Vincent Van Gogh Rides the Subway ... Actually, It's a Brooklyn Man Who Looks Just Like Him
Robert Reynolds is often stopped by strangers requesting photos with him.
— -- Brooklyn-based actor Robert Reynolds gets stopped by strangers, though rarely because of his appearances in New York plays, he said.
Instead, they are shocked by his apparently uncanny resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh, the "Starry Night" painter who died 125 years ago.
"Van Gogh is definitely the first thing that people see," Reynolds, 36, told ABC News. "I would say I've heard it for about five years -- pretty much ever since the first time I grew a beard. After the first person said it, I thought it was strange, but I think it's great.
"I have not been bothered by it at all," he said. "Like most actors, I like the attention."
Reynolds said he is stopped on the streets at least once a week by people requesting to take photos with him.
"On many occasions, I've seen people sneaking photos of me," he said. "It's always nice when they ask permission, but I’m in New York. I can't not expect to be photographed by strangers."
While riding the subway on April 26, a passenger unknown to Reynolds snapped a photo of him and posted on Reddit, where it racked up almost two million hits in just six days.
An actual portrait of Van Gogh was placed next to the shot to compare the resemblance between the two.
"I woke up that morning and I was getting ready to leave the apartment," Reynolds said. "I got a message from a friend saying, 'Congrats man, you're famous.'
Reynolds didn't always agree he looked like Van Gogh.
"I didn’t see it, regardless of how many people told me," he added. "But the photo that the guy took of me on the train that was put alongside of him [Van Gogh], I said, 'Oh yeah, OK.'
Although he was originally perplexed by the claims, Reynolds now wants to embrace his Van Gogh look and try to use it to his career advantage.
"Yeah, I'd definitely like to do something about it," he said. "Vincent Van Gogh is a fascinating character and there aren't enough pieces on him, as far as movies or plays go. I've had a couple of people propose a few things, but we’ll see what happens."
