History Main / CelebrityParadox

* CelebrityParadox/FanFics

* CelebrityParadox/NewspaperComics

* CelebrityParadox/AudioPlay

In truth, every film or TV series that stays even partially grounded in the "real" world is inherently affected to some extent by this paradox, because you can always raise the question of whether the show, the film, its actors or those actors' prior roles still exist inside the work's own internal reality -- the only way it can ever be truly avoided is by writing an entirely fictional universe which never, ever acknowledges the existence of anything or anyone from, and doesn't even pretend to bear any resemblance to, the real world at all. Don't overthink it, just accept the simplest answer: things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. Creator/JeriRyan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on. But also, accept that it's usually not ''important'' to devote any serious attention to this "problem".

In truth, every film or TV series that stays even partially grounded in the "real" world is inherently affected to some extent by this paradox, because you can always raise the question of whether the show, the film or its actors still exist inside the work's own internal reality -- the only way it can ever be truly avoided is by writing an entirely fictional universe which never, ever acknowledges the existence of anything or anyone from, and doesn't even pretend to bear any resemblance to, the real world at all. Don't overthink it, just accept the simplest answer: things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. Creator/JeriRyan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on. But also, accept that it's usually not ''important'' to devote any serious attention to this "problem".

In truth, every film or TV series that stays even partially grounded in the "real" world is inherently affected to some extent by this paradox: the only way it can ever be truly avoided is by writing an entirely fictional universe which never, ever acknowledges the existence of anything or anyone from the real world at all. Don't overthink it, just accept the simplest answer: things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. Creator/JeriRyan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on. But also, accept that it's usually not ''important'' to devote any serious attention to this "problem".

In truth, every film or TV series that stays even partially grounded in the "real" world is inherently affected to some extent by this paradox: the only way it can ever be truly avoided is by writing an entirely fictional universe which never, ever acknowledges the existence of anything or anyone from the real world at all. Don't overthink it, just accept the simplest answer: things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. Creator/JeriRyan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on.

Of course, in real life, there are plenty of people who closely resemble celebrities and go about their business without being mistaken for them. [[TrumanShowPlot Maybe we're all in a movie]]!

In truth, every film or TV series that stays even partially grounded in the "real" world at all is inherently affected to some extent by this paradox: the only way it can ever be truly avoided is by writing an entirely fictional universe which never, ever acknowledges the existence of anything or anyone from the real world at all. Don't overthink it, just accept the simplest answer: things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. Creator/JeriRyan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on.

If the actors or their works do not exist, this implies an InSpiteOfANail AlternateUniverse. As an example, actress Creator/JeriRyan divorced her husband to play Seven of Nine on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' (he refused to move to Hollywood with her). The divorce was contentious, and a lot of salacious dirt was spilled. When Jack Ryan ran for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2004, the release of the divorce documents forced him to withdraw, allowing his challenger to win in a landslide against a last-ditch replacement. The landslide victory propelled the challenger, UsefulNotes/BarackObama, to a position from which he could then launch a campaign for President, and... well, you know the rest. But the paradox is, do you think it says that in ''Voyager'''s historical database? Of course not. (This is all hypothetical anyway, as Star Trek's timeline has fallen to some {{Zeerust}} since the 1990s, when predicted events in the original series never came to pass)

The answer usually gone with is the simplest one -- things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. This actually appears in ''Film/LastActionHero'', as the image above shows. Creator/JeriRyan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on.

Playing with this is a form of PostModernism. ActorAllusion can be a form of playing with this. Contrast YourCostumeNeedsWork and compare RecursiveCanon, see also DifferentWorldDifferentMovies.

To what extent this is done is a subject for discussions amongst fans. Do the actors themselves not exist? Do other works the actors have appeared in exist? If they do, who starred in them? You can also scale this out to the point of total absurdity by combining it with SixDegreesOfKevinBacon; for example, if ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' were to mention the existence of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in-universe, then would it become a problem that Creator/JasonSegel wrote and appeared in ''Film/TheMuppets'' three years after acting alongside Creator/KristenBell in ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall''? Does the show have to avoid making references to Facebook just because Creator/JesseEisenberg played Mark Zuckerberg in ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'' before appearing in ''Film/NowYouSeeMe'' with Creator/WoodyHarrelson, who first became famous for starring in ''Cheers'' alongside [[Creator/TedDanson an actor]] who looks ''exactly'' like Michael?

To what extent this is done is a subject for discussions amongst fans. Do the actors themselves not exist? Do other works the actors have appeared in exist? If they do, who starred in them? You can also scale this out to the point of total absurdity by combining it with SixDegreesOfKevinBacon; for example, if Series/TheGoodPlace were to mention the existence of Series/TheMuppetShow in-universe, then would it become a problem that Creator/JasonSegel wrote and appeared in Film/TheMuppets three years after acting alongside Creator/KristenBell in Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall?

To what extent this is done is a subject for discussions amongst fans. Do the actors themselves not exist? Do other works the actors have appeared in exist? If they do, who starred in them? It's probably best not to [[BellisariosMaxim overthink]] these, but some impulsive connections are bound to occur. If taken far enough, such speculation can overlap with the LiteraryAgentHypothesis. (In fact, the LiteraryAgentHypothesis may be the best way out of the paradox: the [[Series/DoctorWho Tenth Doctor]] doesn't ''actually'' look like Creator/DavidTennant any more than Film/ErinBrockovich really looks like Creator/JuliaRoberts.)

If the actors or their works do not exist, this implies an InSpiteOfANail AlternateUniverse. As an example, actress Jeri Ryan divorced her husband to play Seven of Nine on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' (he refused to move to Hollywood with her). The divorce was contentious, and a lot of salacious dirt was spilled. When Jack Ryan ran for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2004, the release of the divorce documents forced him to withdraw, allowing his challenger to win in a landslide against a last-ditch replacement. The landslide victory propelled the challenger, UsefulNotes/BarackObama, to a position from which he could then launch a campaign for President, and... well, you know the rest. But the paradox is, do you think it says that in ''Voyager'''s historical database? Of course not. (This is all hypothetical anyway, as Star Trek's timeline has fallen to some {{Zeerust}} since the 1990s, when predicted events in the original series never came to pass)

Some animations actually even conciously play with this trope with TalkingToHimself by having the actor voice themselves...and someone else (for total RefugeInAudacity, they even point the celebrity out themselves).

The answer usually gone with is the simplest one -- things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. This actually appears in ''Film/LastActionHero'', as the image above shows. Jeri Ryan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on.

** CelebrityParadox/DCExtendedUniverse
** CelebrityParadox/MarvelCinematicUniverse

** ''CelebrityParadox/{{Arrowverse}}''
** ''CelebrityParadox/{{Glee}}''
** ''CelebrityParadox/HowIMetYourMother''
** CelebrityParadox/MarvelCinematicUniverse

Many a show or movie trying to be hyper-realistic does its best to distill this concept to an extent by refusing to cast a CelebrityStar because he or she is not obscure enough and would be too recognizable, as it strains WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief. Of course, if the star ''becomes'' famous [[StarMakingRole because of said work]], the same issues could still pop up.

If the actors or their works do not exist, this implies an InSpiteOfANail AlternateUniverse. As an example, actress Jeri Ryan divorced her husband to play Seven of Nine on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' (he refused to move to Hollywood with her). The divorce was contentious, and a lot of salacious dirt was spilled. When Jack Ryan ran for the U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2004, the release of the divorce documents forced him to withdraw, allowing his challenger to win in a landslide against a last-ditch replacement. The landslide victory propelled the challenger, UsefulNotes/BarackObama, to a position from which he could then launch a campaign for President, and... well, you know the rest. But the paradox is, do you think it says that in ''Voyager'''s historical database? Of course not.

Of course, in real life, there are plenty of people who closely resemble celebrities and go about their business without being mistaken for them. [[TrumanShowPlot Maybe we're all in a movie]]! In a clever, if gimmicky approach , In Oceans Twelve, Tess Ocean, played by Creator/JuliaRoberts, impersonates Julia Roberts during a con , due to the characters uncanny resemblance.

Of course, in real life, there are plenty of people who closely resemble celebrities and go about their business without being mistaken for them. [[TrumanShowPlot Maybe we're all in a movie]]!

** CelebrityParadox/{{Arrowverse}}
** CelebrityParadox/HowIMetYourMother

To what extent this is done is a subject for discussions amongst fans. Do the actors themselves not exist? Do other works the actors have appeared in exist? If they do, who starred in them? It's probably best not to [[BellisariosMaxim overthink]] these, but some impulsive connections are bound to occur. If taken far enough, such speculation can overlap with the LiteraryAgentHypothesis. (In fact, the LiteraryAgentHypothesis may be the best way out of the paradox: the Tenth Doctor doesn't ''actually'' look like Creator/DavidTennant any more than Film/ErinBrockovich really looks like Creator/JuliaRoberts.)

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/LastActionHero http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stallone_terminator8.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/LastActionHero http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stallone_terminator5.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/LastActionHero http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stallone_terminator_8056.png]]]]

->''Within the reality of one specific fiction, how do other fictions exist?''

The answer usually gone with is the simplest one -- things went the same way, but in place of the actor or show that could not exist, it was a ''very similar'' actor or show. This actually appears in ''Film/LastActionHero'', as the image above shows. Jeri Ryan probably moved to Hollywood because she got cast in ''[[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined Battlestar Pegasus: The Geminon Years]]''. Nobody in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' notices that William Bell looks just like Mr. Spock because, in their universe(s), Spock was played by Creator/ChristopherLee. And so on.