Young Future Famous People: Difference between revisions

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This is basically the [[Spinoff Babies]] trope applied to real people. The idea is to take [[Historical Domain Character|Historical Domain Characters]] and depict them in their youth. It can be played for laughs--implying that people we normally think of as reserved, stoic, or even evil [[Former Teen Rebel|were once young and reckless themselves]]. (Or the opposite, where they are shown to possess the same traits and interests that later made them famous, even if realistically these would have come much later.) Of course, it may also be played straight.
This is basically the [[Spinoff Babies]] trope applied to real people. The idea is to take [[Historical Domain Character|Historical Domain Characters]] and depict them in their youth. It can be played for laughs--implying that people we normally think of as reserved, stoic, or even evil [[Former Teen Rebel|were once young and reckless themselves]]. (Or the opposite, where they are shown to possess the same traits and interests that later made them famous, even if realistically these would have come much later.) Of course, it may also be played straight.


If the person lived long enough ago that details of their adolescence or youth are obscure or even nonexistent, then this trope may be used as an excuse to ground an entirely fictional story in reality. Sometimes these characters are the leading characters, other times they may only serve as a fictional [[Cameo]] or a [[Shout Out]] to a [[Historical In-Joke]].
If the person lived long enough ago that details of their adolescence or youth are obscure or even nonexistent, then this trope may be used as an excuse to ground an entirely fictional story in reality. Sometimes these characters are the leading characters, other times they may only serve as a fictional [[Cameo]] or a [[Shout-Out]] to a [[Historical In-Joke]].


Obviously a standard trope in [[Historical Fiction]]. See also [[Historical Domain Character]] and [[In the Past Everyone Will Be Famous]]. Can overlap with [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]], as, for example, when a minor character in a movie turns out to be the author of the book the movie is based on.
Obviously a standard trope in [[Historical Fiction]]. See also [[Historical Domain Character]] and [[In the Past Everyone Will Be Famous]]. Can overlap with [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]], as, for example, when a minor character in a movie turns out to be the author of the book the movie is based on.
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* [[John Keats]] in [[Bright Star]]. Though he was already a poet, technically he got the 'fame' part posthumously.
* [[John Keats]] in [[Bright Star]]. Though he was already a poet, technically he got the 'fame' part posthumously.
* ''Coco Before Chanel''
* ''Coco Before Chanel''
* ''[[A Knights Tale]]'' has [[Geoffrey Chaucer (Creator)|Geoffrey Chaucer]] as a freelance [[Smart Guy]] with a gambling problem. Ends with an [[I Should Write a Book About This]].
* ''[[A Knight's Tale]]'' has [[Geoffrey Chaucer (Creator)|Geoffrey Chaucer]] as a freelance [[Smart Guy]] with a gambling problem. Ends with an [[I Should Write a Book About This]].
* ''Max'' is a film about an art dealer in 1918 Germany who attempts to encourage a young fellow war veteran named [[Adolf Hitler]] to focus on becoming an artist. [[Foregone Conclusion|He ends up becoming more interested in politics.]]
* ''Max'' is a film about an art dealer in 1918 Germany who attempts to encourage a young fellow war veteran named [[Adolf Hitler]] to focus on becoming an artist. [[Foregone Conclusion|He ends up becoming more interested in politics.]]
* ''The Motorcycle Diaries'' is about young [[Che Guevara]].
* ''The Motorcycle Diaries'' is about young [[Che Guevara]].
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== [[Live Action Television]] ==
== [[Live Action Television]] ==
* ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'' features gangsters like Al Capone, Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano and Mayer Lansky in 1920 at the beginning of the Prohibition. They will not reach the height of their infamy for at least another decade.
* ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'' features gangsters like Al Capone, Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano and Mayer Lansky in 1920 at the beginning of the Prohibition. They will not reach the height of their infamy for at least another decade.
* The episode "The Girl in the Fireplace" from the new ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' features young Madame de Pompadour.
* The episode "The Girl in the Fireplace" from the new ''[[Doctor Who]]'' features young Madame de Pompadour.
* A creepier version happens in ''[[Forever Knight (TV)|Forever Knight]]''. During a flashback, Lacroix is sitting on a train next to an unshaven German soldier returning from [[World War One|the western front]] after the cease-fire. He seriously considers turning him and comes within seconds of taking a bite as he is shaving, but something tells him that adding vampirism to the darkness he already sensed in his soul would be a Bad Idea... just as the soldier turns around to reveal ''that'' [[Adolf Hitler|mustache]]. Which is a bit of an inaccuracy as photos of Hitler show that he had a handlebar moustache when he was younger.
* A creepier version happens in ''[[Forever Knight (TV)|Forever Knight]]''. During a flashback, Lacroix is sitting on a train next to an unshaven German soldier returning from [[World War One|the western front]] after the cease-fire. He seriously considers turning him and comes within seconds of taking a bite as he is shaving, but something tells him that adding vampirism to the darkness he already sensed in his soul would be a Bad Idea... just as the soldier turns around to reveal ''that'' [[Adolf Hitler|mustache]]. Which is a bit of an inaccuracy as photos of Hitler show that he had a handlebar moustache when he was younger.
* This happened from time to time in ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', due to Sam [[The Gump|just having amazing luck]]. For example, on one occasion, he met a nerdy teenager named [[Stephen King]].
* This happened from time to time in ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', due to Sam [[The Gump|just having amazing luck]]. For example, on one occasion, he met a nerdy teenager named [[Stephen King]].
** Bigger list [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Leap_(TV_series)#Brushes_with_History here].
** Bigger list [[wikipedia:Quantum Leap (TV series)#Brushes with History|here]].
* The two-part ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' episode "Time's Arrow" featured a young {{spoiler|Jack London}}, although the audience isn't aware of this until his last appearance in the episodes, before which he'd always been referred to by his first name only.
* The two-part ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' episode "Time's Arrow" featured a young {{spoiler|Jack London}}, although the audience isn't aware of this until his last appearance in the episodes, before which he'd always been referred to by his first name only.
* The TV miniseries ''Young Catherine'' featured a young Catherine The Great, played by Julia Ormond, during her rise to power in Russia.
* The TV miniseries ''Young Catherine'' featured a young Catherine The Great, played by Julia Ormond, during her rise to power in Russia.
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