Dave Franco knows he looks like Luigi Mangione: ‘never received more texts in my life’


It has been almost two months since Luigi Mangione allegedly shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. It feels like it happened much longer ago, though. The press around his case has died down a lot since he was last seen serving face at his arraignment hearing. As soon as Luigi’s picture started showing up online, the Internet was abuzz about his looks, especially after that security picture of him flirting with the hostel worker was released. There were also a lot of jokes about how Ryan Murphy was handed his next season of American Crime Story on a silver platter. After he was caught, people knew just who should play Luigi, too: his celebrity look alike, Dave Franco. It wasn’t just strangers on the Internet who saw the resemblance, either. According to Dave and his wife Alison Brie, just about everyone and their mother was blowing up his phone to tell him he looked just like “hot Luigi.”

Yes, Dave Franco knows you think he looks like Luigi Mangione.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Franco at the Sundance Film Festival, who is on the ground with two films, including the horror Together which co-stars his real-life partner Alison Brie. When asked if anyone has reached out about the comparisons many have made between him and Mangione, Brie responded, “Anyone? Do you mean everyone?” Franco added, “I have never received more texts in my life about anything.”

He continued, “Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it.”

Mangione has dominated headlines since Dec. 4, when it was reported that UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan by a person later alleged to be the 26-year-old. A multiday manhunt followed for Mangione, who was arrested on Dec. 9 in Pennsylvania and has been charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting his next court appearance in February.

Shortly after Mangione was revealed to be the killer, social media quickly identified Franco as the actor who should play him in a would-be movie. While a scripted movie has not yet been announced, several documentary projects about the murder are currently in production, including one from Oscar winner Alex Gibney.

“But I don’t think there have been any official offers,” Brie joked, with Franco saying, “No, no official offers.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

That is too funny that so many people immediately texted him about it. Like everyone else, I saw the Dave Franco resemblance immediately, too. If I squint my eyes, I can also see Penn Badgley, Nick Jonas or maaaaybe Timothée Chalamet. While I’m on this subject, did y’all know that there was a Luigi lookalike contest in Florida last month? Wild. But really, whenever Murphy does make his TV show about Luigi, it’s Dave’s part to lose. What’s the point in looking like an attractive, popular, alleged killer if you can’t get cast in a role playing them, especially a role that’s probably guaranteed to get an Emmy nomination. Someone from Ryan Murphy Productions, give this man a phone call already and make him an official offer.

photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon/Avalon, BauerGriffin/INSTARimages, Backgrid

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

10 Responses to “Dave Franco knows he looks like Luigi Mangione: ‘never received more texts in my life’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Cali says:

    I’m assuming the photo of Princess Anne is in error? Because he looks nothing like her….

  2. Huggy says:

    Lol at Princess Anne

  3. Smart&Messy says:

    Princess Anne was invited as a judge of the lookalike contest.

  4. Sasha says:

    Eh, I guess there’s worse things in life than people blowing up your phone to tell you you look like a very attractive person!

  5. Chaine says:

    He’s a bit too old and weathered.

  6. Lau says:

    The casts from Ryan Murphy’s true crime tv shows never look like who they’re supposed to be portraying. He for sure will find the most random actor, like somebody blond with no eyebrows.