14 actors who look just like their fictional parents
HBO and The WB
Hollywood often ignores genetics when it comes to casting family members in television shows or movies.
Actors are usually chosen due to character suitability and availability — which can make for difficult and almost frustrating viewing when fictional families look nothing alike.
But sometimes producers strike casting gold with actors who resemble each other enough to make audiences swear they're related.
From Alexis Bledel in "Gilmore Girls" to Rupert Grint in "Harry Potter," Insider has rounded up 14 actors who look just like their fictional parents.
Erin Murphy and Elizabeth Montgomery in 'Bewitched.'
ABC
It's clear "Bewitched" producers wanted Tabitha Stephens to share the same physical likeness to her fictional good witch mother Samantha when they cast Erin Murphy in 1966.
Murphy's sandy blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, and tanned complexion seems almost magically similar to Elizabeth Montgomery's.
All the children in 'The Brady Bunch.'
ABC
It's hard enough casting two people who resemble family members, but somehow "The Brady Bunch" managed to pick six kids.
The popular 70s comedy show about a blended American family not only saw the three girls and three boys of the family look like their respective fictional parents, Carol and Mike Brady, but also each other.
Marcia, Jan and Cindy easily passed as sisters, and same with the young men of the family — Greg, Peter and Bobby.
Rupert Grint with Julie Walters and Mark Williams in the 'Harry Potter' franchise.
Warner Brothers
It's obvious the main prerequisite to be cast as a Weasley in the "Harry Potter" movies is being a redhead.
Even so, natural ginger Rupert Grint, as Ron, still easily passed as the son of Molly (Julie Walters) and Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams).
Despite his movie parents needing a ginger dye job or wig, the trio also share similar alabaster skin and even mannerisms — cue goofy and horrified facial expressions.
But let's be frank, the whole Weasley clan looks like related, with or without magic.
Kristen Stewart with Jodie Foster in 'Panic Room.'
Columbia Pictures
Kristen Stewart looked just like Jodie Foster's mini-me when she was cast as her daughter in the 2002 thriller "Panic Room."
The women not only matched physically with their tomboyish clothing, auburn cropped hair and striking green eyes, but their expressions and voices sounded eerily similar.
Nia Vardalos and Lainie Kazan in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.'
IFC Films
The 2002 romantic comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" focused on family dynamics within a Greek family, so it was essential each character looked like they were related.
But the two which resembled each other the most was certainly dysfunctional mother and daughter Toula (Nia Vardalo) and Maria Portokolas (Lainie Kazan)
Despite Kazan being of Russian and Jewish descent, unlike Vardalo who is in fact Greek, the women both have voluminous brown hair, dark eyes and matching facial expressions.
Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham in 'Gilmore Girls.'
The WB
"Gilmore Girls" chose well when they cast Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as the close-knit pop-culture experts Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.
Both Graham and Bledel naturally possess several similar physical qualities — most obviously their piercing blue eyes and long chocolate brown hair.
Their facial expressions also often mimic each other, just like their fast-talking phrases.
It's hard to imagine anyone else playing Bledel and Graham's roles.
Penn Badgley and Matthew Settle in 'Gossip Girl.'
The CW
Penn Badgley not only made a convincing "Gossip Girl," but the actor was also a good fit as Rufus Humphrey's son, Dan.
Both actors share similar dark and voluminous hair and are of similar heights. And later on, when Badgley grows a little facial hair he looks even more like his fictional father.
Sister Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) on the other hand, with her long blonde locks and blue eyes, looks nothing like either of them.
Blake Lively, Kelly Rutherford and Caroline Lagerfelt in 'Gossip Girl.'
The CW
Somehow "Gossip Girl" managed to cast three generations of women who all looked similar.
Not only did Blake Lively, as Serena Van de Woodsen, strike quite the resemblance to her fictional mom Lily due to their wavy blonde locks, but even facially, Lily looked just like her mom Celia 'CeCe' Rhodes.
Joseph Pupo and Cynthia Nixon in 'Sex and the City.'
Warner Bros. Pictures
It's hard to imagine Cynthia Nixon as anything other than a redhead, but the natural blonde actually dyed her hair to play Miranda in the "Sex and the City" franchise.
And with Nixon's bright red do, natural ginger Brady is just the apple of his fictional mom's eyes.
The Hobbes mother and son duo also both have sparkling blue eyes and porcelain skin.
Cole and Dylan Sprouse with Kim Rhodes in 'The Suite Life of Zac and Cody.'
Disney Channel
It would be cheating to say Zac and Cody look related — as they are identical twins of course — but Disney certainly took into account the pair also looking like their "Suite Life" mom Carey.
Both Cole and Dyan Sprouse and Kim Rhodes' had comparable blonde dos back in 2008, with the boys' shaggy hair and Kim Rhodes' edgy pixie cut.
Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep in 'Mamma Mia: The Movie!'
Universal Pictures
Put Amanda Seyfriend and Meryl Streep together and the pair hardly look alike, but as Donna and Sophie Sheridan in "Mamma Mia: The Movie," they make the perfect mother-daughter singing duo.
Meryl wore long blonde extensions as Sophie's mother which complemented Seyfried's natural beachy waves.
And with their bright blue eyes, tans, and laidback summery clothing and accessories, you wouldn't bat an eyelid if you saw them enjoying a cocktail together in Greece.
Johnny Depp with Keith Richards in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' and 'On Stranger Tides'
Walt Disney Studios
During the first two "Pirates of the Caribean" movies, critics and audiences went on about how much Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow reminded them of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
So playing into fan theories, director Gore Verbinksi convinced Richards to join the cast as the eccentric, dreadlocked pirate's dad — Captain Teague.
And with their matching eyeliner, iconic dreads, and archetypal pirate hats, it made the fictional father and son all the more convincing.
Mackenzie Foy with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.'
Summit Entertainment
"Twilight" fans certainly wouldn't have been happy if Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's daughter Renesmee didn't look like her vampiric parents.
Fortunately, producers picked well when they cast Mackenzie Foy, as the 11-year-old had pale skin, coffee-colored eyes and long dark hair — just like Bella and Edward.
Willow Shields and Paula Malcomson in 'The Hunger Games' franchise.
Lionsgate Fims
It's explained in the "The Hunger Games" novels that dark-haired Katniss Everdeen physically takes after her deceased father, while younger sister Primrose resembles her fair-skinned, blonde mom.
And the film adaptation certainly followed author Suzanne Collins's character descriptions to a tee when they cast Willow Shields and Paula Malcomson as Primrose and Mrs. Everdeen.
Read the original article on Insider
