I am always conflating actors & actresses. One example is Dermot Mulroney & Dylan McDermotts. This is no doubt due to the similar names, but they are the same general age and the same general look. I still don't know which one is which.

It happened to me the other day. I don't know if I even realized it, but there are actors named Alessandro Nivola & Giovanni Ribisi. I couldn't tell you which one is which. One of them -- I think it was Nivola, but I'm not 100% sure -- was in a film I saw the other day, I WANT YOU.

One of them, I think, was also in LOST IN TRANSLATION playing Scarlett Johansson's husband.

The Late Nigel Hawthorne & Ian McKellan.

Scarlett Johansson & Ericka Christenson. Not so much any more, but they actually were in a movie together.

Emmanuelle Beart & Beatric Dalle. Don't know why because they don't look anything alike. I don't conflate them anymore though.

Ian Holm and the late Denholm Elliott.

Uma Thurmon & Nicole Kidman.

Tom Sizemore & Michael Madsen. Now you can't tell me they didn't vie for the same heavy roles. With Sizemore in the hoosegow, Madsen should get the run of the place.

Probably because of their names- Tony Franciosa and James Franciscus.

Robert Loggia and Christopher Plummer. I have no idea why, unless it's the roles they play.

My mom gets Alicia Silverstone and Reese Witherspoon mixed up, but I sure don't. There seem to be quite a few actresses named Kate (or variants of) these days and sometimes I get confused over which is which.

That Fransicus/Franciosa conflation is a good one. I couldn't tell you which one was which either.

Not actors, but how about Merv Griffin-Mike Douglas. Both talk show hosts. Don't know which one is which.

Sigourney Weaver/Kathleen Turner. I know they don't look alike, but leading ladies who first came on the scene together in the late 1970s/1980s, though Weaver has had the better career. Ms. Turner faded by the early 1990s.

Dustin Hoffman/Al Pacino. Don't look alike, but both contemporary, diminutive leading men.

Three pairs I used to get mixed up:

Cate Blanchett/Kate Winslet - obviously similar names, now I always recognize Winslet after seeing ETERNAL SUNSHINE.

Kate Hudson/Kate Bosworth - more Kates, both blonde and not super famous

Jude Law/Clive Owen - Weird, they don't look anything alike. For some reason those names used to seem really similar to me.

I actually get Kate Blanchett mixed up with Emily Watson.

And I agree all those blondes are easy to conflate. Mine would be Kate Hudson & Brittany Murphy. I bet those two vie for the same roles.

Maggie Gyllenhaal & Zooey Deschanel. They don't look alike, but I kind of the lump the two of them together for some reason.

Tobey McGuire & Jake Gyleenhaal. Also they don't look alike, but are contemporaries.

Peter Scarsgaard & Peter Stormare. Like Nivola/Ribisi, I didn't even realize these were two seperate people. Scarsgaard was in BOYS DON'T CRY, among other films, while Stormare was the baddie (along with Steve Buscemi) in FARGO.

Kim Basinger & Michelle Pfeiffer. Hey all blondes look alike, right? Not really, but these two are contemporaries and I imagine must have competed for many roles. Ms. Pfeiffer has had the longer career.

Sam Waterston & David Straitharn.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisFromAstoria:
One example is Dermot Mulroney & Dylan McDermotts.

I confuse these two all the time as well. I get Zooey Deschanel confused with Chloe Sevigny, too.

Another pair I mix up are Julia Ormond and Juliette Binoche.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisFromAstoria:
Kim Basinger & Michelle Pfeiffer.

For me, it's Kim Basinger & Virginia Madsen. For years I knew it was Basinger who was in The Natural, then I thought, no, that's Madsen. And was wrong. I had it confused which one co-starred in The Hot Spot for several years (Madsen this time).

When I was younger, I mixed up Ricardo Montalban and Fernando Lamas. And Richard Crenna with Ben Gazarra.

I still don't know who's who between Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, nor do I care.

I get confuesd between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley. Except Keira these days is looking unattractively thin.

I don't confuse Julia Ormond & Juliette Binoche, but I do confuse Kate Beckinsale & Julia Ormond.

And how about Jake Gyllenhaal & Toby McGuire. I bet those two vie for the same roles. In fact, when Toby was holding out for too much dough for the SUPERMAN sequel, the studio opened negotiations with Gyllenhaal.

And this one may seem odd, but George Clooney & Mel Gibson. I remember seeing a film with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney -- ONE FINE DAY maybe -- and I thought for awhile that Clooney was Gibson. I bet George wouldn't like that.

And I can't take full credit for this one; I think Quintin Tarantino used it in that submarine flick that he worked on as a screenwriter. The two are Hardy Kruger & Oskar Werner.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ChrisFromAstoria,

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisFromAstoria:
In fact, when Toby was holding out for too much dough for the SUPERMAN sequel, the studio opened negotiations with Gyllenhaal.

I heard that it wasn't a monetary issue but rather that Tobey was worried about doing the sequels because he did his own stunts in the first one and had hurt his back. He contemplated it to protect his back but ended up agreeing to it. They did however ask Jake, mostly though because he was dating Kirsten Dunst at the time rather than the physical similarities (minimal) with Tobey.

quote:

Originally posted by I <3 Katie Holmes[M.Mori]:
I get confuesd between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley. Except Keira these days is looking unattractively thin.

They are very similar in age and when they were younger they would compete for the same roles and people said that they looked very much alike, so much so that they would confuse the two. Now they do look different but I can see the how they used to look alike when they were younger.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:

quote:

Originally posted by I <3 Katie Holmes[M.Mori]:
I get confuesd between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley. Except Keira these days is looking unattractively thin.

They are very similar in age and when they were younger they would compete for the same roles and people said that they looked very much alike, so much so that they would confuse the two. Now they do look different but I can see the how they used to look alike when they were younger.

I could be wrong about this, but I don't know how Knightly & Portman would compete for roles or even be confused, though different strokes for different folks I guess.

Portman is an Israeli ex-pat who grew up on Long Island and Knightly, as far as I know, is a willowly Brit, who only appeared on my radar scope in recent years. Portman has been around for awhile, albeit as a child actress (LEON THE PROFESSIONAL).

I do confuse Knightly with Sienna Miller, though.

I dont get them confused but I think that Naomi Watts is a wanna-be Nicole Kidman. Through the four or five times I have seen King Kong, I kept saying to myself, "Man, I wish that was Nicole Kidman." I think that one is just so much better than the other, although I did like Watts in 21 Grams.

I did however used to get John Cusack and John Corbett mixed up. They came out in Serendipity together and I would always get them confused. That is a chick-flick that my girlfriend loves and when we would watch it I would get them confused and say one that one did something the other actually did. For the longest time I though it was Cusack that starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I can see Naomi Watts & Nicole Kidman because both are from down under and both are blonde, but I conflate Watts with Keira Knightly.

And another pair I kind of link together: Nicholas Cage & John Turturro, even though one is a mega-star and the other is a character actor, albeit a very good character actor.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisFromAstoria:
And how about Jake Gyllenhaal & Toby McGuire. I bet those two vie for the same roles. In fact, when Toby was holding out for too much dough for the SUPERMAN SPIDER-MAN sequel, the studio opened negotiations with Gyllenhaal.

Hmm, that reminds me... for some reason, I sometimes get Tobey Maguire confused with Topher Grace. They're probably a similar height and they always seemed to have similar hair and faces, even though one of them is mainly famous from TV and the other from movies. Also, their names both start with "To."

I guess they're gonna be in SPIDER-MAN 3 together, Maguire pitted against Grace as Venom. Should be interesting.

Here's a good one: Timothy Hutton & Matthew Modine.

Another one: Kristen Scott Thomas & Tara Fitzgerald.

I often confuse Toby Maguire and Elijah Wood