Most of us don’t ever think about what it would be like to look like someone else. But what if we just didn’t look like someone else, what if we looked like a specific celebrity.
Ty Jones is one of the people that lives this reality, as he looks exactly like singer Ed Sheeran.
Jones, who works in a bingo hall, has spent the last seven years constantly been mistaken for the pop star, signing autographs, breaking hearts, but unfortunately, never singing.
“Usually people start with ‘I bet you hear this a lot’ and I just end the sentence for them…Ed Sheeran,” the 24-year-old revealed.
He added, “I have people coming over crying and shaking, as if I am actually Ed, they say ‘I know you’re trying to keep a low profile’, and sometimes they’re that worked up they can’t even get a selfie in focus because their hands are shaking. If they’re that hyped up you feel guilty letting them down by saying I’m not actually Ed.”
The Mancunian says he began getting noticed by strangers back while he was still in high school, just as Ed Sheeran was rising to fame via Youtube channel, SBTV.
Although sometimes it can be a pain having to tell people he’s not the real Ed Sheeran, Ty has also revealed that it has taken him to some interesting places.
“The weirdest moment I’ve had was at a circus. I felt like a bit of a misfit, they had me standing in a tent – there was Homer Simpson sat on a couch, characters from Monsters Inc and they just stuck me in there too. It was pretty good, I got paid £800.”
But even after telling people that he’s just a lookalike, some Sheeran fans won’t take no for an answer.
Ty said, “There was one time I was at a rave and this couple had brought a baby, and they asked me to sign the baby’s head, a newborn, and they kept pestering and pestering me ‘please sign the baby’s head’, and I told them I wasn’t him but they gave me the pen and said even if I wasn’t him could I please sign it.”
He added, “I just had to try very gently to sign the baby’s head, but I ended up writing my own name because I told them I wasn’t him.”
When he was 17, Ty did actually come face to face with the real Ed Sheeran.
“It was mad,” Ty said, “He was really shocked, literally rolling on the floor laughing. And it was weird because we are the same height, so when I was looking at him it was really strange, like looking into a mirror. He was so down to earth and friendly.”
But despite the weird way life has given him funny stories and memories, Ty still says he doesn’t want to be known as the Ed Sheeran lookalike for the rest of his life. He has revealed that he wants to start his own channel and hopefully become a successful YouTuber.
He’s currently working on a spoof of Eminem’s “Stan”, called “Edinem: Fan”.
“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 just making money off the back of someone else, and I’ve always wanted to have my own legacy,” he said.
Hopefully, he can.