Culture

When photographer François Brunelle was young, everyone told him he looked exactly like Mr. Bean. As a younger man, he wasn't familiar with the British comedian. But one day, when he happened to catch a glimpse of Mr. Bean on TV, he was shocked at the similarities. It was far more than just a passing resemblance, he realized, and it piqued a fascination in him with lookalikes, or doppelgängers.

And as a photographer, the discovery also gave him a pretty great idea: "Find, bring together and take a photo of look-alikes, in the hope that, when meeting in front of the lens, they would produce an extraordinary image, being in shock themselves with the presence of their double," Brunelle tells Upworthy.

So he launched his project "I’m not a look-alike!" and set about finding incredible pairs of doppelgängers from around the globe. He's since spent over 25 years finding and photographing these amazing doubles, essentially making it his life's work.

Brunelle has been photographing lookalikes for over 25 years.François Brunelle

The concept of a doppelgänger comes from German folklore, and refers to an "invisible spirit double" of a living person, according to Merriam-Webster. Today, we use the term to describe two people who look extremely alike.

Doppelgängers, for clarity, are not identical twins and are not related. They may not look exactly alike down to the finest detail. They may be different heights or have different body types or hairstyles. At first glance, you might dismiss some of the pairs as not being all-that-similar.

But there's no denying that the matches in Brunelle's project have remarkable similarities in their facial features. Sometimes the mouths and noses are nearly identical, the curves of the eyes and eyebrows uncannily alike. The closer you look, the more incredible the matches become.

Brunelle finds doppelgängers by pouring through endless submissions on his website.François Brunelle

Brunelle has his contact information available on his website, where people reach out regularly if they or someone they know has a lookalike.

Sometimes, the pairs are told by mutual friends for years that they look alike. Sometimes, they meet randomly by chance in the street and are struck by their own similarities. Other times, a person will spot a stranger that looks exactly like one of their acquaintances.

That's when they reach out to Brunelle.

Sometimes, the doppelgängers already know each other.François Brunelle

He says the act of bringing doppelgangers together for a photograph is fascinating.

"Some look-alikes know each other already and show no signs of surprise. The others, who meet for the first time, show some excitement and surprise, but this lasts only a few seconds, not enough for me to do a decent photo. Finally, something more deep comes out of the encounters and the images," he says.

Two Dutch women photographed for the project went on to not only become great friends, but co-authors of an illustrated book.

Often, the doppelgängers become friends after the project.François Brunelle

The project has been wildly popular throughout its run as Brunelle continues to photograph more and more amazing doppelgängers.

He says he's not exactly sure why people find doppelgangers so fascinating, but he believes it has something to do with, "my theory that humans beings are just members of one, big and beautiful family."

Brunelle can't fully explain why we're all so fascinated with lookalikes. François Brunelle

Brunelle's project has even been a launchpad for further research into doppelgängers.

People with strong similarities in their physical features are likely to also have powerful similarities in their genes and DNA. That part isn't surprising, but fascinatingly it means that "fake twins" like the pairs in Brunelle's project are also highly likely to share personality and lifestyle traits, in addition to noses and lips that look alike.

"In terms of their lifestyles, the “human doubles” were also more likely than non-doppelgängers to have characteristics in common, such as their weight, height, smoking history and education levels," writes Smithsonian Magazine.

Researchers discovered this by analyzing facial features of Brunelle's subjects and interviewing them thoroughly about their lives.

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With 8 billion people in the world, the odds are pretty strong that someone, somewhere looks and behaves quite similar to you. Brunelle's project has captured the imagination of so many because we can't help but wonder... What if we're not as unique as we think?

You can follow more of Brunelle's work on Instagram.