Me, today. For comparison, like

Before going off on a cat-related world record attempt, Tom Briggs listed 5 celebs he’s been told he looked like, and invited others to do likewise. Now, it’s fair to say that over the years I’ve been likened to a LOT of people, some famous (like the list below) and some not so famous (like a guy who works at the National Museum of Rural Life, or – my favourite – the time my mum called me from Austria to ask if I was playing in the band outside her hotel window, despite the fact she knew I couldn’t play whatever instrument it was!) so I thought I’d join in the fun. Amazingly, though, it took me all weekend to come up with a fifth celeb.

So here, for your amusement, in ascending order of cringeworthiness, is my Famous Five:

Matt Malley (former Counting Crows bass player)

 I think it was 1999 I first saw Counting Crows, and more than a few folks down the front did double-takes between me and then bass player Matt Malley. I can see why

David Baddiel
Probably around the same time, I went to see David Baddiel at the Edinburgh Fringe. He opened his show with a video montage of “lookalikes” plucked from various newspapers and magazines. The gag was that he was “sick” and that night’s show would be performed by whichever of the lookalikes got the loudest cheer. And then Baddiel came on stage and launched into a routine about how anyone with glasses and dark hair, possibly facial hair too, was automatically dubbed a Baddiel lookalike. “I bet there are some of you out there who’ve been told this” he said. Then I caught his eye and I swear he was momentarily put off his stride.

John Thomson
I never watched Cold Feet, but a good number of people I worked with did, and at some point someone decided I looked a bit like John Thomson. Never saw it myself – for one thing, I don’t think he’s ever worn specs.

Al (from Al’s Toy Barn)
There was only ever going to be one “winner” in this poll, and sadly it wasn’t Al from Toy Story 2. He did put up a good fight though, particularly as the similarity was so apparent that Heather once commented on it! And if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know Al isn’t someone you want to be compared to. Especially by a 3 year old.

Jeremy Spake
When Airport hit our screens in the late 90s, “flamboyant” Aeroflot manager Jeremy Spake quickly became the star of the show, before moving on to crop up on pretty much every TV show going. Let’s just say I was glad when his brief career petered out, and he disappeared from our lives.

Looking back at this list, I’m noticing that ALL of the lookalikes I’ve referred to are from the late 90s. Which was either a remarkable coincidence back then, or a sign that while I’ve looked pretty much the same since the rest of the world has moved on – I suspect the latter.

So who have you been told YOU look like?