History Main / MyGrandsonMyself

* Both NicholasCage and KeanuReeves are known to have had ancestors who looked remarkably similar to them, which has lead fans to (jokingly) speculate that they're actually immortal. It helps that [[OlderThanTheyLook neither of them have aged very visibly in the decades since their movie careers started]]. Hmm...

* In Georgia (the Eurasian one, not the North American one) men would pretend to be their fathers in order to dodge being drafted into the Russian army in the bad old days. This created the myth that Georgians had unusually long lifespans, regularly having official ages of over one hundred.

* Hob Gadling/Sir Robert Gadling/Bobby Gadling in ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' mentions he has done this several times.

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': Since Robert Gadling doesn't age, he can pretend to be his own grandson or nephew and leave his property to himself.
** He actually mentions that this has gotten more difficult since the invention of photography. He has to conceal old family photographs to make sure nobody notices that he looks EXACTLY like his uncle or grandfather did fifty years ago.

* Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun the Elder in the ForgottenRealms campaign setting, who took on the identity of his actual grandson Khelben "Ravencloak" Arunsun the Younger.
* Strahd von Zarovich, the {{Ravenloft}} setting's most infamous vampire, has been pulling off this gambit for the past eleven generations, feigning his own death and leaving rulership of Barovia to his identical "son".

* In ShadowOfDestiny, it is implied that [[spoiler:the main character, Eike, has been this, though without his knowledge]].

* As in [[TheDCU the comics]], Vandal Savage in ''JusticeLeague''.
* In [[WesternAnimation/ChrisColorado Chris Colorado]], [[spoiler:Herb Forsythe III, pretending to be the son of Herb Foresythe II, son of Herb Foresythe I, always head of a political party]]. Bonus point for being slow aging and not immortal, and retiring from social life each time, so that everyone forgot his face and he still doesn't look exactly the same.

* LexLuthor, dying from radiation poisoning ('cause it turned out kryptonite was just like any other radioactive substance to humans), faked his death by plane crash then had his brain transferred to a clone body, introducing himself to the world as his own son. After the reveal (which involved clone degeneration and him levelling Metropolis), he pulled a KarmaHoudini by selling his soul for a cure and then blaming everything on an [[FromACertainPointOfView insane clone that faked his death and took his place]].

* Suberted in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}!'' -- as part of the original 1711 contract, all immortals are rendered incapable of establishing long-term false identities, which means all of them will eventually have to give that awkward explanation as to why their passport claims they're six or seven times older than they look.

* A variant in ''BatmanBeyond'': After Talia invites Bruce to use the [[FountainOfYouth Lazarus Pit]], it is revealed [[spoiler:she is actually Ra's Al Ghul, who had [[GrandTheftMe transferred his mind into her body]], and now plans to take over Bruce's body and claim Bruce's fortune as his son.]]

* ''{{GURPS}}'' 4e has this among Baron Janos Telkozep, an iconic vampire character.

* In PoulAnderson's ''The Boat of a Million Years'' several characters do this.
* ''TuckEverlasting''

* ''[[{{Ethshar}} The Misenchanted Sword]]'' by LawrenceWattEvans gives the main character immortality. Once he solves the problems with it, he does just this by telling all his friends he's leaving his business to a long lost relative. Then he gets himself youthened and comes back as the relative.

* Subverted in the ''{{Supernatural}}'' episode "Everybody Loves a Clown": Dean and Sam think the circus leader may be a Rakshasa because he looks just like a picture of his father. As it turns out, it wasn't him.

Bonus points if you keep the same name - so John Smith becomes John Smith Jr, becomes John Smith III, etc. Bonus [[IdiotBall idiocy-points]] if you've ever allowed someone to paint your portrait or take your photograph while pursuing this strategy, as it ''will'' be discovered and expose your deception in future decades.

** The classic StarTrek episode "Requiem for Methuselah" deals with one Mr. Flint, who was born in ancient Mesopotamia. He went to war and was killed on the battlefield, but didn't die. By the 23rd century he claimed to have been King Solomon, Alexander the Great, Leonardo da Vinci, and other famous and not-so-famous figures, and to have known Moses, Jesus, and Galileo.

** The classic StarTrek episode "Requiem for Methuselah" deals with one Mr. Flint, who was born in ancient Mesopotamia. He went to war and was killed on the battlefield, but didn't die. By the 23rd century he claimed to have been King Solomon, Alexander the Great, Leonardo da Vinci, and to have known Moses, Jesus, and Galileo.

* The ''{{Alias}}'' episode "Time Will Tell" features an unnaturally long-lived Renaissance clockmaker who, in the present day, pretends to be his own distant descendant.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls: Oblivion'', [[spoiler:Springheel Jak]] does this as [[spoiler:Earl Jakben of Imbel]].

* In the original ''{{Dark Shadows}}'' series, Barnabas Collins did this when he was first released, and during his travels through time.

* Mayor Wilkins III (aka Mayor Wilkins I and II) in ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* In Barry Hughart's ''BridgeOfBirds'', [[spoiler:the current Duke is revealed to be the same man as his alleged "ancestor" who became emperor many centuries ago]].

* Done by the BigBad in Creator/KevinJAnderson's ''Blindfold'', who uses a cryopod to become a HumanPopsicle for a few years before re-emerging to see how things are progressing. Naturally, he uses this trick to fool everybody else, especially since [[spoiler:the frequent freezings have rendered him sterile]]. It's also revealed that he is actually [[spoiler:one of the original command crew of the first colony ship on Atlas]].

* Done by the BigBad in KevinJAnderson's ''Blindfold'', who uses a cryopod to become a HumanPopsicle for a few years before re-emerging to see how things are progressing. Naturally, he uses this trick to fool everybody else, especially since [[spoiler:the frequent freezings have rendered him sterile]]. It's also revealed that he is actually [[spoiler:one of the original command crew of the first colony ship on Atlas]].