People Mistook A California Congressman For Jerry O'Connell During The Comey Hearing

You know it’s a rough time in the House of Representatives when a U.S. congressman is pleased to be mistaken for a member of a profession only slightly less reviled by mainstream America than the political class—a B-list Hollywood actor.

As first reported by the Hollywood Reporter, some viewers of this week’s house hearing for FBI Director James Comey mistook California congressman Eric Swalwell for actor Jerry O’Connell (Swalwell is a ranking member of the House CIA subcommittee, and O'Connell currently has a guest role on Showtime's Billions, for clarification).

After the mix-up, O’Connell set his fans straight by tweeting out a side-by-side photo of the two men (although it’s easy to see how O’Connell fans and politicos alike could be confused; the men share a certain strong-browed, strong-jawed, vaguely Marvel comic hero-esque je ne sais quoi.)

Swalwell responded gleefully to the comparison on Twitter Wednesday, with a semi-apology to O'Connell:

When asked for comment, the congressman’s Castro Valley communications office would only tell LAist that “the tweet speaks for itself.” And just in case it didn’t, O’Connell and Swalwell took to Twitter once again on Thursday morning, professing their mutual desire to “go on The Maury Show:

In the midst of Russia allegations, at least we can all come together to enjoy a round of Celebrity Doppelgangers: Congressional Edition. But don’t go Parent Trap-ing us, Congressman Swalwell; if we catch you Method-acting your way through your next public address, we’re going to get suspicious.

And a slider, for your afternoon amusement:

Emma Specter is a freelance writer and copy-editor who was born and raised in New York City, moved to Los Angeles two years ago and is probably getting a parking ticket as you're reading this.