Back in 2014, hundreds of people flocked to Cherokee, North Carolina to take part in the world’s largest gathering of Elvis Presley lookalikes. When you’re an internationally renowned recording artist, lookalikes are just part of the job. So does Ed Sheeran actually have a twin or just a collective of uncanny lookalikes?
Ed Sheeran does not have a twin. However, he does have an older brother, Matthew Sheeran, who is a successful musician in his own right. In addition to this, Ed has a growing army of red-headed lookalikes and impersonators.
How do Ed’s lookalikes feel about being virtually identical to a 4-time Grammy award-winning superstar? Is it hard to live in somebody else’s shadow? Keep reading as we reveal all.
Rupert Grint
Hands down the most notable Ed Sheeran lookalike is Harry Potter actor and fellow redhead, Rupert Grint. In 2017, Grint appeared on Americas The Late Late Show and told host, James Corden:
“It’s kind of 50/50 now. When someone stops me it could go either way, I could be Ed or I could be me”.
In fact, people have been comparing the two brits since Ed first made his SBTV debut in 2010. Luckily, neither parties take offense to the comparison and in recent years they’ve even sought to play on their uncanny resemblance.
In 2011, Rupert starred in Ed’s music video for the single ‘Lego House’. Rupert plays the role of a crazed fan who goes to extreme lengths to stalk Sheeran. The video ends with Grint and Sheeran coming face to face as security forcibly removes Grint from the show.
More recently in 2017, Rupert sent fans wild when he claimed that Ed Sheeran is his made-up alter-ego. In a comedy sketch for MTV, Grint claims:
“After Potter, all I wanted to do was stretch myself, create some real magic, so I created a character. He’d have the voice of an angel, impossibly wispy facial hair, so I bought a guitar and a bunch of flannel, and I called him Ed, Ed Sheeran.”
Wesley Byrne
Aside from Rupert, Ed has several other lookalikes. One such example is 27-year-old Wesley Byrne from Shaw in Greater Manchester.
Wesley works as a supermarket attendant at ASDA and contends that looking like Ed is a lot of hassle. He told This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield:
“It happens every time I’m out in public. If I’m at work, if I’m out with friends. If I’m out shopping. I’ve been told [by my employers] to stop taking selfies”.
Ty Jones
Maybe there’s something in the Manchester waters since Ed has another uncanny lookalike from Sale, Greater Manchester. 26-year-old Ty Jones is known on Instagram as ‘Ed’s evil twin’. Unlike Wesley, Ty embraces the resemblance and has made a small fortune from impersonating the Thinking Out Loud singer.
“Usually people start with ‘I bet you hear this a lot’ and I just end the sentence for them… Ed Sheeran. […] The weirdest moment I’ve had was at a circus. I felt a bit of a misfit, they had me standing in a tent – there was Homer Simpson on a couch, characters from Monsters Inc. […] I got paid £800”, Ty told LadBible.
A quick search on Ty’s social media shows that he charges around £17 ($21) for personalized videos and impressions. For an extra fee he will even use the name ‘Ed’ instead of his own. So does Ty plan to make a long-term career out of impersonating Ed?
“I would like to make my own success because a lot of the time when I do get a gig it feels like I’m making money off the back of someone else and I’ve always wanted to have my own legacy”.
Who do you think is the most convincing Ed Sheeran lookalike – Rupert Grint, Wesley Byrne, or Ty Jones?
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