Charles Hall Chasen and Michael Malone, photographed in Atlanta in 2014. “Our mothers don’t see the resemblance,” Malone told CBS News’ Anthony Mason. “And when I met Charlie, I didn’t see the resemblance, either.”
In today’s story, we learn about an unusual photography project that brings people together — often complete strangers — and highlights their resemblance. In the beginning, French Canadian photographer Francois Brunelle asked friends he thought looked alike if they would participate, and then he put the word out on social media.
CBS covered the story for National Look-Alike Day (who knew?) in 2015. Public Radio International (PRI) did an interview this year.
From CBS: “On National Look-Alike Day, April 21, [we take] a look at Francois Brunelle’s long-running photography project of ‘doppelgangers’ bringing together people who share an uncanny resemblance but no family ties. …
“The 64-year-old photographer had the idea for the project after someone said he looked like the actor Rowan Atkinson’s character, Mr. Bean. He didn’t see the resemblance at first. But then came the inspiration: ‘I’ll find two identical people, I’ll bring them together, and then when they meet they will be in shock,’ Brunelle told CBS News’ Anthony Mason. ‘And then I will take a picture of them. And that will be amazing, to look at this picture.’ …
“Nina Singh and Anna Rubin, photographed in Montreal in 2004, [were] born on the same day, look alike, but [are] unrelated. (One’s parentage is from Eastern Europe, the other’s from India.) …
“Stephanie Kazar and Christy Walker (photographed in Atlanta in 2014) aren’t related, either. Kazar hails from Georgia, Walker from Ohio. [They are the women in the first shot below.]
” ‘It’s very rare you find your own twin,’ said Walker.
“Ayanna Bryant and Lindsey Sampson, photographed in Atlanta in 2014: The two first met when they shared a room in college:
” ‘The day I moved in, she walked into the dorm and my mom was like, “Oh my gosh! She’s your twin!” ‘ laughed Bryant.
” ‘I really think that she was the ying to my yang,’ said Sampson. …
“Valerie Carreau and Jean Philippe Royer, photographed in Montreal in 2004, look like they could be brother and sister, but they are not – they’re a couple. …
“Word about Brunelle’s project began to spread over the Internet. He’s received emails from people all over the world – the United States, South America, Europe, New Zealand, and China. …
“The government of Colombia recently commissioned Brunelle to shoot an advertising campaign to promote harmony. They found look-alikes who often were meeting for the first time during the shoot. The tag line of the campaign: ‘Let’s choose to see what we have in common.’ …
“Brunelle’s project is supposed to end with the book he plans to publish, but he says he has a problem: ‘If I would go photograph everyone that has written me, I would travel for years!‘ “
Of course, you need to look at all the pictures. See them at the CBS site, here, and the photographer’s website, here. You can also listen to PRI’s The World interviewing Brunelle about the project, here, and watch the video below. No firewalls.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Thank you for sharing. Some are dead on matches.
It’s just uncanny, especially people who come from opposite sides of the world!
I’ve always wondered if I have one, fascinating!
It would be fun to discover if you were alike in ways besides looks.
That’s amazing! I’ve always wondered if mine’s out there somewhere.
It sounds like we don’t usually recognize our own doppelganger: it takes someone else to see the resemblance.