Rob McElhenney responds after his doppelganger appears on Shogun

Rob McElhenney has spoken out after social media users helped identify his doppelganger.

When the It's Always Sunny star isn't attending games played by British football club Wrexham with pal and co-owner of the club Ryan Reynolds, he's apparently watching TV just like the rest of us - shocking, I know.

Upon watching a historical Japanese drama which has been hailed as the next Game of Thrones, McElhenney got a slight shock when he ended up coming face-to-face with someone who looks like him.

Rob McElhenney's face when as saw someone who bears a striking resemblance to him on the screen. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

McElhenney shared a photograph of a screen showing new FX series Shōgun.

The limited series premiered on Disney Plus earlier this year with new episodes being delivered weekly - set to total 10 episodes.

However, it wasn't the perfect Rotten Tomatoes score or shocking true story behind the series which got McElhenney talking about it on social media.

Instead, there was one character in the series which made McElhenney pause his screen mid-viewing, 45 minutes and 41 seconds in, to take to his X page.

The actor took to his X to share his surprise. (X/@RMcElhenney)

Sharing a still from the series, the actor wrote: "I gotta find this guy. I have some questions."

And, obviously, it didn't take long for social media users to get hunting - I mean, it is only a simple Google search after all - resulting in the character - called Tomono - being played by an actor who was identified as Hitoshi Masaki.

As well as starring in the FX series, Masaki is known for his roles in Modern Love Tokyo (2022) and 2023's Parking Spot.

And other viewers of the series quickly realized the resemblance between the two actors as well.

One X user said: "This guy in shogun looks like japanese mac."

"I swear I thought it was you for a second lmao," another added.

Tomono is played by Hitoshi Masaki. (MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

A third commented: "I knew I wasn't the only one that noticed this!"

"Thats where your fight skills came from," someone else wrote.

And a fifth said: "This explains a lot about mac being a master of karate. Gonna be honest Rob, we miss seeing the moves randomly. Embrace your roots, bring back the slicing and dicing, along with the sound effects."

McElhenney later tweeted: "Great find. Time to do some research on my family history…"

And an X user responded: "New sunny episode incoming."

So, how about it McElhenney? Masaki?

Topics: Celebrity, Disney Plus, Film and TV, Social Media, Twitter

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.