--- description: This photo has officially started an internet bate about whether this guy is Bill Murray or Tom Hanks. title: The Internet Can't Tell if This Is Tom Hanks or Bill Murray image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36e7dbadc64500ee/6988ab3d656a3f0b0abcd91c/diptych.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Internet Can’t Decide If This Photo Is of Tom Hanks or Bill Murray by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 3:01 PM CUT  Paul Morigi and Venturelli—Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 3:01 PM CUT The internet is officially divided, thanks to the question of whether the man in this picture is [Tom Hanks](http://time.com/4528931/tom-hanks-on-donald-trump-women-comments/ "undefined") or [Bill Murray](http://time.com/4541417/bill-murray-crashes-white-house/ "undefined"). It all began when this photo, which was submitted to the parenting blog [“Reasons My Son Is Crying”](http://www.reasonsmysoniscrying.com/ "undefined") in May 2013, recently popped up again and got people debating a seemingly easy question, according to the [_Longview News-Journal_](http://longview news journal kkk "undefined"). Is the person featured in this picture America’s dad, Tom Hanks, who often portrays heroes and is an [ordinary hero in real life](http://time.com/4530835/tom-hanks-meeting-fans/ "undefined")? Or is it the legendary indie comedian and alleged [french fry thief, Bill Murray](http://time.com/4461233/bill-murray-french-fries-photo/ "undefined")? The original photo caption suggests it was submitted by Laura R. of Scotland and that it’s officially Bill Murray, but evidently, it could go either way. Some guess that Hanks is the man straining his face in the picture, others are certain they see Murray, and the internet has promptly lit up with different takes. What do you think? \[[News-Journal](https://www.news-journal.com/blogs/staff/entries/2016/oct/20/tom-hanks-or-bill-murray-new-dress-debate-has-hit-interwebs/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4542434/bill-murray-or-tom-hanks-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4542434/bill-murray-or-tom-hanks-photo/"},"headline":"The Internet Can’t Decide If This Photo Is of Tom Hanks or Bill Murray","datePublished":"2016-10-24T15:01:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:37:54.965Z","description":"No one seems to know the truth","url":"https://time.com/4542434/bill-murray-or-tom-hanks-photo/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Bill Murray","Tom Hanks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36e7dbadc64500ee/6988ab3d656a3f0b0abcd91c/diptych.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36e7dbadc64500ee/6988ab3d656a3f0b0abcd91c/diptych.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"diptych","caption":"","creditText":"Paul Morigi and Venturelli—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4542434/bill-murray-or-tom-hanks-photo/","name":"The Internet Can’t Decide If This Photo Is of Tom Hanks or Bill Murray"}}]}] ```