Petty concert and a woman squealed and said, "There he is!"
Then, when I walked into the light, she frowned. "Oh."
My short brush with fame.
OMG, I am sooooo out of popular culture . . .
But I wanted to tell you. Alafair, that I loved this post and plan to come back throughout the day to see what more savvy people post.
Too funny! Well done.
Brett Battles after Lee Child’s open bar party at Bouchercon:
http://www.ezzal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/drunk-guy.jpg
I participated in doppleganger week for about three hours. I don’t think I look like anyone, but Randy ran a picture through some facial recognition software and it came up with Kristy Swanson. I’ve taken it down though, she had on a revealing dress. You can only imagine…
As for celebrity doppelgangers, I get compared to Vivien Leigh, Delta Burke, and Katy Perry a lot. But a few years ago, I kept being approached by people who thought I was someone else, someone who worked at a hot dog shack. It was really weird, so weird I actually went to this place looking for the person who (allegedly) looked just like me. Turned out, she was the half-sister I never knew I had. Freaky for both of us.
I can’t think of any literary doppelgangers, but I have to say, Dale from Top Chef always reminded me of Dale from Disney’s Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers. Check it out:
Dale from Top Chef: http://z.about.com/d/gourmetfood/1/0/W/C/Dale.jpg
Chipmunk Dale (on the right): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/ChipDaleLogo.jpg
It’s uncanny.
JT, I can see Kristy Swanson a little, especially if you were in wore a cheerleading outfit and carried a wooden stake at the ready. Jinky, Dale/Dale is hilarious but I’m fascinated by your hot dog stand/half-sister story.
I think I once had a doppelganger, but not a celeb (or to my knowledge a half-sister). When I was in high school in Wichita, several people kept telling me, "I saw some girl who looked exactly like you." Apparently one of my friends was looking at this girl so hard that she said, "No, I’m not Alafair!" Her name was supposedly Apples. I never saw her, though, so always wondered what she looked like. Anyone know someone my age from Kansas named Apples?!
Here’s my take on the whole doppelganger thing …
I’m told from certain angles, I look like Terri Garr
Or funny gal Brett Butler, if glanced at from afar
And once I heard my features look a little bit the same
As comic Andrea Martin from SCTV fame
Lying’s not a pretty thing, but would it summon doom
If, just once, somebody said I look like Heidi Klum?
Oh, these are hilarious! Love it.
Several years ago I was at a party and noticed a woman was staring at me, very intently. And then talking animatedly to her date. Then staring some more. She finally came up to me and said I looked exactly like Grace Kelly. Once I stopped laughing, she insisted and said she had once lived next door to her out in CA and saw her all the time and I looked just like her. It was weird. Then over Thanksgiving break my DD was home and saw a picture of Grace Kelly and said, "Hey mom, this lady looks like you." (Really, not even close. But nice to imagine.)
Last night I went to turn on the local news and the Grammys were still on and I watched for a couple minutes and they introduced Jeff Bridges (I think that’s his name?) and he looked and sounded exactly like a younger Kris Kristopherson. Very odd.
The one I get most often is Clint Eastwood (presumably not the 80-year-old version). But lately, I’ve had several of people tell me my author photo looks like Michael J. Fox. I don’t mind either comparison, but I couldn’t imagine how much more different two guys good could look than they do.
If you really want a doppleganger, check out Graham Brown. As one poster put it in this hilarious chain of comments, "Holy Younger Pierce Brosnan, Batman!"
http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-read-it-for-articles-i-swear.html
You know, now that I think about it, the person who really does look like Grace Kelly is Cornelia:
http://www.gracekellyonline.com/pictures/
BCB,
I just went to your link on GK. YOU’RE RIGHT!! It’s Cornelia!! and her daughter’s name is Grace…….Hmmmmnnnn?
Hilarious, Alafair, especially Harlan Coben’s parentage and Barry Eisler’s real last name.
A car salesman once insisted I was Lucy Liu, but I think she was the only famous Asian person he could think of and he thought all of us look alike. Even after I told him I wasn’t (and showed him ID for the paperwork), he decided Lucy Liu must be my stage name. He bought me lunch, gave me champagne, and asked me about making Charlie’s Angels while we negotiated the purchase of my car. I didn’t care. I got a fantastic deal on the car!
BCB, Good one!
Alafair, I have to say you bear a great resemblance to the photo of Meg Tilly that is posted near the top of your blog.
I’m not an author, but Toni Kelner thinks I look like Kathy Najimy. I don’t think I look like anyone famous.
Great fun, Alafair. When I was blonde (there exists a tiny few photographic pieces of evidence which I will not share), and visiting L.A., I got the Mira Sorvino comparison. (Poor woman.)
Now, I’m lucky if I get Taz.
I was fairly sure I didn’t look like anyone either. But I figured" What the hell"..and googled this link…..
http://www.myheritage.com/celebrity-face-recognition…I put in my most recent picture (from my FB profile, taken in January.
While there were no exact matches, what I did get, made me howl with laughter…seems, I’m a composite of a bunch of Asian artists, Brandon Lee, Tyra Banks, Heather Locklear…and …Charlie Sheen. HOLY COW! all that.
Marlyn, That’s actually Jennifer Tilly, though she looks more like Meg there. (That was one of the few pics I found of her online where she didn’t have two very large features hanging out that I truly don’t share!)
Toni, I can actually see the Mira Sorvino thing.
Kit, That website is funny. Gave me some Asian "celebrity" I never heard of.
A while back, Corey Wilde made me laugh when he cited Patrick Fitzgerald as a doppelganger for Robert Crais.
Alafair, thanks for the belly laughs after a hard day in the word mines. About five years ago at the Frankfurt airport, some kids in their twenties were convinced I was Steven Spielberg. Finally, to convince them I wasn’t, I showed them my boarding pass — coach.
Alafair, thanks for the belly laughs after a hard day in the word mines. About five years ago at the Frankfurt airport, some kids in their twenties were convinced I was Steven Spielberg. Finally, to convince them I wasn’t, I showed them my boarding pass — coach.
Alafair, thanks for the belly laughs after a hard day in the word mines. About five years ago at the Frankfurt airport, some kids in their twenties were convinced I was Steven Spielberg. Finally, to convince them I wasn’t, I showed them my boarding pass — coach.
BCB, have I told you lately that I love you?
Usually if I get a (flattering) comparison it’s to Ingrid Bergman, which is very nice even thought it’s usually uttered by very old men in very dark bars. Even so, it’s a pretty great thing to hear, since most days I look in the mirror and go, "Cha. More like Ingmar."
These are great, Alafair! Has anyone else ever noticed the rather striking resemblance between Ian Rankin and John Simm (Sam on the UK Life on Mars & State of Play)?
Ian: http://tinyurl.com/yzjxrfy
John Simm: http://tinyurl.com/ccg4v2
*snort* Yeah, Cornelia, I get people telling me that all the time. Turns out it’s almost always indigestion. 😉
And Ingmar? Oh please, you’re gorgeous. I can see a bit of the Ingrid similarity, but you’re definitely more Grace. You need to stop hanging out with very old men in very dark bars. They can’t see worth a damn.
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At every Bouchercon, I meet people who think I am Sarah Weinman, some of whom I have trouble convincing that I’m not. Jim Born, in fact, was the first person to clue me in why people I didn’t know were greeting me by name.
Hey, all I know is that it’s hard to maintain a reputation for seriousness when people picture you mugging at Fred Willard on the Fernwood 2Nite couch.
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