Some people say that talent runs in the family – just look at Will and Jayden Smith, Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus, or Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd. So is it true that Ed Sheeran is related to Dame Judi Dench?
Ed Sheeran and Dame Judi Dench are not related. With the same ginger hair, pale skin, and round face, Judi’s grandson, Sam Williams, often gets mistaken for Ed but they are not related.
Who is Sam Williams? Has Sam Williams cashed in on his similarity to Ed Sheeran? Keep reading to find out.
Who is Dame Judi Dench?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll definitely have heard of Oscar award-winning actress, Dame Judi Dench. Born in December 1934, Dench is quite rightly seen as one of the biggest and most influential actors of our generation.
Since her debut in 1957 as Hamlet’s Ophelia, Judi has been gracing screens and stages across the world with her phenomenal acting skills. She has starred in the likes of Skyfall (2012), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Pride & Prejudice (2005), and Cats (2019).
Judi’s acting has also seen her win 56 awards and be nominated for a further 204. Most notably, she has 10 BAFTA awards, 2 Golden Globes, and a Special Olivier Award for lifetime achievement.
Sam Williams
But where does the link between Dame Judi Dench and Ed Sheeran come in? Since March 2020, Judi’s grandson, Sam Williams, has been involving the famed actress in videos for his TikTok channel.
The first video occurred on 21stMarch 2020, when Sam uploaded a short clip with the caption ‘Not sure who she is but seems that she is my Grandma….. #fyp #foryou #cats #jamesbond #judidench’, revealing his familial ties to Judi.
Speaking of his decision to get his famous Grandmother involved, Sam said:
“I was just bored one day and I thought during quarantine that it would be a nice thing for me and her to do together. I didn’t actually think that the response I’ve got – I thought I would have his in two years not two weeks”.
Over the following months, Dench’s involvement in Sam’s TikTok grew bigger. Together the duo created a mini-series in which Sam unsuccessfully tries to tell Judi a series of jokes.
In addition to this, Dench and Williams partake in viral dance challenges. As lockdown restrictions in the UK were eased, Sam posted a video captioned ‘When Bojo let’s you film a family TikTok’ in which Judi and Sam are captured dancing to Jawsh 685 – Laxed (Siren Beat).
Is Ed Sheeran Related to Sam Williams?
The videos understandably went viral, but the added attention caused a lot of comments on Sam’s likeness to singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. In an interview with Hit Network radio, Sam divulged:
“I mean when I met him [Ed Sheeran] he did actually have to double take and he did ask my mum if we were related in any way down the line. […] I get it on a daily basis”.
In fact, the two redheads look so similar that Williams often struggles to go about his day to day life. In an interview from 2017, Judi shared an anecdote about a time she was out with Sam in Covent Garden, London. A passer-by stopped the pair and asked for a photo, to which she happily agreed. However, the stranger was actually asking for a picture with Sam, who they thought was Ed Sheeran.
“He gets mobbed. Now he looks like him even more”, Dench told The Lady.
After the interview was aired and Ed found out about his lookalike, he sent a text to Sam saying “I hear I look a lot like you”. Some reports suggest that Ed even asked to hire Williams as a body double, to which he declined.
What do you think – would Sam Williams pass as an Ed Sheeran body double?