A look-alike, or double, is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance.
Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right. Other notable look-alikes have been notable solely for resembling well-known individuals, such as Clifton James, who acted as a double for British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery during World War II.
Some look-alikes who have resembled celebrities have worked as entertainers, impersonating them on stage or screen, or at venues like parties and corporate functions. Professional look-alikes have often been represented by talent agencies specializing in celebrity impersonators. [2]
Close physical resemblance between individuals is also a common plot point in works of fiction.
According to a paper published in 2022 in the journal Cell Reports , look-alikes share many common genetic variations and are more likely than non-look-alikes to have characteristics in common. [3] [4]
With the advent of social media, there have been several reported cases of people finding their "twin stranger" online. [5] [6] There are several websites where users can upload a photo of themselves and facial recognition software attempts to match them with another user of like appearance. Some of these sites report that they have found numerous living doppelgängers. [7] [8]
Kidding aside, Andrew Bynum and Tracy Morgan look extremely alike. It's almost as if Morgan could be Bynum's long-lost father.
A stand-in, sometimes a lighting double, for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production.
Double Star is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction and published in hardcover the same year. It received the 1956 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
A doppelgänger, sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart.
The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot concerns the accession of nine-year-old Edward VI of England in 1547 and his interactions with look-alike Tom Canty, a London pauper who lives with his abusive, alcoholic father.
An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and rock singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the iconic status of Elvis Presley. In addition, there were several radio stations that exclusively feature Elvis impersonator material. Some of these impersonators go to Graceland Memphis, Tennessee on the anniversary of Presley's death to pay tribute to the beloved artist.
In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt double, "dance double", "butt double" and "hand double".
The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. The twin is physically nearly identical to the protagonist, but with a radically inverted morality. In films, they may have a symbolic physical difference from the protagonist—such as a goatee, eyepatch, scar, distinctive clothing, or a more muscular build—which makes it easy for the audience to visually identify the two characters. Sometimes, however, the physical differences between the characters will be minimized, so as to confuse the audience. Both roles are almost always played by either the same actor or the actor's actual twin.
A political decoy is a person employed to impersonate a politician, to draw attention away from the real person or to take risks on that person's behalf. This can also apply to military figures, or civilians impersonated for political or espionage purposes.
Takeshis' is a 2005 Japanese film directed, written, edited by, and starring Takeshi Kitano. It is the first film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, being followed by Glory to the Filmmaker!, and Achilles and the Tortoise.
Despair is the seventh novel by Vladimir Nabokov, originally published in Russian, serially in the politicized literary journal Sovremennye zapiski during 1934. It was then published as a book in 1936, and translated to English by the author in 1937. Most copies of the 1937 English edition were destroyed by German bombs during World War II; only a few copies remain. Nabokov published a second English translation in 1965; this is now the only English translation in print.
"The Hundred Days of the Dragon" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on September 23, 1963, during the first season.
Meyrick Edward Clifton James was an actor and soldier, with a resemblance to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery which was used by British intelligence as part of a deception campaign during the Second World War.
"Fight Club" is the twentieth episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 2000. It was written by series creator Chris Carter, directed by Paul Shapiro, and featured a guest appearance by Kathy Griffin. The episode plot serves as a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Fight Club" earned a Nielsen household rating of 6.9, being watched by 11.70 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly negative reviews from television critics.
The Man with Bogart's Face is a 1980 American comedy film, released by 20th Century Fox and based on a novel of the same title. Andrew J. Fenady, author of the novel, produced the film and wrote the screenplay.
Double Take is a 2009 essay film, directed by Johan Grimonprez and written by Tom McCarthy. The plot is set during the Cold War and combines both documentary and fictional elements. The protagonist is a fictionalised version of Alfred Hitchcock. The backdrop of the film charts the rise of the television in the domestic setting and with it, the ensuing commodification of fear during the cold war.
Howard Lee, known professionally as Howard X, is a Hong Kong-born Australian music producer, political satirist and media personality. He is best known as the world's first professional impersonator of Kim Jong Un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea.
Paige Niemann is an American Internet personality and OnlyFans creator. In 2019, she went viral on the video sharing app TikTok for her resemblance to the American singer Ariana Grande.
Ashley Leechin is an American internet personality and former nurse known for her physical resemblance to the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Leechin has posted social media content that largely focused on her life as a Swift lookalike, and has collaborated with other media channels.
In late 2024, multiple news outlets reported a large rise in the prevalence of look-alike contests across the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, attributed to the initial popularity of a Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest in October that year. Celebrities at the center of these contests included Paul Mescal, Jeremy Allen White, Zendaya and political figure Jack Schlossberg, though fictional characters such as Tommy Shelby were also included as well as other figures such as a suspect in the killing of Brian Thompson.