The “striking resemblance” between dancehall artiste Popcaan and Canadian actor Ryan Gosling, who was named one of People magazine’s “50 Hottest Bachelors” in 2004, has once again become a hot topic on social media, particularly Twitter and The Shade Room.
The Shade Room recently released a list of celebrity look-alikes that includes Popcaan and Hollywood star Ryan Gosling, best known for his roles in Love Story and Feel-Good Story.
Other celebrities on the list included Beyonce, Offset and Aretha Franklin.
The post, which rounded up some comparisons from Twitter, was captioned: “Chilly! Everyone’s going crazy over this celeb lookalike thread on X.”
The comparison thread has reignited the debate, with many users pointing out the uncanny resemblance between Popcaan and Gosling, noting their facial features despite being of different races.
The Shade Room’s post, made in the early hours of Sunday morning, attracted attention from amused Jamaicans and others, who shared their reactions.
“Popcorn suddenly appears and I have a problem with this whining. Yeah but it’s true if you say so,” one man commented, while another user added: “Ryan Gosling and popcorn are messing me up.”
A third woman commented: “Ryan’s lips are plump and frighteningly perfect!”, while another man declared: “They’re black and white versions of themselves.”
This isn’t the first time Popcaan has been compared to Gosling: Last January, Twitter users posted side-by-side portraits of the two men and marveled at their resemblance, though that discussion also revolved around facial features, not racial differences.
Born Ryan Thomas Gosling on November 12, 1980 in London, Ontario, Canada, Gosling has had an illustrious career as an actor. According to his biography, he first gained attention as a child actor on The Mickey Mouse Club, before establishing himself as one of the greatest actors of his generation with critically acclaimed roles in films such as The Believer (2001), Half Nelson (2006) and La La Land (2016).
On Twitter, jokes were flying one after the other.
One man jokingly suggested that Popcaan and Gosling might actually be the same person, saying: “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Popcaan in the same place as Ryan.”
Some of the women on stage couldn’t help but heap praise on the two superstars.
“They’re both very manly and the type of men I’d want to have kids with in the future,” one woman commented.
“This may be the most unexpected comparison of the year. I’m all for it,” another user added.
“I heard Ryan Gosling say ‘Yaaaaaah… Unruly,'” one man joked, while another added: “Don’t you know Ryan Gosling’s Jamaican? I heard his family live over the hill in Havendale.”
Interestingly, Gosling has a connection to Jamaica, having holidayed at the world-famous Round Hill Hotel in Hanover in 2011.