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Are Jeremy Allen White and Gene Wilder related?

For once, is a Facebook rumor actually true?

Gene Wilder image via Columbia Pictures, Jeremy Allen White via FX

Jeremy Allen White is one of the biggest stars to emerge in the last few years. The young actor first rose to prominence on the long-running family drama series Shameless (2011-2021) as Phillip “Lip” Gallagher, the rebellious eldest son of the notoriously chaotic Gallagher family.

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However, it was White’s leading role as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in The Bear (2022-present) that made him a household name. The Bear follows Carmy, a critically acclaimed chef who has worked at some of the world’s finest restaurants, as he relocates to his home city of Chicago to take over a sandwich shop owned by his brother, after his sudden and tragic death.

For his performance in The Bear, White has won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series (musical/comedy), the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and the Critics’ Choice Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. White is also nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but the 2023 Emmys have been delayed indefinitely sue to the ongoing SAG/WGA strikes. In short, Jeremy Allen White could take the quadruple crown of television acting for just one season of television.

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in ‘The Bear’
Image via Hulu

Thanks to his new level of prominence in pop culture, White has been compared to beloved comedic actor Gene Wilder (1933-2016), best known for the titular role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), The Producers (1967), and Blazing Saddles (1974). It’s no wonder, either — their facial features and signature dirty blond curls make for quite a resemblance. It’s also a highly flattering comparison, as the late actor is widely considered a master of both comedy and drama.

Since the trailer for Wonka (2023) dropped earlier this year, those less-than-impressed with Timothée Chalamet’s casting as the iconic Roald Dahl character have thrown Jeremy Allen White’s hat into the ring as a preferred choice to take over from Wilder — although Jeremy might have preferred that suggestion come from social media users prior to the new film starting production. Recently, rumors have spread online that the two actors are biologically related, and with such a striking resemblance, who can blame the believers?

Image via Paramount Pictures

If Jeremy Allen White and Gene Wilder are actually related, Jeremy has kept mum about this fact. Gene Wilder never had any children of his own but his nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, is pretty well known, both as a filmmaker and close confidant of the actor who cared for him in his final years. In addition, Wilder hails from Wisconsin, while White is a native New Yorker. If the two are related at all, it’s not a close relation.