Walter White lookalike sought by US police as mugshot goes viral

A Walter White lookalike has gone viral after a police mugshot caught the attention of Breaking Bad fans.

An image of Todd Barrick Jr was posted on Facebook by officers from Galesburg Police Department in Illinois, who said the 50-year-old is wanted in connection with a probation violation.

The force’s followers, though, were less interested in his alleged discretion and more focused – with his bald head, goatee beard and glasses – on his resemblance to Bryan Cranston’s character in the much loved AMC TV show.

Referencing Walter White’s alias in the show, one said “Heisenberg is Alive!!”, while another quoted one of the character’s most memorable lines, commenting: “Say my name!!!”

Another wrote that he was “in the house with a pizza on the roof” and several people suggested the whole thing was a stunt by Netflix to promote the upcoming Breaking Bad movie, El Camino, which is to be released on the streaming platform next month.

Breaking Bad tells the story of a high school chemistry teacher who starts to produce methamphetamine to provide money for his family after he is diagnosed with cancer.

To make the resemblance even more striking, at 50 Barrick Jr is the same age White was at the start of the series.

It is not the first time police have sought help looking for someone who resembles as well known TV character.

Last month, a man was jailed for theft and fraud offences after he went viral when a picture of him released by Lancashire Police was compared to Ross Geller from the sitcom Friends, played by David Schwimmer.

Schwimmer played along by posting a video of himself recreating the image on his Twitter account.