Updated September 24, 2021 563.7k votes 67.7k voters 4.1m views
Voting Rules
Vote up the actor pairs who most look like they could actually be the same person.
When movie timelines span decades and lifetimes, it's crucial for casting directors to pick actors and actresses that look the same. Otherwise, they wouldn't be believable as "younger" and "older" versions of the same person. Sometimes the casting is perfect, and sometimes, well... not so much. Just take a look at this list of actors who played the same character at different ages.
Sometimes the casting is a no brainer - like actors have younger siblings who totally look like them. For example, Jamie-Lynn Spears played her big sister Britney's "young version" in Crossroads, and Elle Fanning played Dakota's "younger version" in I Am Sam.Â
But it's not just about nailing the look - it's also about perfecting the mannerisms of the actor you're portraying. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis were actors in the same role at different ages in the movie Looper. As Gordon-Levitt explained during the press tour for the movie, he took a careful study of Willis to ensure that audiences felt as if they were actually the same person. River Phoenix actually made it a point to study Harrison Ford (the person) instead of Indiana Jones (the character) in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.Â
Perfect casting or not believable at all? It's time for you to judge. Vote up the younger and older versions who look the most alike!
Rumor has it that Josh Brolin almost quit during filming for Men in Black 3, because he didn't think he could do a good enough job playing a younger version of Tommy Lee's Agent K.
Sisters Elle and Dakota both played "Lucy" in the movie I Am Sam. Elle also played the younger version of Dakota's character in the 2002 miniseries Taken.
21,729 votes
3
20,284 VOTES
Jamie Lynn Spears And Britney Spears As Lucy In 'Crossroads'
Crossroads marked the beginning of Jamie Lynn Spears's acting career, according to PopCrush. She was only 11 at the time and was obviously the perfect person to play the "younger" version of her real life big sister, Britney.
Rachel McAdams almost didn't play the young Allie Calhoun in The Notebook. According to Seventeen, McAdams got the script the night before she auditioned and had to do some last-minute cramming to prep for the role.
Ewan McGregor and Alec Guiness both played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars movies. And both were actually featured - or rather, both of their voices were - in the 2015 Star Wars movie directed by J.J. Abrams.
As Abrams told Entertainment Weekly, "a clever editing trick" was used to bring back the voice of the late Alec Guinness. He passed away in 2000.
