Mistaken Identity: Recruitment Look Alike Agencies
While the term "recruitment look alike agencies" may in itself seem misleading, being misleading is exactly what these places do. Recruitment look alike agencies are a specialized recruitment agency service that works like a talent agency. These places employ celebrity look-alikes and provide the services of a booking agent for the look-alikes. Surprisingly, celebrity look-alikes are more popular than the average person might guess: major companies have used celebrity look-alikes to draw attention to their stores or products, and the look-alikes are even used as stunt doubles for movies. It seems the uses for a celebrity look alike are unending.
Recruitment look alike agencies fulfill the same purpose for celebrity look alikes that a talent agency or a talent representative serves for an actual celebrity. Essentially, celebrity look alikes are actors and actresses; they need to book "shows" just like any other actor, so they relay on an agent. Recruitment look alike agencies simply find companies that need a celebrity look alike for any number of reasons, and then the agency matches the desired celebrity look alike to the event.
Most recruitment look alike agencies have more than one look alike for each popular celebrity. For example, there is usually more than one Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp celebrity look alike at an agency. For less popular celebrities like Gene Hackman or Nicole Kidman, there is usually only one look alike. Some of the more famous, classic cinema and music stars also have more than one look alike at an agency: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Princess Diana, Marlene Dietrich, Madonna, and Cher all usually have multiple look alikes.
Of course the next question that comes to mind when discussing recruitment look alike agencies is where do these agencies find companies that want to employ celebrity look alikes? Companies will usually approach reputable look alike agencies with an event and celebrity already in mind. Other companies may only have an even that needs some kind of spice, and they leave the choice of celebrity look alike up to the recruitment look alike agencies. The events that most companies will employ a look alike for vary greatly: cocktail parties, holiday parties, fundraisers and even conferences all regularly have celebrity look alikes.
Besides booking celebrity look alikes to company events, recruitment look alike agencies also will employ look alikes with movie companies. Some movie companies choose to hire a celebrity look alike as a stunt or nudity double. If the actual actor or actress is unable or unwilling to shoot an especially difficult or gratuitous scene, a celebrity look alike may be called in to be the back of the celebrity's head or even his or her back side.