Matt Damon blamed by confused fans for Oscar mix-up because he is dead ringer for blundering accountant Brian Cullinan
MATT Damon has been dragged into the Oscar wrong envelope debacle after eagle-eyed viewers noticed his striking resemblance to bungling accountant Brian Cullinan.
The actor - sitting in the second-row of the audience - looked surprised when the jaw-dropping announcement was made that La La Land had been mistakenly named Best Picture instead of Moonlight.
The blunder appears to have happened because Bonnie and Clyde stars Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were accidentally handed a second copy of the card announcing La La Land star Emma Stone as Best Actress by Cullinan.
But fans have noticed the PricewaterhouseCoopers (Pwc) accountant is a dead ringer for Damon, and have conjured up conspiracy theories due to the Good Will Hunting star's long-running "feud" with Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel.
And bungling Cullinan is such a doppelganger for The Martian actor, he is even described on the firm's website as "PwC partner and Matt Damon lookalike".
Damon was the target of several of Kimmel's jokes throughout the night, leading conspiracy theorists to jokingly suggest that Damon could have had a hand in sabotaging the ceremony to get back at the comedian.
Kimmel said: "Tonight in the spirit of bringing people together, I would like to bury the hatchet with someone I've had issues with - Matt Damon.
"Now, Matt, I've known Matt for a long time. I've known Matt so long, when I first met Matt, I was the fat one."
Kimmel also praised Damon for being "unselfish" for giving up his place in Manchester by the Sea due to scheduling problems to pal Casey Affleck, who went on to win Best Actor for his performance.
He also joked that Damon was Ben Affleck's "guest" when the esteemed pair took to the stage to present.
The long-running fake feud has been running for more than a decade, with the pair taking every opportunity possible to lampoon the other.
Taking to Twitter, viewers were quick to point out the hilarious coincidence - with one joking that Cullinan was "Matt Damon's evil twin brother".
La La Land had been tipped to win the coveted Best Picture award by the bookies, so it wasn't a surprise when its name was announced at first.
But in unprecedented scenes, confusion reigned on stage as it was eventually announced that Moonlight had won - but not before those involved with La La Land had already begun making their victory speeches.
Only two people - Cullinan and PwC colleague Martha Ruiz - know who has won the Oscar awards before the big day as the company calculates votes from members of the Academy Awards ahead of the ceremony.
The best picture award - the last and most coveted gong given at the ceremony - was presented by Beatty and Dunaway, who appeared together to mark the 50th anniversary of their roles as Bonnie And Clyde.
Viewers praised the selection of two old-school Hollywood stars to present the most important gong, but they turned out to be the villains of the evening.
Beatty, stood alongside Dunaway, opened the envelope but appeared to look instantly confused.
He then checks the envelope, to see if there is anything else inside, with Dunaway laughs, presuming he is simply trying to ramp up the drama and the drum rolls.
Beatty says: "And the academy award... for best picture..."
Dunaway tells him: "Come on!" and he goes to show her the envelope... only for her to take a quick glance at it and read out La La Land right away.
Massive cheers and celebrations followed... but the joy would be short lived.
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