People are mindblown that the nodding bearded man meme is not Zach Galifianakis
A whole heap of people have been really surprised to learn that the person in a massively popular viral meme is not Zach Galifianakis, but is actually another celebrity altogether.
You know the one – a man with fair hair and a bushy beard is nodding, symbolising approval for whatever the poster has seen online.
Whilst you might think it’s Zach Galifianakis, the star of The Hangover, Due Date, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, it certainly isn’t.
It sure looks like him, but it really isn’t.
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It’s actually Robert Redford, who is arguably more famous within the world of cinema, even though his career has wound down somewhat in recent years.
Well, he is in his late 80s, so it’s understandable that he might be choosy with his roles.
Redford is best known for roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well as All the President’s Men, A Bridge Too Far, and The Horse Whisperer, to name but a few.
He’s also won a Best Director gong at the Academy Awards for 1981’s Ordinary People.
Anyway, this meme isn’t from one of his most recognisable roles, which might account for why so many people think it’s someone else.
It’s from the 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson, directed by Sydney Pollack.
In that film, Redford plays a man who moves into the wilderness to live, but must also prove himself to the local Crow Native American tribe.
To be fair, it might not be one of Redford’s most well-known roles, but it’s definitely not some small and unknown movie, either.
The Western was premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 1972, before earning a decent amount at the box office.
On Rotten Tomatoes it has a positive 95 percent rating from 20 critics, and is therefore – by that metric alone – probably worth a watch.
Anyway, it’s really easy to see how people might confuse the two actors, given that their look is pretty similar.
What’s more, at around the time this meme started to gain traction, Galifianakis was starring in The Hangover, which was a massive hit.
Still, even years later, this is news to some people.
After LADbible shared a picture explaining the difference, one person commented: “Absolute bulls**t. That’s Zach I don’t care what anyone says.”
Another wrote: “Well I never," while a third person said: “Wake up babe, new Mandela effect just dropped.”
However – in the interest of balance – a lot of people also told us that they (because they’re obviously super smart and cool) knew that it was Redford all along.
One 1970s cinema expert asked: “How in the hell don’t people know that is Robert Redford?”
A second person said: “No one thought it was Zack . Humanity is surely not that idiotic”
Well, have we got some news for you.
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film
Tom Wood