FitzDaniels? Allegheny County executive meets doppelganger, Jeff Daniels

For years, many observers have remarked about Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s uncanny resemblance to Emmy Award-winning actor Jeff Daniels.

Some might have wondered if they were the same person.

That theory was put to rest Monday as the two met up on the set of Showtime’s “American Rust” series being filmed in the Pittsburgh region. Daniels, who stars as a police chief in a Southwestern Pennsylvania town, stood side-by-side with Fitzgerald and posed for pictures. It was the first time the two met.

“He was very complimentary of our area, that they’re able to shoot scenes and do things very easily. This was the first time he had been to Pittsburgh and he seemed to be having a good experience here,” said Fitzgerald. “He was very nice. He was in between shooting his scenes and he was in his police chief uniform and I guess I was in my County Executive uniform – you know, shirt and tie.”

Having productions like #AmericanRust that will begin airing on @Showtime Sept. 12 would not be possible without the #filmtaxcredit and the work of the @PghFilmOffice under the leadership of Dawn Keezer. pic.twitter.com/yHYOGzn5Lt

— Allegheny Co. Exec. (@ACE_Fitzgerald) August 2, 2021

The meeting was inspired in part because of numerous comments made on Twitter about Fitzgerald’s resemblance to Daniels, particularly during last fall’s presidential election. Fitzgerald received a lot of face time on national news coverage of Allegheny County’s decisive role in President Joe Biden’s victory.

But Fitzgerald said that the comparisons made between Fitzgerald and Daniels go back to well before Fitzgerald was in office.

“This goes back to ‘Terms of Endearment,’ and people would say ‘you look just like Jeff Daniels,’ ” Fitzgerald said, referring to the 1983 film. “So, even when he was younger, we somewhat resembled each other, and now as older men we somewhat resemble each other. We’re both about the same age.” (Daniels is 66 and Fitzgerald is 62.)

Great to finally meet the person that so many people tell me I look like. It’s great that a big Michigan booster like @Jeff_Daniels would come to our neck of the woods for this production. We look forward to the success of the series & hope your stay in Pgh has been fruitful. pic.twitter.com/bGApVvmGAg

— Allegheny Co. Exec. (@ACE_Fitzgerald) August 2, 2021

There is no official word on whether Fitzgerald will be available to stand in for the actor on “American Rust,” or if Daniels, not far removed from his Broadway run as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” will be interested in taking a shot at running county government. But it sounds like the two have formed the basis for a friendship.

”He was just a very nice, down-to-earth guy who enjoys doing what he’s doing, enjoys his craft and got exposed to Pittsburgh for the first time,” Fitzgerald said. “I get excited when folks come here and have a good impression about us and what we do.”