When a Photo Posted Online Had Netizens Guessing if it Was Bill Murray or Tom Hanks

After almost four years, a fan-taken picture of a celebrity from 2012 once again baffled the internet. 'Reasons My Son is Crying' is a Facebook group that circulated a photo taken by a woman named Laura Michele Ross in 2013. This footage was captured in Scotland during the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament. As for the intriguing part, the photo captured an A-list celebrity crying like a baby at the event.

In the original version of the shot, Bill Murray stood in front of weeping Alexander, who was nine months old, and Ross was holding him. Murray was trying to imitate the child's face. Nonetheless, when the photo first went viral in 2016, a lot of internet users were sure it was Tom Hanks. Some individuals even stated that it was Hanks in the comments section of Ross's first Facebook post. "Hanks!" pointed out one commenter. "Oh my goodness, it's Tom," someone else wrote at the time.

Meanwhile, another person left a remark, "When I first looked at the pic. I thought you were nuts because it is obviously Tom Hanks, because of the mouth especially. But then I looked again and again and again, now I can see Bill Murry also??? I don't know, I still say it looks more like Tom than Bill??" People could have been puzzled since Murray looked very much like Hanks in the film Cast Away, as Wilson, the volleyball, floats away. It was a touching scene as Hanks developed a deep bond with the volleyball Wilson during his four years of solitude on the island in the film. Also, it conjured fond memories of Hanks's appearance as the lead singer in the I Really Like You music video.

Interestingly, the question of who the A-lister was in the photo quickly spread throughout all social media sites, not just Facebook. Back then, someone else posted the photo on X, labeling it a 'controversy,' and added, "Is this @BillMurray wearing a blue and black dress or @tomhanks wearing a white & gold dress? I just made the internet explode. #Controversy." Another Twitter user made a lighthearted comment and included, "Soooooo Bill Murray and Tom Hanks are NOT the same person. Cool, just checking."

Nevertheless, Ross subsequently explained to The Guardian that Murray was the one in the picture. She told the outlet, "We are finding this very funny. I personally don’t see the resemblance to Tom Hanks but we’ve noticed that people have been mentioning it for years." Her interaction with Murray was short, but she claimed he was amiable and spoke to everyone on the course. Ross continued, "We are big Ghostbusters fans and have grown up with his movies. Although I’m also a huge fan of Tom Hanks, so that would have been awesome as well." When DiMichele-Ross ran into Murray again two years later, this time while playing golf with Huey Lewis, she managed to get him to autograph the picture.