A remarkable new documentary, Three Identical Strangers, tells the story of identical triplets separated at birth and reunited as young adults, sparking fresh debate over the influence of genetics versus environment on human behaviour. The film, which won a special award at the Sundance Film Festival, follows Robert Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman, who discovered each other in 1980 after Robert was mistaken for Eddy on his first day at college in upstate New York.
The triplets, all born on 12 July 1961, were adopted by different families and raised in vastly different circumstances: Robert in a prosperous home, Eddy in a middle-class suburb, and David in working-class Queens. Despite these differences, they shared striking similarities—smoking the same brand of cigarettes, enjoying the same films, and all having been wrestlers at college. This led many to argue that their shared genes were the dominant force shaping their lives.
However, as the documentary reveals, the triplets' lives diverged significantly over time. Their physical appearances changed, their restaurant business failed, and they ultimately faced very different fates. The film also uncovers the dark truth behind their separation: a grotesque medical experiment that would today likely lead to prosecutions for malpractice.
Medical historian Professor Nathaniel Comfort of Johns Hopkins University says the film is particularly timely, as genetic essentialism rises and polarisation increases globally. The documentary serves as a poignant reminder that both nature and nurture interact in complex ways to shape who we are.
