Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / ActuallyIAmHim

Go To

1%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1615850759077970700
2%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3%%
4[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/manager.png]]
5[[caption-width-right:350:Art by [[https://www.tumblr.com/yourbigsisnissi/128631552820/i-want-to-speak-to-a-manager-the-middle-aged ojisanholic]]]]
6%%
7->'''Luke:''' Ah, he claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours? Do you know who he's talking about?\
8'''Ben Kenobi:''' ''[distant look]'' Obi-Wan Kenobi? Obi-Wan... Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.\
9'''Luke:''' I think my uncle knows him. He said he was dead.\
10'''Ben Kenobi:''' Oh, he's not dead. Not ''yet''.\
11'''Luke:''' You know him?\
12'''Ben Kenobi:''' Well, of ''course'' I know him. He's ''me''. I haven't gone by the name "Obi-Wan" since, oh, before you were born.
13-->-- ''Franchise/StarWars: Episode IV -- Film/ANewHope''
14
15A {{character|s}}, usually TheProtagonist, is looking for someone, often an older, wiser character. During the search, they meet a stranger, and the conversation turns to the sought-after character. The stranger will typically either respond, "Oh, I know them well..." or else act as if they've never heard of the person. Either way, in time it is revealed that this stranger ''is'' the sought-after character.
16
17Often, the stranger is [[ObfuscatingStupidity playing dumb]] about their true identity in order to [[SecretTestOfCharacter assess the searcher's character]] and intentions, the idea being that the searcher's behavior will be more genuine in the presence of someone they perceive to be just an ordinary stranger. This can lead to a painful lesson for the searcher once he learns the truth about the stranger, making this a favorite form of introduction among {{Trickster Mentor}}s.
18
19It still satisfies this trope if the person tells the searcher straight-out, without pussyfooting around or playing games, who he is, as in the opening ''Franchise/StarWars'' quote.
20
21Further confusion can arise if the sought-after character is of a different [[GenderConcealingWriting gender]], race, species, etc. than the searcher was expecting, such as when a sought-after "doctor" turns out to be a woman scientist. Or maybe the searcher was just ExpectingSomeoneTaller.
22
23Can also be LukeIAmYourFather if the sought-after character is the searcher's parent. See also YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith, RightInFrontOfMe, KingIncognito, ActuallyThatsMyAssistant, IAmOneOfThoseToo, ButHeSoundsHandsome, MistakenForServant, and AndThatLittleGirlWasMe. Might invoke YourCostumeNeedsWork if a character thinks the person is just someone dressed up to look like them. For when you weren't expecting something to be a character at all, see IAmTheNoun. Compare and contrast SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay and NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe, where the unrecognized character is someone the oblivious party had actually known before.
24
25Not to be confused with ConfrontingYourImposter, which is sort of an inverse of this trope. Also contrast FriendOfMaskedSelf, where the misidentified character ''doesn't'' admit "I am him" because it would ruin his SecretIdentity.
26
27'''Given that this trope is about a plot twist, here be spoilers.'''
28
29%%If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.
30----
31!!Examples:
32[[foldercontrol]]
33
34[[folder:Advertising]]
35* A commercial for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFRaJC8gTFA MagnaFlow]] exhausts has a police officer pull over a car for speeding, and while asking for the driver's license, asks who he thinks he is, Mario Andretti?[[note]]Andretti was the 1978 UsefulNotes/FormulaOne champion, the 1969 [[UsefulNotes/IndyCar Indianapolis 500 winner]] and considered one of the greatest American drivers of all time.[[/note]] Mario promptly introduces himself and claims the car wasn't speeding. [[spoiler:In a twist though, Mario is actually the ''passenger''; the driver was his grandson Marco, himself an UsefulNotes/IndyCar driver.]]
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
39* In a particularly funny example, in ''Manga/BlackCat'', Train eventually acquires an impostor, who the gang meets. Sven and Eve want to smack him upside the head, but Train listens to his wild stories with a look of wonder on his face, and eventually agrees to become the impostor's apprentice. When people challenge the impostor, Train steps up to the plate, claiming that the other guys aren't "worthy for [Train's] master to spit on." THEN the imposter notices the XIII tattoo, and the unique gun...
40* This is played with in the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession9JammingWithEdward Jamming with Edward]]". When Spike and Jet go in search of the hacker known as Radical Edward, they get so many widely varying stories about who Edward is and what he's supposedly like that Jet sarcastically comments that they're looking for a 3-year-old, 7-foot-tall Hindu guru drag queen alien genius who plays basketball. When Ed hacks into their computer and they ask who Radical Edward is, she responds in her perpetual adorable ThirdPersonPerson way of talking, "[[ShapedLikeItself But Ed is Ed.]]" In case it wasn't clear: Edward is very much a girl tacking on the "Assumed Wrong Gender" part of this trope.
41* Hilariously inverted in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', where, upon meeting a normal monkey, Goku instantly assumed him to be the legendary Kaioh, and spent a while fooling around with him before the Kaioh - who himself could easily qualify for this trope under different circumstances, what with how he looks and acts - shows up.
42* In the first chapter of ''Manga/FairyTail'', Lucy runs into a man calling himself Salamander of Fairy Tail, who is revealed to be using charm magic to seduce girls, then capture and sell them as slaves. Lucy stops him with help from Natsu and Happy (both came to Hargeon believing that "Salamander" was Natsu's father Igneel), who reveals that "Salamander" can't be from Fairy Tail because ''he's'' a Fairy Tail wizard himself. Meanwhile, one of the Fake Salamander's goons recognizes Natsu as the ''real'' Salamander.
43* A thorn in Edward's side in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', that people are more willing to believe that Alphonse is the famous "Fullmetal Alchemist" and not him. (Al ''is'' [[AnimatedArmor a walking suit of armor]]...) Not helping is his corrections frequently result in a reference to him as "the [[BerserkButton short]] one". Once he even does this when the misunderstanding is causing someone to point a gun at Al, who's ImmuneToBullets, so they retarget on him, who isn't.
44* Played with in ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle''. It's not clear when Sophie realizes the strange young wizard is Howl himself.
45* In ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' a variation occurs. Rei appears in the story seeking a certain "Man with the Seven Scars", after being told that the aforementioned subject has kidnapped his sister, Airi. Rei eventually meets Kenshiro, who is known for the seven scars in his chest, and tells him about the man he's seeking. Kenshiro initially says nothing about it, and although he has a penchant for [[BattleStrip ripping out his jacket and shirt before delivering a beatdown to bad guys]], Ken strangely refrains from doing this for the entirety of the arc, until Rei learns the truth anyway. Ken and Rei go on to beat the crap out of the Kiba clan, rescuing Airi and eventually becoming FireForgedFriends in the process, but then Kenshiro decides to confront Rei over the issue with the Man with the Seven Scars, both because Ken is an honest person, and because Rei would someday discover his scars, sooner or later, and should that happen Rei might turn on him, so the issue needs to be resolved. Thus, Ken reveals his scarred chest to Rei; Rei initially is shocked, but then refuses to believe Ken was the man he was looking for as the captor of Airi, on the basis that he knows Ken is a NiceGuy who helped Rei himself rescue his sister anyways. Some time later, Ken reveals that the true culprit behind Airi's kidnapping was his evil adoptive brother, Jagi, who had scarred his own chest with seven scars in order to frame Kenshiro and tarnish the latter's reputation.
46* ''Manga/GhostSweeperMikami'': At one point, Father Karasu sends Mikami, Yokoshima and Okinu off to the mountains, to a temple guarded by a powerful dragon god, to train Mikami's spiritual powers. They're greeted by a rather pretty young woman named Shoryuki, and they ask her to take them to see the guardian. Shoryuki then releases a huge amount of spiritual pressure, revealing herself as the one they've come looking for.
47* ''Anime/IGPXImmortalGrandPrix'':
48** Team Satomi's coach, Andre, turns out to be [[spoiler:[[AcePilot The Rocket]].]]
49** Also, Team White Snow's captain isn't Zanak, [[spoiler:it's Max]], although it's easy to make the mistake since he's the Forward and all the other team captains are Forwards.
50* Kaguya's first meeting with Papa Shirogane in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' has him hiding his identity by pretending to be a random middle aged man and goading her into admitting her feelings for his son by insulting him. It's only when Shirogane shows up (after she's already said that she'd like the chance to meet his parents and thank them for raising such a wonderful son) that he reveals his identity [[TheGadfly and admits that he pulled off the whole charade just to mess with her]].
51* ''Anime/KemonoFriends'': For much of the series, Racoon is chasing after a hat thief, and along the way she runs into a number of Friends who tell her about their encounters with an incredibly helpful person named Kaban. When she finally catches her prey in Episode 11, her friend [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder Fennec]], who's been paying more attention to those stories, calmly explains that the "Hat Thief" ''is'' Kaban. Racoon initially doesn't believe her, saying that someone as good as Kaban would never steal, but eventually she realizes that she had it wrong from the start and apologizes.
52* In the manga adaptation of ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime1999 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'', Link meets young Zelda, who has escaped from the castle and disguised herself as a commoner girl. When Link asks her about Princess Zelda's whereabouts, she tells him that she and Zelda are good friends and that she'd introduce him if he played with her for a whole day.
53* In ''Literature/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'', Shinka tries to convince Sanae that she's "Mori Summer," if only to be able to confiscate the latter's copies of her own Mabinogion. Fails miserably, because Sanae expected the philosopher from ''Mabinogion'', not the jaded high-schooler desperate to purge [[OldShame her past delusions]].
54* Inverted in ''Monsters'' of ''Manga/Wanted1998''. Ryuuma expresses the desire to meet and duel the "swordsman king" who is said to be the greatest swordsman in the world. After he saves the town from a dragon and leaves, one of the residents remembers that Ryuuma himself has been called the swordsman king by the various people he has saved.
55* Guaranteed to happen three-quarters of the time in the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' anime. This also applies to the games, to a lesser extent. To give one example, on Cinnabar Island, Ash and company run into an old hippie who tells them riddles to give them clues to find the Gym that is run by Blaine. When the figure out the last one and find the Gym, the old hippie is there - he ''is'' Blaine.
56** Subverted with Max, who was only pretending to be the gym leader in Petalburg City. He initially managed to fool Ash...only for his sister and father (the latter being the real leader) to show up.
57** Also happens in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures''; when Red wanted to battle the Cerulean City Gym Leader, Misty took him to the Gym and revealed that ''she's'' its Leader.
58** And again in ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'', when Red is [[HeroicBSoD upset]] about his Pokémon not being strong enough, a man shows up and suggests that Red take on the Gym Leader challenge to make himself stronger, starting with the gym in Pewter City run by Brock. When Red arrives at the gym, guess who Brock turns out to be? Of course, the viewer can tell that it's [[EyesAlwaysShut Brock]] the moment he appears.
59** Dot in ''Anime/PokemonHorizonsTheSeries'' has a low-pitched voice and is a {{hikikomori}}, so no one would really suspect her of being renowned internet streamer Nidothing. Liko does need a couple episodes after hints pointing in that direction before Dot spells it out for her.
60* For the first few episodes/chapters of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', the story follows [[ThoseTwoGuys Meryl and Millie]] investigating every lead they can find on the location of the most wanted criminal on the planet, Vash the Stampede. And, by chance, everywhere they go, they run into the same [[WalkingDisasterArea hapless]], [[TheDitz clueless]], spiky-haired dork blundering into trouble...
61** Made even funnier because Millie would do some variation of "hey there he is" in noticing their new friend every time Meryl would say to be on the lookout because there was a sighting in that town. Though, she does start to wonder about the fact both their target and new friend have the same name; but Meryl doesn't believe a goofball like him could be a deadly criminal.
62* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'':
63** When Fuutarou finally catches up to Itsuki in the latter's apartment, she tries to blow him off by saying that she has a tutor coming over soon. Cue an OhCrap reaction from her when he points out that ''he'' is the tutor.
64** Due to many a IdenticalTwinMistake, at the end of Chapter 70, students in his class on separate occasions ask Fuutarou to pass a message/item to Miku and Ichika respectively... completely unaware that's she's standing right next to him.
65* Early in ''Manga/RaveMaster'', Haru finds himself so desperate for leads as to where to find the legendary blacksmith Musica that he's willing to be at the beck and call of a drunkard who may or may not know where the person was. The drunk turns out to be Musica.
66* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'':
67** After Akira returns from the Kuzushara Ruins for the first time and making his first 200,000 aurum, rumors begin to spread about a boy who went into the ruins alone and came out with unknown relics that earned him a hefty profit. This reignites interest in the ruins and Akira keeps his mouth shut to keep people from realizing that he's the boy from that rumor, lest he get hounded for information or cash.
68** Due to his paranoia and unwillingness to associate with others, Akira keeps the fact that he saved Sara and Elena a secret even after running into them again at Cartridge Freak. After they return the favor and allow him to rest up at their house, he finally admits that the mysterious person who saved them earlier was him.
69* Happens over and over consecutively in almost every town the Sanzo party enters in ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}''. Quite often word reaches villages that the great Sanzo-party has happened through the area in which many humans search after them for blessings while many youkai look to eliminate them. What they don't expect is for the Great Holy Priest Genjo Sanzo to be a young {{jerkass}} blond guy with a gun and a smoking problem, and his devoted acolytes a group of youkai.
70** In fact, it has happened so often that when for the first time it doesn't happen to them but instead, another group of wandering demon-slayers, they're actually taken by surprise.
71* In ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' TheMovie, Van and Hitomi are looking for a man named Dryden Fassa - then they meet someone who pretends not to know who Dryden Fassa is, before turning out to be actually him.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Comic Books]]
75* In ''ComicBook/DungeonTwilight, vol. 1: Dragon Cemetery'', when Marvin the Red meets his idol Marvin the Dragon, the latter first pretends to be someone else.
76* For years, Tony Stark had to put up with the story of ComicBook/IronMan being his personal bodyguard. Thus, a recurring bit was how folks would bad-mouth Iron Man as "just an employee" right to his face. In his final ComicBook/TheAvengers issue, Kurt Busiek finally paid off on this as a Stark employee berates Iron Man for using Stark enterprises for an adventure, howling that he had no right as just an employee. Her colleague takes her aside to whisper to her the news that just broke that Iron Man ''is'' Tony Stark and she's chagrined realizing she just chewed out her boss.
77* ''The Adventures of Doctor Bell'': When a rabbi and a priest show up asking for Joseph Bell, he answers with "I've had to stand him every day of my life."
78* When Bruce Banner goes looking for the Panchen Lama in ''ComicBook/UltimateWolverine vs. [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]]'', he is greeted at the monastery doors by a wizened old man who assures him that the Lama is inside and offers him hot cocoa. Banner shows a flash of insight by assuming the old man is the Panchen Lama, calling it "one of those Yoda things"... but [[AvertedTrope nope]]. He's talking to Steve, who makes hot cocoa.
79* The "Pagliacci" joke that Rorschach heard from the Comedian in ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}''.
80-->'''[[VigilanteMan Rorschach:]]''' Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor... ''I'' am Pagliacci".
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Fan Works]]
84* ''Fanfic/ACertainUnknownLevel0'': When Fukiyose Seiri is asking about the titular character, as Index references in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8918264/2/A-Certain-Unknown-Level-0 the second chapter]]:
85--> Index looked at Kamijou. "Touma, Touma. Who was that Level 0 she was talking about? Is it you?"
86* ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'': In "What if they saved Jake's family?", Tom asks Jake to take him to the leader of the Animorphs. Marco awkwardly points out that Jake ''is'' the leader.
87* ''Webcomic/AskHerLustrousnessYellowDiamond'': When the leader of the assassin trio of the Thrupud king's legion demands for Steven to hand over the Kruvian queen in exchange for his cheeseburger backpack, Steven claims to know no such person, only for the alien he helped earlier confess that ''she'' is the true Kruvian queen.
88* ''Fanfic/TheEvabonSaga'': When Gard and Tygra initially met the latter believed the former to be some long tormented victim of the former himself whom the latter perceived to be a monster. Upon realizing that Gard was not a monster and that by wanting to kill him he would have committed murder, Tygra breaks down into tears.
89* ''Fanfic/{{Dial}}'': Just like her boyfriend [[Film/IronMan1 Tony just announcing his own identity as Iron Man]], when asked about the new armor-wearer Rescue, Pepper Potts tells the asking reporter that she is Rescue.
90* ''Fanfic/KingdomHeartsPsiTheSeekerOfDarkness'': In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13872657 Kairi and Lea's Excellent Adventure]]'', Yoda tries to pull this on Kairi and Lea the way he would later do with Luke. They both see through it immediately.
91* In the second chapter of ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/502612/mother-im-sorry Mother, I'm Sorry]]'', Twilight recounts to Rainbow Dash how she met the [[FakingTheDead supposedly dead]] Princess Aurora, daughter of Celestia and Alicorn of War, a few years earlier in the exact same spot they're sitting in now (shown in the first chapter). Rainbow doesn't seem surprised at all, eventually getting up and saying that Twilight has grown into a fine young mare since the first time they met. It takes Twilight a few more seconds to realize what "Rainbow" is saying.
92* ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'': After Cinder obtains the Fall Maiden's powers, Ozpin asks what Cinder could possibly have to gain from [[BigBad Salem]] by causing all the death and destruction to [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Beacon]]. This is when she smugly smiles and drops her disguise, revealing that she was Salem the whole time.
93* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'' has a variant in the second season. Kirito made such a name for himself during the ''SAO'' disaster that by the time he logs into ''Alfheim Online'', nearly every permutation of his OnlineAlias has been taken, and it turns out the entire Spriggan faction was comprised of Kirito {{fanboy}}s led by "Kirito Prime." This means [[YourCostumeNeedsWork no one but his sister recognizes him as]] ''[[YourCostumeNeedsWork the]]'' [[YourCostumeNeedsWork Kirito,]] until he ends up dueling the leader of the Salamanders, breaks into his signature DualWielding, and lets something slip while ranting during the ensuing CurbStompBattle (all set to ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'''s [[SuspiciouslyAproposMusic "That Person's Name Is..."]]).
94-->'''Kirito:''' ...And to top it all off, you ''morons'' even found a way to '''RUIN MY NAME!!'''\
95'''Eugene:''' [[OhCrap Your... name...?]]
96[[/folder]]
97
98[[folder:Films ― Animation]]
99* In ''WesternAnimation/BlueMountainMystery'', Thomas asks Victor if the latter remembers fixing a yellow engine who spoke a different language and fell in the sea. After Victor blushes and exclaims in Spanish, Thomas realises that the yellow engine ''was'' Victor.
100* In Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'', with the stroke of midnight approaching Cinderella hastily excuses herself to the man she's danced the night away with, saying she hasn't met the Prince yet. Her dance partner, who of course ''is'' the Prince, is very confused. It's not quite clear if Cinderella is just throwing out excuses in order to get away before the spell breaks, or if she honestly doesn't realize she's been dancing with the Prince all night.
101%%* Phil in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''.
102* When Raya in ''WesternAnimation/RayaAndTheLastDragon'' asks [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Boun]] where the captain of the boat is, Boun pretends to look for him only to reveal that he is the captain of the boat.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Films ― Live-Action]]
106* In ''[[Film/AmericanPie American Wedding]]'', the main characters are looking for a particular dress designer to make a dress for the bride, and accidentally wind up in a gay bar. Their comical antics impress a group of gay men, one of whom finally reveals that he is the designer they're looking for.
107* In ''Film/Batman1989'', Vicki Vale corners a man at a swish party at Wayne Manor and asks whether he's seen elusive billionaire Bruce Wayne. He says he hasn't. Later, as she and Alex Knox are in one of Wayne's rooms, making fun of the statues, the man appears behind them and informs them that the elaborate antique armor they're currently laughing at is Japanese. How does he know? "Because I bought it in Japan. Bruce Wayne."
108* ''Film/BatmanBegins''. In order to get the needed training for his war on crime, Bruce seeks out Ra's Al Ghul, the head of the Asian League of Shadows. He ends up dealing mainly with Henri Ducard, the League's second-in-command. Ra's tends to sit in the background and be imposing while Ducard does all the work of testing and advising Bruce. When drama ensues and everything starts exploding, Bruce saves Ducard; he doesn't discover until much later that Ducard was really Ra's Al Ghul all along, using another man as a decoy.
109* In ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'', as William Wallace arrives at Stirling before battle. This doubles as a HistoricalInJoke, as the real William Wallace ''was'' a giant of a man, at least a foot taller than actor Mel Gibson.
110-->'''Wallace:''' Sons of Scotland, I am William Wallace!\
111'''Scottish Soldier:''' [[ExpectingSomeoneTaller William Wallace is seven feet tall]]!\
112'''Wallace:''' Yes, I've heard. Kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here, [[ShroudedInMyth he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse]]!\
113''[the Scottish Army laughs]''\
114'''Wallace:''' I ''AM'' William Wallace!
115* Twisted on itself in ''Film/CircleOfIron'', where the hero Cord is seeking the Book of Enlightenment held by the mysterious Zetan. Along the way, he adventures with the Blind Man, a wise man and incredible martial artist who serves as a sort of informal master. David Carradine plays the Blind Man, and also the characters for several trials Cord must face. In the end, Cord thinks the Blind Man is actually Zetan, but he isn't--he's just seen the Book of Enlightenment.
116* In the movie version of ''Film/{{Clue}}'', in one of the possible endings, Wadsworth reveals himself as Mr. Boddy, saying that the alleged Mr. Boddy was, in fact, his butler, and not the other way around.
117* ''Film/TheDevilAndMissJones'' is based on this trope, when a millionaire goes under cover to locate the source of trouble in the department store he owns.
118* In ''Film/ElDiablo'', Creator/AnthonyEdwards' character is searching for legendary "Kid Durango" with the help of a man named Van Leek only to later discover that the exploits of Kid Durango are based on the adventures of Van Leek.
119* Subverted in ''Film/DieHard'' when the hero and the BigBad meet. [[spoiler:It looks like Gruber tricks [=McClane=], but in fact [=McClane=] sees through it and gives his adversary an unloaded weapon.]]
120* ''Film/DinnerInAmerica'': Patty tells Simon about how she writes love letters in black envelopes to John Q. Public, the mysterious lead singer of her favorite band, PSYOPS. Simon excuses himself to the restroom, opens his backpack, and takes out a fistfull of Patty's letters. He later admits that he's her "music boyfriend," now boyfriend for real.
121* In ''Film/TheDistinguishedGentleman'', when Eddie Murphy's love-interest-to-be enters a reception for the new Congressman Johnson (Murphy), she goes right up to him first and asks where Congressman Johnson is, then goes on to bad-mouth him a bit before he reveals his Congressman's pin (hidden behind a clipboard he's holding).
122* In ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'', Bowen swears vengeance on a Dragon who kept prince Einon alive with an ancient ritual and turned him evil (not realizing Einon was evil to begin with). When he meets Draco many years later and is told he is the LastOfHisKind, Bowen's first thought is that the dragon he hunted must already be dead, and does not figure out that Draco is that dragon until they travel to Avalon together.
123* Used in Jackie Chan's ''Film/DrunkenMaster'', where the main character Wong Fei-Hung flees from home in fear of being sent to train with the infamous Beggar So, master of the style of the eight drunk gods. He meets an old geezer who displays some highly unusual but equally effective moves, and they share a leg of the journey--no bonus point for guessing who this turns out to be.
124* Sort of done in ''Film/FaceOff'': "I am Castor Troy!"
125* In ''Film/FastAndFurious'', Dominic and Brian are searching for Campos, the leader of a narcotics gang. Only near the end do they realize Campos is actually the man who pretended to be his assistant.
126* Dragged out to a painful degree in ''Film/TheGiantSpiderInvasion'', where the leading man meets the female scientist and persists in believing he must ''really'' be meeting with some male relative of hers for some time before she explains that, no really, ''she's'' the "doctor" he has an appointment with.
127* A somewhat stranger version happens in the Muppet adaptation, ''Film/HeyCinderella''. Through various circumstances, neither Cinderella nor Prince Arthur realize they danced with one another at the ball, even though they already met. (Cinderella was looking for a gardener named Arthur and Prince Arthur was looking for a peasant girl named Cinderella). When Arthur goes searching the kingdom for the beautiful maiden he danced with, on his father's orders, he and Cinderella finally meet again and their actual identities are revealed to one another. Cinderella is pleased to learn that the prince she danced with and Arthur the gardener are one and the same, but it takes a little more evidence to prove that she really was the beautiful maiden.
128* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'': Indy and Marcus are instructed to meet Dr. Schneider in Venice to begin their search for the Holy Grail and Indy's missing father. They assume the doctor is male and are both momentarily thrown when they're met by Dr. ''Elsa'' Schneider, an attractive young blonde woman. To their credit, however, they recover quickly.
129* In ''Film/IronMan1'', [[spoiler:Tony reads off a phony explanation of the battle at the end, before caving and saying, "I am Iron Man."]]
130* Invoked word for word in the final moments of ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'', as [[spoiler:Logan reveals himself to be the newest Jigsaw Killer before murdering Halloran with a collar loaded with laser cutters.]]
131-->'''Halloran:''' ...You're working with him.\
132[[spoiler:'''Logan:''']] I ''am'' him. And with a little help from you, no one will ever suspect it.
133* In ''[[Film/KillBill Kill Bill: Volume 1]]'', The Bride pretends to be an American tourist upon first meeting Hattori Hanzo in his Sushi restaurant. Hanzo himself is an attempt to play the trope: He's a legendary sword maker posing as a sushi chef. Only the Bride knows who he is, so he can't play that trope on her.
134* In ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'', when Centauri asks who made the highest score on the Starfighter video game, Alex replies: "Alex Rogan. You're looking at him."
135* In the 1994 film ''Film/TheLittleRascals'', Spanky and Alfalfa finally wins the soap box derby but the former is disappointed because his favorite race driver, A.J. Ferguson, wasn't there to give them the trophy. [[spoiler:But it turns out the woman who gave them the trophy (played by Music/RebaMcEntire) is A.J. Ferguson herself which surprises both boys since they assumed the driver was a man. Nevertheless, the boys are happy in meeting their hero.]]
136* In Creator/KennethBranagh's version of ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'', the Speaker and Sarastro are played by the same person, leading to this.
137* Done with Holly [[PunnyName Goodhead]], the ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' [[Film/JamesBond Bond Girl]].
138* ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'': When Kermit arrives at [[BadGuyBar the El Sleezo Cafe]], he sees a tough-looking fellow (played by James Coburn) getting thrown out.
139-->'''Man:''' That's the toughest, meanest, ''filthiest'' pest-hole on the face of the Earth!\
140'''Kermit:''' Then why not complain to the owner?\
141'''Man:''' I ''am'' the owner.
142* Happens twice in ''Film/MyCousinVinny'':
143** Stan and Bill are in prison waiting for Vinny, Bill's cousin, to arrive as their defense attorney. When Vinny comes in, Bill is asleep and Stan, having never met Vinny, [[OneDialogueTwoConversations thinks he's a prisoner planning to sodomize him]]. It isn't until Bill wakes up that Vinny's properly identified.
144** When Vinny is in the courtroom for Stan and Bill's preliminary hearing, [[UnderdressedForTheOccasion he's dressed in all-black casual clothes]] and sits on the table. So, when the prosecutor, Jim Trotter III, enters the courtroom, he asks "Where's your attorney?", before Vinny introduces himself as the defense attorney.
145* In ''Film/{{Obsessed}}'', when the main character and the [[StalkerWithACrush psychotic temp]] first meet, the latter mentions having to deliver a file to "Derek Charles' office", not knowing that she is talking to him. Derek then says, "Derek Charles" is "[[SelfDeprecation an asshole. Takes himself way too seriously]]. But don't tell him I said that, OK?" Shortly afterwards, she learns the truth.
146* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
147** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'': Queen Amidala traveled with a host of decoys for security purposes, it seems. What makes her an example of the trope is that she's always disguised as one of her own attendants, as opposed to moving completely behind the scenes. Qui-Gon knows handmaiden Padmé is the queen, and takes every opportunity to rile her up when mentioning how the queen will approve of his choices.
148--->'''Padmé:''' You assume too much.
149** In ''Film/ANewHope'' when Luke's looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi, although in that case he's actually already an acquaintance under another name ("Old Ben" Kenobi). Luke momentarily speculates that it might be Old Ben, but he's not expecting it. He also wonders if Obi-Wan might be related to Ben, and even asks him if that's the case. In this case, Ben tells him straight-out that he's Obi-Wan instead of hiding it.
150--->"Of course I know him, he's ''me''."
151** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' follows this formula perfectly when Luke is looking for Yoda. In addition, [[LukeIAmYourFather Darth Vader turns out to be Luke's long-lost father]].
152%%* [[spoiler:Castor/Zuse]] in ''Film/TronLegacy''.
153* In ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'', it turns out that [[spoiler:Verbal Kint is Keyser Sose]].
154* In ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953'', Sylvia gushes on and on about the scientist who was expected to visit the first landing site. When the man she is talking to says he knows the scientist, she asks him what he's like. He just mumbles a few words and gestures toward himself.
155* In one scene of ''Film/YoungGuns'', a bounty hunter is bragging to a woman about how he is going to kill Billy the Kid. It just so happens that Billy the Kid is in the same saloon, and questions the bounty hunter about how he's going to kill the outlaw when he finds him. Not knowing who he is talking to, the bounty hunter gives Billy his gun when asked to see it, and Billy removes all of the bullets before returning it. Billy then asks the bounty hunter for a description of himself, and upon looking in a mirror, exclaims that he has found himself. Amazingly, despite Billy admitting who he was to the bounty hunter's face, he refuses to believe that Billy the Kid is Billy the Kid until he is shot.
156* In ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', [[spoiler:Will was under the assumption that Gwen was the daughter of [[SamusIsAGirl Royal Pain]], his parents' ArchEnemy that [[YouKilledMyFather they had defeated years ago]], and [[AvengingTheVillain was out to avenge her mother and carry on her legacy]]. Gwen then [[MotiveMisidentification sets him straight]]: the battle with the Strongholds' had resulted in Royal Pain's Pacifier weapon reverting her to a baby, with her being raised back up by her loyal sidekick]]. In other words, as Gwen put:
157-->'''Gwen:''' [[spoiler:Royal Pain wasn't my mother. Royal Pain is ''me!'']]
158* ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'': The lawyer assigned to the Mario Bros. warns them that they don't want to deal with Koopa, who he describes as "one evil, egg-sucking son of a snake." It's ultimately revealed that their "lawyer" ''is'' Koopa.
159-->'''Luigi''': ''You're'' Koopa?! But you said you were-\
160'''Koopa''': [[CardCarryingVillain One evil, egg-sucking son of a snake]]. Did I lie?
161* In ''Film/StreetFighter'', Sagat comments to Ken that Vega is the best cage fighter since Iron Fist. When Ken asks what happened to Iron Fist, Sagat revealed that he was Iron Fist.
162* In ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'', Sheriff Buford T. Justice comes to what ''was'' the Arkansas state troopers after the Bandit was finished with them:
163-->'''Justice:''' Can any of you tell me where I can find Lt. Branford?\
164'''Lt. Branford:''' (''testily'') I ''am'' Lt. Brandford!\
165'''Justice:''' Oh...(''sheepishly'') You know, you sound a lot taller on radio.
166* In ''Film/OutlawWomen'', Peyote Bill is telling a story about how he scared Johnny Ringo out of town and asks a stranger to help in a display of gun fighting. When the stranger outdraws him, Bill asks "Are you sure you waited till I said 'dog', mister...?" To which the stranger replies "Ringo".
167[[/folder]]
168
169[[folder:Literature]]
170* In "A Witch to Live" from the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo''-universe short story collection ''Ring of Fire'', when Father Friedrich Spee is sent to defend a young woman from a false accusation of witchcraft, he finds her case being retried by the TrappedInThePast modern Americans -- and himself sitting in the rectory when Father Mazzare, the American priest, gets out an encyclopedia to look up the name of the great heroic opponent of witchcraft in the 1630s ... Father Friedrich von Spee.
171* Creator/RobertAHeinlein's short story ''Literature/AllYouZombies'' in which, thanks to a great big TimeyWimeyBall, every character, [[GrandfatherParadox male]] or [[{{squick}} female]], was actually the same person.
172* In ''Literature/TheAnubisGates'', Doyle/[[YouWillBeBeethoven Ashbless]] tells his buddy Jacky about Elizabeth Tichy, the young woman he'll be marrying the next month (from Doyle's familiarity with Ashbless' biography), and is surprised by how annoyed Jacky is by his confidence on the subject. Turns out that Miss Tichy's middle name is [[SweetPollyOliver Jacqueline]]...
173* Happens at the end of the first volume of ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'', when a Japanese tourist in the [[FramingDevice frame story]] decides to ask the narrator (whom is assumed to be Maiza) [[WhereAreTheyNow where Firo is now]], seeing as he's not present like everyone else is. "Maiza" responds...?
174-->Isn't he right here?...Oh, That's right, I have yet to introduce myself. Well, normally with business associations, I just leave without having ever said my name...
175* ''Literature/BretKingMysteries'':
176** In ''Hermit Peak,'' Bret and the others believe the {{Prospector}} Ol' Whiskers is squatting on the land of easterner George Blain. This belief is false, because Whiskers is Blain.
177** In the climax of ''The Comanche Caves,'' the gang captures a seemingly unimportant {{Mook}} and ask him where his boss, the smuggling kingpin known as ''Totache.'' More goons suddenly appear to capture them, and the book reveals that ''he's'' Totache.
178* At the end of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', when Jerin [[spoiler:returns to his fianceés after getting kidnapped]], he tearfully confesses that he [[spoiler:may have slept (he doesn't remember the night clearly) with his rescuer, Cira, and is now DefiledForever, so he can't marry them. Whereupon his bride Halley, whom he has not met yet, turns around to show her face: She is Cira, and remembers well that he resisted her attempts to seduce him.]]
179* In Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw's ''Caesar and Cleopatra'', 16-year-old Cleopatra is hiding from the invading Romans, and she runs into a nice old man who turns out to be Caesar. Hilariously, she tells him she's heard Caesar has a nose as big as an elephant's; he self-consciously fingers his nose in response. Then, when he decides to break part of the truth to her: "Do you notice that I have a rather long nose? It is a Roman nose, Cleopatra."
180* ''Literature/ChallengersOfTheUnknown'': When the team's captor asks if they've heard of the Nazi scientist Otto Wenzler, Rocky says that he died thirty years ago. The villain replies, "Not at all. I am Otto Wenzler."
181* Literature/CiaphasCain: On his first deployment with the Valhallan 597th, Cain finds himself chatting with a very attractive GlamorousWartimeSinger by the name of Amberley Vail. Seeking to impress her, he goes on at length about the Inquisitor who's already on the planet, who is obviously the rogue trader Orelius (a very popular disguise to the point of {{Flanderization}}), to which she responds with appropriate gasping and widening eyes. Later on, he gets called in to rescue the Inquisitor from a firefight, at which point he is introduced to... Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos Inquisitor.
182** Less embarrassing given that Orelius is a close associate of Amberly and was at that moment doing exactly the job she'd have to if he hadn't been in the area. Cain's reasoning justifying the presence and activity of an agent of the Inquisition was good enough, and his talk about rogue traders funny enough, to genuinely impress her - a fact which greatly influenced the remainder of Cain's career.
183* In one book, ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' is invited to meet the leader of a group of rebels plotting to overthrow their king. Perhaps as a safety precaution, the person he is led to and the person leading him are impersonating each other.
184* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
185** A variant in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'' when a man claims to be a good friend of the Commander of the Watch to intimidate the watchman he's talking to, who is in fact Commander Vimes. As a bonus in an earlier letter to Vimes the same man claimed to be a good friend of the Patrician, an unlikely claim to anyone who knows the Patrician. As Vimes does.
186** In ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', Vimes assures the protagonists that he'll take them to the leader of the Ankh-Morpork regiment.
187** In ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'', when Vimes boards a riverboat claiming to be the police, an incredulous man asks "Who do you think you are? Bloody Commander Vimes?" The commander replies by asking the man if he's always this lucky.
188** ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'': A young braggart monk confronts the little bald wrinkly smiling "cleaner" Lu Tze. His teacher uses the moment to hammer home Rule 1 -- "Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald wrinkly smiling men". It's implied that the rule was written with Lu Tze in mind.
189** In ''Literature/MenAtArms'', when Angua attends a meeting of the Dogs' Guild, she's curious about the mysterious Big Fido who leads them, and even the biggest AngryGuardDog is scared of. She wonders if he's a wolf, and a small poodle gives a set speech about how ''all'' dogs are wolves ''really''. Angua asks if that's something Big Fido said, and the poodle turns so she can see [[PsychoPoodle the utter madness in his eyes]] and says yes, it is.
190* In ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', a pagan poet just released from Purgatory introduces himself by explaining how the wisdom of Creator/{{Virgil}} (especially in ''Literature/TheAeneid'') allowed him to appreciate the newly-emerged UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} and convert in secret. TheProtagonist can't stop himself from smiling at this to the poet's confusion; this confusion allows Dante to reveal that his guide through the afterlife is "that same Virgil from whom [he] derived the power to sing of men and of the gods."
191* Deliberately invoked in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' trilogy ''The War of Souls''. [[DiscOneFinalBoss Morham Targonne]], [[EvilOverlord the Lord of the Night]], is a mild, unassuming middle-aged man despite being the head of an order of {{Black Knight}}s feared across the continent; when giving an audience to people he hasn't met before, he'll typically invite them into his office and keep working quietly at his desk without acknowledging them, leaving the visitor to assume that this man is the Lord of the Night's secretary. He'll watch their reactions for a while, magically read their mind a bit to steal secrets, and once he's satisfied himself only ''then'' announce to the visitor that they are, in fact, in the presence of the Lord of the Night. Cue OhCrap.
192* An almost identical incident occurs in Louis L'Amour's ''Fair Blows the Wind'', when a tall, weather-beaten Scot tells Tatton Chantry that he can lead him to the legendary sword master Fergus [=MacAskill=], with whom Chantry wants to study fencing. The Scot is Fergus [=MacAskill=] himself.
193* Averted in the book ''Literature/{{Fangirl}}''. Cath, while in college, meets a fan of her fanfic ''Carry On, Simon'', who gushes about how well the author writes. Cath decides not to break the news to her, but quietly relishes the praise.
194* In ''Assassin's Apprentice'', the first book of the ''Literature/{{Farseer}}'' trilogy by Creator/RobinHobb, Fitz asks a woman where he can find Hod, who is going to teach him swordfighting. Naturally, the woman is Hod.
195* Used in the ''Literature/GeronimoStilton'' book ''My Name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton'', when Stilton prepares to meet his new personal assistant, Pinky Pick, whom he hired without even an interview, based on her impressive resume. When he finds a 14-year-old girl in the lobby who announces "My name is Pick!" he assumes that she's the daughter of his new assistant, until she clarifies that she is indeed his new assistant.
196* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', the title character throws lavish parties at his mansion, but does not mingle with his guests. Consequently, hardly anyone even knows what he looks like. When the narrator goes to his first party, he meets a man and admits that he's never met the host. The man admits that ''he's'' Gatsby.
197* ''Literature/HarryPotter''
198** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', Tom Riddle responds to Harry stating that Voldemort was after his time with "Voldemort is my past, present, and future," and [[SignificantAnagram rearranges his name]] from "TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE" to "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT".
199** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', Remus Lupin says of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, "We've met." [[spoiler:He's Moony.]]
200* In ''Literature/TheHauntingOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool'', a class of DifferentlyPoweredIndividual students have been told that they're getting a new teacher, but not anything about her. While they wait for the teacher to arrive, a girl shows up who has customised her school uniform in several non-regulation ways. Speke suggests she should do something about that before the new teacher shows up and she gets in trouble, and the newcomer thanks her and then explains that it won't be a problem because she ''is'' the new teacher.
201* ''Literature/JudgeDee'' frequently disguises himself as a peasant or traveling martial arts instructor (the latter suits him much better) during his investigations. This frequently results in him dropping "''I'' am the magistrate" when things get serious and someone suggests to report to the judge.
202* In the Chinese Light Novel ''Literature/TheKingsAvatar'' the protagonist Ye Xiu reveals that he is in fact a famous pro gamer to his new boss Chen Guo, she doesn't believe him at all.
203* In one of the ''MYTH Inc.'' novels, Skeeve gets set up on a blind date with a vampire, Cassandra. For whatever reason, she doesn't ask his name, and later she remarks, "Say, you're a friend of Vic's from Klah... do you know the Great Skeeve?" He plays along for a little while before revealing his identity.
204* ''Literature/LivInTheFuture'': Liv and Alix get into a morgue by claiming to be delivering a pet to "Josh". Before they can get out of the mortuary, they're found by a burly mortician who asks them what they're doing there. When Alix repeats their cover story, the mortician says ''he's'' Josh.
205* In ''Literature/TheProphecyOfTheStones'', the protagonists are looking for the wise and powerful sorceress Oonagh, and meet a quirky little girl who's constantly giggling and singing songs. The girl offers to show them where Oonagh lives, and it turns out that ''she'' is Oonagh.
206* This occasionally happens to Halt in ''Literature/RangersApprentice.'' Given that he's ShroudedInMyth, people expect a seven-foot-tall man who wrestles bears, [[Film/{{Braveheart}} shoots fireballs from his eyes, and lightning bolts out his arse]]. They're disappointed, and sometimes flat-out disbelieving, when it turns out that Halt is a short DeadpanSnarker who [[NotHyperbole cuts his hair with his own knife]].
207* In ''Literature/TheReader2016'', it's revealed near the end that Rajar, the assistant of Tanin, is the one who has been commanding the Impressors to kidnap young boys and leading the raids on the Ephygian bay in the name of Serakeen. Serakeen isn't a real person, but for all intents and purposes Rajar fulfills the role required of the character.
208* ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'': In the ''Heritage of Shannara'' series, Morgan Leah spends a long time arguing with a boy mopping floors that he wants to meet with Matty Roh, a resistance contact and owner of the inn they are talking in. After being thrown out twice by the small, skinny boy, he comes in holding the resistance leader's badge, pushes it in the boy's face and demands to speak to Matty. Turns out the reason a small skinny boy can beat a burly highlander is that she's not a boy and she knows WaifFu.
209* The last ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' novel, "The Valley of Fear", culminates in the infiltration of a criminal gang by a man from Pinkerton's. A trap is set for the private investigator, where it is revealed that [[spoiler:[[TheDragon McMurdo]] is [[TheMole Birdy Edwards]].]]
210* In one of the ''Literature/StarTrekStargazer'' novels, Admiral [=McAteer=] is strolling the Starfleet Academy grounds, and starts thinking about Boothby, whom he admires. At least, he's heard good things about the man. He encounters an elderly groundskeeper whose general attitude annoys him (and who has the gall to tell him off). Eventually, he demands the groundskeeper's name. Upon being told he's talking to Boothby, [=McAteer=] walks off spluttering.
211* From the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends Literature/XWingSeries'':
212** Early in ''The Bacta War'', Corran Horn is touring Tatooine with his girlfriend Mirax Terrik, daughter of the infamous smuggler Booster Terrik. A cantina owner points out that fact to get a creep to leave Mirax alone, so later, when Corran is arguing with a grizzled, one-eyed space pirate over who should get some supplies, he tries the same namedrop... only for the pirate to burst out laughing.
213--->'''Corran:''' How come that scared people at the bar, and this guy laughs?\
214'''Mirax:''' It worked on the people at the bar because they were afraid of my father.\
215'''Corran:''' And what's wrong with this clown?\
216'''Mirax:''' (''[[ThisIsGonnaSuck wince]]'') Well, Corran, he ''is'' my father.\
217'''Corran:''' [[OhCrap Oh.]] [[LameComeback I guess you take after your mother.]]
218** ''Isard's Revenge'' varies this when Wedge Antilles disguises himself as an Imperial with a [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetic hand]] and half a face, and has to make conversation with an actual Imperial, who has a conspiracy theory that the members of Rogue Squadron are actually quite easy to kill, but the reason why members like Wedge Antilles seem to have stuck around for so long is because [[CloningGambit they get cloned]]. Later in the book Wedge takes off his disguise in front of this Imperial.
219--->'''Wedge:''' You recall mentioning that you'd killed plenty of Rogue Squadron members at Brentaal, and that Wedge Antilles would be back?\
220'''Lorrir:''' Y-yes?\
221'''Wedge:''' You were right. I'm Wedge Antilles. I'm back. (''shoots him'')
222* Turned around early in the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' novel ''Wizard's First Rule''. Kahlan seeks out a LastOfHisKind wizard, and Richard leads her to his old friend Zedd, who he's confident can help them. Richard later figures out [[spoiler:the wizard is his friend, Zeddicus Zul Zorander]].
223** Played at least twice more in later books. First, in book two, Richard goes into the Prelate's office in order to speak to her. He first mistakes her for a maid (powerful magic users don't tend to dress too elaborately in the series). In book four, an old childhood friend is told by a witch to seek out Lord Rahl, who can help her find Richard. Of course, she meets Richard himself, and has trouble believing he '''is''' Lord Rahl.
224* A recurring theme in ''Literature/WaterMargin''. Every outlaw, criminal, and bandit in China admires Song Jiang but very few know what he actually looks like. Many times do these bandits and outlaws serendipitously discover that they have just met Song Jiang just as they are about to rob, murder, or inflict some other mayhem on him.
225* Occurs in ''A Spell for Chameleon'', the first of Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' novels, the first time Bink encounters Magician Humphrey.
226* In ''Literature/TheYoungAncients'' the protagonist Torrence is known to all his friends as Tor. This is also the name that gets spread around when he becomes a wizard famed across an entire continent, leading to some confusion in formal settings where he uses his full name. Several other people just flat out refuse to believe the skinny kid in front of them is the same wizard they've all heard of.
227[[/folder]]
228
229[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
230* Played for horror in ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven'' in a flashback to Queenie's time working in a fried chicken restaurant. When a rude customer claims that he wasn't given enough chicken (he actually ate a piece then tried to scam the restaurant out of more), he insults Queenie: "I'd like to speak to the manager, [[BerserkButton stupid fat-ass.]]" Queenie promptly snaps "I ''am'' the manager!" and activates her power of [[FeelsNoPain pain transferal]] on the jerk by sticking her hand in a deep fryer; since she is a human VoodooDoll, that causes ''his'' hand and arm to get covered in horrific burns.
231* ''Series/TheATeam'': People looking for the team usually found Hannibal in disguise when they met with the person who was supposed to get them in contact.
232* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Doctor Franklin has a reputation for taking his oath of confidentiality very seriously, so when he arrives with an offer to set up a meeting between Captain Sheridan and the man in charge of smuggling fugitive telepaths through the station, nobody is surprised. You already know who the meeting turns out to be with.
233* ''Series/BeingErica'': When starting a new job at a publishing company, the main character strikes up a conversation with an assistant and a young woman, and ends up insulting a book called ''The Secret of Now''. The woman turns out to be her new boss, recently promoted due to her success with that same book. Her assumption is understandable, as she expected the man who interviewed her to be her boss, but he was fired in the interim.
234* In ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' season 3, Eric tries applying for an internship at a TV station. He does well, but messes up a little bit in the interview compared to the very sharp-dressed young man he has as competition. After the interview, Eric talks with the janitor cleaning up the place and is genuinely nice to the old man, while bemoaning how he screwed up in front of the most important person in the station, the woman doing the interviews. The janitor corrects Eric, the woman is the second most important person. He is the first, as he is the station manager, and impressed with Eric's attitude and treatment of him, hires Eric for the job.
235* The ColdOpen of a ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' episode has Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, then the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, show up AsHimself for a quick beer. Norm, who's out of the room when the other patrons realize who their guest is, comes back and, at Cliff's urging, starts badmouthing the politicians in Washington ("They're a bunch of clowns!"). O'Neill then casually reveals himself as the Speaker of the House:
236-->'''Norm''': Don't be ridiculous! That would make ''you'' Tip O'Neill, and me...
237-->''([[ExplainExplainOhCrap Realizing what's happening]])''
238-->'''Norm''': ...a horse's butt.
239-->'''O'Neill''': You said it, not me.
240* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
241** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"]]: Theatre manager Henry Gordon Jago arrives at Professor George Litefoot's house to be greeted by someone he [[MistakenForServant thinks is Litefoot's manservant]]. It's actually Litefoot himself.
242** Happens in the never-finished serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada "Shada"]], when the somewhat doddery old Professor Chronotis turns out to be the notorious Time Lord renegade Salyavin.
243** Also occurs in the [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016r6pw prequel]] to [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E6TheBellsOfSaintJohn "The Bells of Saint John"]] with the Doctor in a playground lamenting his inability to find his friend (Clara Oswald) to a young girl. Of course, it turns out the young girl IS Clara, though the Doctor does not realize it and, upon young Clara's suggestion that he should think about it in a quiet place, goes off to a Cumbria monastery in 1207 in the resulting episode.
244** [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]]:
245*** The War Doctor arrives through a portal looking for his future self. He meets 10 and 11, and thinks they're companions. It takes the other two Doctors showing their sonic screwdrivers off for the War Doctor to realize "really?"
246---->'''War Doctor:''' I'm looking for the Doctor.\
247'''Ten:''' Well, you've certainly come to the right place.
248*** Moments later, some soldiers find them.
249---->'''Lord Benton:''' I will have the Doctor's head!\
250'''War Doctor:''' Well... this has all the makings of your lucky day.
251*** [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsofRiverSong The Husbands Of River Song]]: When River shows up looking for the Doctor, she doesn't recognize him when she finds him because she'd never encountered [[Creator/PeterCapaldi the Twelfth Doctor]] before. He initially tries to explain who he is, but then just decides to go along with it and see what happens. He only reveals himself near the end, shortly after River gives an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove regarding the Doctor.
252* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'': The latter part of the second season features the search for the head of Rossum, a mysterious person who hasn't been seen in public and may be to blame for everything in the show. [[spoiler:Boyd is the head of Rossum.]]
253* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'': In the "Thanks for the Memories" episode, a doctor filling in on UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay is dismissive of Dr. Bailey, saying he's only interested in meeting and working with The Nazi, an incredibly talented doctor he's heard about. Dr. Bailey pretends at times not to know who The Nazi is and at other times claims that The Nazi is busy nearby. At the end of the episode, the visiting doctor discovers that Dr. Bailey is The Nazi. (Miranda Bailey is a diminutive black woman - many people have made this mistake over the years.)
254* ''Series/HappyDays'': Done by proxy when a man tracks down Fonzie to give him a letter from his estranged father. The letter begins, "If you're reading this I didn't have the guts to tell you it was me who gave it to you."
255* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': In the first episode, when rookie detective Tim Bayliss first enters the squad room, he mistakes Steve Crosetti for his superior Al Giardello, only for the man talking to Crosetti to reveal ''he'' is Giardello.
256* On ''Life Sentence'', Stella is at a party hunting for a rich man who ended his donations to a clinical trial for a young cancer patient. She strikes up a talk with a sexy guy behind the bar and rants about "the rich d-bag" who cut it off as it wasn't effective. The man starts talking about how clinical trials have to meet certain standards to keep their funding, listing the various checks they need to match. Stella notes how "for a bartender, you sure do know a lot about clinical trials...[[OhCrap oh, don't tell me..."]]
257* ''Series/TheNanny'': In the episode "Whine Cellar", Fran tells Maggie about a cousin Irvie who'll show up at her mother's birthday. Maggie is convinced Irvie is a JewishAndNerdy loser, so as she chats with a handsome young man, trashing Irvie, she introduces herself only for the man to introduce himself as Irvie. As he walks away, Maggie bangs her head against the wall.
258* ''Series/{{NCIS}}''. Ducky storms into another coroner's autopsy room, angrily demanding "I'm looking for Dr. Jordan Hampton." (who failed to do an autopsy on the murder victim the team discovered). When the attractive woman present informs him, "You found her", he goes slack-jawed, having clearly expected a man instead.
259* ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'': Used hilariously when Steph is annoyed with her mother for wanting her to talk to the new local priest, and starts complaining about her, and the priesthood in general, to a stranger she meets outside the church. The man then joins in complaining, leading Steph to figure it out quickly.
260* ''Series/NewsRadio'': On the first episode, Dave Nelson turns up at the wrong building for his first day of work as news director of WNYX. When he shows up late at the correct building, he is looking for his new boss, billionaire Jimmy James, whom he has never met in person. He runs into him immediately, and asks him where Mr. James' office is. Mr. James gives him directions before telling him that he's not in there right now. Dave asks where he is, and in response Mr. James just stares at him, leading a nervous Dave to ask, "...Mr. James?"
261* ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'': Used in the very first episode when the Pai Zhua students are looking for a certain martial arts master to train them. First they run into the laid-back pizza maker RJ - then the monsters attack and RJ steps in to make quick work of them, revealing himself as the Pai Zhua master they're looking for.
262* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': In the [[Recap/RevolutionS1E1Pilot premiere]], Miles only tells the other characters that he's the guy they're looking for after learning that Charlie is the daughter of his recently-deceased brother.
263* PlayedWith in the HBO Comedy Special ''Creator/RodneyDangerfield: Nothin' Goes Right''. The cold open has Rodney having his makeup done by an attractive woman, and a male barber giving him a shave. Putting the moves on her, Rodney says, "Why don't you tell your husband you're working late, and then you and me'll go out for a drink?" She replies, "You can tell him that yourself. He's shaving you." The camera pans over to the barber, who's giving Rodney [[DeathGlare the stink-eye]]. Rodney turns to the camera and does a TitleDrop.
264* In the last series of ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' Spartacus poses as a slave trader, meeting the noblewoman Laeta and soon setting up the city to be invaded by his army. In the middle of the slaughter of the Romans, a terrified Laeta meets Spartacus, covered in blood.
265-->'''Laeta''': You aid Spartacus? \
266'''Spartacus''': No. I stand the man himself.
267** Earlier on, one of Spartacus's followers trash talks Spartacus to the man himself. He apologizes profusely when he realizes his error, but Spartacus shrugs it off and says he's not above criticism.
268* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E15Tsunkatse Tsunkatse]]", Seven is forced into a gladiatorial fight to the death against a superior opponent.[[note]]It's meant as a thinly-veiled execution; the original, more sporting matchup would have had her opponent from her previous, non-fatal match, which she lost - a Pendari played by Creator/DwayneJohnson - fighting in her place.[[/note]] An unnamed Hirogen champion trains her; she doesn't ask anything about her opponent and he doesn't tell her anything besides instructing her on his weaknesses, but Seven finds herself facing off against the Hirogen. Seven assumes the training was all a ruse, but the Hirogen tells her he's tired of fighting and wants to die in as fair a fight as possible.
269* ''[[Series/WaltDisneyPresents Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color]]'': In the introduction for "Inside Donald Duck", Creator/WaltDisney [[RogerRabbitEffect interacts]] with guest host Ludwig Von Drake and the two have such an exchange.
270-->'''Von Drake:''' Young man, I am Dr. Ludwig Von Drake. Kindly take me to Mr. Walt Disney.\
271'''Walt:''' ''I'm'' Walt Disney.\
272'''Von Drake:''' I knew it the moment I saw you! I'd never forget a face.
273* Used to comic effect in the pilot episode of ''Series/TheWestWing''. Sam is told he'll be meeting with "Leo's daughter's fourth-grade class" to tell them a little bit about the history of the White House. When he meets with the class in the Roosevelt Room, [[EpicFail he gives them a fake, fanciful history because he doesn't know anything about the White House]]. The class's teacher takes him outside the room and berates him. He responds by telling her his and the administration's travails (including that he "accidentally slept with a prostitute"), and asks her to tell him which of the students is Leo's daughter so he can see that she gets personal attention. The teacher reveals that ''she herself'' is Mallory, Leo [=McGarry's=] daughter, to which Sam responds, "Well, this is bad on so many levels."
274** Also done later in the season, also to comic effect, in the episode "Take This Sabbath Day"; Sam tells Josh to meet with Joey Lucas, the campaign manager for O'Dwyer, who wants to know why the White House isn't backing O'Dwyer. The next morning, a [[CantHoldHisLiquor very]] [[HangoverSensitivity hungover]] Josh is passed out on his desk when a man and a woman burst into his office, and while the woman is signing, the man starts screaming at him. Josh asks what's going on, and the man repeats a couple of times, "I'm Joey Lucas." Josh doesn't understand, until the woman finally says in exasperation, "You idiot! I'm Joey Lucas!" Turns out, Joey is a woman, and, [[Creator/MarleeMatlin like the actor playing her]], deaf, while the man is her interpreter.
275* ''Series/YesDear'': When Greg decides not to go to a Kevin Smith movie premiere, Jimmy takes the press pass and tickets instead. At the premiere, Jimmy uses the restroom at the same time as Kevin Smith (as himself). Jimmy does not know Kevin Smith. When Kevin asks about the movie, Jimmy proceeds to bad mouth the movie and its director.
276[[/folder]]
277
278[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
279* This is [[OlderThanFeudalism a very old trope]]: Jesus does it in Literature/TheGospels no fewer than three times after his resurrection, showing himself to the disciples -- but somehow they don't realize it's him. (John 20:14, 21:4; Luke 24:16). The conversation with the Samaritan woman in Sychar (John 4:1-26) comes close to it as well, with Jesus revealing at the end of the conversation that He is the Messiah for whom she's waiting.
280* In Homer's ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', Odysseus is helped by the gods to disguise himself as a an old tramp. He then enters his own household to investigate how suitors of his wife (believing him dead) are abusing his estate's hospitality. He initially introduces himself to his own son, Telemachus, to observe his reactions and intent to the developing situation. Once satisfied that his uninvited guests are pillaging his stores and furthermore treating him with disrespect, much to his son's chagrin, he reveals his true identity and proceeds with the help of Telemachus to slaughter the lot of them. This is undoubtedly the [[OlderThanFeudalism oldest example of the trope known]]. Later in the novel he reveals himself to the swineherd and cowherd after determining that they were still loyal to him, shortly before springing his trap on the suitors.
281* ''Myth/RobinHood'': Some versions have this with [[UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart King Richard]].
282* This also happens to Saul in [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel I Samuel]] when meeting Samuel for the first time. Saul is looking for a prophet of God and goes to a town where one is reputably staying. Thinking that he is just a citizen of the town, Saul approached Samuel and asks where the prophet is. Samuel informs Saul that he is the one for whom Saul's searching.
283[[/folder]]
284
285[[folder:Radio]]
286* In one of the "Pause for Thought" slots on [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] Radio 2, the Rev Alan Sorenson describes working at a supermarket opposite his church when someone was caught shoplifiting, and said she'd never done this before, and she was a good church-goer, you could ask anyone, ask the minister. "Missus, I ''am'' the minister."
287[[/folder]]
288
289[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
290* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Subverted in a vignette of a third party supplement, where a warrior seeking a martial arts teacher is first greeted by a humble, chuckling old man who claims he knows the teacher very well -- only to step aside as the actual teacher, a large, muscular warrior tells him to be quiet and welcomes the would-be student.
291[[/folder]]
292
293[[folder:Theatre]]
294* In ''Theatre/AnimalCrackers'', this leads to Spaulding ComicallyMissingThePoint:
295-->'''Spaulding''': Say, I used to know a fellow that looked exactly like you by the name of Emanuel Ravelli. Are you his brother?\
296'''Ravelli''': I am Emanuel Ravelli.\
297'''Spaulding''': You're Emanuel Ravelli?\
298'''Ravelli''': I am Emanuel Ravelli.\
299'''Spaulding''': Well, no wonder you look like him. But I still insist there's a resemblance.
300* In ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'', a nervous King Arthur and Queen-to-be Guinevere run into each other before the wedding. Guinevere, not knowing it's Arthur, complains a bit about having to marry a total stranger and is assured that the king isn't really all that bad.
301* In the Richard Strauss opera ''Elektra'', Elektra treats her brother Orestes as a stranger until he asks why his sister doesn't recognize him.
302* In ''Theatre/IphigeniaInTauris'' Orestes reveals himself to be the receiver of Iphigenia's letter, her brother.
303* ''Theatre/SheStoopsToConquer'' takes place almost entirely within the space between the deceit and the revelation. Charles Marlow, on the way to a blind date, stops at what he thinks is an inn and flirts with the barmaid. He's actually at the manor he was traveling to, and the barmaid is his date.
304[[/folder]]
305
306[[folder:Video Games]]
307* Played very simply in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', where Ezio helps a woman carry a box and talks to her about Ezio, eventually revealing that he ''is'' Ezio.
308* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' does this with Gaspar, the Guru of Time. When told to search for him, the party discovers that he's someone they already met much, much earlier in the game.
309** Also done when you are rescuing the Guru of Life from Mt. Woe, who turns out to be [[spoiler:Melchior, the swordsmith you met in the very first scene of the game and who helped you reforge the Masamune earlier. He doesn't remember this, though, because of time travel (it hasn't happened to him yet).]]
310* In ''VideoGame/DeathComeTrue'' Akane mentions that [[spoiler:she has a lover who is also an investigator. Makoto assumes she's refering to Kuji, before [[AmnesiacHero remembering]] that it's him]].
311* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'':
312** At one point, JC Denton is sent to look for a young woman named Nicolette Duclare. He meets a girl in a French club that promises to take him to see her. When he meets up with Nicolette, it turns out that she is the same woman he met in the club earlier.
313** In ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', Jensen is looking for crime boss Tong Si Hung in a nightclub and is sent to talk to the VIP bartender for his whereabouts. If the conversation goes well, the bartender directs him to Tong's office. When Jensen reaches it, the "[[KingIncognito bartender]]" is there waiting for him and mocks Jensen for not figuring it out. If Jensen has a CASIE aug, however, he can use it during the conversation to immediately see through Tong's act and call him out on it, winning the social battle.
314* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', Oghren runs into you by this way if you didn't talk to him first in the tavern. When you're ready to set out to Deep Roads to mount a search party for a paragon who is needed to support a king candidate (and who happens to be Oghren's wife), he stumbles into you, asking if you have seen a Grey Warden. You can play dumb and ask what does (s)he look like, and he'll say a long list of KnightInShiningArmor qualities with appropriate PurpleProse, and is instantly disappointed to see that you're the person he is looking for.
315-->'''Oghren:''' Seems that the requirements have gone way low.
316* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', the sage Ghido turned out to be the turtle that Bartz was bugging at the moment.
317* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' the first time Marche meets Ezel Berbier, Ezel speaks about himself in third person and it isn't revealed until later that he was in fact Ezel Berbier. However given that he is rendered with a different sprite from the [[YouAllLookFamiliar standard NPCs]], as well as the fact that he is speaking in a very cryptic manner makes this one of the more conspicuous examples
318* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', the mage in the mountains (Lezaford) pulls this on Luso.
319* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
320** In a bit of a variation, in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything Dart]] tells [[BloodKnight Karel]] about dozens of legendary warriors, like a giant who shrugged off all blows and a mage who could freeze his enemies' blood. After Dart mentions each person, Karel calmly tells him they're dead. Dart doesn't seem to realize that Karel killed them all before he tells him. In their final support Dart describes a mad sword demon who leaves behind a trial of bodies and a one man army, and tells him to seek him out for a duel, before Karel reveals he is that Sword Demon.
321** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Ike is put to the task of finding the apostle, empress of the nation he was seeking assistance from, on his ship. He finds a small girl, and tells her to wait since he needs to find the apostle. Naturally, this girl turns out to be the apostle.
322** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
323*** In Chapter 11 if you're a [[spoiler:Black Eagle, you are accosted by Adrestian soldiers working for the Flame Emperor. Bernadetta asks Edelgard, princess of Adrestia, if she knew about the connection, and she responds that she knew because she ''is'' the Flame Emperor.]]
324*** In Linhardt and Leonie's paralogue, [[spoiler:Linhardt addresses the dragon guarding the weapon they're looking for and starts talking about Saint Indech; the dragon replies that it is better that they fight "in ignorance". It's naturally revealed that the dragon is Indech himself.]] Such a conversation does not happen in Claude's paralogue, where [[spoiler:a dragon is also fought over a legendary treasure of Saint Macuil, though Claude and Byleth later speculate (correctly) that the dragon is actually Macuil.]]
325* The introductory video for ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' champion Tahm Kench, ''The River King'', ends on this trope. A narrator, accompanied by floating pages with illustrations, tells the story of a gambler who made a DealWithTheDevil with a catfish monster that inevitably ended poorly. At the end, the narration switches to first person from the demon's perspective, and the camera turns to reveal the narrator as Tahm Kench.
326* In ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'' the wandering merchant Price helps you try to find the missing ex-paladin leader Redire, it is later revealed that Price IS Redire.
327* ''VideoGame/MyChildLebensborn'' has a correspondence-induced case. [[spoiler:The PlayerCharacter eventually gets an address for the child's German grandparents and sends them a letter asking for means of getting into contact with the child's biological father. However, the grandparents have died, so the person who gets the letter and answers it is the biological father himself]].
328* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': In Tressa's opening chapter, she attempts to take back stolen goods from a band of pirates who claim to owe their Might Makes Right philosophy to a famed pirate by the name of Captain Leon. She is rescued by a mysterious merchant who had sailed into port earlier that day - soon revealed to be none other than Leon himself, having given up his life as a buccaneer to become an honest merchant.
329* In ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'':
330** Mario comes back to town from Shooting Star Summit and told that Merlon is looking for him. When he knocks on the door, he's told that Merlon is out. If he tries again, he is again told that Merlon is out, but the door opens, knocking him down. A man in a robe comes out, and when Mario gets up, they go inside, and the robed man reveals himself to be Merlon.
331** Mario is trying to get to Dry Dry Ruins. He meets with a mouse called Sheek. Mario may part with an item to be told that Moustafa knows how to get there. If Mario gives him the right item, he'll be able to tell Mario how to see Moustafa: by buying items in the correct order, which is a sign to the shopkeeper. Upon following these directions, Mario arrives to find... Sheek! And he was Moustafa all along!
332* In the mainstream ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, there are certain characters who would often help the protagonists throughout the story. Unless you know the plot of each game already, it would take much later until you find out that they are actually the [[FinalBoss Champion]].
333** Lance from ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', Steven from ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', Cynthia from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', Iris from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', and Diantha from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' all play this straight, with roles in the story ranging from minor to supporting before revealing themselves at the very end. Kukui from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' also plays this straight, but he never actually claims the title of Champion and instead serves as the final obstacle before you can be crowned as the inaugural Champion.
334** Alder from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' and Leon from ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' are aversions, as they are bluntly introduced as the Champion right from the word go. In Alder's case, [[spoiler:this is likely to hide the revelation that he's ''not'' the FinalBoss, as he's taken out by N right before the endgame]]. In Leon's case, he's a major celebrity in Galar, and his younger brother Hop (who is also your rival) is motivated by a desire to surpass him.
335** Blue from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' and Hau from ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' are played with since they are your rivals who start out as ordinary trainers and earn the title of FinalBoss offscreen.
336* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'': Sage Joch does this, sending the party out on ''five different sidequests'' before revealing that he was the person they were looking for all along.
337--> "Go away! The sage is out!"
338* The next game in the series, ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' has a similar sequence in which the party needs to find a legendary (and tiny) strategist. The old man in town tells them that he's not in this place, and suggests they ask around. After a long fruitless search, they come back only to be told that the old man ''is'' the strategist. Justified with "I was walking around at the time, so I wasn't in any place". And then the town mocks them for their gullibility. *grumble*
339* ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}} 2'': Ryo is looking for the leader of a Shaolin monastery and is told by a girl that he should look around the place for clues to understand the monks' beliefs and that only then will the master reveal himself. After that nonsense an old man shows up; Ryo assuming this must be the master tries to talk to him shushing the girl but in the process it turns out that the girl is the actual master and the old guy is just the janitor.
340* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', there's a mission where you're told to find a captain. Thing is, the person who gives you the mission actually is the captain.
341* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
342** In ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', the protagonist is assigned to kill a Jedi. Later on in the game, it's revealed that the Jedi survived, but lost his sight as a result of the battle. In a twist on this trope, the protagonist now needs the Jedi's help and so pretends to be a stranger, hoping the Jedi won't find him out. At the end of the game we find out [[SecretSecretKeeper the Jedi suspected it was the protagonist but chose to help him anyway.]]
343** ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. No one really believes it...
344* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}''
345** The [[VideoGame/SuikodenI first game]] pulls this trick when you're first looking for TheStrategist. It's sort of [[InterfaceSpoiler given away]] by the fact that ''his name is in the textbox'' when you're asking him where he lives.
346** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'', this happens when you're looking for Lino En Kuldes. Who apparently makes a habit of it, as his usual outfit is an open vest and cut-off shorts.
347* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'': When climbing the Tower, the player learns that [[spoiler:Sheep, the questioning A.I. who desperately sought meaning in the world, and Shepherd, the guide who gives the most helpful and positive advice of all the bots, are one and the same: Sheep took on the moniker of Shepherd after climbing the Tower and learning the truth of the simulation, but being blocked by Samsara from ascending.]]
348* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 5'' has Robert Baxter, the protagonist of ''Time Crisis II'', help out the heroes in hunting down Wild Dog and a traitor from the VSSE, the latter of which they suspect to be Keith Martin, also a ''Time Crisis II'' protagonist. Not only [[GoodAllAlong is Keith not the traitor]], but the real traitor is ''[[BigBadFriend Robert]]'', after the former exposes the latter as one, in which the latter eventually decides to stop playing nice to the heroes.
349* One side quest in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' has the player hunting down a demon by the name of Zygaena. A drug dealer in the local bar will arrange a meeting in a nearby warehouse, but only if you tell him that you're planning to kill Zygaena. Guess who shows up in that warehouse.
350* In ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'', Walker was supposed to deliver [[spoiler:an apology from King Albus]] to Ivy, but didn't realize that Ivy was the nice lady giving him directions!
351-->'''Walker''': I'm supposed to deliver this to Ivy.\
352'''Ivy''': ''I'm'' Ivy.
353* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Neku spends much of the game looking for [[BigBad The Composer]] after partnering up with Joshua, who wants to take down the Composer and usurp his position. In the third week, Beat wants to become Composer so that he can end the Reaper's Game [[spoiler:and bring Rhyme back to life]], so the hunt for the current Composer resumes. After defeating the FinalBoss, Neku learns that [[spoiler:Joshua was actually The Composer all along, and he'd manipulated Neku into doing his bidding]]. Cue Neku's [[HeroicBSOD Heroic Blue Screen of Death]].
354[[/folder]]
355
356[[folder:Webcomics]]
357* ''Webcomic/GirlsWithSlingshots'': This happens when Hazel is trying to spy on Jamie, and the person she believes to be Jamie's new boyfriend, by enlisting Jamie's new ''girlfriend''.
358* ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName'': A certain paranormal investigator is often thought to be the sidekick to his undead (and nameless) companion. Usually his clients were ExpectingSomeoneTaller.
359* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': During ''Egbertbound'', John encounters several salamanders who talk about being excited to meet the famous Heir -- that is, John -- and consistently fail to realize that he's the one talking to them right now.
360* ''Webcomic/{{Inverloch}}'' gets insidious with this, between Silvah/Kayn'dar [[spoiler:--and Acheron/Kayn'dar]].
361* ''Webcomic/{{Kubera}}'': While wandering around looking for the Priestess of Chaos (to kill her and take down the barrier), Gandharva is taken in by Teo Rakan, a wealthy young Quarter who slowly becomes the only human he has ever sympathized with. Then he asks who the Priestess is, and she casually says she's sitting right in front of him.
362* ''Webcomic/MoonOverJune'': An older man sternly lectures a twenty-something woman about nosing through the office of the new professor; then he spots the photo of [[RightInFrontOfMe recently minted and hired Dr. Hatsuki Hasegawa, PhD and her daughter]] on the desk.
363-->'''Guy:''' I Say! Did you bring in a picture of yourself for the professor? [[SustainedMisunderstanding That is really, really inappropriate, young lady!]]\
364'''Hats:''' Must... not... murder... brain-damaged... colleague...
365* ''Webcomic/NotAVillain'': Paddy thinks that Danni's avatar is a tribute to the late ballerina Daniella Morretti. Danni has to clarify that she actually ''is'' Daniella Morretti and is still alive.
366* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': After a battle during which Onni provided a lot of magic support long-distance, Reynir decides to check on him via the mage-exclusive TalkingInYourDreams system. Once in Onni's protected area, he sees an owl sitting on a tree branch, assumes it's Onni's luonto and goes to pet it while asking it if it knows where "his human" is. With the extra info that Onni has been shown to be able to take his luonto's form in a previous chapter, guess who Reynir turns out to actually be petting and calling "little buddy".
367[[/folder]]
368
369[[folder:Web Original]]
370* WebAnimation/ASDFMovie does this.
371-->'''Guy:''' Joey, did you eat my sandwich?\
372'''Joey:''' I ''am'' your sandwich. (Joey then forces himself down Guy's throat)
373* One Website/{{Tumblr}} post which was later illustrated into a [[http://ojiisanholic.tumblr.com/post/128622133993/facingthewaves-i-want-to-speak-to-a-manager comic]] details a disgruntled customer demanding to a store employee that she speak to the manager. This triggers an [[RuleOfDrama excessively dramatic]] scene which includes the appearance of cackling demons and an EvilLaugh from the employee. The employee then goes on to reveal that she ''is'' the manager.
374* In ''Podcast/PokemonWorldTourUnited'', Rose and Cobalt meet Trey soon after reaching Cerulean City. He escorts them to the Cerulean Gym but it's only well after they've arrived and been introduced to the Junior Trainers they need to battle first that it's revealed that "Trey" is short for Trajan, the Cerulean Gym Leader.
375[[/folder]]
376
377[[folder:Western Animation]]
378* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': A RunningGag of Roger’s typically a character asking him to help out with their situation, so he helps by claiming to “know a person” who can help them. Soon, Roger would come back as one of his personas to help them out.
379* [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarAang Aang]] in the first episode and a half of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. The others weren't actually looking for the Avatar, but their reactions when they find out that that's him definitely fit. The kid had his reasons for trying to hide it.
380-->'''Katara:''' Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?\
381'''Aang:''' [[IJustWantToBeNormal Because... I never wanted to be.]]
382* Subverted at the start of Book 4 of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. The owner of the underground fighting ring seems to recognize [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAvatarKorra Korra]] as the Avatar, but she denies it.
383* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': In the episode "The Ultimate Enemy", Dark Danny, Danny's [[FutureMeScaresMe evil self]] from a BadFuture, travels back in time to secure his existence, [[VoluntaryShapeshifting disguised]] as present Danny. When Jazz uses the Fenton Peeler to expose him, Jack and Maddie promptly demand to know what he did to "their boy", to which Dark Danny informs him ''he'' is their boy, followed by a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about their ParentalObliviousness:
384-->'''Dark Danny:''' ''[{{evil laugh}}]'' I ''am'' "your boy"! What kind of parents are you, anyway? The world's leading paranormal experts, and you couldn't figure out your ''own son'' was half-ghost! Hello! Danny ''Fenton''. Danny ''Phantom''. Ever notice the similarities?
385* ''WesternAnimation/DinosaurTrain'':
386** When Buddy and Tiny first meet Erma ''Eoraptor'', they ask her if she knows where Erma is. She plays along until she reveals that she ''is'' Erma.
387** When the ''Pteranodon'' family meets Iggy ''Iguanodon'', they ask him if they know an ''Iguanodon'' named Iggy who's an old friend of the Conductor's. Iggy plays along and complements himself in third-person until Buddy figures out who he is.
388* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' [[PlayedForLaughs does this for laughs]]:
389** In “No Country Club for Old Men”, when Peter is shocked to find out Chris is dating the Country Club owner’s daughter, he’s quick to share this news to gossip girl. As we cut to a few women getting some texts, we actually get to see the actual Gossip Girl, being Peter himself.
390** In “The Birthday Bootlegger”, Peter does a stand-up comedy act at his brewery, and claiming the joke of his own, but Chris catches Peter from the window, and prepares to give him payback, but it then cuts to a newspaper reading “FATSO KID STEALS JOKE FROM DAD”, in which the camera reveals Peter reading the newspaper, while dressed as a classic reporter manager.
391->'''Peter:''' I own the school paper. (To a couple of students working in the printer room) Get me dirt on Principle Sheperd’s car! I also own the school car wash. (Puts Cigar in Mouth) Myeah! Myeah!\
392
393* Inverted in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "A Better World": The Justice League are trapped in an AlternateUniverse ruled by KnightTemplar {{Evil Counterpart}}s to the league, and are ambushed by the army. Justice Lord Batman (whom the league are trying to avoid) then turns up and calls off the army, making Superman think [[ImpersonatingTheEvilTwin it's their Batman in disguise]].
394-->'''Superman:''' You fooled them all. Even ''I'' thought you were him!\
395'''Lord Batman:''' I ''am'' him.
396* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
397** "The Wild Hare":
398--->'''WesternAnimation/BugsBunny:''' What's up, Doc?\
399'''Elmer Fudd:''' Shh... there's a [[ElmuhFuddSyndwome wabbit]] down there, and I'm trying to catch him.\
400'''Bugs:''' What do you mean a "wabbit"?\
401'''Elmer:''' Wabbits! Wabbits! You know, with big wong ears!\
402'''Bugs:''' Oh, like these? ''[shows his ears]''\
403'''Elmer:''' Yeah, and a little white fwuffy tail!\
404'''Bugs:''' Like this? ''[shows off his tail]''\
405'''Elmer:''' Yeah, and he hops awound and awound.\
406'''Bugs:''' Like this? ''[hops around]''\
407'''Elmer:''' ''[to the audience]'' You know I bewieve this fella is an R. A. B. B. I. T. ''[to Bugs]'' Pardon me, but you know, [[CaptainObvious you look just wike a wabbit]].\
408'''Bugs:''' Ehhh, c'mere. Now listen, Doc, now don't spread this around, but... uhhh... confidentially... [[SuddenlyShouting I AM A WABBIT!]]
409** WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck is (the actual) Myth/RobinHood in "Robin Hood Daffy" but Porky Pig, as Friar Tuck, refuses to believe him. The entire cartoon is spent on Daffy trying to prove that he is indeed Robin Hood and making himself look ridiculous in process. In the end, he quits trying and joins Porky as a man of cloth, [[PunnyName Friar Duck]].
410* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyAndFriendsE44CrunchTheRockdog2 Crunch the Rockdog, Part 2]]", when Megan and the ponies first meet His Elevated Eminence, they don't realize that the talking mountain is the "mountain king" they've been looking for and ask for where they can find himself.
411-->'''Megan:''' Excuse me, whoever you are, do you know where we can find His Elevated Eminence?\
412'''HEE:''' ''You're standing on him!''
413* The 1962 Paramount cartoon ''Perry Popgun'' has the titular detective entering a club in disguise, and everyone recognizes him. Everyone except his girlfriend Goldie, who slaps him when he approaches her.
414* In the first ''WesternAnimation/PiratesOfDarkWater'', Ren seeks out the wise man Alomar in the Abby of Galdebar. First he meets an imposing man, who he assumes is Alomar, but he's just a servant. Next he encounters a fearsome dragon, who it turns out is Alomar.
415* An episode of the ''WesternAnimation/PolePosition'' animated series had the characters sent to retrieve a sensitive research satellite for a "Doctor T. Russell". Along the way, they're helped by this flannel-wearing, backwoods-type CoolOldLady named "Dora". Meanwhile two fellows, both claiming to be "Dr. Ted Russell" and "Dr. Tom Russell" are trying to get the satellite. The protagonists finally find it...and the backwoods-lady reveals that they're ''both'' industrial spies. Her full name is Dr. ''Theodora'' Russell, and she just happens to live out in the middle of nowhere.
416* Played for laughs in the third-season ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Flaming Moe's". Moe's bar, temporarily tremendously popular due to Moe's appropriation of Homer's drink, the "Flaming Homer", possesses a man going by "Hugh Jass", the fake name that Bart chose to prank the bar with. Jass good-naturedly allowed Bart to bail on the failed prank call.
417''WesternAnimation/Smiling Friends'', in “Who Violently Murdered Simon S. Salty?”, [[MundaneSolution Pim calls the police station after discovering Salty’s body.]] [[SimpleSolutionWontWork But unfortunately the officer stops him, explaining that they have “a new force” in charge of murder investigations, and alerts them just now. And suddenly, Charlie gets a call from the boss, telling them of their new job to solve Salty’s murder, as their group is in charge of murders now.]]
418* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E15ThroughImperialEyes "Through Imperial Eyes"]], Grand Admiral Thrawn has called in ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen to assist in the search for a [[TheMole mole]] in the Imperial ranks. Yularen asks Agent Kallus for his opinion on who the mole might be. Kallus gives a very careful response to that question — because, in keeping with this trope, ''he'' is the mole.
419* PlayedForLaughs in "King Mario of Cramalot," an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow.'' Koopa has taken over the titular kingdom and gets upset when he hears the heroes are in town:
420-->'''Koopa''': Mario thinks HE'S King of Cramalot? That impudent little faucet-fixer! HOW DARE HE? There's only ONE King of Cramalot! ''(Turning to a Troopa minion at his side)'' AND WHO IS THAT?
421-->'''Troopa''': [[TooDumbToLive Uh, can you give me a hint?]]
422-->'''Koopa''': ...HE'S SITTING '''''RIGHT HERE ON THIS THRONE!'''''
423-->'''Troopa''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Well, gee, maybe you'd better get off him!]]
424-->''(Koopa gives an epic AsideGlance to the camera)''
425* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', Leo's first meeting with The Ancient One is a textbook example of the trope. Fortunately he figures it out on his own.
426* This happens in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Robin went to study martial arts under a mysterious teacher called The True Master. To get to The True Master, he must climb a tall mountain before sundown. Along the way, he repeatedly encounters an old woman who requests his help carrying her things up the mountain, which he refuses because he's in a hurry. When he arrives, it turns out [[OldMaster she is The True Master]], but there's no implication that she concealed her identity on purpose. [[YouDidntAsk Robin just never thought to ask]]. You see, [[StealthMentor that was one of her lessons]].
427* Lampshaded and subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{What If|2021}}'', when Dr. Strange is seeking a particular sage.
428-->'''Strange:''' Where can I find Cagliostro?\
429'''O'Bengh:''' Well, maybe here, maybe there. Maybe nowhere.\
430'''Strange:''' Wonderful. You're cryptic. Please tell me ''you're'' not Cagliostro.
431* Master Dashi in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. When Omi traveled to the past to find him, he tried to ask Dashi if he knows him, without knowing he was talking to him. Granted Dashi didn't tell him, either. He tried to hide his identity, but a younger version of Dojo gave him away.
432[[/folder]]
433
434[[folder:Real Life]]
435* This is the main premise of the [[Website/{{Reddit}} subreddit]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/dontyouknowwhoiam/ r/dontyouknowwhoiam]], which posts screenshots of people who fall afoul of this trope on social media by unwittingly confronting celebrities and other experts.
436* Nestor Makhno, the Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary, caught a group of German officers going to a party held in their honor by Ukrainian landlords, who had welcomed the invading Germans. After executing the officers, Makhno and his men dressed in the German army uniforms and attended the party in their stead. Much of the conversation at the dinner party circled around Makhno. At the end of the meal, a toast was offered to the capture of the dreaded anarchist Nestor Makhno. Makhno drank off the toast and announced, "I am Nestor Makhno." In the silence and horror which followed, Makhno tossed a bomb into the room as he and his men leaped out the windows and escaped.
437* TruthInTelevision, sort of: A president-elect, governor, business leader, etc., initiates a search committee to fill an appointed position, but ends up picking someone on the committee or the person who had already been helping him in that area anyway.
438** In 2000, presidential candidate George W. Bush appointed Dick Cheney as the head of his running mate search committee before choosing Cheney for the job.
439** The conclave of Cardinals following the death or abdication of a Pope is presided over by the Dean of the College of Cardinals. In 2005, after the death of Pope John Paul II, the Dean was Joseph Ratzinger, whom the conclave elected Pope Benedict XVI. He was considered, as it were, the frontrunner even before John Paul II was dead.
440* Website/NotAlwaysRight:
441** Disgruntled customers often demand to see the manager or owner, only to be told that they're already speaking to them. Done with a twist [[http://notalwaysright.com/getting-owned-by-the-owner-part-2/26871 here]] and [[http://notalwaysright.com/he-has-been-governated/24928 here]].
442** [[https://notalwaysright.com/grande-old-time/92938/ This customer]] flees when being told the barrista she's been contemptuous to ''is'' the manager, and then ''phones up'' and demands to speak to the manager, and fails to recognise that she's been put through to the same person, because ''she's the manager'':
443--->'''Customer''': “I asked for the manager, not the rude b*** in the drive through!”\
444'''Me''': “Ma’am, that ‘rude b***’ is still me, and I am still the manager. Given that you have now escalated to verbal abuse, I will be putting in a report to corporate, and I am terminating this call.”
445* There's an Italian joke subverting this trope: Jesus walks along the street when he sees a sad old man sitting on a bench. He stops and asks him what his name is and why he is sad. He says his name is Joseph and he has lost his son. "How will you recognize your son?" "He has nails in his hands and feet." "Father!" "Pinocchio!" (Geppetto is a diminutive for Giuseppe, the Italian form of Joseph.)
446* At one point right after confederation, Sir John A Macdonald (the first Prime Minister of Canada) was at a diplomatic reception in Washington, D.C., where he struck up a conversation with an American senator's wife. When he revealed he was from Canada, she began asking about his Prime Minister, stating she had heard stories that he was a drunk and a rogue. Sir John A agreed with her on both points, at which point the senator himself wandered over and fully introduced him.
447%% * [[http://notalwaysright.com/this-teacher-will-keep-you-on-your-toes/4837 This story.]] The young-''looking'' lady by the receptionist's desk at the studio was kind of important.
448* {{Inverted}} in a story with Creator/WaltDisney. While he was secretly scouting out land for a second theme park on the US east coast in the mid-1960s, he'd travel under fake names. Eventually, he was recognized (since he did [[Series/WaltDisneyPresents host a TV show]] at the time, [[ClarkKenting it was crazy that it hadn't happened before]]) by a reporter who asked if he was the real Walt Disney. Walt replied with "No, but I get confused for that bastard all the time. Trust me, when I find that son of a bitch I'm ''really'' going to let him have it." [[FridgeBrilliance Since of course the "real" Walt Disney would never swear or threaten physical harm on anyone, the reporter decided it wasn't him and walked away.]]
449* Creator/KevinSmith once attended a picket line of ''Film/{{Dogma}}'' as a picketer. A reporter covering the event ''almost'' figured him out, but Smith introduced himself using his friend, Bryan Johnson's name (who was standing right next to him).
450* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington
451** Painter Gilbert Stuart had a moment with George Washington. Stuart had been invited to a presidential levee and, assuming it was run along the same lines as similar events in Europe, presumed the room full of milling, chatting gentlemen was a sort of waiting room and he would in due course be ushered into the presence. Eventually, President Washington noticed an unfamiliar guest wandering around talking to no one and, like a good host, went over and introduced himself. Stuart, it is said, never entirely recovered from this experience.
452** A man was riding along when he saw an officer who was ordering soldiers to lift timber but not doing anything to help them. The rider asked him why he was just standing there; the officer sneered, "Why sir, I'm a corporal!" Upon hearing this, the stranger promptly dismounted and spent several minutes helping the men move the timber. As he was about to ride off, he turned to the pompous corporal and quietly said, "The next time you have a piece of timber for your men to handle, corporal, send for your commander-in-chief."
453* There is a story concerning Peisistratus, a politician from Ancient Athens, who was walking through the Athenian countryside and got chatting with a farmer. Not realizing who he was talking to, the farmer spent most of the conversation criticizing Peisistratus' policies, calling him a tyrant, and complaining about unfair taxes. Peisistratus listened patiently, then asked, "What do you get from the land you farm?" The farmer replied: "Nothing but aches and pains. If only Peisistratus and his tax collectors would take their fair share of those." Peisistratus, having a good sense of humor, decreed that the farmer need never pay taxes again.
454* British artist Sir Stanley Spencer was invited to receive an award at a ceremony in London. While getting off the train at Euston station, a gentleman mistook him for a porter and asked for help carrying his bags. Stanley obliged and helped the man carry his bags across London. When he arrived at the ceremony that evening, the award was handed to him by the gentleman he'd helped earlier that day.
455* The [=MagnaFlow=] commercial listed under Advertising is likely based on an incident that ''actually happened'' to legendary British UsefulNotes/FormulaOne driver Sir Stirling Moss[[note]]there are various apocryphal versions of the story, but Moss' version is the truth, as recounted by him in an interview[[/note]]. He was once pulled over for speeding and asked, "Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?", and had quite some difficulty convincing the policeman that actually, he ''was'' Stirling Moss.
456* There is an almost certainly apocryphal story of various great leaders such as Napoleon or Peter the Great [[KingIncognito going out into his army disguised as a common soldier]]. He met a savvy veteran who shared that he had gotten short on money and taken his sword to a pawn shop, with the plans to redeem it as soon as he got paid. Until then, he had only the hilt of a sword attached to a stick that went into his scabbard. Later that day, Napoleon returned undisguised to hold a surprise inspection. He found a soldier who did not pass, then turned to the veteran and ordered him to cut down his comrade. The veteran, knowing he faced punishment if anyone knew he had pawned his sword, cried out "May God turn my sword to wood so that I need not do this thing!" He then drew his sword hilt which had a wooden blade. The next day, he received a beautiful new sword and a note saying "This one will get you more at the pawn shop," signed Napoleon.
457* Creator/EmmaWatson said once that she'd go out to a restaurant, and be told "You look ''just like'' the girl who plays [[Film/HarryPotter Hermione Granger]]!", to which Emma would laugh and inform them that, well, that's because she ''is'' "that girl".
458* Following treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, Australian songstress Delta Goodrem's hair grew back shorter, curlier, and darker. A stranger is alleged to have told her "You look a lot like Delta Goodrem, only prettier."
459* Inverted by J. Golden Kimball, a prominent Mormon in the early 20th century. Once he was drinking coffee in a restaurant and someone recognized him, prompting the following exchange.
460-->'''Lady:''' Aren't you Brother Kimball? And isn't that coffee you're drinking?\
461'''Kimball:''' Ma'am, you're the third person today who's mistaken me for that old SOB.
462** Stories hold that Albert Einstein had a similar trick, especially later in life when he had become famous. Whenever someone would start talking to him, he'd loudly whine "Ach! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein!"
463* Creator/CarrieAnneMoss once purchased a [[Franchise/TheMatrix Trinity]] action figure, explaining to the clerk that it was a gift for her husband. The clerk asked if her husband didn't perhaps have a bit of a crush on Trinity, to which Moss replied, "I hope so!"
464* Creator/SimoneMissick, who plays Misty Knight in ''Series/LukeCage2016'', [[https://twitter.com/SimoneMissick/status/847967514751586304 recalls]] once being asked by a cashier, "Have you seen ''Luke Cage''? You look like the woman on the show," to which she replied "Is it good?" and he said, "I like it".
465* In another joke, an officer moved to [[DeskJockey a Pentagon job]] finds himself overloaded with bureaucratic red tape. Worse, he notices that a young lieutenant in the next office is finishing far more paperwork in far less time. Swallowing his pride, he asks the lieutenant his secret, which turns out to be "Just stamp everything 'Route to Major [[MrSmith John Smith]]' — somebody around here is bound to have that name and rank". One guess who that turned out to be...
466* The Secret Service was protecting President UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson during a trip to Canada. A particularly keen agent stopped a middle-aged man who was about to walk into the house at Harrington Lake where the President was staying. "Who are you and where are you going?" "I live here, and I'm going to the bathroom," said Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada.
467* On UsefulNotes/RichardFeynman's second day at Cornell, he went to the housing office to look for a place to stay. They told him "Listen, Buddy, the room situation is tough. In fact, it's so tough that believe it or not, a professor had to sleep in the lobby here last night." He replied, "I am that professor and I'm not keen on doing it again."
468* Queen Elizabeth II once stopped in a roadside shop incognito during a road trip. As she was paying, the clerk said, "You know, you look awfully like the Queen." Her Majesty replied, "How very reassuring."
469** This wasn't the only time this happened either; there's a very funny story about how, when Her late Majesty was in Scotland during her yearly holiday, she was stopped by a tourist, her security guard not far away. The tourist asked Her late Majesty if she'd ever met the Queen. Her late Majesty is said to have replied "No, but he has," indicating the security guard. The tourist evidently or seemingly never caught on that they'd met Her late Majesty, as the story ends with Her late Majesty's statement.
470* An Athenian named Aristides, nicknamed "the Just" is said to have once been approached by a man who didn't recognize him who wanted help writing the name Aristides on an ostrakon (a piece of broken pottery that Athenians used as scrap paper) as his vote for who to ostracise[[note]]i.e. exile from Athens for ten years[[/note]]. When asked why he wanted Aristides ostracised, the stranger replied that he'd never met him, but was sick of hearing him called "the Just". Being an honest man, Aristides writes his own name on the ostrakon, and ended up ostracised, though presumably by more than one vote.
471* After the 2017 Barcelona van attack, a woman attracted by the commotion asked what had happened to a man leaving the area. The man shrugged and said he didn't know. He was Younes Abouyaaqoub, the perpetrator of the attack.
472* Creator/EmiliaClarke [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz2k6t6rjBY admits on Conan]] to being unrecognizable when without her Daenerys wigs. And even with her ''Game of Thrones'' castmates, no one would know it was her.
473* Shortly after Michael Jackson's "Beat It" came out, Eddie Van Halen (who plays the guitar solo on the track) was at a record store when the song came on. He overheard a teenager saying to his friends, "Listen to this guy, trying to sound like Eddie Van Halen!" He then tapped the poor kid on the shoulder and said, "Actually, that ''is'' me." No word on how the skeptical lad reacted.
474* As of the end of UsefulNotes/TheNewTens, Tony Hawk has been a constant victim of this. Many of his tweets are anecdotes of how people always fail to recognize him and even straight up often ask him what he thinks Tony Hawk is up to nowadays. It's even worse when he tells them, often with skateboard in hand, that his name is Tony, to which the standard response seems to be "oh, like Tony Hawk?"
475* Music/PaulMcCartney occasionally comes to visit his childhood home when he is in Liverpool, though usually keeps his visit pretty low-key, for obvious reasons. One of the custodians of the house tells a story about one particular sleepy Sunday afternoon when Paul, sitting quietly in his car and watching the goings on in the street, was approached by a local who asked him if he wanted directions to the house. Paul replied "No need - I am Paul!" In response, the local studied him carefully, and said "Nah, you're not. You look a bit like him though!"
476* Creator/RowanAtkinson tells [[https://youtu.be/Il72uEjs4o0?t=56 a very funny story]] about almost getting recognized in a Land Rover parts department, by someone who wasn't quite convinced that he was the REAL Rowan Atkinson.
477* In World War I, an officer being escorted by a dispatch guide couldn't keep up. He asks the guide to slow down with, "Who do you think I am, Tom Longboat?" The guide replied, "No, sir. But I am." and continued to run. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nniCNm19mAQ Gagwe:gih (whose name means "Everything"),]] was known around the world as Tom Longboat, an Onondaga Canadian long-runner who was a household name for breaking records at the 1907 Boston Marathon.
478[[/folder]]

Top