Double Take: Doppelgangers from Hollywood to Hengdian

Yes, this is a total fluff post (okay, most of them are anyway, but this one especially!), but I needed a space to purge my (very) meandering pedantic thoughts and wistful, nostalgic reflections!

I grew up mostly watching Western TV, but my television diet over the last several years has basically become 99 percent Chinese and Korean dramas. Every once in a while, I’ll come across an Asian actor whose overall looks, appearance from certain angles, or mannerisms remind me of a Hollywood counterpart I used to watch — this can be incredibly distracting! Less often, I’ll also come across a new Hollywood face that reminds me of a C- or K-drama actor.

So here are just a few doppelgangers that spring to mind, along with my wandering, tangential musings. Am I the only one that sees the resemblances?

Miles Wèi Zhémíng (魏哲鸣) and a young Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poets Society, House)

I am dating myself, but I was obsessed with Dead Poets Society when I was young and bawled by eyes out over Robert Sean Leonard’s tragic character. I lost count how many times I watched the film, drawing inspiration from Robin William’s John Keating. It’s also where I was first introduced to Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles (The Good Wife) — yup, those guys in that Taylor Swift video.

Dead Poets led me to a string of early 1990s, male-centric, coming-of-age period films about young men facing systemic prejudices, challenges, and the horrors of a generation: School Ties, Newsies, Swing Kids. These films featured some of the earliest works by Leonard, Brandan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Chris O’Donnell, Anthony Rapp, Noah Wyle, and others before they became successful film and TV stars. The movies were generally panned by critics, but the social messages (however poorly executed in hindsight), soundtracks — and let’s be honest, eye-candy — appealed to my teenage self.

But I digress! All this to say, these films made a deep impression on me decades ago and as much as I’ve enjoyed several of Wei Zheming’s dramas, I am always a bit distracted by the way he reminds me of Robert Sean Leonard.

Leo Luō Yúnxī (罗云熙) and Levon Hawke (Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke’s son)

Speaking of Dead Poets Society, Ethan Hawke was my teenage celebrity crush for years after he stood on that desk and said, “O Captain! My captain!” I interviewed him almost exactly a decade ago this week when he came to Toronto for the city’s international film festival to promote his lovely documentary about pianist Seymour Bernstein, Seymour: An Introduction. I think I floated on air for days after. I’ve interviewed a few celebrities over the years, but his was by far my favourite for his thoughtful responses and kind interaction with Bernstein during the interview, which took place over lunch. Robin Williams had just passed away a month earlier, so I asked about his time with Williams. “I think the sadness with Robin is this person that brought the world so much joy, and to have it be revealed that we didn't do the same for him … When we're young, it's easier to find mentors and teachers and Dead Poets Society is about that. It's about young people with a great mentor who's telling them to hear their own voice: ‘What will your verse be?’”

I was reading an article about his daughter Maya Hawke recently when I came across a photo of Levon Hawke that made me think of Luo Yunxi — the lanky dancer’s build, the elongated facial features.

Xǔ Kǎi (许凯) and a young Leonardo DiCaprio (You know, that film actor who’s done stellar work, but is infamously known for being permanently too immature to date anyone older than 25)

Maybe it’s the hair? Or the round baby face? Or the hint of a player vibe? I don’t know, but from the first moment I saw Xu Kai, I thought of a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Unfortunately, the resemblance doesn’t extend to acting skills. I haven’t had the urge to watch a DiCaprio film in years, but he was always a pretty great actor in the films I did see many years ago. As much as I enjoyed Ancient Love Poetry, I confess, I generally find Xu Kai’s acting rather bland. (Though I don’t even mind bland, if the story is good. And even bland can have its own weird appeal once in a while!)

Landy Li (李兰迪) and Hayden Panettiere (Heroes)

One of my drama addict friends really likes Landy Li, but I haven’t been able to warm up to her, despite liking a few of the dramas I’ve seen her in. Her resting face (and maybe the shape of her lips) reminded me of Hayden Panettiere somehow, although the similarities felt less striking once I actually started looking at photos of the actresses side by side. Panettiere rose to fame in the NBC show Heroes, which my husband and I loved watching. (The show, about ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary powers, premiered in 2006, a couple of years before superheroes really took off with Marvel’s Iron Man and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and lasted four seasons.)

Vengo Gāo Wěiguāng (高伟光) and Peter Facinelli (Twilight)

This resemblance only hit me because I was watching Gao Weiguang in Snowfall (冰雪谣 Bīngxuě Yáo), and his vampire-like character reminded me of Carlisle Cullen (played by Peter Facinelli) in the Twilight Saga films, both in temperament, father figure-like role, and appearance. I don’t think the similarities really exist outside these characters, however, though I haven’t watched much from either actor to have a sense of their tics and mannerisms.

While I still see the resemblances, this purging exercise and trip down memory lane actually helped me see more differences and dilute some of those distracting similarities!

As I was writing this, I was commenting to my drama addict friends about Zhāng Wǎnyì’s (张晚意) voice in the costume drama, Are You The One (柳舟记 Liǔ Zhōu Jì), which just finished airing. To my ears, he has a distinctive voice and delivery style that sounds very reminiscent to Luō Jìn (罗晋). So as much as I enjoyed the drama and Zhang Wanyi’s portrayal, that echo of another voice was always in the back of my mind. (I have no plans to do an audio comparison though!) Meanwhile, one of my friends thought Zhang Wanyi reminded her of Bái Jìngtíng (白敬亭). I really don’t see it at all, but maybe others do as well?

If you want more double takes, my friend Wuulongcha did a post a few years back about the C- and K-drama celebrity look-alikes that caught her attention. Check out her post too!