“What is the deal with people who look exactly like me? I mean, did God run out of ideas?”
— Peter Bates, Jerry Seinfeld lookalike
—
In 1989, I spent a summer in Los Angeles documenting a new breed of Hollywood entertainers: celebrity lookalikes. These individuals, while resembling famous stars, found themselves relegated to the sidelines, treated as mere substitutes for their renowned counterparts.
I believe these underappreciated actors deserve the belated recognition they’ve been denied until now. In my eyes, they weren’t just stand-ins, but genuine performers with unique talents to share. Their untold stories are extraordinary and deserve to live on.
Now that we’ve entered a post-AI era where the line between truth and fiction will forever be blurred, it felt like an ideal time to release this collection. Enjoy.
— Snerko, May 2023
Shooting locations map: <https://bit.ly/closebutnocigar>
All work copyright Snerko 2023