TV's Most Uncanny Flashback Casting From OUAT, Supernatural, Golden Girls, NCIS, Vampire Diaries And More

TV shows love a flashback to provide added insight into a character — and we love it when an actor is so perfectly cast as the younger counterpart that we're left doing a double take.

TVLine's list of the small screen's most uncanny flashback casting is filled with dead ringers who shared a remarkable resemblance with the stars who played the more mature characters. But it's not just physical traits that had us seeing double. From speech patterns to mannerisms to crying techniques, our picks often impressively captured the essence and performances of their grown-up selves. (We might have even wondered once or twice if time travel was impossible and that's how the flashback scenes were shot. The actors were just that good!)

Our selections include the younger versions of Supernatural's Sam Winchester, The O.C.'s Sandy Cohen, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Hitchcock and Scully, Supergirl's Danvers sisters and many more. One actress even made our list twice for her spot-on portrayals of two different characters, while This Is Us' multiple timelines and top-notch ensemble meant we couldn't limit ourselves to just one pick.

NOTE: Flashback casting involving actors who are related (e.g Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Garretts, NCIS' Gibbses), while savvy, were deemed ineligible for inclusion.

Review our roundup of TV's Uncanniest Flashback Casting, then hit the comments to share your favorites!

Nash and Ritchson were decent enough lookalikes for Brooklyn Nine-Nine's dopey duo (who, as we learned in this Season 6 installment, weren't always the unhygienic schlubs we've come to know). But in a hysterical slo-mo scene at the end of "Hitchcock & Scully," the actors perfectly embodied their older counterparts, devouring chicken wings with abandon, goofy expressions on their faces. It was the origin story we never knew we needed.

Cruz's resemblance to leading lady Lizzy Caplan was so striking, we initially thought it was a young Caplan whose face was on the FBI's Wanted poster for Annie Wilkes in Season 2. But Cruz proved to be an impressive performer in her own right, excellently capturing the physical awkwardness that Caplan brought to Annie.

Even if she wasn't rocking the teenage witch's signature haircut and red jacket, McKenna would still be a dead ringer for Kiernan Shipka (aka adult Sabrina), so it's no wonder Netflix got her on board for a flashback in the show's first/only Christmas episode.

With her full lips and perfect bone structure, the 18-year-old could easily be mistaken for Katherine Heigl's daughter. But the way Skovbye played her part, as hurt and haunted as someone twice her age, there was no confusing her character for anyone but the jaded talk-show host into whom she grew.

Genius: Aretha casting directors Rose Wicksteed and Kim Coleman not only found a young actress who favors both star Cynthia Erivo and the real Aretha Franklin, but Jordan is also an amazing singer in her own right. Now that's a match!

When the NBC sitcom would flash back to Dorothy and Sophia's days in Brooklyn, we'd always marvel at the way Greene embodied a young version of Bea Arthur's Dorothy Zbornak, from her imposing stature to her patented slow-burn reaction shots. In fact, we had to double-check and make sure that Greene and Arthur weren't related.

As you might surmise from his last name, Verica is the real-life son of Tom Verica, who played Sam Keating on the ABC drama. The young actor is not, however, related to Rome Flynn, who played the adult version of Gabriel — but he sure looks like he could be, no?

Although Raven's Home actor Issac Ryan Brown has guest-starred as a young Dre on black-ish, his resemblance and facial expressions are much more akin to Wes/Christophe (Alfred Enoch) on How To Get Away With Murder. The two even share a similar smile and build.

The actresses who played the teenage versions of the HBO series' BFFs didn't just look like they could've grown up to be Michaela Coel and Weruche Opia. (Those features!) They also nailed the kind of easy chemistry that you'd truly believe would keep the classmates close in adulthood.

We have to assume Boone prepared for the role of Young Mia by carefully studying Kerry Washington's every facial expression. Even as she brought her own interpretation to the character, Boone's ability to mimic Washington's subtlest gestures — the furrow of her brow, or the movements of her mouth while speaking — was stunning.

It was a little over eight years ago that Sharbino appeared in a Season 10 episode that dove not into Abby Sciuto's early days as an NCIS lab rat, but her early days as a kid. Teasing the origin story for original cast member Pauley Perrette's character, then-showrunner Gary Glasberg told TVLine, "From clothing choices to her hair, how she carries herself, things that she says... there are lots of great little prizes in this episode."

During a glimpse at Sandy and Kirsten's first meeting at Berkeley, Greenfield perfectly captured the undeniable charm and goodness that Peter Gallagher brought to his character. It's no wonder that a college-age Kirsten fell for her future husband. (Fun fact: Gallagher later played the father of Greenfield's character on New Girl, so clearly we weren't the only ones who saw the resemblance.)

When Madison (fresh off an arc on Wizards of Waverly Place, and with Trophy Wife not far into her future) made the first of what would be several appearances as Young Snow, toward the end of Season 1, her reception was unanimously positive — both for her resemblance to cherubic Ginnifer Goodwin, and for her portrayal of someone so sweet, she'd be sure to irk almost-evil queen Regina.

Brucato could have let those black-rimmed glasses, or her natural resemblance to Lori Petty, do the heavy lifting for her portrayal of Young Lolly. But the actress also completely mastered Petty's voice and mannerisms for the character — even her walk was spot-on! — resulting in a pair of Season 4 flashback scenes that were almost eerie to behold.

A decade before she headlined her own ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect, 13-year-old Rue proved herself a pitch-perfect imitator of the self-proclaimed "Domestic Goddess." In addition to getting her nasal tone down pat, Rue managed to replicate Roseanne's signature smug grin.

A bespectacled Shahidi guest-starred in Season 3 of Scandal as a 12-year-old bookish Olivia. But seriously, thanks to a similar pout, smile and mannerisms, these two could pass as sisters all these years later.

After Lillis' big break as Beverly Marsh in the It film reboot — a character later played by Jessica Chastain as an adult — she seemed destined to play a young Amy Adams in one project or another. Enter HBO's Sharp Objects adaptation, where Lillis' expressive blue eyes (and red hair, of course) helped bring Camille Preaker's complicated adolescence to life.

The Danvers sisters weren't always so close, as we learned in Season 3's flashback episode — but Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh's younger counterparts were very close matches for the actresses.

In addition to sharing a legit physical resemblance, Ford had such a knack for channeling Jared Padalecki's soulful intelligence in his portrayal of Sammy that the young actor returned multiple times over several seasons (until he, unfortunately, aged out of the flashbacks).

Everything about Zeile — especially her facial expressions when Kate is gently mocking her twin brother, Kevin — makes it so easy to believe she's the younger version of Chrissy Metz's character.

That unique blend of style, sensitivity and no-nonsense sensibility? Even without the contact lens that replicates Susan Kelechi Watson's distinctive eye pigmentation, we'd have zero trouble buying that Hilson is the college-age iteration of Beth.

Amazon's bittersweet family dramedy used flashbacks to show how past traumas can shape the people we are today, and that was only underscored by the dead-on doppelgangers they got to play the Pfeffermans as teens — especially Robinson as Gaby Hoffmann's Ali and Reinhardt as Amy Landecker's Sarah.

It's one thing to look like the younger version of a character, but Grace even cried like Caroline — which is something Candice King did plenty of during her eight-season stint on the CW series.

Young versions of Sheldon's future friends appeared in the Big Bang Theory prequel's Season 2 finale. Of the six of 'em, the pint-sized Leonard (in his signature red robe and glasses), Amy (reading her beloved Little House in the Prairie) and Bernadette (with her unmistakable blonde bangs) were dead ringers for their multi-camera counterparts.