Classic Movie Stars Look-Alikes – Part 3

So, this has already come to a third installment of my 'look-alike post series'. Really, I could just keep on going. There are so many! Oh, well, here they are:

Lauren Bacall vs. Lizabeth Scott

Lauren Bacall (left) and Lizabeth Scott (right)

Their staggering, sultry beauty and husky voices were the most obvious similarities between these two popular film noir actresses which caused them to be often mistaken for one another, then as well as now. But it was when Scott was cast opposite Bacall's famous on- and off-screen partner, Humphrey Bogart, in Dead Reckoning (1947) - and looking unmistakably like Bacall - that it all got just a little bit more confusing. Critics and fans noted the likeness as well upon the film's release and despite the factual, significant differences between the two ladies (e.g. Lauren having more feline features and different accent than Liz), they actually ended up sharing many 'things' throughout their careers:

When the film was finally released and the reviews came in, they revealed that most critics never caught the differences in the accent, diction and timbre of Scott and Bacall.[122][123][124] Bacall's accent is pre-WW2, upper-middle-class New York metropolitan, often mistaken for Mid-Atlantic due to the broad "A" and non-rhotic pronunciation of words containing "R."[125] Unlike Scott's inherited low tone, Bacall originally had a naturally high tone with a nasal timbre and fast tempo, but trained herself to pitch her voice lower and slow down her delivery.[126] Despite Bacall's "mannered toughness" and Scott's "breathy theatricality,"[15] when Bacall did the voice-over for a 1990s cat-food commercial,[127] some people thought it was Scott.[128][129] But more notable than any actual similarity between Bacall and Scott are the same people, institutions and events that would affect to varying degrees their careers: the Second World War, the Walter Thornton Agency, Harper's Bazaar, Irving Hoffman, Charles Feldman and the Famous Talent Corporation, Humphrey Bogart, the Hollywood columnist community—and eventually the "Second Red Scare" (1947–1954).[130] Also, both actresses made Bogart's personal list of the nine "most potent" kissers "in movie love scenes" he filmed with.[131] (from Wikipedia)

vs. 

At first sight, Liz could easily be mistaken for
Lauren here!

Joan Collins vs. Ophelia Lovibond

Joan Collins

Ophelia Lovibond

Looking into the face of Ophelia Lovibond is like looking at a young Joan Collins! They share so many features - besides both being British beauties - one would think they share bloodlines! I've also noticed Ophelia having a lot of the same mannerisms in her ways of acting on screen as Joan did.

Joan Collins

Ophelia Lovibond

Furthermore, one could include Elizabeth Taylor here, but I'll leave that for you to judge:

Elizabeth Taylor

James Mason vs. Sam Neill

James Mason

Sam Neill

Another duo worth comparing is James Mason and Sam Neill. Clarissa Kaye, Mason's second wife, reportedly claimed credit back in the late 1970s for 'discovering' Sam Neill - "whom she found strikingly reminiscent of her husband in his youth" (source: Wikipedia). Do you agree? There're certainly some features and manners that can be seen as alike between the two handsome actors. However, I've always found an innate nervousness or even insecurity about Mason and/or his acting, however slight it was, and though there's nothing necessarily bad to be said about that, it juxtaposes the collected coolness I find Sam Neill often displays on screen. I might be wrong, it's simply a feeling. Neill actually makes me think more of Dan Stevens' disturbingly calmly-cool attitude - to the point where one questions whether he's a charmer or a killer - in the thriller "The Guest" (2014). A fact which is somewhat ironic, since Dan has practically cemented the sweet and nervous next-door-boy-type through his portrayal of Matthew Crawley in "Downton Abbey". To say this 'new Dan' came as a shock is an understatement, indeed! (Btw, "The Guest" comes highly recommendable).

Dan Stevens

Samantha Eggar vs. Katharine Ross

Samantha Eggar

Katharine Ross

This must be a no-brainer! These two talented, copper-haired actresses pretty much established the standards of natural beauty during the '60s - and besides their different accents - one could easily mistake them for one another.

Samantha Eggar

Katharine Ross

However, one could also contest that Samantha resembles English actress, Diana Rigg, more:

Diana Rigg

Tony Randall vs. David Hyde Pierce

Tony Randall

David Hyde Pierce

This should be a no-brainer as well! The similarity isn't so much physical as it is acting style-wise... Back in 2003, Pierce was cast in "Down with Love", a parody/homage to the old sex comedies of the '60s, starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson and of course, the forever-gooseberry in the romance, Tony Randall; Pierce's part.

David Hyde Pierce and Sarah Paulson in "Down With Love"

Doris Day and Tony Randall in "Pillow Talk"

Of course, Randall and Pierce doesn't look that much alike (Pierce resembles his 'TV brother', Kelsey Grammar, to a fault in "Frasier"), but Pierce's nervous, insecure characteristics, pathetic-sarcastic voice of tone and general comical behavior and baffled expressions are so like Randall's it's uncanny! And though Pierce is said to have studied Randall's acting for the role in "Down With Love", I would claim that Pierce carried the very same characteristics way before, during the "Frasier"-years. Anyway, it truly was brilliantly casted whether it was intentionally done or not. 

Here the two gentlemen are seen together (Tony, in fact, had a small part in "Down With Love" as well):

David Hyde Pierce (left) and Tony Randall (right)

To be continued...