The lookalike discourse gained significant traction in the summer of 2018. That June, director Ari Aster released his acclaimed psychological horror feature Hereditary. Shapiro delivered a haunting performance as Charlie Graham, an isolated child whose distinct physical presence anchor the film's eerie atmosphere. Audiences immediately drew parallels between Shapiro's facial features and those of Matarazzo, who had already won over millions of viewers worldwide as Dustin Henderson on Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Social media users quickly began circulating side-by-side photos of the two actors. Message boards lit up with questions asking if they were twins, cousins, or estranged siblings. Their synchronized rise to prominence in the entertainment industry added fuel to the fire. Shapiro, born in Tampa, Florida in 2002, rose through the theatrical ranks, earning a Tony Honors award at age ten for Broadway’s Matilda the Musical. Matarazzo, born in Connecticut and raised in New Jersey in 2002, followed a similar trajectory through Broadway productions of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Les Misérables before booking his breakout television role. Despite their overlapping timelines and theatrical roots, their families have entirely different lineages.
