... FOR "EVEN MORE ACTORS WHO SHOULD PLAY OTHER ACTORS' FAMILY MEMBERS"

If I pride myself on anything here at FTWW, it's that I'm constantly trying to go against the grain of what every other blog on the 'net is doing. By this I mean no disrespect. There are plenty of quality ways to spend your time online, especially if you're as movie-hungry as I am. Movie trivia sites. Aggregate movie review sites. Sites which cover every aspect of the history of film, or scoops and spoilers about every upcoming film. Yet ever since the beginning, it's been my mission statement of sorts to fly in the face of all that - because why bother giving you something you can literally experience thousands of places elsewhere? And so from this idea came regular columns such as Franchise Face-Offs or MacGuffin With Egg or Details You Probably Never Noticed, the purpose of which is not to preach, or sound smarter than the average person off the street, but to open your eyes to the many ways we look at films - the little things that make them work (or not work), and maybe make us view them in a whole new light.

Which is why it's been just a tad disheartening while researching these AWSPOAFMs to find that many other sites have kinda/sorta covered the same idea already. Popsugar's done it. Den of Geek has done it. Heck, even Cracked.com has done it (their Alec Baldwin/Millard Fillmore connection is an especially nice touch). And in those moments when I've thought to myself, Why bother then?, I am reminded of the simple fact that there is no longer anything new under the sun, this idea of the Celebrity Lookalike included. It's something that's obviously crossed the minds of many a blogger or casual TV watcher/movie goer (even yourself) on many an occasion. That's part of the fun, isn't it? Because it isn't the subject itself you're tackling, but how you go about it that makes all the difference.

So I guess what I'm saying in a roundabout way is: Yes, I'm aware we're treading very familiar ground here, despite my claims that the blog is always aiming for the contrary. By asking you to play along, however, I continue to hope that we can turn this into something interactive and special. The match-ups I post here are merely a jumping off point; feel free, as always, to submit your own suggestions, no matter how outside-the-box they may be, either in the comments below or on Facebook. And if not, so be it! If I've at least got you thinking about it, that's victory enough.

Let's get to it!

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Tom Cruise                Scott Wolf
(Risky Business, Mission: (Party Of Five, Everwood,
Impossible, Magnolia)     Go)             

Possible Relation: Brothers

Notes: Called "the poor man's Tom Cruise" in certain circles (or so I've heard), Mr. Wolf's vocal inflections and adorably dimpled grin have always had an uncanny Cruise-ness about them, ever since his Party Of Five days. (Also, check out the shape of their eyes!)

Lauren Graham             Maggie Gyllenhaal
(Gilmore Girls, Bad       (Donnie Darko, Secretary,
Santa, Parenthood [TV])   The Dark Knight)

Possible Relation: Sisters

Notes: Yes, we're all very aware by this point that Ms. Gyllenhaal already has an equally famous real-life celebrity sibling. But her cuddle-worthy puppy-dog cheeks are a perfect match for Ms. Graham's, which (one hopes) Hollywood will rectify sooner rather than later.

Craig Sheffer             David Boreanaz
(Some Kind Of Wonderful,  (Buffy The Vampire
A River Runs Through It)  Slayer, Angel, Bones)

Possible Relation: Brothers

Notes: Sheffer kinda-sorta faded into relative obscurity after his starring role in 1992's A River Runs Through It, a fact which would hurt far worse if not for his regeneration as one-time vampire Boreanaz, who currently fishes for criminals on Fox's Bones. (Suggested by Becky Sisson Dallin.)

Liam Neeson               Benjamin Walker
(Schindler's List, Rob    (Flags Of Our Fathers,
Roy, Taken, The Grey)     In The Heart Of The Sea)

Possible Relation: Father/Son

Notes: Watching Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter the other day (a mistake, I know), I was struck by the similarities between star Benjamin Walker and his older, wiser counterpart, Mr. Taken/Qui-Gon Jinn himself – as if they'd simply smeared age-rejuvenating makeup all over Neeson's face  and tried to pass him off as our undead-hunting, Emancipation Proclamation-wielding President of the United States. (Irony alert: Neeson was Spielberg's long-time choice to star in Lincoln before Daniel Day-Lewis got the part.)

Danielle Panabaker        Britt Robertson
(Sky High, Piranha 3DD,   (Dan In Real Life, Scream
The Flash [2014])         4, Tomorrowland)

Possible Relation: Sisters

Notes: I admit: I totally confused Robertson for Panabaker during the trailers for Tomorrowland this summer. But now that I've become infatuated with The Flash on the CW, it's become much easier to tell them apart.

Dominic Monaghan          Joseph Cross
(The Lord Of The Rings    (Flags Of Our Fathers,
Trilogy, Lost)            Milk, Lincoln)

Possible Relation: Cousins

Notes: Uncanny resemblance to Monaghan aside, at least Mr. Cross can rest easy knowing he'll eventually be cast as Meriadoc Brandybuck in the eventual roadshow revival of The Lord Of The Rings.

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Your turn. Contribute! Make suggestions! And chances are they'll appear here in a future post. And for past AWSPOAFMs, click here and here.