Body Doubles
We had an earlier entry about stunt doubles, and so it seems somewhat fitting that we also include a few words on body doubles since the act of finding a perfect “double” for a body can very often seem stunt-like in its endeavor. As an example, body double Alisa Hensley has “stood in” for actresses Charlize Theron, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Kidman at different times. And get this. Hensley also acts as a stunt double having used her sculpted muscle by standing in for the female terminator in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. That’s what you truly call pulling double duty. Another noteworthy body double is Donna Scoggiins who shot to notoriety when her legs (and more) were used as a stand in for Julia Roberts’ in Pretty Woman. The use of body doubles is so rampant in Hollywood that film director Brian De Palma brought it to the forefront in the film by the same name in 1984 starring Melanie Griffith. The film picked up a sort of cult following as evidenced by its repeated references in the film American Psycho (the protagonist mentions he’s seen the film Body Double 37 times). Another key factor to the film’s critical acclaim in regard to cult status is its new wave sound track and frequent visual references to several iconic Los Angeles landmarks. So your takeaway should be this: don’t believe everything you see in a film flesh-wise or stunt-wise since you never know when someone has pulled a double on you!