History Main / TextualCelebrityResemblance

* Creator/WilliamGibson's Berry Rydell, the protagonist of the ''Literature/BridgeTrilogy'', is at one point described as being the spitting image of "a young Creator/TommyLeeJones" by a cult of TV-worshipping religious nuts. He, of course, doesn't even know who that is.

* Spoofed in Creator/RobertRankin's ''Armageddon: The Musical'' series: The main character resembles Creator/HarrisonFord to such an extent that [[CelebrityParadox people ask him for his autograph]] and think he's being a jerk when he signs his own name. One of the books has a subplot where a group of minor characters gain MediumAwareness and try to get the narrator to describe them as resembling various Hollywood stars;[[note]]Well, two, really, which led to confusion about which Julia Roberts was which character.[[/note]] the ButtMonkey wants to be played by TomCruise but ends up as [=Danny DeVito=] instead. There's a full cast list at the end.[[note]]Which reveals that the ButtMonkey was somehow able to recast himself with Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.[[/note]]

* Done in an unusual way in ''Mike Nelson's Death Rat!'', where antagonist Gus Bromstad is described as having "trim, Roger Whittaker-like good looks," but those familiar with Roger Whittaker know that's not really the most glamorous of descriptions. The protagonist also considers himself to look like "a sloppy caricature of Gorbachev without the wine stain," which is far less flattering.

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* Overlaps with CelebrityParadox in the HarryPotter fanfiction ''Fanfic/HappyEndings'', where Severus Snape has been given a makeover by a ParodySue and thinks he now looks like a young Creator/AlanRickman.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Other ]]

* In Fanfic/MoonDaughter, the narrator describes [[Creator/PercyJackson Hades]] as looking "kind of like JohnnyDepp super pale, but he had black hair in a ponytail and a little eyeliner but not too much cause he isn't gay."

Contrast with plain ol' CelebrityResemblance. Compare ComicBookFantasyCasting.

[[AC:FanFiction]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:Other]]

* The novelization of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' has Claire Redfield note that Steve Burnside greatly resembles Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio. This was meant as an affectionate StealthInsult to the franchise, as this was such a common complaint about the game that the developers actually ''changed Steve's appearance'' before re-releasing it on PS2. Of course, this was back in Leo's cutsey-boy early years, but... ouch.

* Adrien English, the bookseller/author in the series of gay mysteries by Josh Lanyon, is dogged by an occasionally remarked-upon close resemblance to Montgomery Clift. His attitude toward this if generally wry bemusement, once responding to one such observation by asking "Before or after the accident?"
--->"You remind me of that actor from ''A Place in the Sun.''"
--->"Elizabeth Taylor?"

* Major Major Major Major in ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'' is described as looking so much like Creator/HenryFonda that some of the other characters even start to suspect that he ''is'' Henry Fonda. In an interview, Joseph Heller said that, in a movie version, he would want Major to be played by either "[[CastingGag Henry Fonda or by somebody who looks nothing like Henry Fonda.]]" (In [[Film/CatchTwentyTwo the 1970 film]] adaptation, he was played by Bob Newhart).

* In ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'' (the book, not the film), Mark Renton is said to resemble Alex [=McLeish=], while Sick Boy and Tommy are said to look like StevenSeagal and HarrisonFord respectively.

* Major Major Major Major in ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'' is described as looking so much like Creator/HenryFonda that some of the other characters even start to suspect that he ''is'' Henry Fonda. In an interview, Joseph Heller said that, in a movie version, he would want Major to be played by either "[[CastingGag Henry Fonda or by somebody who looks nothing like Henry Fonda.]]" (In the 1970 film adaptation, he was played by Bob Newhart).

* [[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/scarlett-johansson-sues-bestselling-author-for-using-name-in-novel-tribute-8650285.html Scarlett Johansson actually is suing a French author for doing this with her in one of his books.]]
** And she actually managed to win her lawsuit. Apparently, just baldly stating that "character X looks like real-life person Y" is okay, but having "having character X be confused with real-life person Y and be treated as if he or she is Y" is considered over the line.
** However, many of her claims were rejected and she was awarded 2500 euros, not the 50000 euros she wanted. As a result of the case, the book continues to be published with only minor alterations.

* ''Literature/HowNotToWriteANovel'' marks this as a lazy and ineffective storytelling device.

* Mark Renton of ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'' (the book, not the film) is said to resemble Alex [=McLeish=].
** Sick Boy and Tommy are also said to look like StevenSeagal and HarrisonFord respectively.

** Mary Goodnight in ''Carte Blanche'' has a strong resemblance to the actress Kate Winslet, which has inspired several of her admirers to send her gifts inspired by the 1997 film ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', in which Winslet had a starring role.

* Ebony opens the notoriously bad Harry Potter fanfiction ''FanFic/MyImmortal'' by describing herself as looking like Amy Lee from Music/{{Evanescence}} (the fanfic is {{Titled After| TheSong}} one of the band's songs), and states that anyone who doesn't know who she is should GTFO. Other characters (despite them, being featured in a hit movie, having their actors be celebrities) also are described as resembling celebrities, such as [[Creator/DanielRadcliffe Vampire Potter]] and [[Music/GoodCharlotte Joel Madden]], or [[Creator/TomFelton Draco Malfoy]] and [[Music/MyChemicalRomance Gerard Way]].

* In ''ComicBook/{{X-Men}}'' novels, {{Storm}} is now [[CelebrityParadox described as resembling]] Creator/HalleBerry.
* Ebony opens the notoriously bad Harry Potter fanfiction ''MyImmortal'' by describing herself as looking like Amy Lee from Music/{{Evanescence}} (the fanfic is {{Titled After| TheSong}} one of the band's songs), and states that anyone who doesn't know who she is should GTFO. Other characters (despite them, being featured in a hit movie, having their actors be celebrities) also are described as resembling celebrities, such as [[Creator/DanielRadcliffe Vampire Potter]] and [[Music/GoodCharlotte Joel Madden]], or [[Creator/TomFelton Draco Malfoy]] and [[Music/MyChemicalRomance Gerard Way]].
* In the ''SweetValleyHigh'' books, Mr. Collins was described as looking like Creator/RobertRedford. In the new, updated editions he's just described as looking like "a movie star".

* Many {{MUSH}}es will allow players to set actors for their characters (often referred to as [=PBs=], for "played by").

* Parodied by a DaveBarry column in which he writes a fake suspense novel, clearly hoping for a film adaptation. "Carter Crater strode into the office. He looked like Creator/TomCruise, or, if he's available, Creator/AlPacino."

** In ''The Brentford Chainstore Massacre'', MadScientist Dr. Steven Malone looks exactly like a Sidney Paget illustration of SherlockHolmes. Which means he's in black and white and generally in profile, pointing at something off the edge of the page.

* In Fanfic/MoonDaughter, the narrator describes [[Creator/PercyJackson Hades]] as looking "kind of like JohnnyDepp super pale, but he had black hair in a ponytail and a little eyeliner but not too much cause he isn't gay."
* Overlaps with CelebrityParadox in the HarryPotter fanfiction ''Fanfic/HappyEndings'', where Severus Snape has been given a makeover by a ParodySue and thinks he now looks like a young Creator/AlanRickman.

* In the novel ''Literature/DreamCatcher'' by Creator/StephenKing, the side character Perlmutter tends to think of life in terms of a movie he's starring in, and this includes noting that Col. Kurtz, whom he works for, would be played by either Creator/ChristopherWalken or James Woods. Oddly enough, he ended up being played by Creator/MorganFreeman.

* ''LeftBehind'' describes its villain, Nicolae Carpathia, as looking like a young Creator/RobertRedford. This is meant to give an idea of the charm he evokes. In one book, the female lead was established as having a crush on Robert Redford, and the male lead was described as looking a bit like him "if he was a rummy and a drunk." This is clarified within the same paragraph as like "two people had constructed a model human from identical parts, but one had followed the instructions and the other had just bashed it together."

* Ebony opens the notoriously bad Harry Potter fanfiction ''MyImmortal'' by describing herself as looking like Amy Lee from Music/{{Evanescence}} (the fanfic is {{Titled After| TheSong}} one of the band's songs), and states that anyone who doesn't know who she is should GTFO. Other characters (despite them, being featured in a hit movie, having their actors be celebrities) also are described as resembling celebrities, such as [[Creator/DanielRadcliffe Vampire Potter]] and [[GoodCharlotte Joel Madden]], or [[Creator/TomFelton Draco Malfoy]] and [[MyChemicalRomance Gerard Way]].
* In the ''SweetValleyHigh'' books, Mr. Collins was described as looking like Robert Redford. In the new, updated editions he's just described as looking like "a movie star".

-->If you took a couple of David Bowies and stuck one of the David Bowies on the top of the other David Bowie, then attached another David Bowie to the end of each of the arms of the upper of the first two David Bowies and wrapped the whole business up in a dirty beach robe you would then have something which didn't exactly look like John Watson, but which those who knew him would find hauntingly familiar.

* EccentricMillionaire Hubertus Bigend, the titular character of Creator/WilliamGibson's ''Literature/BigendBooks'', is described as looking "like TomCruise on a diet of virgins' blood and truffled chocolates".

* The first volume of ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho'' establishes that Juffin Hally looks like an aging Creator/RutgerHauer; Shurf Lonli-Lokli, like a young [[Music/TheRollingStones Charlie Watts]]; and Melamori Blimm, like Diana Rigg in [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService her Bond Girl days]]. Also, Kofa Yokh's appearance is compared to GeorgesSimenon' Inspector Maigret. This becomes a plot point late in the second volume, where Max almost lets himself be convinced that [[AllJustADream all of them were just figments of his imagination]], based on his favorite movies--a possible instance of the author admitting to lazy writing, as this technique is never used again throughout rest of the series.
* Spoofed in RobertRankin's ''Armageddon: The Musical'' series: The main character resembles Creator/HarrisonFord to such an extent that [[CelebrityParadox people ask him for his autograph]] and think he's being a jerk when he signs his own name. One of the books has a subplot where a group of minor characters gain MediumAwareness and try to get the narrator to describe them as resembling various Hollywood stars;[[note]]Well, two, really, which led to confusion about which Julia Roberts was which character.[[/note]] the ButtMonkey wants to be played by TomCruise but ends up as [=Danny DeVito=] instead. There's a full cast list at the end.[[note]]Which reveals that the ButtMonkey was somehow able to recast himself with Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.[[/note]]

* In Fanfic/MoonDaughter, the narrator describes [[PercyJackson Hades]] as looking "kind of like JohnnyDepp super pale, but he had black hair in a ponytail and a little eyeliner but not too much cause he isn't gay."

** In Creator/IanFleming's first ''Bond'' novel ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'', 007 is described as looking like Hoagy Carmichael.

* ''JohnDiesAtTheEnd'' has a lot of fun with this. For example, there's a cop the narrator says reminds him of Morgan Freeman, despite looking nothing like him. He then refers to him as Morgan Freeman for the rest of the novel. It then subverts this by having a character named Jennifer Lopez who looks nothing like the singer. The narrator has to actually make the distinction for the reader, saying it's not ''the'' Jennifer Lopez, just a girl with the same name.

* The novelization of ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' ''Code Veronica'' has Claire Redfield note that Steve Burnside greatly resembles Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio. This was meant as an affectionate StealthInsult to the franchise, as this was such a common complaint about the game that the developers actually ''changed Steve's appearance'' before re-releasing it on PS2. Of course, this was back in Leo's cutsey-boy early years, but... ouch.