As an actor, having someone who looks exactly like you can give you a big advantage.
While some duos, like the Olsen twins or Dylan and Cole Sprouse, have made it a part of their
brand, here are some stars that you may not have realized have an identical twin.
In 2009, Jill Hennessy spoke with Contact Music about the burdens her identical twin
Jacqueline often faces, saying,
"She gets stalked by people who don't believe she's my twin.
She'll very kindly say, 'I'm Jack, her sister,' and they'll think she's lying.
They think it's really Jill Hennessy just being really bitchy!"
While Jacqueline and her sister Jill have each carved out separate accomplished careers
on their own — the former has a Ph.D. in French literature, is a journalist and TV
host, and the latter was Claire Kincaid on "Law & Order" and the titular character on
"Crossing Jordan" — the sisters have collaborated several times in film and music.
They once had a duo called Jack and Jill, were buskers in Toronto's subways, and still
sing together to this day.
The pair made their film debut together, playing twin escorts in David Cronenberg's 1988 drama
"Dead Ringers."
In the 1996 "Law & Order" episode "Corpus Delicti", Jacqueline literally stood in for
her sister for courtroom scenes while Jill was off shooting a crossover episode with
"Homicide: Life on the Street."
When Jill wrote and directed 2000's "The Acting Class," she was sure to include her older
sister in the roll call.
While Rami Malek hit the big time as Elliot on TV's "Mr. Robot," and as Freddie Mercury
in the biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," his identical twin brother Sami has been spending his time
handing out grades as a teacher in Los Angeles.
Sami currently teaches English as a Second Language at a middle school.
The only time Sami gets into character and costume is to protest and demand changes for
schools.
He's very passionate about his vocation, and is known to fight for both teachers and students
alike.
The closest Sami gets to the limelight is to celebrate his brother's success, particularly
at the 2019 Academy Awards when Rami took home the Best Actor award, saying in a red
carpet interview,
"My boy had it in the bag.
He killed it."
Rami has also joked that his success in film and TV is likely to give his brother a boost
in his romantic life.
During an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Rami told a switcheroo story where he came to Sami's aid when he needed to do a Greek
monologue for a class in order to graduate from UCLA.
When Sami's teacher was floored by the performance, Rami responded,
"Oh… it's just a hobby."
The first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy, Laverne Cox got her breakout
role as Sophia Burset, a charismatic inmate in "Orange is the New Black."
When it came time to film flashback scenes featuring Sophia before her transition, however,
it was easy to find the perfect fit: Laverne's twin brother.
Going by the name M Lamar, the avant-garde artist is an operatic countertenor and pianist
whose music is frequently blended with film, sculpture, installation and performance.
The twins had a difficult time growing up and being different in their hometown of Mobile,
Alabama.
They were constantly bullied at school, but their mother Gloria impressed upon them the
importance of education, telling the local paper in 2019 that she, quote, "groomed them
for success."
While Laverne is out and proud, Lamar takes a more subdued approach, as he told World
of Wonder in 2016.
"What I do is not designed to cross over to the mainstream.
That's not my goal.
I'm not looking for that sort of fame or recognition."
However, Lamar did indeed step into the mainstream on one occasion, when he played the pre-transition
version of Sophia Burset in the season one "Orange is the New Black" episode "Lesbian
Request Denied."
Cox originally wanted to play the role herself, but she told the Huffington Post in 2013 that
the episode's director, Jodie Foster, quote, "didn't think [she] looked masculine enough
to play a guy."
Harriet Norton told the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1971 about her famous sister:
"We used to say we'd both be in the theater, me on Broadway and her in the operating theater.
But she's the one who got into show business."
Norton's twin sister was none other than Ann B. Davis, known for playing the lovable and
ever-dependable housekeeper Alice on "The Brady Bunch."
Ann found early success on "The Bob Cummings Show" in the role of Schultzy, which won her
back-to-back Emmy awards in 1958 and 1959.
After the second win, Harriet wired her sister the message,
"One of us was bound to have twins."
Harriet was given the chance to join Ann in a Schultzy "double" episode, but couldn't
handle the lines, so the idea was scrapped.
That probably explains why Harriet wasn't enlisted to play Alice's identical cousin
"Sergeant Emma" on the "Brady Bunch" episode of the same name, where Ann ended up taking
on both roles herself.
Regardless, the two maintained an unwavering bond throughout their entire lives.
Ann died in 2014, at age 88.
She never married and is survived by Harriet, who currently resides in Tucson, Arizona.
Bonar Bain never missed a chance to take a playful swipe at his more famous brother,
Conrad Bain of TV's "Maude" and "Diff'rent Strokes," telling the Ottawa Citizen,
"He's 20 minutes older than I am and he looks every minute of it."
The two Bain boys were dedicated to their local dramatic arts program in their teen
years, trading off lead roles in their school plays.
When Conrad headed to New York to advance his acting career, Bonar chose a different,
more stable path back in Edmonton, developing a successful career in the airline, rental
car and parking businesses.
However, that didn't stop him from taking an occasional part.
When the writers of "Maude" drummed up an episode involving the escaped-convict twin
of Conrad's character Arthur, Conrad lamented,
"I knew we were in trouble.
The scriptwriters had my brother as a sex maniac."
In the end, Conrad played both parts and Bonar, quote, "only came in for two lines at the
end when he [got] caught, but everybody thought it was him the whole time."
A similar experience took place on the "The Van Drummonds" episode of "Strokes."
Conrad played their Dutch cousin Anna Van Drummond, and in the scenes where Philip appeared
alongside her, Bonar acted as a stand-in.
Bonar went solo a few other times, most memorably spoofing Conrad as alien double agent "Hank
Bain" on "SCTV," appearing in a sketch called "Different Folks."
Back in the 1940s, Conrad was set to be an extra in a Canadian war propaganda film, but
got sick right before the shoot.
Bonar stepped in for his brother, and remembered:
"The casting director took one look at me and said, 'What difference does it make?'"
Bonar passed away in 2005, at age 82.
Conrad followed in 2013, at age 89.
Before Linda Hamilton was trying to escape from "The Terminator," she was performing
in community children's theater back in Salisbury, Maryland alongside her sister Leslie, who
was born six minutes after she was.
Linda recalled in 1987:
"We would be cast in the same role and work alternate performances.
It was a real gimmick."
While Linda made the jump to Hollywood, Leslie followed her own passion by becoming a nurse
and caretaker.
Leslie does have one credit to her name, however, and it's in one of the greatest action films
of all time: she played a cyborg imitation of Sarah Connor in "Terminator 2: Judgment
Day," and was paid a thousand dollars for her time and effort.
Being on set not only gave Leslie a glimpse of the Hollywood limelight, but also a taste
of the fun too, as she once even Arnold Schwarzenegger himself into thinking she was Linda.
One film was more than enough for Leslie, however.
After vowing to never return to the franchise, Linda changed her tune and suited back up
as Sarah Connor in 2019's "Terminator: Dark Fate."
Leslie passed away in 2020 at age 63.
When the writers for "Days of Our Lives" asked their star Deidre Hall if there were any storylines
she'd like to pursue, she was quick to pitch the idea of giving her character, Dr. Marlena
Evans, a twin sister.
Not long after, Deirdre's sister Andrea took a break from her summer job as a special education
teacher to play Marlena's jealous twin Samantha.
The job spilled beyond the summer, and ended up lasting several seasons.
The first time the pair acted together was in 1977, in the Krofft brothers cult classic
show "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl," where Andrea played Deirdre's clone.
Andrea returned to "Days of Our Lives" in 2000 when she showed up as Hattie Adams, a
woman who just so happens to look exactly like Marlena.
The pandemic turned into a mixed blessing for the twins, who got to spend over nine
weeks together for the first time since their youth.
Andrea gushed,
"It's like find­ing your best friend again.
It's been grand.
[…] [P]aint­ing is so much fun, but we just mostly laughed."
In 2007, Jon Heder told Elle magazine that his relationship with twin Daniel is like
a marriage.
"My brother and I think alike, know everything about one another, and when we get together,
we block everything else out.
Nothing exists in our world except for us."
The Heder boys were always artistic, and followed their brother Doug to BYU to study animation.
Jon found everlasting fame playing the title role in 2004's "Napoleon Dynamite," then went
on to star in such films as "Blades of Glory" and "The Benchwarmers."
Daniel is a visual effects artist who has worked on blockbuster films like "Alita: Battle
Angel" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."
He also worked as an animator on 2006's "Monster House," where his brother Jon provided a voice
over.
The two have acted together in a few short films, and Ashton Kutcher helped Daniel prank
Jon in a 2005 episode of "Punk'd."
Along with their older brother Doug, they formed Greasy Entertainment and have several
projects in the works — including, of course, some animated ones.
As for being twins outside of work?
Jon has admitted that they switched classrooms for a day in sixth grade — but the scheme
backfired when Daniel took a pop quiz he obviously wasn't prepared for.
Jon Heder wasn't the only twin to star in "Napoleon Dynamite," as Efren Ramirez got
a vote of confidence as the titular hero's best friend Pedro.
Efren and his identical twin Carlos were discovered on the street by Robert Blake, who got them
roles in his series "Hell Town."
Carlos took a break from acting in 1991 and joined the United States Air Force, but when
Efren's career skyrocketed, he returned to the craft.
The two appeared together in "Potheads: The Movie," as well as the high-octane action
movie "Crank" and its sequel, "Crank: High Voltage."
They shared screen time and many good times in real life, throwing famously raucous dual
birthday bashes.
Unfortunately, the story of the Ramirez brothers doesn't have the happiest of endings.
The Ramirez twins had a falling out over Carlos making public appearances as Efren... without
his brother's consent.
According to a 2013 TMZ report, Efren threatened to sue his brother for 10 million dollars
in 2008, and they hadn't spoken since.
Carlos told TMZ at the time,
"I think it's safe to say the magnitude of 'Napoleon Dynamite' and everything that has
come along with it has ruined my relationship with my twin."
As of present day, both Ramirez brothers are still making appearances in films and TV series
— just not together.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to have a celebrity doppelganger who's starring
in one of the most successful shows of the 1990s, firefighter Caroline Paul detailed
exactly how it feels in her 2015 book "Almost Her: The Strange Dilemma of Being Nearly Famous."
"The possibility of an identical twin never crossed anyone's mind.
It was easier to believe that the 'Baywatch' star had decided to swaddle herself in a turnout
coat and helmet, grab that ax, and jump on a fire engine for the day."
Caroline's slightly older twin sister is actress Alexandra Paul, who made a splash on TV as
Stephanie Holden for 5 seasons of "Baywatch."
She's also made appearances in films like "Christine," "8 Million Ways to Die," and
"Dragnet."
Caroline never joined the acting business herself, but did work on "Christine" as Alexandra's
stand-in on set, confusing director John Carpenter in the process.
Alexandra told the Ohio News-Journal in 1999 how deep her bond runs with Caroline:
"I'll always have her, even if everything else goes badly.
It's like having your left arm or something.
She means everything to me."
Despite what you might think on first look, Sidra Smith has something to say:
"I am not the lady from the Tyler Perry movie!"
It's an easy mistake to make — her identical twin sister Tasha is indeed the lady from
the Tyler Perry movie, having starred in 2007's "Why Did I Get Married?" and its 2010 sequel.
In a 2017 Instagram post, Sidra teased,
"I'm the oldest twin.
I always say that I came out first because she KICKED me OUT so she could be in our mothers
belly ALONE for 2 minutes."
The sisters overcame a tough upbringing and both left their hometown of Camden, New Jersey
for greener pastures.
While Tasha made appearances in films like "Couples Retreat" and shows like "Empire,"
Sidra became a casting director.
Despite their difference in occupation, the two always strive to help each other in their
endeavors, with Tasha telling NPR in 2008,
"My sister is my business partner, my twin.
She's an amazing producer, writer.
You know, we're just grinding and trying to make my mother proud as well as God."
The two did appear on screen together once, getting the opportunity to say a single word
between the two of them in the film "Twin Sitters."
While they have confused many fans in public, they also have fooled the technology of Apple,
proving that identical twins can pass for the other when using iPhone's face activation
security feature.
Nicholas Brendon had dreams of playing for the Dodgers, but an injury took him off the
baseball diamond and onto a TV set.
Nicholas found early success as Xander Harris in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," while his brother
Kelly took industry jobs behind the scenes as a set decorator.
When Kelly finally decided to join his brother in the limelight, he landed a role on "Buffy"
as a Xander double in the season five episode "The Replacement".
The pair also appeared together for several episodes of "Hollywood Squares" and the mind-bending
2013 horror film "Coherence."
Despite Kelly's later start, Nicholas has always been happy to boost his brother in
any way he can.
In 1999, Nicholas told Teen People that the duo have a very special relationship, saying,
"There's this unexplained twin phenomenon that even we can't understand."
The two have so much in common, in fact, that they've been known to spontaneously belt out
the same song at the exact same time, and have even had similar recurring dreams.
Actress Lorraine Vélez is very close with her slightly younger sister, but not too close:
she once told Latin Heat,
"My sister is part of my journey, but not all of it.
I exist as an individual."
Lorraine's twin sister, Luna Lauren Vélez, is also an actress, singer, and dancer.
The Vélez twins both attended the Alvin Ailey Dance school, then studied acting at The Acting
Studio.
Lorraine headed to the West End of London where she starred in musicals like "Miss Saigon,"
"Fame," and "Rent," but she later returned to the States to pursue further creative endeavours.
At the same time, Luna was becoming a recognizable face to audiences on TV shows such as "New
York Undercover," "Oz," "Ugly Betty," and "Dexter."
The two have a single shared credit to their names — the 2002 "Hitman" episode of "Law
& Order" — but never actually share the screen during its runtime.
That doesn't mean the two don't spend time together when they're off camera, however
— Luna consistently shares photos of the pair together on her Instagram, especially
on #TwinTuesday.
Being identical was particularly rough going on the Laurance brothers, who both decided
to become actors at the same time.
Matthew said to Entertainment Weekly,
"If you have to pick a business not to go into with an identical twin, this is it.
We didn't talk for a long time."
Best known for cleaning teeth as David Silver's dad Mel on "Beverly Hills, 90210," Matthew
was born four minutes later than his twin.
Elder brother Mitchell shared his twin’s opinions on the entertainment business, saying,
"At times I hate the fact that Matthew's here.
We have moments of closeness and a lot of times of conflict."
The two were able to get past their differences and collaborated several times, including
for a pair of "Cop Rock" episodes and an appearance on "The Commish."
On "Saturday Night Live," Matthew was a featured player in Season 6, while Mitchell held various
roles, eventually becoming an associate director.
In the memorable "Outer Limits" episode "In Another Life," Mitchell played a man trapped
in an alternate reality, surrounded by many different versions of himself, which were
played by both he and Matthew.
When Mitchell decided it was time to leave the soap opera "Santa Barbara" and move on
to "Reasonable Doubts," Matthew was there to take his place.
The two have since moved away from Hollywood and into the world of golf podcasting: Matthew
hosts the "Backspin Golf" radio show and podcast for ESPN, while Mitchell is the Co-Host and
Co-Producer of "Talking GolfGetaways with Mitch & Darin."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite actors are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.