Tom Hanks says he’s mistaken for Michael Keaton ‘all the time’

Tom Hanks is often sought to play “every man” type roles, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when’s he’s mistaken for other men. But who fans mix up the Oscar-winner with is surprisingly former Batman Michael Keaton.

“Oh, Keaton all the time,” Hanks revealed on a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “Yeah, me and him are, you know, some form of odd doppelgänger back from a long time ago. They don’t say ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ to me exactly. But a lot of time, ‘Hey, were you in that?’ You know, I get that.”

The actors don’t particularly look alike, but there are solid data points to take into account when considering the comparison. The actors are only five years apart in age, their film debuts came only two years apart (Hanks with He Knows You’re Alone in 1980, and Keaton with Rabbit Test in 1978), and they’ve both married actresses (Hanks is currently married to Rita Wilson, and Keaton was previously married to Caroline McWilliams). Most notably, the actors have circled, been considered for, and competed for the same roles over the years.

Keaton revealed in 2012 that he was offered the part in 1984’s Splash that eventually went to Hanks. Technically, he “really can’t remember now whether it was Tom or [John Candy’s] role,” but when “Mr. Mom came along… I said no [to Splash] so I could set up this framework right away where I could do different things.”

Hanks was rumored as a top pick for the role of Ray Kroc in 2016’s The Founder, another part that eventually went to Keaton. He also discussed fan speculation he’d been offered the role of Batman. “That was probably around the time Michael Keaton did it,” Hanks said, before dismissing the suggestion, “Wouldn’t that be comical? No, never. Can you imagine me in that suit?”

The list goes on, from Keaton rumored to have been offered Hanks’ starring role in Philadelphia, to both actors being considered for the role in When Harry Met Sally that eventually went to Billy Crystal.

There’s also an agent of chaos close to the source that keeps the comparison train chugging along: Hanks’ own son Colin Hanks. The Life in Pieces star has several times celebrated his dad’s birthday with a picture of Michael Keaton posted to his socials. “Wanna wish a Happy 63rd Birthday to my dad!!!” he wrote on Instagram in 2019, under a grainy headshot of Keaton. “He’s a good man with a great sense of humor. Love ya Pops!”

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

For his part, Keaton has his own comparison headache to worry about. The actor’s real name is Michael Douglas, which makes it easy to imagine why he opted for his middle name, Keaton, as his official stage name when he set out to become a Hollywood star. But in September, Keaton announced that he’d start going by his real name… sort of.

When gearing up to direct Knox Goes Away, Keaton let the crew know, “‘just as a warning, my credit is going to be Michael Keaton Douglas,'” but “it totally got away from me. And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen,” he vowed.