Many of us wish we could be celebrities in another life — but perhaps that’s already the case for a rare few.
The Internet is going wild at the far-fetched thought that A-list celebrities of our time have actually been alive in years — or centuries — past, as vintage photos of their doppelganger ancestors have surfaced.
Alongside that, sleuths have spotted other strange old images — such as a painting from the Civil War era that includes a woman holding what appears to be a smartphone — that only add fuel to the conspiracy fire.
Whether or not the celebrities in question have access to time travel or are actually just ageless immortals remains unproven — but there is no doubt that these images from the past bear an uncanny resemblance.
Just take a look and you decide:
Matthew McConaughey in the 19th Century
Here’s what we love about this Matthew McConaughey theory — we get older, he stays the same age.
The “Free State of Jones” actor caused a stir after a photo surfaced of his 19th century imposter, Dr. Andrew Sanders — a pipe smoking bird watcher from Alabama in the 1800’s.
Sanders’ great grandson, Sanders Parker, first pushed the resemblance in a Reddit post six years ago titled “My Great Great Grandfather looks just like Matthew McConaughey.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, in the Photoshop age, that this isn’t altered but it really is straight-up original,” Parker said. “I think Redditors do pretty good detective work. They’d definitely find me out. And my family isn’t savvy enough to attempt that (a fraud).”
Greta Thunberg on the frontier
How dare you insist that climate activist Greta Thunberg was alive 124 years ago!
The young Swede who advocates for a better planet oddly resembles a girl in a black and white photo historians say was taken in 1898, when the Earth was much less subjected to the effects of carbon emissions.
Thunberg’s lookalike is seen with two other kids and what appears to be a dog as they labor on the frontier just before the turn of the century.
Interestingly enough, the mystery girl in the still image wears a braid like that of the young policy influencer of the modern day.
Keanu Reeves literally everywhere
Is there anything John Wick can’t do? It hasn’t escaped the notice of the Internet that Keanu Reeves has had many lookalikes throughout the course of history — dating back to King Charlemagne around 800 AD — and they have all been catalogued on the website keanuisimmortal.com.
He has also been compared to 19th and early 20th century French actor Paul Mountet and closely resembles a painting from the 1500s of a mysterious man whose name remains unknown.
Christopher Lloyd a vice president?
Maybe the doc really did go “Back to the Future” since the film’s star Christopher Lloyd looks eerily similar to former Vice President John C. Calhoun of the early 1800s.
One online animator even stitched together a convincing gif of Lloyd morphing into the VP who served presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.
Though, Lloyd has some competition here as online jokesters also compared Calhoun to the likes and looks of pro-wrestler Edge in addition to the blue bodied Beast from “X-Men.”
Nicolas Cage in the 1870’s
He stole the Declaration of Independence — and this guy’s looks.
“National Treasure” star Nicolas Cage was seen to mirror a Bristol, TN man alive in the 1870s, bringing shock and uproar online.
The 19th century look alike’s portrait was auctioned on eBay with the seller starting the bidding at $1M, the Daily Mail reported in 2011.
“Nicholas Cage is a Vampire,” the eBay page read, referencing the actor’s lead role in the 1988 horror comedy “Vampire’s Kiss.”
Ironically enough, the second “National Treasure” installment, “Book of Secrets” revolves around Cage’s character clearing the name of his great grandfather, who was framed for masterminding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Rupert Grint and a Scottish painter
Looks like Ron Weasley did learn a thing or two Hogwarts.
“Harry Potter” actor Rupert Grint was seen to be nearly identical with Scottish painter Sir David Wilkie, who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“Reincarnation?” asked Nigerian magazine Historyville on Twitter.
Justin Timberlake and an old time outlaw
He’s bringing sexy back to the future. The pop sensation of the 21st century has drawn a striking similarity to an old time criminal from 1870, E! reported in 2016.
The idea of Timberlake traveling through time was also poked fun at during his guest appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” alongside Daniel Radcliffe at the time, the outlet reported.
Daniel Radcliffe and Andy Samberg as high school pals
Again, did we expect any less from the world’s greatest wizard?
Radcliffe has his own doppelganger who apparently likes to hang out with the imitation Andy Samberg during the late 1970s.
A photo of the duo was found in a 1978 yearbook that was the focus of a since deleted Reddit post, according to IB Times in 2013.
“What Andy Samberg and Daniel Radcliffe would’ve looked like in the 70s (real pic, found in a HS yearbook from 1978),” the original post read.
Bruce Willis and General MacArthur
He really does die hard. Iconic action man Bruce Willis has many physical features in common with hard nosed American World War II General Douglas MacArthur.
The conspiracy theory has become so strong that a YouTube video was made highlighting the detailed similarities in their looks.
Others saw the resemblance as a golden opportunity for Hollywood had Willis not announced his retirement for the brain disease aphasia.
“And now it’s very hard for us to get Bruce Willis to play Douglas Macarthur due to his illness, we could only pray for his safety and healthiness,” Tweeted @AndCav4.
Though maybe in the future, a digital AI doppelganger that was made for the former “Moonlighting” star could play the late general for him.
Eddie Murphy, a comedian out of time
Maybe the “Beverly Hills Cop” should investigate this one. Comedian and Long Island native Eddie Murphy appears to be an exact match of a straw hatted “classy man” — as he’s been called online” — sporting an elegant hat and bowtie.
Although not much is known about the black and white photo’s origins, the “classy man” has identical facial features, mustache and all, to the “Shrek” star.
The only question that remains is if the potential predecessor also liked to party all the time.
The time traveling hipster
A sunglasses wearing man with an Urban Outfitters-esque wardrobe raised 21st century eyebrows after appearing in a 1941 photograph, sparking legitimate debate as to if he was really from the future.
The out of place seeming fellow — standing around people with suits and old time hats — was attending the reopening South Fork Bridge in British Columbia, Canada. He also caught modern day attention for having a camera which appeared too sophisticated for the time.
Though, a logical explanation has prevailed on his questionable nature.
The mystery man’s t-shirt was that of the Montreal Maroons, a hockey team on the other side of the northern nation which had recently gone defunct, Snopes.com reported. As for the man’s camera, Kodak had a line of portable ones already developed in 1941, according to the outlet. Glasses with protective side pieces were also a style worn during the time, though not widespread.
The mysterious ‘phone’ painting
If those celebrity similarities didn’t convince you, perhaps a vintage painting of a woman seeming to hold a smartphone will.
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller’s 1860 portrait “The Expected One” shows a lady walking through a wooded trail while holding a dark, handheld object which her eyes are fixated on as if she was sending a text or having a scroll on social media.
But alas, reality is often dissapointing.
“The girl in this Waldmüller painting is not playing with her new iPhone X, but is off to church holding a little prayer book in her hands,” Gerald Weinpolter, the CEO of the art agency austrian-paintings.at, told Motherboard.