When Posh met Thandie… and thought she was Zoe
Beckham faux pas is latest in a string of celebrity cases of mistaken identity
ACTORS and actresses are used to being recognised and approached by fans who feel they know them.
But as Victoria Beckham knows only too well, a case of mistaken identity can prove more than a little embarrassing. Thandie Newton, star of the BBC police serial Line of Duty, has revealed that the former Spice Girl was “mortified” to discover she had confused her with Zoe Saldana when engaging her in conversation. The awkward exchange left Britishborn Newton baffled before it became apparent that Beckham thought she was talking to the American actress. Newton recounted the encounter with 44-year-old Beckham during her appearance on the Graham Norton Show, when guests were asked who they thought they most resembled. She explained that she knew exactly who she looked like after the chance meeting with Beckham in Los Angeles. “It’s Zoe Saldana,” she responded. “Recently I was in LA and Victoria Beckham, who I have actually met a few times, was there. We were chatting away when she said: ‘It’s so great that you are here when you are pregnant.’
“I said: ‘I actually had my baby a couple of months ago.’ We carried on chatting and it was obvious she thought I was someone else, so I said: ‘Do you think I am Zoe Saldana?’
“Victoria was absolutely mortified. It was actually OK as Zoe is a rare beauty, but really? Up close? Come on! And, I am British!”
It is thought the encounter took place in 2014 after Newton gave birth to her third child, a son called Booker Jombe Parker. Saldana gave birth to twin boys Bowie and Cy Peregosaldana later the same year.
Beckham is not the first to be humiliated due to mistaken identity. In 2014, Samuel L Jackson, the actor, scolded a US television host who mistook him for Laurence Fishburne, a fellow actor.
The reporter began his interview with Jackson by asking about his recent Super Bowl commercial. He was referring to an advert for the new Kia sedan – in which Fishburne reprised his role from The Matrix.
“We may all be black and famous but we don’t all look alike,” Jackson told him. “There’s more than one black guy doing a commercial.
“I’m the ‘What’s in your wallet?’ black guy. He’s the car black guy.”
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, has spoken about how he is regularly mistaken for Ed Sheeran.
“It’s kind of 50/50 now. It’s like if someone stops me, it could go either way. I could be Ed or I could be me,” he said last year.
“Leo Sayer, he came up to me and he said he loved my music. Of course, thinking I was Ed. I just, yeah, I play along.”
Meryl Streep, the Hollywood actress, has told how she is often mistaken for Glenn Close, the star of Fatal Attraction and 101 Dalmatians.