Wyatt Russell has addressed the viral confusion after being mistakenly identified as a protester in a video from the anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles.
A fiery video of a bearded man in a hoodie and baseball cap at the ongoing anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles lit up social media this week.
The clip captures the man confronting National Guardsmen, passionately declaring: “Your assault rifles and your sticks? You should be standing here with us.
"We know you got a job to do, but you took an oath to the Constitution, not to the fascists in the White House. Think about what you're doing now. Think about what this means.
"Coming into our community, peaceful f****ng community - people working their jobs. They’re sending men in military fatigues, weapons of war. And you stand here and you allow it... Do you think any of these people in the White House sending you these commands give a f*** about you?” he asked.
The footage quickly went viral, with many people wrongly claiming the man was Wyatt Russell, star of the forthcoming Marvel's Thunderbolts and son of Hollywood icons Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.
The actor's reps were quick to set the record straight. A spokesperson for the 38-year-old told The Independent: “This is indeed NOT Wyatt Russell, and we have been working to try and correct the mis-identification.”
Despite the lookalike confusion, the video has since been amended on X to include a note clarifying: “Though he has a passing resemblance, this is not Wyatt Russell.”
The man in the video is Aaron Fisher, a former Ohio House Democratic Caucus staffer and current partner at Statecraft Media, a progressive digital media company.
Fisher took the mistaken identity in his stride, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I found the mixup to be pretty humorous, and glad it helped to amplify the message. The proliferation of the words themselves, and the movement behind it, is what matters most.
“The deployment of the National Guard against the wishes of our governor is dangerously un-American, and I will continue to peacefully protest in my community," he added.
Fisher has since shared screenshots of abuse he's received online from MAGA-leaning users, ranging from personal insults to bizarre claims that the video was “pre-planned”.
In response, Fisher kept his cool, replying: “I’ll continue to work for a Democracy that serves everyone so that you can continue to use your free speech against guys like me. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful insights.”
The video comes amid ongoing unrest in Los Angeles sparked by ICE raids on undocumented migrants, which began last Friday.
The city has since seen angry clashes, vandalism, dozens of arrests, and vehicles set on fire, though no fatalities have been reported.
The Trump administration has deployed up to 4,000 National Guard troops to California, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth readying 700 active-duty Marines for possible support.
The deployment was made against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom, a move critics, including Fisher, have labeled “dangerously un-American".
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass recently announced a curfew for parts of downtown after five consecutive days of unrest that have resulted in over 150 arrests. “If you do not live or work in downtown LA, stay away,” she warned, per The New York Post.
While Russell has distanced himself from the viral moment, other Hollywood figures are jumping into the fray. Mark Ruffalo posted a message on Instagram slamming the ICE raids: “When you have working class people going after the poor and other working class people, you know you are living in an oligarchy.”
Interestingly, the Marvel universe even includes a character named Aaron Fischer (spelled slightly differently), who, like Wyatt Russell’s on-screen alter ego John Walker, is linked to the legacy of Captain America.