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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{Quote|This innocent who bears my face,
Who goes to judgement in my place...
|Jean Valjean!|[[Les Misérables (theatre)]]}}
They say that everybody has a double somewhere. After all, the Earth has a human population of
On television this is often utilized for comedy, by making them very different people.
As far as tropes go, this is one of the more ludicrously implausible ones. Take the probability of an [[Identical Grandson]], ramp it [[Up to Eleven]], and we're sort of in the right ballpark.
When combined with [[Swapped Roles]] it results in [[Emergency Impersonation]]. Add both [[Swapped Roles]] and [[Fish Out of Water]] and you have [[Prince and Pauper]]. If one gets put out of action, the other might be called upon to pull an [[El Cid Ploy]].
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'''Don't confuse this trope with [[Celebrity Resemblance]].'''
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* ''[[Love Hina]]'': Kaolla's brother happens to look exactly like a tanned, not-clumsy version of Keitaro.
** Meanwhile, the manga and the Spring Special introduced Nyamo, who looked and ''acted'' like a darker (and somewhat more athletic) version of Shinobu (complete with crush of Keitaro). Given that they did not share a language they did not fool anyone, but the effect was still creepy.
* In ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', Mashio from the PS2 game and Aoyamada from a [[Filler]] episode are Identical Strangers to Aoyama Masaya, with similar personalities as well. He's never around when this happens, as both instances of Ichigo meeting them are in remote areas where practically nobody but them lives. {{spoiler|Given that they're scattered across the continent and have the same personality traits that are explicitly stated to have been implanted in Masaya by Deep Blue, it's possible that said alien overlord actually thought ahead and left a few spare host bodies lying around.}}
* Spoofed in a filler episode of ''[[Naruto]]'' (one of the infamous two-years worth of fillers) where Ino is asked to substitute for a princess that "looks just like her," which she does...if you don't count the fact that said princess probably weighs two to three times more than Ino. That was because she ''used to'' look at lot (though not exactly) like Ino, but when she was nervous about meeting the guy she was arranged to marry she started eating a lot and got fat.
* Queen Diana Soleil and [[The Ojou|Kihel Heim]] from ''[[Turn
* After having a discussion about identity, Major Kusanagi from ''[[Ghost in
** Kusanagi's prosthetic body has a stock appearance - other people can buy one that looks the same (the Major's has a whole heap of high performance, military grade equipment beneath the skin).
* In CLAMP's short manga series ''[[Wish]]'', the strong resemblance between demon prince Kokuyo and stoic human Shuichiro Kudo is repeatedly commented on by other characters. It being CLAMP, this is never given any vague hint of an explanation.
* In the [[Twincest]] manga ''Everyday Every Night'', protagonist Nohara Minato has no idea he has a twin until one suddenly shows up and starts following him around and professing his love to him all the time. Minato doesn't believe that the stranger is his twin (even though they're identical) until he shows him a cut in the same place that Minato has one. Nevermind that [[You Fail Biology Forever|twins do not work that way]].
* ''[[Cromartie High School]]'': Hokuto's Butler looks like he could be the grandfather of Kamiyama. When they meet for the first time, there is a moment of stunned silence until they declare they don't know each other at all. {{spoiler|Then again, Kamiyama wears a wig, while the butler's hair is all natural.}}
* One episode of ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka
* [[Cross Game]] ups the drama stakes by introducing Akane, a girl who looks identical to Kou's love interest {{spoiler|and dead older sister of Aoba,}} Wakaba Tsukushima.
* Izumi Isoyama from ''[[Ga-Rei]]'' looks almost exactly like the long-dead [[Big Bad]] Yomi Isayama. {{spoiler|Then it's revealed that since Kagura resurrected Yomi, Yomi and Izumi now share the same body. Their souls have even fused together.}}
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** The Detective Boys' schoolteacher Kobayashi-sensei has an uncanny resemblance to Officer Satou with glasses. In later manga issues, {{spoiler|Shiratori realizes that his affection for Satou was misplaced because he had met a police-obsessed Kobayashi at a bookstore when they were both children, and had subsequently mistaken the adult Satou for her.}}
** The three Osaka kids in the OVA, "Conan and Heiji and the Vanished Boy" strongly resemble the Detective Boys. Even their names sound very alike: Mayumi, Mikihiko, and Kenta.
* ''Gundam: The Origin'', an alternate retelling-slash-prequel to ''[[
* ''[[One Piece]]''
*
*** Pay close attention to chapter 0... {{spoiler|Tashigi looks even more like ''Kuina's mom''. Which Zoro apparently doesn't realize, since apparently he never met said mother.}}
*** This would presumably be because {{spoiler|Tashigi in the current storyline is, like Kuina's mother in the flashback, an adult. We can only guess what an adult Kuina would've looked like, since she didn't survive to adulthood - she died at age 14.}}
** Nami has an uncanny resemblance to many secondary recurring characters, including [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Nefertari_Vivi Vivi], [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Rebecca?so=search Rebecca], [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Shirahoshi?so=search Shirahoshi], and [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Vegapunk/Lilith?so=search Lilith], the biggest difference between them being hairstyle and hair color. This is probably just a coincidence, given Oda’s art style (Shirahoshi and Lilith aren’t even human) but stranger things have happened…
* In ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'', during the "Death March" arc Sena accidentally gets roped into a round of NFL tryouts where he meets Jimmy Simard, who looks very much like his teammate Ishimaru back home. The joke is that "Jimmy Simard" sounds like "jimi ishimaru" when said with a Japanese accent. "Jimi Ishimaru" means "plain Ishimaru," one of the [[Running Gag|running gags]] of the series.
** In the anime, on the plane ride that kicked off the America arc the characters mix up Cerberus and an identical looking stuffed animal.
* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'' has two examples. One is anime-only, and the other is found only in the original novels: In the anime, Kaname gets one in ''TSR'', in the form of a Chinese prostitute who fancied Sousuke (who [[Platonic Prostitution|paid her just to talk]] because he was having huge psychological problems at the time). In the novels, there's a side story where Sousuke is revealed to be almost identical to a young teen heartthrob idol named Kousuke; when he got getting tired and wanting a vacation, [[Emergency Impersonation|switches places]] with Sousuke. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* In ''[[Nagasarete Airantou]]'', protagonist Ikuto just happens to resemble Takatora, {{spoiler|[[Disappeared Dad]] of Suzu, his best friend on the island.}} Anyone who had known Takatora has even noted the similarities between the two.
** What's more bizarre, Ikuto's sister Misaki, after showing up on the island, mentions two of his and her cousins he'd never referred to: they look like Ayane (even to the hair ribbons) and Machi ... and they're '''named''' Ayane and Machi—but the Ayane in Japan is the elder sister. Physical resemblance is weird enough; matching names is something else again.
* ''[[Baccano
* Spritle and Prince Jam from one episode of ''[[
* Ichigo Kurosaki and [[Posthumous Character|Kaien Shiba]] in ''[[Bleach]]'', though were never close to meeting each other or alive at the same time. Aside from Kaien having black hair and Ichigo having orange hair, they look so much alike that Ukitake, Kaien's captain, briefly wonders if Ichigo could somehow be Kaien, despite having personally witnessed Kaien's death. This lead to some people theorizing Ichigo was Kaien's reincarnation, but this was [[Jossed]] when we saw {{spoiler|Kaien's soul was consumed by the Hollow which became Aaroniero}}.
** There are still plenty of [[Epileptic Trees]] about the possibility of some larger connection between the two characters than just coincidental resemblance, though. {{spoiler|Given that Ichigo's father is a former Shinigami captain, yet none of the Shinigami (even the ones who would've been Isshin's contemporaries) recognize the name "Kurosaki", he must have changed his name when assuming a human identity. If his original last name was "Shiba", it would explain more than just Ichigo's resemblance to Kaien.}}
* Makoto and Princess Fatora in ''[[El
* Asuna Kagurazaka and Nekane Springfield from ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]],'' though on the more realistic side of things as one merely strongly reminds you of the other.
* In ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'', Faye Valentine first met Spike Spiegel when she mistook him for a similar-looking but ''identically'' dressed contact.
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00
* In ''[[Hekikai no
* ''[[
* In ''[[Princess Principal]]'', Princess Charlotte of Albion and [[Street Urchin]] Ange le Carre. To the point that {{spoiler|when they [[Prince and Pauper|trade clothes]] and then are separated by a revolution and a [[Berlin Wall|Berlin-style wall]], no one suspects for ''ten years'' (and, indeed, longer)}}.
* Turned [[Up to Eleven]] in ''[[Girls und Panzer]]'', where ''every single member'' of the Ooarai Prefectural Girls High School Morals Committee (translated as "Hall Monitors") look alike save for minor differences in hair length (not the hairstyle, just the length).
* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'':
** Jesse looks just like James' cruel former fiance [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Jessebelle]], the only difference being a different hairstyle and clothing. Oddly James never seems to notice.
** Ash has been the victim of [[Mistaken Identity]] more than once. He also has more than a passing resemblence to Richie, a trainer whose team has three of the same Pokemon - Pikachu, Charmeleon, and Butterfree - that were in Ash's original lineup.
== Comic Books ==
* ''[[Archie Comics|Archie]] Meets [[The Punisher]]'' (no, really, this is real and somehow, against all odds, ''actually good'') featured the Punisher following a con-man identical to Archie to Riverdale.
** In a subversion, they didn't look ''completely'' alike; only similar enough to cause some confusion. Heck, even [[Dumb Muscle|Moose]] could tell they were not the same once he got a closer look.
* ''[[Wonder Woman]]''
* The Golden Age ''[[Flash]]'' story "Anything Can Happen!" shows four Flashes on the cover. The story delivers, though they're never all in one place. Jay Garrick is the first; a banker who happens to look just like him is the second; a substitute who wears a mask to impersonate this banker at boring functions is the third; and a mannequin wearing that same mask to fool the bad guys is the fourth.
* The white-haired [[The Warlord|Warlord]], Travis Morgan, ends up in Seattle, home of blonde [[Green Arrow]]. Morgan is mistaken for the persona-non-grata Arrow and is consequently attacked by half of Seattle's criminal population, leading to a confrontation with his double to find out why everyone in town hates him.
{{quote|
** And in Morgan's own series, Morgan had a double who was used by his foes to attempt to take over the kingdom.
** And Shakira turned out to be a dead ringer for a kidnapped princess, leading to an [[Emergency Impersonation]] scenario.
* In a ''Why Not?'' crossover from ''Dynamite Comics'' featuring [[Evil Dead|Ash Williams]] and [[Xena: Warrior Princess|Xena]] Bruce Campbell's likeness played a triple role, Ash, a mini Ash called Ash-It, and Autolycus. The two "full size" Bruces being mistaken for each other is a plot point. (And very ''Xena''-appropriate; see below.)
** Ash also met an identical stranger in the ''Evil Dead/Marvel Zombies'' crossover...but it was actually Ashley G. Williams, a supermarket employee who happened to be the Marvel Universe version of Ash.
* In the [[Western]] [[Shojo]] manga [[Miriam (
* In [[Marvel Comics]], Flatman, aka Dr. Val Ventura, looks exactly like and has roughly the same exact powers as Mr. Fantastic of the [[Fantastic Four]]. The only difference is that Flatman is, well, flat, his entire body being less than an inch thick. This is pretty much never ever [[Ignore the Disability|commented on, no matter how obvious it is
* This is how [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|the Wasp]] entered into Hank Pym's life - she looked identical to his dead wife.
* In ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'', after Jean Grey kills herself to prevent herself from becoming Dark Phoenix again, Cyclops eventually meets Madelyne Pryor, who's a dead ringer for the departed Jean. They fall in love, get married, and have a son, and Scott retires from the X-Men. And then the trope is [[Subverted Trope|subverted]], when it turns out Maddie is actually a clone of Jean created by Mister Sinister to get Scott and Jean to reproduce and create a genetically perfect being, and Maddie [[Goes Mad From the Revelation]] (and demonic influence) and becomes the villainous Goblin Queen. And then she dies. And then it turns out that, not only was Jean not dead (just in a cocoon at the bottom of the Hudson river), she was never actually Phoenix in the first place (maybe; that last part gets [[
* An ''extremely'' common trope in [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] [[Superman]] comics. Not only do Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and other supporting characters encounter their own randomly-occurring identical duplicates on Earth, they even have duplicates on ''Krypton'' (a single Kryptonian ''city'', at that - the Bottle City of Kandor!) Astute readers pointed out how often this plot device was used, and in response, a DC editor actually stated that, ''in [[Real Life]]'', every single person on Earth has at least one exact duplicate walking around somewhere (it's a Science Fact!)
** One of the very few occasions on which this was even vaguely justified: Vam-Zee, who adopted the identity of Kandorian superhero Nightwing from Superman, looks exactly like the Man of Steel. The explanation? They're cousins.
==Fan Works==
* Socrates
** Andy discovers a pharaoh that looks just like him in [[Exactly What It Says
* One of ''[[
* [[Ranma ½|Ranma Saotome]]'s girl form and [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Asuka Soryuu Langley]] can pass as twins in ''[[The Wild Horse Thesis]]''.
* From the first chapter of the ''[[Ranma ½]]'' / ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' fanfic ''[https://archives.eyrie.org/anime/Ranma/Duet-of-Pigtails/ A Duet of Pigtails]'', when Hikaru Shidou first sees Ranma Saotome's transformation into girl form: "There, where Ranma had been, was a woman, who with the exception of slightly wet Chinese clothing and pale blue eyes, looked as though she could have successfully passed as my twin sister."
* Is something of a plot point in the epic-length 1990s-vintage ''[[Ranma ½]]''-centric [[Mega Crossover]] fic ''[[A Tale of Two Wallets]]'' -- the Chinese Amazon Silk and the late Kimiko Tendo were virtual twins, and both were in competition for a teenaged Soun in the [[Backstory]] that informs so much of the fic's plot. (It's eventually revealed that they also were identical to the goddess Peorth from ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' -- because they were Peorth's "Templates", something along the lines of a mortal "backup copy".) On top of that, Silk got pregnant from one last night with Soun before he married Kimiko, and Kachu, the daughter she bore, is a dead ringer for Kasumi Tendo.
==
* The [[Olsen Twins]] movie ''It Takes Two'' was basically a ripoff of ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]'', only replacing Identical Twins with Identical Strangers.▼
▲* Socrates, of ''[[Calvin and Hobbes The Series (Fanfic)|Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]'', is identical to Hobbes save for red stripes on his tail.
▲** Andy discovers a pharaoh that looks just like him in [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|"Pharaoh Andrew".]]
▲* One of ''[[Turnabout Storm (Fanfic)|Turnabout Storm]]'s'' [[Original Character|Original Characters]], Sonata, is uncannily identical to [[Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Mia Fey]], to the point of making Phoenix confuse her with Mia. To make things even more wierd and eerie, she's also ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|an unicorn from Canterlot]]''.
▲* The Olsen Twins movie ''It Takes Two'' was basically a ripoff of ''[[The Parent Trap]]'', only replacing Identical Twins with Identical Strangers.
* [[Hugh Jackman]]'s drunken doppelganger plays a key role in ''[[The Prestige]]''.
* This plays a huge part in [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s ''Kagemusha'', which is about a warlord's double.
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* One episode of ''[[The Little Rascals]]'', "Alfalfa's Double", features the titular boy meeting up with his identical upper-class double; naturally they decide to switch places for the day. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* In ''[[Dave]]'', Kevin Kline plays both the President of the United States and Regular Guy Dave, who resembles and winds up impersonating the POTUS.
** And in [[The Film of the Series]] of ''[[Wild Wild West (
* The [[Leslie Nielsen]] movie ''Wrongfully Accused'' has a scene where the main character defaces his wanted poster so no one will make the connection that it's him. Another character played by Nielsen inexplicably appears with the same features he drew on the picture, and is promptly arrested. This same gag was used in ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]''.
* In ''[[History of the World Part One]]'', during the segment on the French Revolution, [[Mel Brooks]] plays King Louis XVI, and the "piss boy" who works at the palace. When a double for the king is needed, the piss boy is given the part.
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* The Disney Channel movie ''Model Behaviour'' has Alex Burrows as your average American teen who looks almost identical to supermodel Janine Adams except she wears glasses. They are both played by Maggie Lawson.
* In ''[[Monte Carlo]]'', small town girl Grace Bennett is a dead ringer for the infamous British socialite Cordelia Winthrop Scott. Despite her friends claiming they can tell the difference, she manages to fool Cordelia's aunt for awhile.
== Literature ==
* The Roman author [[Plautus]]' ''Menaechmi'', circa 200 BC, has two identically-named people of identical appearance from different cities, thus making it [[Older Than Feudalism]]. [[Shakespeare]]'s adaptation of this ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]'' did it out the wazoo, with ''two'' sets of identically named identical twins from different cities in the same master/servant relationship. In either case, since no one knows of the other's existence when they first arrive in the same city, [[Hilarity Ensues]].
** It doesn't end there: Rogers and Hart wrote a musical, ''[[Boys From Syracuse]]'', based on ''A Comedy of Errors''. Now you can have all the
* ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' has this as the central plot point.
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** Lord Vetinari gets one in
** Another ''[[Discworld]]'' example is in ''[[
* The ''[[Flashman]]'' novel ''Royal Flash'' relies on this trope, as the title character's uncanny resemblance to a Danish prince is the reason he gets dragged into his adventures in said story in the first place.
* The actor in [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Double Star]]'' isn't perfectly identical to the politician he is assigned to impersonate, but he is close enough to fake it.
* Spoofed in the [[Daniel Pinkwater]] novel ''Slaves of Spiegel''. The three (supposed) greatest chefs in the universe are Identical Strangers of each other...except for the minor aspect that they're from three entirely different species that don't resemble each other at all. Their names are also [[Significant Anagram
* ''[[The Prince and the Pauper]]'', a story written by [[Mark Twain]]. A beggar boy and a prince have a chance encounter and decide to switch places for a short while.
* ''Brat Farrar'' by [[Josephine Tey]] features one where the eponymous Brat bears an uncanny resemblence to the missing Patrick Ashby. As it turns out, he's actually {{spoiler|a lost relative and the real Patrick had been murdered - the deception serves to uncover the murderer of the real Patrick.}}
* Already mentioned above, ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' is a classic example of the trope.
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* José Saramago's ''The Double'': a man finds an exact double of him on TV and starts stalking him. Tragedy ensues.
* ''[[Les Misérables]]'' has Champmathieu, who gets arrested in Jean Valjean's place because he just happens to look exactly like him.
* Played several times in the [[Sweet Valley High]]
* Seen in the original ''[[Nancy Drew]]'' series and the later ''Nancy Drew Files'', with a nearly identical
* The Koriani entchantresses in Janny Wurts' ''War of Light and Shadow'' series find a random baby with green eyes, who looks as though he might grow up to look sort of like Arithon...and cast a spell on him as he grows up so that he looks exactly like Arithon. As Arithon is considered rather like the Antichrist...things do not work out well for that kid.
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''The Mad King'', Barney Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A, is taken for the title king. In their defense, the king had been imprisoned for ten years, while a boy, and so they were going by the description. Still...
{{quote|
''Whereupon the storekeeper turned hastily back into his shop, leaving Barney Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A., to wonder if all the inhabitants of Lutha were afflicted with a mental disorder similar to that of the unfortunate ruler.
** It becomes a bit less improbable when you know that Barney's mother was a runaway princess of Lutha — it was why Barney came specifically to that country on his vacation — so, as in ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', the king and Barney were cousins in some degree.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* In the last two [[
* [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s ''[[Darkover]]'' universe has a principle that everything except the psychic matrix stones has one exact duplicate somewhere in the universe; a couple of the novels have people locating their doubles for plot purposes. In another book, a Terran who simply happens to look extremely similar to a Darkovan nobleman is kidnapped by mistake.
* The protagonist/narrator of ''Don Quixote, U.S.A.'' is a Peace Corps Volunteer who, once he puts on some muscle and grows a beard that hides his rather weak chin, looks practically identical to the [[Fidel Castro]]-style revolutionary leader on [[Banana Republic|San Marcos]]. He ''accidentally'' takes over the revolution and {{spoiler|brings lasting democracy and prosperity}}.
== Live-Action TV ==
* An ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' special featured an American Mafia boss who looked exactly like Del.
* At least four ''[[
** In ''The Enemy of the World'', the Second Doctor was a dead ringer for [[Villain
** In ''The Massacre'', the First Doctor was a dead ringer for the Abbot of Ambroise.
** In the Fifth Doctor story ''Black Orchid'', Nyssa was a dead ringer for Ann Talbot.
*** And these are all cases of a [[Human Alien]] being a dead ringer for a human.
* In Mexican telenovela ''La Ursupadora'', [[The Vamp|villainess]] Paola is thrilled to meet
* On an episode of ''[[VIP]]'' , a terrorist organization spent months searching for a Valerie Irons lookalike so that they could frame the real one for their rather far-reaching crime against humanity. Not only did they find one, they found one who was surprisingly willing to join up with them and do it; clearly the writers were depending on serious [[Suspension of Disbelief]] by viewers.
* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' had Meg (a harlot), Diana (a princess) and Leah (a priestess) who all happened to look like Xena. In addition to all of them having being confused for Xena at some point, there were also stories in which they were being confused for each other ''before'' Xena arrived on the scene!
** Lucy Lawless also had two ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' roles that were not Xena ''or'' the doppelgangers from her own show. Both - an Amazon and Lyla - predated Xena. After Xena's own show got started, [[Lampshade Hanging|Salmoneus compared the similarity between Lyla and Xena for Hercules]].
* In ''[[
* Featured in, believe it or not, ''[[Green Acres]]'', when a criminal who looks exactly like Oliver Douglas comes to town.
* Used in an episode of ''[[Up Pompeii!]]'' where the plot revolved around a visit from Caesar who looked identical to Frankie Howerd's roman slave Lurcio. As with everything in this show, the fact that Frankie Howerd was playing two separate characters was heavily lampshaded, with constant references by Howerd to the audience about his versatility in playing two characters and many occasions where Howerd would come in the wrong costume and have to change rapidly.
* ''[[
** As did the identical-to-Ginger but [[Hollywood Homely]] woman who ended up on the island, got a makeover, {{spoiler|and stole Ginger's identity when returning alone to the 'States.}}
** And we also see the impostor who was living as Thurston Howell III before falling off of a yacht and washing up on the Isle.
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* Similarly to the ''[[Friends]]'' example, on an episode of ''[[Frasier]]'', Daphne goes out with essentially a clone of Niles. Like Rachel, Daphne doesn't notice; unlike Ross, Niles ''does'' and is very pissed.
** Actually, Niles doesn't notice for some time and goes around noting what a pretentious fop the clone is - it takes Martin and Frasier to point out the obvious to him before he gets it. Even then, it takes a time. THEN he's pissed.
{{quote|
** Likewise, Frasier himself once goes out with a woman who very strongly resembles his late ''mother,'' in both the way she looks and the way she acts. He is the only one who doesn't notice: when he finally does, he breaks it off because it's all just too damn awkward.
* ''[[The Brady Bunch]]''. In "Two Petes in a Pod," Peter meets his exact double in school. Wacky hijinx ensue.
* In ''[[Primeval]]'' the character of Claudia Brown has a [[Dropped a Bridge
* ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'': In an early episode called ''Deadlock,'' Harry Kim is killed and an alternate version is drafted in from another universe where it was the rest of the crew that died. This means that for the bulk of the series the person we see as Harry Kim is an
** In the episode proper, the ship was duplicated by a [[Negative Space Wedgie]], and both Voyagers were equally 'ours.' Where the extra mass came from is anybody's guess. The other-dimension thing is a [[Retcon]] that exists only in a non-canon novel Echoes, which does address the fact that Harry ''has'' long felt as if he's taking another man's place. Apparently, a lot of versions of the starship ''Voyager'' had been through the experience, meaning only every ''second'' dimension has a version of the ship.
*** The double was created by some odd energy wave, 'twinning' the Voyager, and presumably the extra mass came from the initial energy wave. Also, continuity is nodded to throughout the series in that Naomi Wildman was an infant who died during childbirth on one ship, and was brought along with the other Harry Kim. In a later episode involving some odd [[Negative Space Wedgie]], Harry and Naomi are unaffected due to them not being entirely 'in-sync' with the dimension around them.
* There is an episode of ''[[The Monkees]]'' in which Micky gets in a bit of trouble due to looking absolutely identical to a dangerous gangster wanted by the police.
* ''[[The Nanny]]'' loves this. In one episode, Maxwell dates a woman who looks and acts just like Fran. And neither Fran nor Maxwell ever realize the similarity. Then on another occasion, C.C. dates a man who looks and acts just like Niles, which makes Niles {{spoiler|hopelessly jealous.}}
* This trope is the pilot episode of ''[[Sister, Sister]]''. Tia and Tamera meet each other in the mall. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
** Of course, they end up being twin sisters [[Separated
* In ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', Stephen's Doppelganger takes over during one of his Better Know A District Segments.
** He seems to have quite a few of these.
** Don't forget Esteban Colberto.
* Jack from ''[[30 Rock
** As does the Hulu alien...
* [[The Mighty Boosh|The Flighty Zeus]].
* ''[[
** {{spoiler|They finally saw Barney's doppelganger. It turned out to be Lily's fertility expert.}}
* In a gag for Conan-era ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', the back-seat rows (the ones you never see from the cameras) are decided to not get any love - so they have huge bodybuilders march out and flex for the back row. One looked ''exactly'' like one of the cast members. Down to the glasses.
* One episode of ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[The X-Files]]''. Done as one of the many [[He Is Not My Boyfriend]] gags in "The Rain King." Scully and Mulder arrive at a TV station and are at first assumed to be the married couple about to appear on the program. When the real couple arrive they look like country hick versions of the two FBI agents.
** Not to mention season seven's "Fight Club", which had this trope as its central plot. The [[Cold Open]] of that episode has a pair of FBI agents investigating the mysterious events, and it takes a couple minutes of dialogue before the camera shows their faces and reveals that they are two strangers who just happen to look and sound a lot like Mulder and Scully.
* In the ''[[Monk]]'' episode "Mr. Monk is Someone Else," Adrian Monk and a contract killer look almost identical.
* Janet from ''[[Two Pints of Lager and
* Miner and mountain climber [[Ultra Seven|Jiro Satsuma]] to Dan Moroboshi.
* There's an episode of ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' where Bilko turns out to have a double. They never meet until the final scene but they keep getting mistaken for each other and much [[Hilarity Ensues]].
** Another episode involved Bilko promising a Bing Crosby concert to the troops. Unfortunately Bing was late to arrive so Bilko tried to placate the troops by passing off as Bing a soldier who happened to be a lookalike. The double couldn't sing, however, with his only talent being able to recite Longfellow's poem ''The Wreck of the Hesperus.'' Bing saved the day by arriving at the end of the
* ''[[The Incredible Hulk (TV series)|The Incredible Hulk]]'': It had one episode in which David Banner ran into someone who looked almost like him with the exception that his doppelganger was and looked a little bit older. The doppelganger, unfortunately, was a crook. Both parts were played by Bill Bixby.
* On ''[[Perfect Strangers]]'', following his break-up with Mary Ann, Balki happily declared to Larry and Jennifer that he was over her because he had met the woman of his dreams...and then promptly introduced them to a woman who ''looked exactly like Mary Ann''. The trope is then played twice when the foursome go out to dinner and encounter Mary Ann, who of course, is dating someone who looks just like Balki. Interestingly, they both immediately notice the similarities in each others partners, although of course, they don't see the similarities in their
* A strange case cropped up on ''[[All My Children]]''. Tad got [[Easy Amnesia]] and ended up in California, where he met Nola Orsini, who instantly recognized him as her long-lost son Ted. Ted had disappeared as a child, but Nola saw Tad and knew this was what Ted would grow up to look like. After a few years, Tad returned to Pine Valley and got his memory back. The following year, it turned out Nola was right. The real Ted showed up, and he looked ''exactly'' like Tad.
* In-universe example - Eric Szmanda from ''[[CSI]]'' & Jonathan Togo from [[CSI: Miami]] - [https://web.archive.org/web/20120307213420/http://totallylookslike.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/128899385224151431.jpg
* On ''[[
* When Diana Rigg left ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', it was stated that Emma Peel's husband had finally turned up alive. He looked exactly like Steed, leaving viewers to wonder how she dealt with ''that'' emotionally all the time they worked together.
* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' episode "The Schizoid Man" screws with Number Six's sense of identity by secretly conditioning him to alter his reactions, then introducing an Identical Stranger who's been trained to react the way Six is supposed to.
* [[Denshi Sentai Denziman|Denzi Blue]], [[Battle Fever J|Battle Kenya]] and ''[[Space Sheriff Gavan]]'' ([[Acting for Two|all played by]] Kenji Ohba) are treated as this when they are brought together in ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan:
== Radio ==
* In the [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] audio ''The Church And The Crown'', Peri is a dead ringer for ''Queen Anne of France'', and is accidentally kidnapped in place of the Queen, driving much of the plot.
== Theater ==
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* In ''[[A Flea In Her Ear]]'', faithful husband Victor and drunken porter Poche are absolutely identical.
* In ''[[Avenue Q]]'', Nicky searches for a boyfriend for his friend Rod (who secretly has a crush on him), and finds Ricky, who is almost identical to Nicky, right down to having the exact same voice, except that he's gay. Rod is overjoyed.
== Video Games ==
* Spoofed in ''[[
* You take this role in ''[[Infinite Undiscovery]]'' as Capell, who is mistaken for the hero of the land, Sigmund. It forms a major part of the plot.
* In the opening dialogue of ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
* In ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
** He didn't look exactly like Chappu, [http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy/images/9/96/Ffx-chappu.jpg just had a slight resemblance.]
* Happens in ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' with Luke and Asch. Later subverted when {{spoiler|it's revealed that Luke is actually a replica of Asch, and Asch is the "true" Luke}}.
* This leads to most of the plot in ''[[Leisure Suit Larry]] II'' when Larry mistakenly obtaining a microfiche when someone identical to him was suppose to and spending most of the game avoiding the KGB.
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep]]'' introduces Ventus, who is physically identical to Roxas. Somewhat justified in that {{spoiler|Ventus has been sleeping in Sora's heart for the past ten years, so the two of them do have some of a connection.}}
**
*** It could be that very fact that {{spoiler|caused Xehanort to select Terra for the [[Grand Theft Me]] in the first place. Terra's issues with his darkness might just have been icing on the cake, or perhaps the eggs in the cake batter...}}
* Another ''Star Ocean'' example: Ameena in ''[[Star Ocean: Till the End of Time]]'' looks ''exactly'' like Sophia. Despite being ''[[Human Aliens|from another planet entirely.]]'' Although, finding a twin is [[Fridge Logic|probably easier]] when your candidate pool is twice as large. Justified, {{spoiler|since they are both characters in an MMORPG, with, presumably, more limited character models/editing options than in the real world.}}
==Web
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', the medieval warlord [http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19980924 Lord Torgamous] looks exactly like modern day Torg (except for the beard).
** [[Subverted]] another time (perhaps also hinting at [[Identical Grandson]]). [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20011125
{{quote|
"Makes the story more dramatic, don't it?" }}
* ''[[
** Despite this, they have never met until after the friends of [//egscomics.com/comic/2013-03-27 both] began to mention the fact. From [//egscomics.com/comic/2007-10-13 the moment] it's pointed out first to [//egscomics.com/comic/party-019 the moment] when Justin sees it, those who know them both are rather shocked or confused by the "idea of connecting someone who dresses like that to Susan" (or [//egscomics.com/comic/2013-08-19 making] [[Puppy Dog Eyes]]). Though other details were [//egscomics.com/comic/2017-10-25 shocking] for themselves, too. When told about resemblance, they both wanted to meet, but had [//egscomics.com/comic/2017-09-04 similar anxiety attacks].
* ''[[Nedroid]]'': Over the course of the ongoing [[A Day in
** During an earlier arc Beartato [[It Makes Sense in Context|jumps into outer space]] and encounters an alien who looks exactly like his friend Reginald with a pair of antenna. It's then subverted when Space Reginald [http://nedroidcomics.livejournal.com/242619.html wipes some dirt off his face] and [http://nedroidcomics.livejournal.com/242873.html crawls out of the crater] he's standing in, revealing himself to be [[Nightmare Fuel|quite different]] from regular Reginald
* ''[[Brawl in
* ''[[Nintendo Acres]]'' has
* [[Akuma TH]] has the "Superhero" Mathman, who looks like the title character [[Clark Kenting|in a cape and a not particularly concealing mask]]. ''Everybody'' who sees Mathman assumes that he's actually Akuma, and neither of them is particularly convincing when denying it. However, the third annual World Spriter's Tournament showed that they were, in fact, separate people.
* ''[[Off White]]:'' A wolf pelt that looks like Iki, except with orange eyes instead of blue.
== Western Animation ==
* In one episode of ''[[The Fairly
* In an episode of
** In [[The Movie]], Bart doodles on a wanted poster with his family on it to prevent the owner of the store it was in from noticing it and calling the police and getting them arrested. A family resembling the modified picture ends up getting arrested after the store owner notices the poster.
** Another episode has Bart do a [[Prince and Pauper]] plot with a rich kid who looks just like him. At the same time Bart and his rich doppelganger meet, they also meet a guy who looks like a 30-year-old version of them; [[Beyond the Impossible|that guy has a wife who looks like a 30-year-old, female version of Milhouse]].
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*** The [[Recycled in Space]] version of the ''Flintstones'', ''[[The Jetsons]]'' had the exact same plot, with a random secret agent looking exactly like George Jetson.
** A similar plot to that first example is used in an episode where an alien sends androids down to Earth that not only happen to look exactly like Fred, but also [[Contrived Coincidence|"Yabba dabba" just happens to be all they can say]]. This episode has a happier ending where "Fred's" strange behavior is blamed on the diet he was on and he's taken off it, much to his delight.
* In one episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter and three
* In ''[[Code Lyoko]]''
* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'':
** In "No Weenies Allowed", what appears to be Spongebob with a dark hairpiece tries to gain entrance to the Salty Spitoon, even putting on a cool voice and "mysterious drifter" act that Reggie isn't convinced by. When he asks what Reggie's on about in a Spongebob-like voice, Reggie yanks his hair thinking he's caught him - at which point the real Spongebob appears wearing a rainbow clown wig. Not!Spongebob isn't particularly amused, and Reggie lets him in as an apology.
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'', "Chasing Rufus": There is a couple exactly identical to Kim and Ron only with a pair of glasses and shaggy mustache respectively.▼
** "Squidville" has Squidward move to Tentacle Acres to get away from Spongebob and Patrick and finds out that the area is ''populated'' with somewhat-identical strangers who are just as stuck-up and rude as he is. It's a dream come true for him... [[Be Careful What You Wish For|at first, anyway]]. Meanwhile, Spongebob and Patrick come to Tentacle Acres to offer Squidward an apology, only to [[Running Gag|confuse ''everyone else'' for the real Squidward]] - fittingly, the gag begins with Spongebob hugging someone who looks and dresses exactly like Squidward, but has a mustache.
* ''[[Class of 3000]]'', "Westley Side Story": The kids from Eastley school like exactly like our protagonists from Westley.▼
▲* ''[[Kim Possible]]''
* A trio of characters who look a lot like Catdog's nemesis appears as policemen in one episode of ''[[Cat Dog]]''.▼
▲* In ''[[Class of 3000]]''
▲* A trio of characters who look a lot like
* In
* One episode of ''The Famous Adventures of [[
* ''[[King Arthur and
* Colonel Chicken in ''[[Chowder]]'' (who looks exactly like Chowder but dressed like Colonel Sanders) was mistaken by Mung as a ploy to get him to bake schmeanut blutter flookies. Then Chowder comes in with his actual ploy while Colonel Chicken is confused at their resemblance.
** Another episode features Porridge, who looks exactly like Chowder except that he wears glasses and his fur is in a different shade of purple.
* ''[[
* In one episode of ''[[
* In ''[[The Weekenders]]'', Tony Tortallero looks almost identical to main character Tino Tonitini and says "Sure!" in almost the same voice. However, in neither of Tony's appearances does he ever say anything ''except'' "Sure!"
* An episode of ''[[Pepper Ann]]'' featured a girl and her family moving into town and they happened to look just like her and her family members with a few differences and having slightly difference names.
* On ''[[Rugrats]]'', Angelica is mistaken for the daughter of an Italian restaurant owner. As a [[Spoiled Brat]], she takes advantage of the situation.
* One episode of ''[[Josie and
* In
* Similarly to the Josie example, this happens to Kimber in an episode of ''[[Jem]]'' when she meets (you guessed it) a princess who looks just like her.
* An episode of ''[[
{{quote|Heathcliff: "There goes one heck of a good-looking cat!"}}
* The ''[[Top Cat]]'' episode "The Missing Heir".
* ''[[Jimmy Two
* [[South Park|Eric Cartman]] looks a lot like Marlon Brando... and a bit like Dakota Fanning.
* The animated [[Punky Brewster]] episode "Double Your Punky" had Glomer creating a clone of Punky from a photograph to keep him company at home while the real Punky was at a school picnic.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Disguise Tropes]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Doppelganger]]
[[Category:Acting for Two]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
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