If you’ve spent more than five minutes on baseball Twitter or scrolled through a movie subreddit lately, you’ve definitely seen the side-by-side. On one side, you have the haunting, thousand-yard stare of an Irish actor who just won an Oscar for playing the father of the atomic bomb. On the other, a 6'8" right-handed pitcher with a triple-digit fastball and a penchant for wearing Dodgers blue.
Tyler Glasnow and Cillian Murphy look so much alike it’s actually kind of jarring.
Honestly, the resemblance is one of those internet phenomena that feels like a glitch in the matrix. One man is a 49-year-old veteran of the London stage and Christopher Nolan sets. The other is a 32-year-old Californian who spends his summers trying to blow heaters past Shohei Ohtani’s teammates. And yet, when you catch Glasnow at the right angle—usually after a high-stress inning when his hair is a mess and his eyes are wide—he looks exactly like Thomas Shelby stepped out of Peaky Blinders and onto a Major League mound.
The Viral Moment That Tricked Everyone
It’s easy to think this started recently, but the Tyler Glasnow and Cillian Murphy comparisons have been bubbling under the surface for years. It hit a fever pitch in June 2023. A photo started circulating on social media that looked like a screen grab of Murphy in a full Tampa Bay Rays uniform.
People lost their minds.
The tweet racked up tens of millions of views. Fans were convinced Murphy was filming some gritty, indie baseball biopic. "Is this a guest spot on Eastbound & Down?" people asked. "Did Nolan finally make a sports movie?"
The truth was a bit more boring but way more impressive: it was an AI-enhanced photo. A Twitter account called Codify had taken a real photo of Glasnow and subtly blended Murphy’s features into it. It was the perfect bait. Even without the digital help, though, the groundwork was already there. Baseball fans have been calling Glasnow "the Cillian Murphy of MLB" since at least 2020.
What Glasnow Actually Thinks
You’d think an elite athlete might get annoyed being compared to a guy nearly 20 years his senior who doesn't even play sports. But Glasnow is surprisingly chill about it. During a sit-down with his teammate Mookie Betts on the On Base podcast, Glasnow admitted he sees the similarities.
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"I get that I look like him," Glasnow told Betts. "Certain photos, I'm like, 'Whoa, I look a lot like him.' And then sometimes, depending on hair length, I don't look like him at all."
He’s even humble about the comparison. He joked that Murphy is a "pretty good-looking dude" and probably "beats me in that department" because he’s a Hollywood actor. Glasnow also noted that while their faces might be twins, their builds are hilarious opposites. Glasnow is a literal giant at 6'8". Murphy, the "distinguished Irish Short King," as some Redditors call him, stands about 5'9".
Cillian Murphy’s Reaction to His "Twin"
For a long time, the world wondered if Cillian Murphy even knew who Tyler Glasnow was. Murphy is famously "offline." He doesn't have social media. He lives a quiet life in Ireland. He barely knows what a meme is.
But during the Oppenheimer press tour, someone finally showed him. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Murphy was confronted with the image of his baseball doppelgänger.
His reaction? Classic Cillian.
He was confused but polite. He acknowledged that people had sent him the photo before. He didn't quite get the obsession, but he didn't shut it down either. It’s funny to imagine the Best Actor winner sitting in a house in Dublin, staring at a picture of a guy from Santa Clarita, California, wondering why they share the same cheekbones.
Beyond the Face: Two Very Different Careers
While the internet focuses on the jawlines, both men have been having some of the biggest years of their lives for very different reasons.
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Cillian Murphy’s Ascent:
2024 was the year of Cillian. After decades of being the "dependable supporting guy" in Christopher Nolan movies like Inception and The Dark Knight, he finally took the lead in Oppenheimer. It paid off. He swept the awards season, taking home the Oscar, the BAFTA, and the Golden Globe for Best Actor. He managed to make "internal suffering" the most riveting thing on screen for three hours.
Tyler Glasnow’s New Chapter:
At the same time, Glasnow was going through a massive career shift. After six seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in late 2023. He signed a massive five-year, $136.5 million extension.
Life in LA has treated him well. Despite his career-long battle with injuries—which continued in 2025 with some shoulder inflammation—he’s been an absolute force when healthy. In 2024, he made his first All-Star team. By the end of 2025, he had helped the Dodgers secure back-to-back World Series titles, even closing out a crucial game in the 2025 Fall Classic against Toronto.
The Bone Structure Science
Why does our brain see them as the same person? It’s not just the eyes.
- The Supraorbital Ridge: Both have very prominent brow bones that create deep-set, intense shadows over their eyes.
- The Buccal Fat (or lack thereof): They both have incredibly hollowed-out cheeks and sharp jawlines. It’s that "gaunt but heroic" look.
- The Gaze: Glasnow has a "pitcher's stare" that mimics Murphy’s "acting intensity." When Glasnow is looking for a sign from his catcher, he looks like he's contemplating the end of the world—which is basically Murphy's entire performance in Oppenheimer.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that they are actually related. They aren't. Not even distantly.
Glasnow is a California kid through and through. Murphy is pure Irish. There’s also the age gap. Murphy was born in 1976; Glasnow was born in 1993.
Another thing? People often think the viral "pitching" photo of Murphy is real. It's not. If you see a photo of Cillian Murphy looking like a Cy Young contender in a baseball jersey, check the hands. AI usually messes up the glove or the fingers. Or just look at the height. If the guy in the photo looks like he could dunk without jumping, it's Glasnow.
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How to Tell Them Apart at a Glance
If you’re still struggling, here is the cheat sheet.
If the person is wearing a flat cap and smoking a cigarette while looking depressed in Birmingham, it’s Cillian Murphy. If the person is 80 inches tall, wearing a Dodgers cap, and throwing a ball 100 miles per hour, it’s Tyler Glasnow.
Also, look at the hair. Glasnow fluctuates between a "surfer-bro" long mane and a tighter, more athletic cut. Murphy usually sticks to the "classic actor" length or the very specific Peaky Blinders undercut.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you're a fan of either (or both), there are a few things you should actually do to stay in the loop:
- Follow the Dodgers' Injury Report: Glasnow is an elite talent, but his health is always the "X-factor." If you're a fan, keep an eye on his workload management in 2026.
- Watch 'Small Things Like These': If you only know Murphy from the memes or Oppenheimer, check out his more recent work. It shows the range that the "Glasnow lookalike" label sometimes overshadows.
- Don't Trust Every Viral Photo: Before you share that "Cillian Murphy is playing a pitcher" tweet, do a quick reverse image search. 90% of the time, it's just a high-res photo of Glasnow from a Friday night start at Dodger Stadium.
The reality is that Tyler Glasnow and Cillian Murphy will probably be linked forever. It’s one of those harmless, fun bits of pop culture crossover that makes the internet feel small. Whether it’s a Dodger fan noticing the "Scarecrow" on the mound or a cinephile wondering why a pitcher looks so much like a "proud Irishman," the comparison isn't going anywhere.
At least Glasnow can say he’s the only World Series champion who looks like he could win an Academy Award for just standing there.