Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dead Ringer


In the past few days alone, my brother has been stopped on the street eight times by breathless fans insisting he looks exactly like Robert Downey Jr. The best one occurred on Saturday when a severely drunk man in a rainbow sequined vest stumbled up to us wheezing, "Oh...my...god! You look just like....oh man, what's his name? He had, like, a severe drug problem."

After we guessed correctly, the man explained that people always tell him he looks like Nick Nolte (he did), and he gets really offended.

Who do people say you look like? Is it a more flattering comparison than Nick Nolte?

70 comments:

Catie said...

When I have my hair in a ponytail I get "Donna from the West Wing" pretty regularily. I had never seen the show and just recently Googled the actress...I happen to think my sister resembles her way more.

Anonymous said...

when i was just out of high school and had a long, straight hairdo with straight across bangs, people used to say i looked like "blossom". (dude, i do not even remember her name!

when "kids" came out, i used to get comparisons to chloe sevigny. (i had a short haircut at the same time the movie came out.)

i've also heard comparisons to helen hunt and ellen de generes (sp?).

so i guess i look vaguely like the quirky faced hollywood women? something like that. i'll take it. :P

Kasmira said...

They say I look like Kate Walsh. I've never even seen whatever show she's on.

Jenna said...

Brittany Murphy. I have no idea why.

Anonymous said...

Amy Lee, funny enough.

By the way, long time reader. I love your blog! :)

Anonymous said...

Your brother is seriously hot!

the upper vest side said...

America Ferrera! all the time. I was even stopped on the street, and congratulated for recieving a golden globe! The lady was so excited, and when I said I wasn't her, she didn't believe me. What else could I do but say "thank you" and walk on. :D

Anonymous said...

I've gotten Mary Louise Parker a few times, which I tend to agree with, although only in the face. I'm not super thin like her.

Once I got Isla Fisher, but I think that was mostly the red hair. But I think she's cute so I was happy with that.

Also once I got Sarah Michelle Gellar, right after Cruel Intentions when she was a brunette (which I also was at the time).

Anonymous said...

My last date thought I looked like Zhang Ziyi but I think that's only because I'm Chinese.

To Winona and everyone in this comments forum: If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend going to www.myheritage.com and doing the Celebrity Lookalikes Collage. You upload a head shot of yourself and the picture gets compared to a database of celebrities, and it spits out your matches and the percentage of resemblance. It's such a good time-waster!

Regardez Moi said...

I get three people consistently: Drew Barrymore, Mary-Louise Parker, and Parker Posey. Do any of those 3 look alike? Not so much.

K. Inez said...

I've heard Catherine Zeta Jones, Rachel Bilson and Natalie Wood. :D

Kelly said...

I get Scarlett Johannson a lot. I can *kind of* see it, but not nearly enough for someone to stop me on the street just to tell me (which they have).

Anonymous said...

This is almost the complete opposite of being mistaken for a celeb, but my boyfriend's dad once saw Art Garfunkel in a men's lockroom, and decided to mess with him. They're conversation went something like this:
Boyf Dad: Hey, you know who you kind of look like? That guy... Art Garfunkel.
Art: No, I look EXACTLY like Art Garfunkel.
Boyf Dad: ... Not exactly. I think he might be a little taller.
Art: No, I look EXACTLY like Art Garfunkel.
and so on, until he gave up the ruse or Art got annoyed a walked away. I forget which.

Thought I'd share.

Anonymous said...

White people always say me and my brother look identical, which is blatantly not true. Somehow, none of us minorities ever have a problem with it.

A very old lady once likened me to Audrey Hepburn, which was also blatantly not true, but I have much less of a problem with this second misconception than the first.

Anonymous said...

I was told once I looked like Catharine Zeta-Jones, and I don't mind a bit!
However, I am constantly told that I look like so-and-so that someone knows, which is very annoying.

J. Elle said...

Summer Sanders. I've emailed you a comparison.

Emma said...

i get chloe sevigny a lot. which is upsetting, because she is a horse.

Emma said...

Thora Birch. If people are really lazy they just go "ghost world". Which could be a lot worse.

Smaggle said...

Kate Noonan from an Australian band called George. Mainly because of the curly hair and chubby cheeks.

Bekah said...

to lisa: I've tried that celebrity collage thing...and I got asian male models! AND ONCE I GOT DAVID HASSELHOFF!
then I stopped trying

but other people on the internet have said that I look like Anne Hathaway...which is a compliment I guess but I think it's only because I'm pale with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and we had the same kinda hair before...one picture I have I kinda look like her, but ohh well.

Meg said...

Pamela Anderson

Anonymous said...

bekah: ROFL yeah that happens! I kept getting Thai action star Tony Jaa and lots of black celebs (even though I'm Asian). Apparently I bear a facial resemblance somewhere in the 70s percent range to Oprah and Gabrielle Union.

Anonymous said...

audrey hepburn/winona ryder (i'm tall & thin, with short black hair & seriously pale skin), which i could NOT be happier with :D! when my hair was bleached not so long ago, i got agyness deyn, twiggy & a young julie andrews. good thing all of these women are my idols!

p.s. winona, your brother is HOT. pls ask him to marry me, & then we can be sisters, kthx.

Jayca Pike said...

My adorably Chris March-esque hairdresser constantly tells me this specific blend: Lisa Kudrow and Jessica Alba. As in, "I don't knooooow . . . I think I'm getting your Liiisa side today. Oh, [pats my hair, fluffs, shuffles about] oh, I just see Lisa today. We're going to do some Lisa."

That's how I end up overly blonde with long layers.

Anonymous said...

I have been told Rogue from the X-Men movies (not sure of the actresse's name) and Lisa Loeb. I think she was mostly because I had chunky glasses on.
I don't mind either really

Anonymous said...

Trent Reznor circa 1987. What, you don't see it?

I think I told you Joe was recently informed that he looks just like the Johnny Depp of Japanese cinema -- Tadanobu Asano. Weirdly, it's kind of true.

Crimzen Creative said...

Ha! Your bro is certainly a cutie and hopefully not a druggie :)

I do see the resemblance. When I was younger, people thought I looked like Helen Hunt and Leelee Sobieski.

Chocoholic said...

I get Liv Tyler, Julia Roberts or Alyson Hannigan. Eh...I can see certain parts of each of them. I usually get Julia Roberts when someone makes me laugh and I smile big.

Flashy_Shades said...

it sounds like you have the most attractive group of readers on the web!

ps - you ARE the most painfully hip site!

Penny said...

A peruvian surfer called Sofia Mulanovich. We could be clones, except she's blonde and I've got black hair. hehe

Anonymous said...

Hah, I know I know!

I tried telling him and Austin but they just can't see it!! It's so annoying : ]

Everyone tells me that I look like Julia Stiles, it's actually really cool how much alike we look : ]

- That One Lindsay Grl

Anonymous said...

I've gotten Berny mac a few times, you can imagine ho low my self esteem is because of it.

also, great blog! long time reader, been with it since the start

Anonymous said...

I've gotten Melissa Joan Hart before, but I don't see it at all.

Your brother, on the other hand, dead ringer for SURE.
Your brother definitely has cooler hair though.

Stephanie said...

Haha, someone just left me this comment on my blog:

"You know, I think you sort of look like a younger version of Diane Neal from SVU (http://www.tvguide.com/images/pgimg/law-svu-diane-neal19.jpg) I'm really obsessed with that show at the moment, it's a bit spaz.
you should tell Daddy Likey!"

I've also been told I look like Avril Lavigne, but I don't see it...

terren said...

haha he looks just like him in that picture.
my photo teacher called me audrey for half the year (he's a lil bit old) and sometimes people say kristin kreuk. the funniest was when i got beyonce on myheritage (i'm no parts black). but once i got audrey tautou!

Pamcasso said...

LOL on the Art Garfunkel story!

I have this weird thing that I have a very bland WASPy face, just really average features. Whenever I meet people they say that I remind them of someone, someone they went to school with, some actor. My freshman year of college I noticed this girl looking at me all the time as I went from the dorms to class, and one day she accosted me, telling me we went to a country music festival together (I don't do country really, it was a little strange).
And people constantly compare me to famous people for some reason. I used to get Gwyneth-everyone called me that in high school, blonde Rachel Leigh Cook, I've gotten Alexis Bledel. On the face recognition thing I look like Hayden Panettiere, Kristanna Loken, Vanessa Marcil, and my fave match is Gene Tierney.

I kind of think I look like Jenny from Forrest Gump (Hanna Hall/Robin Wright Penn).

Patrick said...

wilmer valderama.

Pamcasso said...

and also, forgot to mention it but I LOVE Robert Downey Jr. He is so charming and sexy, and what's better than a reformed bad boy? (I have a thing for rebellious types). If I ever move to Oregon, maybe I can get your brother's number- assuming he's not in the midst of a drug problem- too high-maintenance.

Cate said...

i got britney spears a lot back when i was younger, and thinner, and she wasn't trainwrecking across the USA. the other day i got hillary duff, i was not flattered. no offense, duffster.

Anonymous said...

I look a little like Janis Joplin, which is pretty cool, though not so flattering. My nose is smaller than hers though. Also, my sisters seem to think I look like Joss Stone. On the plus side, she's pretty, on the minus, she's a twat.

Anonymous said...

Your brother's got lovely hair!

Anonymous said...

your blog is so funny, i crack up all the time reading it...

when i was a teenager i used to have people stop me on the streets & buses and restaurants, all the time & tell me i looked like anna devane from general hospital or finola hughes, her name in real life. not so bad....twenty years on i get emo phillips. JUST KIDDING!

Unknown said...

Back home, people occasionally told me I looked like Nicole Kidman, which is not even a little true (sigh...). This always came from people who were not white, which I thought was interesting. In high school people told me I looked like Calista Flockhart. I never saw that, either. Now I don't look like anybody.

Myheritage.com says I look like Heath Ledger :( Although that is still more flattering than Nick Nolte.

Giancarlo said...

Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Never sure how to take that one.

Queen Michelle said...

Irina Lazareanu. I get that all the friggin' time. Aside from the hair and general colouring, in reality the similarities are exceptionally few and far between. I also got told once, whilst on a tube train in London, I looked like Christopher Kane's sister...no idea what she looks like.
Your bro does look like Robert Downey Jr though.

Anonymous said...

Lady Language, I get Leelee as well. Not sure how I feel about it. People say my sister looks just like Ashlee Simpson, but also confuse us for twins (also, she's 19 and I'm 25). What a messed up world :)

Mladen said...

God youre brother is hot? Does he want to play Poker with my Republican friends?

Anonymous said...

Wow, I really see the resemblance!

My friend and I had great fun the other day going up to strangers and saying they looked like famous people and getting pics (the range of reactions for this was really interesting!)

sioux said...

When I take off my glasses and put on a bit of eye make-up (which is hardly ever) I ALWAYS get told I look like Natalie Portman. Not too shabby. hahaha. However, I'm 5 foot 10 and always wear my glasses.

ps-I like your blog. heh. "blog".
pps-give it up for the west coast connection.

Emma said...

funnily enough, today- a day after reading this- i got a completely random one.
some guy on the subway was talking to me and my friend and, completely out of nowhere, all earnestly, he was like "can i tell you something? no joke, you look EXACTLY like geena davis in a league of their own." i think he might have been high (if there is one person i do not resemble, it is geena davis in a league of their own).
still, it made me laugh.

Elena said...

I don't know, I think he looks like that kid from A Kid in King Arthur's Court. With a beard.

Anonymous said...

Years ago, a man pestered my husband endlessly for his autograph (he thought he was Larry Bird). He finally dashed off his signature on a napkin.

Jeff Daniels was filming a movie near here years ago -- again, more autograph requests.

Unknown said...

oh god that king arthur's court kid was hot. as is your brother, winona. how old is he again? should i be feeling shame for even thinking that?

K. Inez said...

My husband looks more than a little bit like Ewan McGregor. :) When he was a young teenager I thought he looked like Matthew Lillard.

Anna said...

Kate Winslet. I get that all the time. I don't mind a bit though.

Anonymous said...

your brother is cute!

Anonymous said...

I've been told I look like Lucy Liu, which I don't mind, but I definitely think that it's just because we're both Asian.

However one of my friends was compared to Angel from Rent. Yeah, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

Beth said...

A kid totally got into my pants once by telling me I look like Tilda Swinton...

Isabel said...

He really looks like RDJ! Apparently I look like Audrey Hepburn/Natalie Portman/Winona Ryder.

Anonymous said...

I used to get Ally Mcbeal ALL the time, because I was really skinny and neurotic. When I was younger people always compared me to princess Diana. Now I get Uma Thurman and Cameron Diaz. I look nothing like Cameron and I don't get it, but the Uma comparison is always warmly welcomed. And one time my boyfriend said I look like Audrey Hepburn and I wanted to marry him right then and there.

la femme said...

Wow - he does! You have a handsome brother.

I work as a waitress and get "Scarlett Johansson" a lot. But I'm still slogging as a waitress, so I'm not sure if that is a truthful comparison! :)

Anonymous said...

As a half asian girl with black bangs and winged eyeliner, the Tura Satana from Faster Pussycat Kill Kill Kill! is a flattering comparison.
Although, as a freshman in high school someone said I looked like Charlie Brown. WTF

Anonymous said...

When I was little, I looked almost exactly like the little girl from Matilda, the one where she gets telekinetic powers? Same haircut, same precocious vocabulary, everything. I swear I tried SO hard to figure out how to move things, never figured it out though.

meliasaurus said...

Everyone always tells me to die my hair blond because i'd look exactly like cameron diaz.
i hear it ALL the time. people come up to me and be like "you know you look like someone but i can't remember who" and then i say "cameron diaz?" and they say "YES! do you hear that a lot" and i go "thanks, yes all the time." I honestly do not see what they see. perhaps if i had some will power i could lose weight, dye my hair, and become an impersonator... lol


on the internet face comparer thing it says i look 98% like mandy moore which i actually believe.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm, this is weird. I was on the IMDB messageboard for RDJ and someone posted a topic called "Do you think I look like RDJ?" or something like that, and they posted that pic of your brother! Either your brother started a thread on IMDB or someone has stolen that image and is claiming that it's themself!

Me, I get told I look like Zooey Deschanel. But I have purple hair now so nuts to that.

Anonymous said...

I apparently look like Kurt Cobain. I wore a shirt with a picture of him on it and people thought it was me with sunglasses on....Now Ive decided to give in a sew a Kurt nametag on one of my hoodies.
You're bro is hella cute!

jae said...

when i was little, i used to look EXACTLY like this little asian girl in all the welch`s grape juice commercials.
same short black hair, same blunt cut bangs, same chubby cheeks, same big eyes...
people literally asked me if i was the girl in the commercial...the resemblance is creepy.

mary lilly said...

your brother is pretty hott-looking.

also, YOU ARE HILARIOUS. i read the blog (illegally) at work and laugh hysterically in my cubicle.

Emily said...

I've gotten Liv Tyler and Megan Fox (although I'm not nearly as mind-blowingly sexy).

Unknown said...

I almost always get Alicia Keys - it used to annoy the hell out of me, but I've learned to live with it. I also get Rihanna when I straighten my hair.
Oh and an ex-bf once used to say that I look like a fat Jessica Alba...you can see why he's an "ex" now!

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