Dutch digital artist Ard Gelinck has built a fascinating ongoing project around one simple but striking idea: placing celebrities side-by-side with their younger selves. Using careful photo editing, he finds archival images that match the lighting, angle, and tone of a modern photo, then blends the two together so seamlessly that the result looks like a single portrait taken at the same moment.
The selection of source photos is what makes each composite work. Gelinck spends time hunting for images where the pose and framing feel natural together. He then matches colors and tones between the old and new photos to remove any obvious visual mismatch. The finished images give the strong impression that the younger and older versions of each person are actually standing in the same room.
Some of the portraits carry extra weight because of what we know about the subjects. Seeing a young Carrie Fisher beside her older self is a reminder of how much time passed between her early Star Wars fame and her later career. The same goes for David Bowie, whose ever-changing image across decades makes a side-by-side comparison particularly striking.
Hollywood icons like Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts are among the most recognizable faces in the series. Seeing their younger versions placed next to who they are today highlights just how long their careers have spanned. For actors like Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, the photos pull directly from their most iconic film roles, adding another layer of recognition.
The Friends cast gets strong representation here. Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, and Matthew Perry all appear, each composite showing the gap between their breakout years in the 1990s and their more recent public appearances. Gelinck also includes TV personalities like Conan O’Brien and Ricky Gervais, proving the project goes well beyond film stars.
Musicians feature heavily too. Dave Grohl, George Michael, and Dolly Parton all appear in the series, with Gelinck sourcing images that reflect the distinct visual styles each artist is known for. The George Michael composite is particularly pointed, given that it captures two versions of an artist who passed away in 2016.
One of the more playful entries pairs Macaulay Culkin with his character Kevin McCallister, while Tom Felton appears alongside his Harry Potter alter ego Draco Malfoy. These fictional pairings add a different dimension to the project, blurring the line between actor and role. Sean Astin and Whoopi Goldberg round out a diverse roster that spans generations and genres.
This post feels like compiled by a boomer grandmas on facebook
This seems like a fun idea, even though it might come across as a bit cheesy. It would be interesting to see a similar comparison using photographs of U.S. presidents on their first day in office and their last day in office.
While it’s a neat concept, the execution of this idea was not well done.
The Harrison Ford picture is a bit unusual.
I definitely agree with you. The photoshopping in these pictures could have been executed much better.
It would have been funny to see a picture of a younger George Clooney during his mullet years.
“you remind me of the babe.”