It’s not unusual to meet someone and think that they look uncannily similar to somebody else. It might be that they look like a certain celebrity or perhaps they just look like your second cousin or someone who hit on you in a bar once. Either way, there are people out there who are basically someone else’s doppelganger. we’ve now found out about celebrities who have historical twins. The resemblance between these celebs and their counterparts from history really is astounding. Take a look and see for yourself!
1. Matthew McConaughey
Back in the 1800s, Matthew McConaughey had a secret double, and he looks alright, alright, alright. The key difference is that Matthew drives a Lincoln, while his old-fashioned doppelgänger voted for Lincoln.
2. Ellen DeGeneres
That bearded man looks like he could be Ellen DeGeneres’ great-grandfather, but he’s actually famed author Henry David Thoreau! Ellen probably wouldn’t mind some alone time out in the woods, but Thoreau wouldn’t fare too well hosting a daytime talk show.
3. Eddie Murphy
Murphy hasn’t appeared in too many movies in recent years. Could it be because he’s busy traveling back in time? This picture makes it seem like a possibility. These two guys could easily be trading places.
4. Queen Latifah
Strong figures often rub off on one another, though it looks like Zora Neale Hurston gave Queen Latifah a bit more than just inspiration. The two women are a spitting image of each other — if they ever make a movie about Hurston’s life, Queen Latifah should definitely get dibs.
5. Nicolas Cage
Nic has owned a lot of weird stuff: a pet octopus, a dinosaur skull, and a couple of medieval castles. So it’s only fitting that he should also have a guy who looked just like him from 150 years ago.
6. Leonardo DiCaprio
It’s hard to say what’s better, the fact that young Leo DiCaprio has a woman lookalike, or that her name is Judy Zipper? If Judy fell in love with Leo on the Titanic, we bet she would have made room for him on that floating door.
7. Alec Baldwin
These days, people know Alec Baldwin for spoofing a certain White House personality, but he actually bears a much bigger resemblance to another president — Millard Fillmore! The not-so-famous Fillmore served less than a full term, which is why most Americans don’t notice the likeness.
8. Maggie Gyllenhaal
Gyllenhaal is descended from Swedish nobility, but she looks like she could also be related to Rose Wilder Lane. Daughter of Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose helped found the modern libertarian movement.
9. Michael Jackson
The King of Pop went through a ton of looks, so we can imagine he “borrowed” a few from other people. Is it possible this portrait was Michael Jackson’s style muse? Never say never in Neverland.
10. Matt Damon
Does Matt Damon have something to explain to his wife, Luciana? Fortunately, Will Hunting can rest easy in this case. That smiling stud on the left is nothing more than a guy who’s the spitting image of the A-list actor.
11. Peter Dinklage
A Lannister always pays his debts, so Peter Dinklage shouldn’t mind emptying out his wallet for this stunning portrait. Capturing the likeness of court jester Sebastián de Morra, it would look right at home on the set of Game of Thrones.
12. Andy Samberg and Daniel Radcliffe
Here are two doppelgängers for the price of one! Andy Samberg and Daniel Radcliffe found their carbon copies in this vintage pic, and it’s almost hard to believe. Maybe Harry Potter cooked up another Polyjuice potion!
13. Mark Zuckerberg
The Zuck reigns over his Facebook empire, so it’s only fitting that he resembles a real-life monarch. He and King Philip IV of Spain share many features, though Mark lacks the prominent Habsburg lip that characterized many royal European families.
14. Taylor Swift
When Christina Ostrom dug through old family photos, she came across this gem of her grandparents, who look like Hugh Hefner and a much older Taylor Swift! Don’t know about you, but they’re looking 82.
15. Justin Timberlake
We wonder what Justin Timberlake did before his solo career, and we’re not talking about NSYNC. Based on this 1800s mugshot, we can’t help but wonder if he had a lucrative bank-robbing career back in the day.
16. Jay-Z
Some people try to debunk celebrity lookalike photos, but this picture has the stamp of approval from the New York Public Library itself! Titled “Harlem Loiterers,” the 1939 image features the spitting image of Jay-Z. Too bad Beyonce’s double is nowhere in sight!
17. Tommy Lee Jones
History buffs may recognize that congressman Thaddeus Stevens has the same look as famous tough guy Tommy Lee Jones. It’s no wonder that Steven Spielberg cast Jones to play Stevens in his historical masterpiece Lincoln.
18. Steve Martin
A wild and crazy guy like Steve Martin has no problem dressing up in wacky outfits, but he didn’t need to in this case! The figure on the left is actually a woman from the Victorian Era. Though she looks a lot like Steve, she would likely blush at many of his jokes.
19. Johnny Depp
Is this what Jack Sparrow looked like before he turned to piracy? In reality, Michael William Johnstone shared this headshot of his grandfather, who was a dead ringer for Johnny Depp — but maybe even more dapper.
20. Weird Al Yankovic
For decades now, Weird Al has parodied the biggest pop songs on the radio. It turns out that his face is also a parody of sorts. He looks just like St. John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci! Maybe we should call him Saint Al from now on?
21. Jimmy Fallon
If reincarnation is real, whoever’s in charge of that process has a pretty interesting sense of humor. That’s probably why Turkish revolutionary Mahir Cayan came back as beloved comedian Jimmy Fallon. Go figure!
22. Jack Black
Is it just us, or does Jack Black look way too much like a young Paul Revere? Frankly, no one would be surprised to see the comedian riding a horse while shouting about the British, so this one checks out.
23. Brad Pitt
They say most celebrities get better looking with age, so it’s no surprise to see that the hundred or so years between these photos haven’t changed Brad Pitt a bit. Let’s just hope he’s not going full Benjamin Button on us…
24. George Carlin
What do George Carlin and Charles Darwin have in common? Nothing… other than the fact that they’re literally the same person. Darwin, however, might not be a fan of Carlin’s “seven dirty words.”
25. Orlando Bloom
The more you look at these photos, the more it becomes clear that Orlando Bloom and Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu are one and the same. Bloom’s probably a decent painter, but could Grigorescu handle a few swashbuckling adventures on the high seas? We may never know.
26. John Krasinski
It’s difficult to compare a photo to a portrait, though looking at both of these images, it’s nearly impossible to tell which one is the real John Krasinski. The guy on the right is even doing the signature “Jim face” from The Office!
27. Keanu Reeves
The striking similarities between Keanu Reeves and French actor Paul Mounet are undeniable: they have the same hair, the same face, and the same job. One thing Mounet probably can’t do, however, is dodge a hail of bullets in super slow-mo.
28. Alicia Keys
We know what you’re thinking: isn’t this just two pictures of Alicia Keys from two different time periods? Believe it or not, the woman on the right is actually a young Lena Horne. Mind. Blown.
29. Jack Gleeson
Gleeson played tyrant Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones, and his historical doppelgänger, the Roman emperor Caligula, was no different. Fortunately, Gleeson’s a pretty nice guy in real life — the same, however, can’t be said of Caligula.
30. Natalie Portman
A woman named Shannon Welch shared a childhood photo of her boyfriend online. That part isn’t too unusual, but what’s eerie is how the middle-schooler is a dead ringer for Natalie Portman.
31. Andrew Garfield
Garfield’s days of playing Spider-Man may be over, but he’d be a shoo-in for portraying Marxist theorist and Russian politician Leon Trotsky in a biopic. Let’s just hope the whole communism thing doesn’t scare him off.
32. Jennifer Lawrence
This one might actually be time travel. Jennifer Lawrence’s likeness to Egyptian actress Zubaida Tharwat is so on point, people are demanding that Lawrence play her in a biopic. But really, who else could?
33. Bruce Willis
It’s kind of surprising that Bruce Willis was never cast as American general Douglas MacArthur in a war movie. The resemblance is there, and if Willis could overcome a skyscraper full of German terrorists, he could certainly hold his own in the Pacific theater.
34. Sylvester Stallone
When Raphael painted the “Stanza della Segnatura” fresco of his famed Stanze di Raffaello, he likely never realized he’d breathed Sylvester Stallone into existence. It only makes sense: the masterpiece that is Stallone went on to create his own masterpiece in Rocky.
35. Mesut Özil
This one’s too spooky to be a simple coincidence. Not only do German soccer star Mesut Özil and a young Enzo Ferrari look nearly identical, but Özil was also born in 1988 — the very same year that Ferrari died.
36. Daniel Radcliffe
Want a little more Daniel Radcliffe magic? Well, it looks like he transported himself into this photo from the 1940s, featured at the famed UK music venue Band on the Wall. Those round glasses fit right in with the retro uniforms!
37. Conan O’Brien
Fans of the talk show host know that he’s a big history buff, so Conan would be pleased to know that he’s a dead ringer for Marshall H. Twitchell, who fought for the Union during the Civil War. Based on this coincidence, we can only assume that Jay Leno has a lookalike who fought for the South.
38. Maisie Williams
“A girl has no name,” was Arya Stark’s mantra throughout much of Game of Thrones, but it seems that Maisie Williams might not be as anonymous as her character! This Redditor’s grandmother looked just like the actress as a girl — right down to that intense assassin’s gaze.
39. Dave Franco
This eerie resemblance might’ve gone unnoticed if not for one lucky visit! An internet user was at his friend’s house when he spotted this snapshot of an uncle who was a carbon copy of Dave Franco. Now that is a movie star smile!
40. Elijah Wood
Everyone’s favorite hobbit seems to have a long-lost ancestor! This Bedouin woman is a carbon copy of Elijah Wood. That can only mean that she too is worthy of carrying the One Ring to Mordor.