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Thankfully, I’m no celebrity. But that doesn’t stop people from confusing me with Adam Sandler, Jason Biggs, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld or even, once, Seth Green. Now, would you confuse any one of those four guys for another? By asking me for Jerry Seinfeld’s autograph in Ikea (verily I say unto thee) are you actually saying I’m really just a familiar, funny, Jewish face? When confusing me with Adam Sandler on the beach in Malibu is it because you know he lives there – so, naturally you’d expect to run into him there while using the public toilet? (Once again, I jest not.)
Almost all of us have been compared to one celebrity or another at one point in our lives. Almost all of us have a celebalike or two – that’s my word for the celebrity you get compared to most often. It can be annoying, it can be fun, it can even be annoyingly fun. Now there’s a Web site that capitalizes on our obsession with celebalikes: MyHeritage.com.
The main purpose of the site is to build a family tree, but they’ve also got this cool face recognition tool with thousands of photos of celebs in their database. After uploading your mug into their database, the site spits out your top matches in real time.
I’m not so sure how accurate it is because my wife always says I look like the male version of Katherine Keener, yet the site insists my top female match is Courtney Cox. (Top male pick: David Schwimmer…oy.) I guess a lot of it depends on what photo you upload. Regardless, it’s pantloads of fun, and a sure-fire way to kill time when things are slow around the office.
So give it a whirl and then come back and tell us how accurate it is. We also want to know who your celebalike is. Let us know and give us a link to your flickr/photo page so we can see for ourselves. (start with www.flickr.com/etc, NOT http:…)
And remember: Even celebrities get confused for celebrities. Leonard Bernstein was on a plane once and a man asked for his autograph. Only it wasn’t Bernstein’s autograph the fellow wanted, it was Kenny Rogers’!
So how ‘bout you???
Wild site. Reminds me of those Bourne moives or something out of the future. Yeah, you do look like Schwimmer, but what’s so wrong with that? Could be worse! My top match was Lucy from I Love Lucy.
posted by jamie on 10-29-2007 at 8:47 am
Actually, I think you look more like Noah Wyle. I tried to link to a picture in his imdb page, but it didn’t let me put a link. Anyway, go a few pictures in before he grew the beard and I think its very close.
posted by Scott from Cincy on 10-29-2007 at 8:53 am
My matches: Asia Argento & Fergie
my male match: John Mayer
posted by JaneM on 10-29-2007 at 8:56 am
Definitely Noah Wylie!
posted by JaneM on 10-29-2007 at 8:58 am
That was cool, but a little strange. My top three matches were:
1. Carson Daly (68%)
2. Cuba Gooding Jr. (64%)
3. Luciano Pavarotti & Barry Williams (tied at 52%)
What an odd creature I must be.
posted by EV on 10-29-2007 at 9:28 am
Unbelievably, my match is William H Macy.
It doesn’t look like it to me, but the morph is cool! See it at technoyid.blogspot.com/2007/10/my.html
posted by Izzy on 10-29-2007 at 9:46 am
wow. Mine came back 88% Kate Beckinsale and 77% Bridget Moynahan. Way to pump up my ego for the day!
I may have to start checking in at that site when I’m having a bad morning from now on.
posted by Maeve on 10-29-2007 at 10:03 am
#1 Anna Paquin
#2 Audrey Tatou
#3 Jean Seaberg
Grace Kelly came in at #7. I must be a looker!!
posted by Jill on 10-29-2007 at 10:11 am
well, the site gave me natalie imbruglia–but usually i get sarah jessica parker. i’m not sure how to take that, since half of the people i meet tell me that she’s not the most attractive woman.
…the people who tell me i look like her are usually of the opposite opinion, i hope.
posted by kay on 10-29-2007 at 10:21 am
Female: Katie Holmes 96% and I have no male matches.
I think it depends on the way your face is positioned in the photograph. I wonder how may photo’s are in the database it searches. . .
posted by Dani on 10-29-2007 at 10:22 am
i have a photo of myself and ben stein, and it says ben stein looks like michael douglas and i look like kate winslet. it’s extremely flattering, on both counts.
posted by groanygirl on 10-29-2007 at 12:56 pm
I got
Topher Grace 76%
Renny Harlin 70%
Tarkan 66%
Alfred Molina 64%
No female matches but I think it’s because of the facial hair.
posted by Dusty on 10-29-2007 at 12:56 pm
Blonde Kate Winslet, which is not surprising because any time someone sees a picture of me, they say I look like her.
posted by Annie on 10-29-2007 at 1:29 pm
My two matches were Liz Tyler and Grace Kelly…I’m with Maeve, definitely and ego boost!
posted by natlynn on 10-29-2007 at 1:38 pm
Ai Otsuka! i’m not even asian!
My only male match is Philip Kirkorov… so i don’t know what to make of that…
posted by Amanda on 10-29-2007 at 1:41 pm
What’s REALLY weird is that whenever I meet new people they swear they know me from somewhere of have a cousin, friend, coworker, etc who looks like me. I’ve even encountered people insisting that they’ve already met me when they TOTALLY have not!
I guess someone in my ancestry really got around!!!
I’ve been told many times that I look like a young Jodie foster or Audrey Hepburn.
MyHeritage said I look like Mary-Kate Olsen. I guess its the big eyes.
posted by Sweet Pea on 10-29-2007 at 1:45 pm
Kirsten Dunst, Rose McGowan and Tina Turner… (do I even have to comment on that?)
posted by Ennika on 10-29-2007 at 2:21 pm
The two celebrities people tell me I look like: Drew Barrymore and Anne Hathaway.
The two celebrities My Heritage says I look like: Howard Dean and Hilary Clinton.
I am too ashamed to post evidence.
posted by Rebekah on 10-29-2007 at 2:36 pm
I got Ashley Tisdale. Who is Ashley Tisdale?
posted by kdub on 10-29-2007 at 2:52 pm
Well, I’m flattered:
1.) Jessica Alba (GAWD I wish!)
2.) Josie Maran
3.) Reese Witherspoon
Hubby’s number one was Steven Seagal. Puke, but what really had me laughing was his very last match…Gladys Knight. I can’t bring myself to tell him. ;)
posted by mrs.djs on 10-29-2007 at 2:53 pm
Angielina Jolie! No way - only 77% but it was my top match. Never would have guessed her so I join in the others about the ego boost!
posted by Julia Rae on 10-29-2007 at 3:02 pm
As a child, I looked just like Amy Carter (as a child). As an adult, Bette Midler has been mentioned, which isn’t so bad, but my favorite was when a very drunk and very old black man told me “You look jusht like my very favorite actressh, Barbra Shtreishand”. I really think it must be my nose.
posted by bettycat on 10-29-2007 at 3:04 pm
Adam Sandler-alike was the first that came to me when seeing the author’s face. However, the author’s a better looking version.
posted by Iain010100 on 10-29-2007 at 3:17 pm
i got 83% scarlett johansson, that made my day. then i ran it again and i got 37% camilla parker bowles. ouch.
posted by ariel on 10-29-2007 at 4:06 pm
Wow. Kate Bush. …And Jojo.
Hey, and Tori Amos!
Odd!
posted by Aemi on 10-29-2007 at 6:15 pm
Jessica Stam, Goldie Hawn, and Mary-Kate. Though almost everyone thinks I look like Nicole Kidman, though I’ve gotten the Goldie Hawn thing before. Hm…
posted by Renee on 10-29-2007 at 8:10 pm
I can’t do the site but over the years two people have said that I resemble (a young) Ringo Starr. I’ve mentioned that to four people who replied, “I don’t see it.”
David, you resemble the guy who reminds me of Noah Wylie.(ha ha)
posted by Tdave on 10-30-2007 at 1:55 am
Let’s see, I’m a 49 year old white, jewish guy with no hair, and I have equal probabilities (86%!) of being either Annette Benning or Mick Fleetwood. One of my closest friends, an early 40s Chinese man, gets equal (76%) probabilities of Fiona Apple or Clint Eastwood…
Oh yes, this is useful…
posted by Dan on 10-30-2007 at 10:11 pm
I ran 3 different photos and got completely different results; my highest matches were:
1. George Peppard (leader of the A-Team lol)
2. George Harrison
3. Tom Petty
1. Gael Garcia Bernal (sweet, I hear he’s hot)
2. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (hah…)
1. Martin Scorcese (?)
2. Ang Lee (?)
I agree with Dan (#28). Quite accurate, indeed.
posted by TMo on 10-31-2007 at 8:23 am
I did this one and i’ve done another celebrity face-matching thing before too and they both gave me the same result:
Ashley Olsen.
I am an overweight, bearded man. I’m not sure how these work but I demand a recount.
posted by Christian on 11-27-2007 at 8:56 am