Domhnall Gleeson recalls the hilariously awkward time he met his lifelong look-alike Cate Blanchett

Emlyn Travis
·2 min read

Domhnall Gleeson has one pretty amazing doppelgänger.

The About Time star revealed that he's been told he looks like Cate Blanchett since he was a teenager and that their first meeting was utterly, hilariously awkward.

"When I was 19, I did my first job. I did a Martin McDonagh play," he recalled on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Thursday. "People used to call me Cate all the time. My whole cast called me Cate because I looked really like Cate Blanchett when I was 19 years old."

To his former cast's credit, Gleeson and Blanchett do share a few physical characteristics: They both have light eyes, a small nose, and a similar lip shape. Aside from their obviously different hair colors, we can see the resemblance between the stars.

As it turns out, they — and we — aren't the only ones who've picked up on the likeness. "It was really intense! I would walk down the street and people would stop me," Gleeson continued. "Strangers would stop me and say, 'Do you know…' and I would say, 'Yes, I know! I know! I look like Cate Blanchett!' And they would say, 'I'm very sorry' and leave."

The actor, who stars in Hulu's latest psychological thriller The Patient, said that the frequent comparisons to the Lord of the Rings actress made him extra nervous when they finally met backstage at the BAFTAs years later.

Domnhall Gleeson; Cate Blanchett
Domnhall Gleeson; Cate Blanchett

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Domnhall Gleeson has been told he looks like Cate Blanchett since he was a teenager.

"I met her in a corridor right before — somebody introduced me — and I was just thinking, 'Don't say that people say, "Do you get people saying you look like Domhnall Gleeson?,"'" he joked. "I was like, 'Don't do it. Don't get weird with the great Cate Blanchett.'"

But cooler heads, ultimately, prevailed… kind of. "And I didn't! I said, 'I'm a huge fan of your work. I would love to work with you someday, and it's a pleasure to meet you,'" Gleeson said. "She was very nice back and then I walked away… straight into the women's bathroom."

While the pair have yet to share a screen or stage together, Gleeson said getting to meet his long-lost twin in real life was "a big deal," adding, "I love her as an actor, obviously."

Watch Gleeson retell the story — and tease Stephen Colbert for mispronouncing his first name — above.

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