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Usually, we recognize actors only after the fact, once they become famous. But before they became well-established household names, they were known not for their name, but a character that they played. For example, who hasn’t accidentally mixed up Macaulay Culkin with Kevin McCallister in the heyday of “Home Alone”? Or called Sylvester Stallone Rocky? Or mixed-up Lawrence Tureaud with Mr. T from the A-Team? You get the gist of it. Despite that, sometimes it doesn’t even matter. The actors and the roles that they play often are so fused that they become inseparable in our minds.

Dutch graphic designer Ard Gelinck separates the inseparable and puts the two sides of the actor, the role and the performer, right next to each other for comparison. He does this in such a way that they seem to be hanging out and interacting with each other. And in a way, they are. It gives us a glimpse into the past, a throwback to the days long gone. It makes us reflect on how they and their careers have changed (or haven’t) since they embodied the roles that we know them for.

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#1 Christina Applegate And Kelly Bundy

Image credits: ardgelinck

Gelinck has worked on these types of photo manipulations for about 10 years now, but don’t worry—he doesn’t seem to be running out of ideas any time soon. Quite the contrary. He continues to delight his 285k loyal followers on Instagram with regular uploads. And we’ve been covering most of them, so you can check out previous posts about him here, here, and here.

#2 Jack Nicholson And The Joker

Image credits: ardgelinck

#3 Joaquin Phoenix And The Joker

Image credits: ardgelinck

He shared more about his experience with Bored Panda: “The ‘Then and Now’ series is quite old when you consider that me and my brother made the first image for it about 10 years ago,” Gelinck told Bored Panda. “About 5 years ago, I edited pictures for a lot of Dutch celebrities and it was a success, so I then started working with foreign celebrity photos. The first one was Madonna, and she even posted my image on her own Instagram.”

But the Queen of Pop hasn’t been the only celebrity that has recognized and publicly admired his work. Among others are Rob Lowe, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Annie Lennox, BeeGees, Jason Priestly, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Carice van Houten, Sylvester Stallone, Robbie Williams, Michael Douglas, Ricky Gervais, and many more that have also given him a shoutout. “When I think about it, the list is quite impressive,” Gelinck said.

#4 Sylvester Stallone And Rambo

Image credits: ardgelinck

#5 Sean Connery And James Bond

Image credits: ardgelinck

The digital artist himself thinks that the reason his photomontages are popular is because people enjoy “taking a trip down memory lane.” And it’s somewhat true. Just looking at them, one can get serious throwbacks to their childhood, or flashbacks of the bustling ’80s and ’90s. Someone might even get an urge to rewatch their favorite shows or movies with these actors in them. Any way you look at it, Gelinck’s work is an experience of its own. What do you think, Pandas? Share your thoughts in the comments section!