If you have watched "The Lord of the Rings" and Harry Potter movies, it has probably passed your mind that there is a definite resemblance between both films' leads: Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter.
The resemblance is striking enough that Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe has been asked to sign pictures of Baggins actor Elijah Wood. Yes, the resemblance is there, but it's really the following viral GIF that captures just how striking the resemblance is:
It's just plain weird. The only real difference seem to be the raising of the eyebrows and the slight widening of the eyes. Both actors even have cleft chins! I double checked this on my movie posters; it's true!
The most bizarre thing about the resemblance is not just that the two men are actors, it's that they both played the leading role in the two most popular fantasy franchises ever made.
So, could Wood and Radcliffe really be the same person? Unfortunately, the facts get in the way of this theory.
Before you get too disappointed, consider another question: Could Baggins and Potter actually be the same person? In terms of fictional lore, yes they could! It might actually make a lot of sense.
At the end of "The Lord of the Rings," Baggins sails away to live with the elves. The elves of Middle-earth were immortal. Even if they died (in battle, for example) they could be reincarnated.
Now, Baggins is not an elf, but since he went to live with the elves it is certainly possible that this treatment could have been given to him.
Baggins could have been told by the elves: "You did such an awesome job saving the world that we're going to reincarnate you so you can do it again! There's going to be this Dark Lord - don't worry, he's a wimp compared to Sauron - who arises in the far, far future and we need someone to destroy him."
"So we're going to reincarnate you as a kid who will have the power to destroy this... little problem. Sorry, you don't get parents again (Baggins' parents "drowned" when he was 12) but you will get another gray-bearded wizard mentor who will help you until - spoiler alert - he dies as well."
"And this time, instead of carrying a piece of the Dark Lord (as mentioned in the movies, the life force of Sauron was embedded in the One Ring) you'll actually have a piece of the Dark Lord in your soul! Now, won't that be easier?"
You won't have to worry about the ring flying around any more.
So, maybe that was Baggins' reward for saving the world (or punishment for failing to destroy the ring himself); being reincarnated as "the boy who lived" to save the world again.
Maybe J.K. Rowling planned this and let the filmmakers in on it. They, therefore, cast two actors who bore striking resemblance as a result.
Think it's a stretch? Look at that GIF for a couple of minutes. Couldn't that casting have been intentional?
If you look at long enough you might think that the casting must have been intentional!
