13 Times Actor Siblings Starred In A Movie Or TV Show Together And We Didn’t Even Notice

Margot Nolan
Jul 01, 2022
Jul 01, 2022

Having a family member in the spotlight while they were growing up may encourage some family members to emulate that person. Some families strive to avoid collaborating, such as the brothers Dave and James Franco, for a while, while others, such as John and Joan Cusack, have done so many times in their careers.. The idea of casting real-life siblings in movies and TV Shows creates a real dynamic due to the actors being related by blood.
What’s more, casting the actor's sibling is a much better option when it comes to a body double, or simply a younger version of the character. Of course, a filmmaker could decide to clone an actor for a variety of reasons, from having a backup in case the actor becomes sick to depicting numerous iterations of the character in a single shot. While CGI can be an option, there are situations when using an actor's sibling is a far simpler one.
We created a list of siblings who had similar roles in several films. Without seeing these films and TV shows, we would have never found out about them!

#1 The younger version of Alba DeTamble from the movie The Time Traveler’s Wife was played by Hailey McCann's sister

Source: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

We encounter two incarnations of the character, Alba, in the 2009 film The Time Traveler's Wife, one in the present and one in a flashback. Tatum McCann, actress Hailey McCann's younger sister, played the younger version of the girl.

#2 The younger version of Dakota’s character in I Am Sam was played by Elle, her sister

Source: © East News, © Mary Evans/Allstar/Graham Whitby Boot./ East News

Elle and Dakota Fanning are four years apart in age, with Dakota being the elder. Dakota was cast as the lead in the 2001 film I Am Sam, while Elle was featured in flashback scenes when Dakota's character was two years old.

#3 Besides Chris Hemsworth, Luke Hemsworth (the famous Westworld star) was also cast as Thor's cameo

Source: © AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/East News

Luke, Chris, and Liam Hemsworth are all actors in the Hemsworth family. And they all have something to do with Chris' iconic position as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at one time! Liam was the one who auditioned for the position, but Luke also got to portray Thor on television. In Thor: Ragnarok, he makes a surprise cameo as Thor instead of his brother.

#4 One time, Jason London had to be his brother’s body double in I’ll Fly Away for the series finale

Source: fanpop

I'll Fly Away was a TV program in which Jeremy London portrayed Nathan Bedford. The series ended with a 90-hour film, although Nathan was played by Jeremy's identical brother, Jason, instead.

#5 Nicholas Brendon’s twin brother played the role of Xander from Buffy The Vampire Slayer in season 3

Source: @nicholasbrendon

Buffy The Vampire Slayer's third season introduced the viewers to a different version of the main character, Xander. Kelly Donovan, the actor's twin brother, portrayed the other version.

#6 Laverne Cox’s twin brother had to play her character from Orange Is the New Black

Source: © Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection/East News, © Orange Is the New Black/Lionsgate Television/Netflix

Laverne Cox is a transgender actress who starred in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black. Sophia, her character, was briefly seen in a flashback before her change. After learning that Laverne had a twin brother, M. Lamar, the show's director urged that he attend and audition for the role. That's how he ended up playing his sister's role!

#7 In one scene in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Linda Hamilton’s sister was cast as the second Sarah

Source: Albert L. Ortega/WireImage/gettyimages

In one moment of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, we see two Sarah Connors because the major adversary disguises himself as one of them. The role of the fictitious Sarah, however, was portrayed by Leslie Hamilton, Linda Hamilton's twin sister.

#8 Penélope Cruz had a body double in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Turns out the double was Mónica, Penélope Cruz’s younger sister

Source: © Peter Mountain/Walt Disney Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection/East News, © Fotonoticias / WireImage / Getty Images

Penélope Cruz was expecting her fourth child while filming the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. To avoid having to replace her, the director devised a great solution: Mónica Cruz, her younger sister, was invited to serve as a body double for the combat sequences. The sisters seem so similar that spectators are unlikely to detect the difference unless they are aware of it beforehand.

#9 Rami Malek starred alongside his twin brother, Sami, in the movie Buster’s Mal Heart

Source: © Invision/Invision/East News

Rami Malek and his twin brother, Sami Malek, could easily pass for the same person - Rami quipped that they "looked so similar that their parents probably lost track of who's who." Sami Malek first featured in the film Buster's Mal Heart as his brother's body double.

#10 Twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse played the same adopting child in Big Daddy

Big Daddy, a 1999 film, was about Adam Sandler's character adopting a child to please his lover, and twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse played the youngster. Sandler reflected on his time working with the twins 20 years later, saying he is "baffled" at how attractive they are today.

#11 In one episode of Law & Order, Jill Hennessy was so busy that her sister had to take the role

Source: George Pimentel/WireImage

Jill Hennessy played Claire Kincaid, the assistant district attorney on Law & Order from season 4 to season 6, however she was incredibly busy with another job in the meantime and couldn't make it to the production of one of the episodes. Fortunately, her twin sister, Jacqueline Hennessy, played Claire Kincaid instead.

#12 The character Abel Teller in Sons of Anarchy and Mad Men was played by the twins Ryder and Evan London

This exceptional set of twins has been invited to collaborate on two major projects. From 2011 to 2014, they played the role Abel Teller on Sons of Anarchy, and from 2012 to 2015, they played the character Gene on Mad Men.

#13 The same character in their debut film, Sky High, was played by Khadijah and Malika Haqq

Penny, the main character in the 2005 Disney film Sky High, has the ability to create clones of herself. Khadijah and Malika Haqq, twins, portrayed this part. The sisters recalled the audition, stating that the director was not seeking twins especially because they saw single performers in the waiting area, but it appears that they were a good option to utilize.

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