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25 Side-by-Side Photos of Real People and the Celebrities Who Played Them On-Screen
Emma Stone or Billie Jean King? (We can't tell either.)
By RACHEL EPSTEIN and BRIDGET BURNS
Fox Searchlight; Getty
Some of these doppelgängers are scary accurate and others you're just like, "Are these supposed to be the same person?" Either way, imagine being cool enough to have a movie made about you. Ahead, 25 photos of real people right next to the actors who played them in films.
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1
Emma Stone and Billie Jean King
Stone portrays legendary tennis star Billie Jean King in the upcoming movie Battle of the Sexes. "Playing Billie Jean was a bit of a game changer," she tellsMarie Claire. She also gained 15 pounds of muscle for the role. Fifteen. Pounds.
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2
Will Smith and Muhammad Ali
Will Smith in his prime. Smith played Muhammad Ali in the 2001 film—wait for it—Ali.
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3
Selma Blair and Kris Jenner
Blair played Jenner as her pre-Keeping Up with the Kardashians self in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
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4
James Franco and Aron Ralston
Franco played daredevil Aron Ralston in the 2010 thriller 127 Hours, which tells the story of how Ralston was trapped in a canyon after a boulder fell on his arm.
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5
Jennifer Lawrence and Joy Mangano
They could be related, right? On the right is Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop, whose story is featured in the 2015 film Joy.
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6
Natalie Portman and Jackie Kennedy
Portman played Jackie in the 2016 film of the same name, which recounts Jackie's life after her husband's assassination.
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7
Sandra Bullock and Leigh Anne Tuohy
Michael Oher, the homeless teen and star of the 2009 film The Blind Side, admits the movie has negatively affected his football career. On the other hand, Bullock totally nails the role of his real-life adoptive mother Leigh Anne Tuohy.
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8
Daniel Day Lewis and Abraham Lincoln
We're really not sure if Abraham Lincoln was actually raised from the dead for this film, but Daniel Day Lewis doubles as the former president in the 2012 drama Lincoln.
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9
Helen Mirren and Queen Elizabeth II
None other than Dame Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 drama The Queen.
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10
Helen Mirren and Queen Elizabeth II
But did she like how she was portrayed? *sips tea*
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11
Taraji P. Henson and Katherine Johnson
Taraji P. Henson played the iconic yet often forgotten NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson in the 2017 film Hidden Figures.
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12
Octavia Spencer and Dorothy Vaughn
Dorothy Vaughn was NASA's first African-American manager. Vaughn is one of the three main women in the 2017 film Hidden Figures, in which she was played by award-winning actress Octavia Spencer.
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13
Janelle Monáe and Mary Jackson
Jackson's the third women in Hidden Figures known for her impeccable engineering skills at NASA. Monáe says she was "honored" to play the role of Jackson.
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14
Charlize Theron and Aileen Wuornos
Theron plays serial killer prostitute Aileen Wuornos in the 2003 biographical drama film Monster. Wuornos was executed in Florida in 2002 after killing six men.
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15
Ashton Kutcher and Steve Jobs
Kutcher is the ultimate doppelgänger portraying former Apple CEO Steve Jobs in the 2013 film Jobs.
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16
Dev Patel and Saroo Brierley
Based on a true story, Lion details the life of five-year-old boy Saroo Brierley, who falls asleep on a train and loses his family. Patel plays Brierley and even met him IRL.
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17
Julia Roberts and Elizabeth Gilbert
Julia Roberts plays Gilbert in the 2010 film Eat Pray Love, based on Gilbert's best-selling novel.
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18
Jesse Eisenberg and Mark Zuckerberg
Eisenberg portrayed the onscreen version of Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, and Zuckerberg was totally not happy about how it turned out.
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19
Will Smith and Chris Gardner
We're not crying, you're crying. Will Smith played real-life single father Chris Gardner, whom Smith mirrored in 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness. Smith's real son Jaden Smith played Gardner's son in the movie.
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20
Mark Wahlberg and Vince Papale
Wahlberg plays Eagles football player Vince Papale in the 2006 film Invincible.