‘The Peruvian Will Smith’ Is an Uncanny Lookalike — People Ask if He’s Smith’s ‘Lost Son’

It’s official: Will Smith has a doppelgänger, and he lives in Lima, Peru. Yhasual Ávila emigrated from Venezuela with his family to the Peruvian capital in search of a better life, and now his uncanny similarities to the “Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” actor have turned into a full-blown career for him.

As you can see on Ávila’s TikTok page @willsmithperuano, referencing his nickname “The Peruvian Will Smith,” the Venezuela-born 30-year-old could be Smith’s twin. In fact, Ávila told Telemundo’s “Al Rojo Vivo” that he first started noticing how much he looked like the actor when people asked him if he was Smith’s “lost son.”

Ávila, a former police officer in Venezuela, explained that word started spreading “little by little,” and even people “driving luxury cars” down the street would stop and comment on how he looked exactly like the actor.

As shown in his interview with “Al Rojo Vivo,” Ávila often gets stopped on the street by passersby who ask to take photos with him. He also dances and raps just like Smith, and even explained how he studied the actor’s gestures in order to make a better life for himself and his family in the new country.

Ávila described, “Just like the actor Will Smith says, ‘While other people sleep, you have to work for what you want,’ and it’s been just like that.” He continued, “While other people slept, I was working, studying, looking at every detail, gesture, movement,” in order to look as much like the actor as possible, and make for an uncanny lookalike.

The 30-year-old’s hard work is paying off: he makes appearances in birthday parties and weddings, and will soon begin to do the same in nightclubs. Both his Instagram page and TikTok page are rapidly gaining followers, with fans eager to get a glimpse of videos where Ávila lip-syncs and dances just like Smith.

The Venezuelan immigrant has a wife and two children to support, with the Telemundo report explaining that he once slept in the streets before finding work in Lima. He later began working as a waiter, and currently lives in a small apartment with his family that he hopes to upgrade soon.

Ávila also dreams of one day meeting Smith himself.