Netflix and MCU stars are identical twins and not same person, viewers baffled
Don't rub your eyes! You're not seeing double! That isn't a single person but two different actors, as people have been stunned to discover.
You may recognise Shawn Ashmore as Iceman from the X-Men franchise, and you might remember Aaron Ashmore from Smallville, where he played Jimmy Olsen in 53 episodes.
Or you might have thought they were just the same actor all along and are currently having your mind blown.
It doesn't help matters that Shawn also rocked up in Smallville for a couple of episodes, playing the role of Eric Summers.
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But no, they are not the same person but instead identical twins born on October 7, 1979, in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, with Shawn being the older of the brothers by one minute.
Fans were left stunned that there is two Ashmores
Aaron joined the cast of Netflix show Ginny & Georgia in the third season in 2023, playing the character Gil Timmins for two years over 14 episodes.
Yet, one fan took to the Ginny & Georgia Reddit page last year to share their amazement that it wasn't actually Shawn playing the role.
"This whole time I thought I was watching Shawn Ashmore from the Rookie," the post said.
"It turns out that Shawn Ashmore and Aaron Ashmore are twins. I had seen Shawn in the Rookie play Wesley, a very sweet and kind husband and very unlike Gil. It turns out the actors are twins!"
The user wasn't the only one, as there was a flood of replies in agreement.
"You’re telling me these are two different people?" one bemused Redditor asked. While another added: "I am glad I am not the only one who got so confused thinking I was watching Shawn Ashmore the whole time."
One user said: "I was like omg that's literally the same person, wtf. Then realising they are twins, and they are genetically, literally the same lol."
Another simply added: "WHAT!!!???"
How the Ashmores got started in acting
Like many an actor, the Ashmores got their first break as children in commercials.
In fact, Aaron was the first to be cast but fell ill on the day of filming. Luckily, a double was on hand to sub in and Shawn took his place.
The twins look so alike that casting agents would leave it to chance to choose between them.
“When we were doing commercials, they would call us back in after we both auditioned," Shawn told US Weekly.
“And [they] said, ‘We love you guys both. And so it’s fair, we’re gonna flip a coin so that you guys can see it’s not preferential treatment.’”
He added: “That happened four or five times where they’d say, ‘Hey, come on, come in, we’re gonna hire one of you.
"But so that the other one doesn’t get their feelings hurt or they don’t think it’s personal, we’re gonna flip a coin in front of you guys.’
Daniel Murphy