When you’re a professional film actor, dealing with fans is part of the job. You’ll get recognized by people who want a photo or an autograph. It’s the cost of doing business. Most actors don’t have a problem with this. Some even enjoy it. The Revenant’s Will Poulter was a little shocked one of the first times he was recognized in America. He was even more shocked when he realized the reason he’d been recognized was because a woman thought he was Sid, from Toy Story.
I have to admit, I never really saw the similarity, but now, thanks to Yahoo, I will never be able to unsee the similarity. Will Poulter told the story on The Jonathan Ross Show. It’s not exactly clear why a living human woman, apparently capable of coherent sentences, thought Poulter was a cartoon character. Apparently Poulter was so shocked, and he admits, a little excited, at being recognized that he wasn’t quite sure how to react. So he just sort of went along with it.
I didn’t want to let her down. And I think there was a small part of my kind of 15-year-old self that was kind of excited about being recognized. So I think I just sort of posed for the photo, and she went on her way.
For the record, there’s no way Will Poulter could have even been an unintentional inspiration for the character of Sid. He was two years old when the movie came out in 1995. Still, the resemblance is uncanny. The same short haircut, similarly shaped faces, and even near-identical arches in the eyebrows. If I walked past Poulter in the street I might do a double take.
At the same time, if I did decide that I needed to speak to the man about this bizarre coincidence, I would likely say something like. "Wow, do you realize how much you look like that kid from Toy Story?" What I would not do is automatically assume that he somehow was the kid from the movie and ask for a picture. Because that would be weird. Yes, it’s true that Woody certainly resembles Tom Hanks, but that doesn’t always happen. Don Rickles has little resemblance to the film's Mr. Potato Head, for instance.
It’s great that Poulter was such a good sport about the thing. Of course, if he wanted to make his connection to Toy Story a reality there is a fourth movie on the way. Maybe there’s a place for a cameo by an adult Sid. We saw him briefly in Toy Story 3 so maybe he'll return again and Poulter can retroactively make that picture he took accurate.
