Being such a large ethno-linguistic group, the largest in Europe in fact, there are always going to be plenty of doppelganger opportunities. Having a lookalike actually occurs much more often than you'd think, there's a really good chance that somebody out there is walking around with a very close facial resemblance to you. "There is only so much genetic diversity to go around," Michael Sheehan, an assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University, told Live Science. "If you shuffle that deck of cards so many times, at some point, you get the same hand dealt to you twice."
However, the chances of actually meeting your doppelganger in real life are slim. Although other people might often point out that you resemble somebody else, the way we see faces is subjective and what might be a dead ringer to one person, could look nothing alike to another. It has to do with the way we read faces. Some people start looking at the eyes, then move to the mouth and nose. Others may begin with the nose, then work to mouth and then the eyes. The change in order completely alters the perception of how you view a face.
Have you ever come across your perfect doppelganger?
Here are some Hollywood stars that you might not know have Slavic heritage:
- John Krasinski, best known for his role as “Jim Halpert” on NBC’s The Office, was born in the US to a Polish father.
- Leonardo Di Caprio's grandmother Helene Indenbirken was actually born as Yelena Smirnova in Russia. Di Caprio refers to himself as “half Russian“. He stated he’d love to play Putin if there’s ever a Putin biopic.
- Ashton Kutcher was born to a Czech father and half-Czech mother.
- Eric Bana Eric was born Eric Banadinović in Melbourne to a Croatian father.
- Mila Kunis (Milena Markovna Kunis) is an American actress with Jewish/Ukrainian origin.
- Plus many, many more!
