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30 Times The Younger Version Of A Character Was Played By The Original Actor’s Kid
When people say you look like a spitting image of your mom, you may just take it as a compliment, you may try and argue it, or you may tell them, “duh, she’s my mom!” But some famous parents' kids clearly won the hereditary lottery and got their genes randomized so that they look just like them.
And when it comes to the child of a famous actor, casting directors need not look further when searching for a person to play their younger selves. So today, we are going to look at some of the most famous movies where generational resemblance has made parents and kids share roles on the big screen.
From Mila Jovovich's character played by her daughter in Resident Evil to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson playing his wrestler father in That ‘70s Show, some of these will surely surprise you!
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#1
Zoe Perry plays Mary Cooper, Sheldon's mom, on Young Sheldon, a role her mom Laurie Metcalf originated on The Big Bang Theory.
Sasy 4 years ago
I had no idea they were related, every time I watched young Sheldon I was amazed at how much she had nailed the mannerisms of the original actress.
Jane Doe 4 years ago
I went to IMDB during the first season hoping the trivia would explain how much Young Sheldon’s mom worked with Laurie Metcalf to nail the role like that. I blurted OH! That explains it!
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ZombieGirl 4 years ago
omg I love this one...I had no idea, and I always felt like she did such a good job playing the younger mother. Well, DNA helped lol ;)
Vivian Orr 4 years ago
Omgosh I love this. My very favorite sitcom was The Big Bang Theory and I adored Mary. I never knew she was Laurie Metcalfs daughter. Just makes it that much more special.
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
I’ve never seen Young Sheldon but that’s pretty cool to me either way! Laurie Metcalf is a fun actress to watch.
Let’s All Just Try And Be Decent 4 years ago
NO WAY. I had no idea! And wondered why it was so perfect!! They kept that quiet! Amazing
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#2
For Red's age 20 mugshot in The Shawshank Redemption, they photographed Morgan Freeman's son, Alfonso.
Two_rolling_black_eyes 4 years ago
He's actually a time traveller. Its why he looks the same age in 1970s Electric Company, 1989 Driving Miss Daisy, and 50% of film's US presidents in the last 20 years. You never see him between movies because he just time skips between shoots.
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Dre Mosley 4 years ago
He's also in the movie. When Andy is coming to the prison, there's a guy who says something about "reeling in" the new fish, while making a reeling motion with his hands. That's him.
Temma Tainow 4 years ago
The identical twin of Laverne C*x played her character in Orange is the New Black before she transitioned.
#3
On the wedding episode of 30 Rock, Tina Fey's daughter Alice Richmond played Liz Lemon in a childhood flashback.
ChickyChicky 4 years ago
Tina's husband is the composer for the music on 30 Rock and has a recurring background character role.
justin case 4 years ago
Jeff's music is so perfect with her writing, on 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt.
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Two_rolling_black_eyes 4 years ago
Even fox news still gets them confused. Just last month, they had to re-apologize for using the wrong old photo of Tina for Sarah. If you google Sarah on image search, Tina will show up on the first page.
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#4
In Evening, Mamie Gummer played the 1950s version of Lila Wittenborn Ross, while her mother Meryl Streep played the present-day version.
#5
James Cromwell's son John played a younger version of his father's character, Arthur Arden, in American Horror Story: Asylum.
#6
O'Shea Jackson Jr. played his dad Ice Cube in the biopic Straight Outta Compton.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 4 years ago
weird, I was thinking the exact opposite o_O
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#7
Susan Sarandon and her daughter, Eva Amurri Martino, play the same role as Mary McGarricle in That's My Boy.
Vicky Z 4 years ago
She has played the younger version of her mother quite a few times i think!
Two_rolling_black_eyes 4 years ago
Mom pops up as cameos in her daughter's stuff too. There's a scene in Californication during a flash-forward sequence where David Duchovny's character has a picture of Susan in the background.
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Jane Doe 4 years ago
I thought they did a bit of CGI wit Susan Sarandon, her daughter looked so much like her.
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#8
Michael Gandolfini reprised his dad James's role as Tony Soprano in the upcoming The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark.
Lily Mae Kitty 4 years ago
I grew up with him in NJ. He was really a sweet guy and stayed in touch with all his friends, always came to the reunions. We were in the same class from 11 on.
Tequila4Two 4 years ago
I hope he isn't only cast because he is his son, but also because he has some acting skills.
Requiem 4 years ago
they wanted them to look the same, this isnt f*****g nepotism
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Camilla Koutsos 4 years ago
I saw the trailer and did a double take. The resemblance seemed uncanny. Not so much now :)
MacDudu 4 years ago
Well Gandolfini senior wasn't exactly an oil painting
Load More Replies... #9
In Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Indio Falconer Downey played the 9-year-old version of his dad Robert Downey Jr.'s character Harry Lockhart.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Really? Didn't know that - this movie is severely underrated! (not for the kid, but in general)
Sam Chilton 4 years ago
If he was Robert Downey III, then RDJ would automatically become Robert Downey II and that would throw everyone off.
#10
Mark Harmon's son, Sean Harmon, played a young Gibbs a few times on NCIS.
Dorothy Parker 4 years ago (edited)
I see a lot of Pam Dawber too. He has very attractive parents.
Dave P 4 years ago
back in the early 90's Mark Harmon was ranked as one of the sexiest actors. Then his career collapsed until NCIS brought it back.
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#11
Max Winkler portrays a young Barry Zuckerkorn in three episodes of Arrested Development Season Four. Max Winkler is the son of Henry Winkler, the actor who plays the older version of the same character
Elwood Schwartz 4 years ago
He looks nothing like his dad on happy days. He doesn't really resemble him at all. Chin, nose, etc...
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#12
Melissa McCarthy’s daughter, Vivian Falcone, played the younger version of Lydia in Thunder Force
Kendra Miller 4 years ago (edited)
It may not be a masterpiece, at points it was cringy, but overall it was just good fun.
Load More Replies... #13
Mark Sheppard played a younger version of his father (William Morgan Sheppard) In Doctor Who.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
He was also on Firefly! That guy got around in the universe ;-)
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Olivier Caissy 4 years ago
They did this a few times. In an episode of NCIS they played a character from Ducky’s past, and present.
Daniel Marsh 4 years ago
Although we were introduced to the older version first, the younger version was the far more major character. He looks just enough like his father that you could by him being a younger version, but not so much like him that finding out who he is still works as an interesting reveal.
Daniel Gilroy 4 years ago
Somehow I never realized those were the same character... but that was a weird timey-wimey in Doctor Who.
#14
Young T’Chaka on Black Panther is played by actor John Kani’s real son Atandwa Kani.
#15
Ever Anderson played the younger version of Alicia Marcus, her mother Mila Jovovich's character, in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
#16
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson played his wrestler father, Rocky, on a 1999 episode of That ‘70s Show.
#17
On an episode of Orange Is the New Black, Dasany Kristal Gonzalez played 14-year-old Daya, who's played by her mom Dascha Polanco as an adult, in a flashback.
Sally Appleton 4 years ago
Weirdly worded. Basically Dasany Gonzalez (on the left) plays a young version of her mother's character, Daya
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#18
C.J. Wallace played his father, rapper The Notorious B.I.G., as a child in Notorious.
Aria Whitaker 4 years ago (edited)
"Just came out"? That movie came out in 2009...12 years ago. CJ was 13 years old at the time. Also, Biggie died in 1997.
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#19
Michael Consuelos played the teenage version of Hiram Lodge, who's usually played by his dad Mark, in a flashback episode of Riverdale.
#20
Glenn Close’s daughter Annie Starke plays the younger version of Joan Castleman in The Wife.
LMS 4 years ago
Me too! I was amazed at her portrayal in Hillbilly Elegy. I didn't even know it was here for a long time.
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#21
Melissa Rivers played her mom Joan Rivers in Joy, a biopic about inventor Joy Mangano.
nicole veltri 4 years ago
She said she had to go to a dialogue coach her mom spoke so uniquely
ThePracticalSarcastic 4 years ago
i had no idea that was Melissa! I just thought it was a great doppelganger
Two_rolling_black_eyes 4 years ago
They always looked similar and as Melissa aged, she also accepted her mother's view of plastic surgery. Every year she looks more like Joan as the doctors tuck the same thing the same way. I'm not saying plastic surgery is wrong, just that the family resemblance is startling.
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#22
Quinn Dempsey Stiller voiced the younger version of Alex the lion, who's played by his dad Ben, in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
K Witmer 4 years ago
And Ben stiller was just saying Hollywood careers are based on meritocracy and not nepotism
Requiem 4 years ago (edited)
Well seeing as the fictional lions are the same lion. derpy derp. Never heard of jerry stiller playing his father in other shows?
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Colleen Garland 4 years ago
That's stinking cute. So's the boy. The Stiller's will last forever.
#23
James Paxton, Bill Paxton's son, played his dad's character in season 7 of Agents of Shield.
Randy Klefbeck 4 years ago
Bill Paxton is very much missed. He was brilliant in the film, "One False Move." Side note....saw him for the first time in the Cameron film "Terminator" alongside a classmate from U.C.I., who had the distinction of being the first to die, in what was known for that year as; "the action film with the highest body count." Bill lived on (presumably) in that scene shot at Griffith Park observatory in Los Angeles, by donating his clothes to the cyborg played by Arnold Swartzenegger.
#24
Lily Mo Sheen plays the child version of Selene in Underworld: Evolution. The grown-up version of Selene is played by her mother Kate Beckinsale.
Deltath Riylaan 4 years ago
She doesn't actually look much like her mother. Their noses are particularly different.
#25
Rosemary Harris And Jennifer Ehle In The Movie Sunshine
A real-life daughter and mother team of Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris playing the same character across a six-decade storyline in Sunshine.
Mimi M 4 years ago
Never thought of that, and you're right. I love Jennifer Ehle.
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Andrea Huber-Murphy 4 years ago
Is that where Ehle gets her presence, her charisma? She practically glowed in every scene in P&P!
Jods 4 years ago
Watch Jennifer in the Camomile Lawn. Also includes a guest appearance of Toby Stephans’ todger. Toby also happens to be the son of Dame Maggie Smith.
Grumble O'Pug 4 years ago
It’s on youtube, but the characters are just dreadful bed hoppers.
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#26
Vin Diesel’s Son, Vincent Sinclair, plays the youngest version of Dominic Toretto in Fast And Furious 9.
Sara Rodrigues 4 years ago
Interesting, I didn't think that they were father and son when I watched the movie. Perhaps they'll be more alike once the son grows older
Dre Mosley 4 years ago
The kid is more interesting to watch than his dad. Vin has the charisma of a rock.
Niki Norway 4 years ago
I used to play World of Warcraft with this guy... Though, he never talked, so that wasn't too fun.
#27
Mario Van Peebles wrote, produced, directed, and starred as his filmmaker father Melvin in the biopic Baadasssss!.
#28
Emilio Estevez played a younger Martin Sheen's character, Jed Bartlet, in a home movie on The West Wing.
Robert Bailey 4 years ago
I thought they did that before, had to look it up. They both played the same character in an 80s TV movie Nightbreaker.
#29
Sophia Loren played both her mother Romilda Villani and herself in Sophia Loren: Her Own Story.
Liset Vossen 4 years ago
This is the other way around right? Not two actresses playing one character, but one actress (Sophia Loren) as two characters (herself and her mother), if i understand correctly..
Lily Mae Kitty 4 years ago
it says right there that it's both Sophia Loren. They aren't showing us what her mother actually looked like.
Load More Replies... Deltath Riylaan 4 years ago
That's because they are the same... It's Sophia both times.
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#30
Former Phillies GM Rubén Amaro Jr. played his dad, former MLB player Rubén Amaro Sr., on two episodes of The Goldbergs.
#31
In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Willow Smith voiced the younger version of her mom Jada Pinkett Smith's character Gloria.
Aahzmandus Pervect 4 years ago
They look so similar that they voiced the same character in a cartoon?
tuzdayschild 4 years ago
The point of this post is that they share roles. Not so much that they look alike.
Load More Replies... #32
Alun Armstrong's and his real-life son Joe Armstrong starring in the BBC drama A Passionate Woma as Donald.
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What do you think ?
MizAdeleM 4 years ago
Siblings next: The storyline of Orange is The New Black had a flashback of Laverne C*x's character, Sophia, before she transitioned, played by her real-life twin brother.
MizAdeleM 4 years ago
Bored Panda had to censor the actress' last name? C O X. Not a swear word.
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Amritha Krishna 4 years ago
In the series "Dark", the actors playing 1986 and 2019 versions of Peter Doppler are son and father. And they're perfectly cast.
Neil Bidle 4 years ago
Breaking news: actors' children also look like their parents, it's not just "normal" children who do!
Suzanne Haigh 4 years ago
Is this their actual talent or just who they are which gets the parts? Seems to be rather a lot.......
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Carol Emory 4 years ago
In Death in Paradise, Danny John Jules son and daughter make an appearance. His daughter as the niece of Dwayne Myers girlfriend. And his son as a street kid stealing hubcaps that he later helps out.
Barbara Skolly 4 years ago
If i am ever famous my youngest daughter can play me but will need my oldest to be my body double. One has my face, the other my build lol.
Shary Bobbings 4 years ago
Not the young Maleficient, but the young Princess Aurora, because she was the only child actor not scared of her mom's costume
Load More Replies... MizAdeleM 4 years ago
Siblings next: The storyline of Orange is The New Black had a flashback of Laverne C*x's character, Sophia, before she transitioned, played by her real-life twin brother.
MizAdeleM 4 years ago
Bored Panda had to censor the actress' last name? C O X. Not a swear word.
Load More Replies... Amritha Krishna 4 years ago
In the series "Dark", the actors playing 1986 and 2019 versions of Peter Doppler are son and father. And they're perfectly cast.
Neil Bidle 4 years ago
Breaking news: actors' children also look like their parents, it's not just "normal" children who do!
Suzanne Haigh 4 years ago
Is this their actual talent or just who they are which gets the parts? Seems to be rather a lot.......
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 4 years ago
In Death in Paradise, Danny John Jules son and daughter make an appearance. His daughter as the niece of Dwayne Myers girlfriend. And his son as a street kid stealing hubcaps that he later helps out.
Barbara Skolly 4 years ago
If i am ever famous my youngest daughter can play me but will need my oldest to be my body double. One has my face, the other my build lol.
Shary Bobbings 4 years ago
Not the young Maleficient, but the young Princess Aurora, because she was the only child actor not scared of her mom's costume
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