Now if you ask me, his look is unique, but people on Twitter regularly insist that they have found Ciarán Hinds’ long lost twin brother. My original post on this topic dealt with certain well-known individuals who are regularly confused with Ciarán Hinds, such as Stephen Fry and the late, great Alan Rickman. The examples I have collected more recently involve fewer outright errors, and more claims of time travel, virtual twinhood, and unexpected new “projects” for Himself.

First of all, a little reminder of what he actually looks like, since many in the virtual world seem a bit vague on this point.

Let us begin with a couple of examples involving claims of a transgender Hinds. One Josep Julien on Twitter insisted that Mr. Hinds had taken over the role of Catalan Vice President and Spokeswoman Neus Munté:

Then a German website rather cruelly suggested that if the role of Mance Rayder ever needs to be reprised, Anjelica Huston could easily take it on.

I enjoyed this exchange in which two Sherlock Holmes fans note the resemblance between Mr. H. and an actor in a 1916 film starring William Gillette as Holmes. 

More than one viewer of Clive Owen in “The Knick” is convinced that the 51-year old English actor is metamorphosing into Ciarán Hinds. As if that were a bad thing.

At times, people seem absolutely mystified by Mr. Hinds’ appearance. The following question is not unusual:

Because of those prominent cheekbones, some suspect Asian or Native American blood. But now, finally, the truth can be told…

Oh no, not the Stephen Fry comparison again…

Not that there is anything wrong with Stephen Fry. He’s adorable!

Nathaniel Parker is often compared to Ciarán Hinds. I guess I can see the resemblance in a picture like this:

I love it when people see Mr. H. in animated characters. This happens often. Last time around, we had Elrond from Ralph Bakshi’s LoTR movie, and Sam the Muppet Eagle.

“Anomalisa” is Charlie Kaufman’s highly praised stop-motion animated film about a man named Michael and the woman he meets on a business trip. Michael was voiced by David Thewlis, and he looked like this:

Some see nebbishy Michael. Others see… KING VARIAN! He’s a character from the video game World of Warcraft.

Here’s an offbeat one:

Maybe it’s the Macho Badass/Bond Villain In Waiting thing? Mr. H. is regularly compared to Ian McShane, who also has the wicked good vibe.

Another of the Usual Suspects is Alfred Molina:

Here’s one that tickled me.

I’m not sure who this fellow is, but the Twitterati really had me laughing.

Other wacky theories of family resemblance include this one:

Totally puzzled by this one:

Mr. H. gets compared to politicians on a regular basis. For example, which of the following individuals on the US House Select Committee on Benghazi is actually Ciarán Hinds moonlighting as a right-wing member of Congress?

Here’s one that would make Mr. Hinds laugh: he is “perfect” for the role of Northern Irish Unionist firebrand Ian Paisley.

Estes Kefauver was a US Senator in the 1950s…

Or was he actually a time-traveling Ciarán Hinds?

Someone in Finland seems convinced that actor Matti Onnismaa looks just like Ciarán. 

Even the proverbial Man on the Street, or in this case the Man in the General Post Office in Dublin, can be mistaken for Himself.

And yet, he also resembles Clooney. Or rather, Clooney resembles him.

In short, people see Ciarán Hinds everywhere they look. Maybe that is the essence and paradox of a great character actor’s face. It’s unique, yet universal.