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1->'''Mr. Burns:''' Get me Creator/StevenSpielberg!\
2'''Smithers:''' He's unavailable.\
3'''Mr. Burns:''' Then get me his non-union Mexican equivalent!
4-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E18AStarIsBurns A Star Is Burns]]"
5
6Often, when you've got a pretty good and recognizable actor or actress, there will be another actor/actress who is awfully similar except that he/she is not quite as good, famous, busy, expensive, or whatever.
7
8This can be ''very'' handy when you've been asked to cast a TV series based on a movie, since the actors from the movie often won't be willing to do a weekly series, at least not for what you're willing to pay.
9
10Such pairings can also be used to effect TheOtherDarrin, but when the former actor is much more famous than the replacement, this is a recipe for disappointment.
11
12The good news for the actors is that by the end of the show's run, if its a hit, they're sometimes more famous than the film actor they replace.
13
14The TropeMaker for the Poor Man's Substitute was Creator/JayneMansfield for Creator/MarilynMonroe. In fact, Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox hired Mansfield for just that purpose after Monroe famously walked out on her contract in 1955.
15
16On ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', Creator/{{Joel|Hodgson}} and the Bots call this the "Wayne Rogers Effect", after the actor who replaced Elliott Gould in the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{MASH}}''.
17
18Often goes hand-in-hand with NotQuiteStarring. There are scripts that acknowledge this as HypotheticalCasting (only to somehow get the real deal!).
19
20''' PLEASE NOTE:''' This trope is about actors who can pass for each other in bad light and/or can fill the same type of roles. For actors who have played the same character, you want TheOtherDarrin instead. If the Poor Man's Substitute is a different character in-universe, they're a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute. If you're looking for ''objects'' that are inferior versions of brand names, see ShoddyKnockoffProduct.
21
22----
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25!!Real-Life Examples:
26
27[[folder:Live Action]]
28!!!Actors
29* In the 1930s, Warren William was sometimes referred to as a poor man's Creator/WilliamPowell.
30* Another older example is Simon Oakland (best known as the psychiatrist who gives the long speech at the end of ''Film/{{Psycho}}''), who basically spent his career being the younger, more affordable Creator/EdwardGRobinson. Robinson himself twice filled in for Creator/SpencerTracy (''Film/CheyenneAutumn'', ''Film/TheCincinnatiKid'') when Tracy had to leave a film due to illness.
31* For ''Film/{{The War Lord|1965}}'', Creator/CharltonHeston wanted the very acclaimed Shakespearian Creator/JohnGielgud for the role of the priest, but Gielgud refused. The similar-looking Creator/MauriceEvans was cast instead. It should be noted Evans was an experienced Shakespearian as well, just less towering than Gielgud in that field.
32* Creator/JamieFoxx to Creator/WillSmith as he often gets roles, such as ''Film/DjangoUnchained'', that Smith turns down.
33* Creator/MartinLawrence is the poor man's Creator/EddieMurphy. The same goes for Creator/ChrisTucker.
34* Creator/PeterScolari can substitute for Creator/RickMoranis in a fix (as he did in ''Series/HoneyIShrunkTheKids''' RecycledTheSeries).
35* Michael Shanks was this for Creator/JamesSpader when he was playing as Daniel Jackson in ''Series/StargateSG1''. Same went for Creator/RichardDeanAnderson in the same show as a sort of poor man's Creator/KurtRussell.
36* Creator/TonyDanza filled in for Creator/BruceWillis in ''Series/BabyTalk1991'', the TV adaptation of ''Film/LookWhosTalking''.
37* Nigel Bennett (''Series/{{Lexx}}'', ''Series/ForeverKnight'') can fill in for Creator/MalcolmMcDowell in a pinch, and Malcolm can fill in for Music/{{Sting}} (as shown in ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet|AndThePlaneteers}}'') given the right wig. The same goes for Creator/TerenceStamp for live action and Creator/CoreyBurton for voiceover, as well as Michael Des Barres.
38* Creator/BrianCox was described as a poor man's Creator/AlbertFinney in 1990s, at which time Finney was much better-known on stage and screen than Cox.
39* Creator/CharlesDurning was described as "the fat man's Creator/BrianDennehy" (though both men did slim down quite a bit).
40** Creator/BruceCampbell's autobiography mentions Brian Keith feeling kind of like a Poor Man's Brian Dennehy (although not in those words), since Keith kept losing roles to Dennehy.
41* Jonathan Lloyd Walker, when he was in the role of Rankol in ''Series/FlashGordon2007'', was a Poor Man's Creator/GaryOldman.
42* Before the second war in Iraq, Jerry Haleva made a living portraying Saddam Hussein in multiple movies (both comedy and drama). He was frequently cast due to his uncanny resemblance to the Iraqi despot.
43* Creator/TomSizemore: the poor man's Creator/MichaelMadsen. In fact, Madsen turned down Sizemore's roles in ''Film/{{Heat}}'', ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' and ''Film/BlackHawkDown''.
44* Creator/BillyCrudup would make a decent Creator/ChristianBale.
45* Creator/RonSilver is an obvious replacement for "Hoo-ah"-era Creator/AlPacino, and played a Pacinoesque actor in the film ''Lovesick''.
46* Creator/JamesCallis (Dr. Gaius Baltar, ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'') has been described by sci-fi fans as "the poor man's Creator/AlexanderSiddig" (Dr. Julian Bashir, ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''), though the two actors are similarly accomplished. Ron Moore, who has worked on both shows, was once asked by a fan if he noticed this resemblance, and he replied that he hadn't... but now couldn't ''stop'' seeing it after having it pointed out, and that he considered it seriously creeped him out.
47* Also from ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'', Matthew Bennett (Aaron Doral) has been dubbed "a poor man's Creator/KevinSpacey".
48* Most people's reaction on seeing Kerr Smith in ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'' is to think he's Creator/JulianMcMahon (who played a different recurring character earlier in the series).
49* Almost happened to Creator/DudleyMoore at the height of his American success. He had his biggest box-office hit in ''Film/{{Arthur 1981}}'' just a year after Creator/PeterSellers, a fellow Brit star (in fact, a friend and colleague), had died. Though he was a ''very'' different personality than Sellers, two films that had been in development for Sellers were made with Moore (''Lovesick'' and ''Film/UnfaithfullyYours''). He was even the initial choice to take over the role of Inspector Clouseau in Franchise/ThePinkPanther series before the idea fell through.[[note]]According to Website/{{Wikipedia}}, he was only willing to do the script Sellers had co-written as a GrandFinale for the franchise, ''Romance of...'', and only if Creator/BlakeEdwards (who wasn't supposed to have been associated with it) would direct it. Edwards didn't want to film that script, and ultimately Moore moved on.[[/note]]
50* If you can't afford Creator/JamesCromwell, Donald Moffat will substitute very well.
51** Also, James Cromwell and James Rebhorn were more or less interchangeable up until Rebhorn's death.
52* In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'', Julius Carry seems to be filling in for Creator/MrT, especially with frequent exclamations of "sucka!"
53* If you can't get Creator/SeanConnery for something live-action, Laurence Luckinbill might be able to sccrtep in (''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'').
54* Creator/NicolasCage was the producer of ''Series/TheDresdenFiles'' television adaptation; Creator/PaulBlackthorne, the lead actor in the series, bears a strong resemblance to, and sometimes seems to be performing an impression of, Cage; possibly Cage wanted to play the part but was either deemed too old or was otherwise engaged.
55* Several actors have tried being poor man's versions of Creator/JimCarrey, to varying degrees of success. Creator/EricChristianOlsen played a younger version of Carrey's character Lloyd in ''Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd''. Creator/JamieKennedy played a character similar to Carrey's from ''Film/TheMask'' in ''Film/SonOfTheMask''. Creator/RobPaulsen is the go to guy for voicing animated version of Carrey roles.
56* Want Creator/KeanuReeves, but he's out of your price range? Call Joe Flannigan. Creator/ChrisKlein also works, as evidenced by the ''Film/{{Rollerball}}'' remake, and if you want a younger Reeves but are working on a television budget, hire Creator/JesseRath.
57* Should Creator/ChrisRock be too expensive to hire, then Creator/PhilLaMarr is a good replacement actor.
58* Can't get Creator/SeanBean? Go with Creator/DavidWenham instead. The latter was even cast as Faramir in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' because he looked so much like Sean, who played Faramir's brother. Coincidentally, their on-screen father Denethor treats Faramir like he's merely a poor man's substitute for his older brother.
59** Better yet, Creator/RichardArmitage - similar look, similar voice and similar taste in roles - compare [[Series/StrikeBack John Porter]] from Andy [=McNab=], or anti-heroic [[Series/RobinHood Guy of Gisbourne]] to [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Boromir]].
60* Creator/JeffreyDeanMorgan (the Comedian in ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'') is often compared to Creator/RobertDowneyJr, mostly because they have almost the same exact face. It came up many interviews he did in the run-up to ''Watchmen''. Ironically, the sudden surge in his popularity following ''Watchmen'' appears to have made this PoorMansSubstitute too expensive for shooting flashback scenes in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''.
61** He also stated in an interview people [[CelebrityResemblance confuse him for]] Creator/JavierBardem.
62* Creator/MatthewGoode's Adrian Veidt from ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' looks like Music/DavidBowie, which is only natural because that's who the original character was modeled after.
63** Goode can also step in for you if Benedict Cumberbatch is too expensive.
64* Creator/BenedictCumberbatch too expensive/busy? Try Creator/TobyKebbell.
65* If you can't afford Sir Creator/BenKingsley, Creator/ErickAvari will do in a pinch.
66** And Creator/CarloRota if you can't get Erick Avari.
67* Creator/BenKingsley himself is a viable substitute for early actor Creator/GeorgesMelies of ''Film/ATripToTheMoon'' fame, especially since the man himself is long dead. He played [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0617588/ Méliès]] in Creator/MartinScorsese's film ''Film/{{Hugo}}''.
68* Need an actor for an old wise Black character? Get Creator/BillCobbs if you can't afford Creator/MorganFreeman.
69* Creator/JamesPurefoy is pretty much a British knockoff of Creator/HughJackman.
70* Nicholas Farrell makes a good substitute for Creator/BillNighy. He's been in ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'', ''Series/FoylesWar'', ''{{Series/Torchwood}}'', ''Film/PearlHarbor'', and ''Series/TheChoir'', to name a few.
71* Olivier Rabourdin in Film/{{Taken}} plays a convincing Creator/KevinSpacey acting as a French cop.
72* Creator/ChrisRock did an infamous rant on this subject during his MediaNotes/{{Academy Awards|Ceremonies}} host monologue. He actually called people in the room poor men's substitutes (for other people in the room).
73** Including himself as Creator/DenzelWashington's substitute ("If you want Denzel Washington and all you can get is me, WAIT! Denzel is a fine actor. He wouldn't never do ''Film/PootieTang''. After I did ''Pootie Tang'', Cuba Gooding sent me a check for $80.").
74** Creator/DaveChappelle did a commercial for ''Series/ChappellesShow'' in which he shouted "I am not Chris Rock!".
75* Creator/EliRoth looks a lot like Creator/ZacharyQuinto. Apparently, Eli has tweeted about getting mistaken for Zach.
76* Here's a fun drinking game. Go on Creator/JesseEisenberg's Website/IMDb board, take a shot every time you see a thread title with "Creator/MichaelCera" in it.
77** Since both of those guys are expensive, try Creator/JayBaruchel.
78** In a similar vein, if you can't afford Cera OR Eisenberg, Gaelan Connell slots in just as easily for a fraction of the cost.
79* Need a younger, cheaper Creator/JackBlack? Creator/DanFogler's your man. Or you can get the Canadian import brand: Tyler Labine.
80** A clean-shaven Fogler can also fill in for Creator/JonahHill.
81* Creator/GeorgeCScott took over at least three roles from Creator/LeeJCobb: Willy Loman in ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' onstage, Juror #3 in ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'' on TV, and Lt. Kinderman in ''Film/TheExorcistIII''. (Of course, in this case, Scott is an Oscar winner and would generally be considered more famous.)
82* Really, the only reason that Creator/MichaelIronside has had such a successful career is that Creator/JackNicholson is so damn expensive, and Creator/PowersBoothe was 1, a little too much, and 2, dead as of 2017.
83** If Nicholson starts getting too old, Creator/ChristianSlater is still up for his jobs. At least that's what they did in ''Film/{{Heathers}}''.
84** Powers Boothe himself could sometimes be viewed as one for Creator/TommyLeeJones, both being classically trained actors from Texas who specialized in playing no-nonsense types. In fact, Boothe's breakout performance in the title role of the two-part MadeForTVMovie ''Film/GuyanaTragedyTheStoryOfJimJones'' came about after Creator/TommyLeeJones had to turn the part down because of conflicts with ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter''.
85* Jerry Doyle is the poor man's Creator/BruceWillis. Compare Doyle in season 1 of ''Series/BabylonFive'' to Willis in the original ''Film/DieHard'', then season 3 Doyle to ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' Willis, and cap it off with season 5 Doyle to ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' Willis. It's uncanny. Especially considering Mr. Doyle's first professional acting role was on ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'', playing a guy who was impersonating Bruce Willis' character.
86* Robert Costanzo (''Film/DieHard2'', ''Film/TotalRecall1990'', ''VideoGame/SewerShark'') definitely looks like a poor man's Creator/DannyDeVito. He sounds like him as well, considering he replaced [=DeVito=] as Phil in the ''Hercules'' RecycledTheSeries and the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games, and even voiced [=DeVito=] in a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''.
87* Charles Shaughnessy looks a lot like Creator/RichardGere. His most well known role is [[Series/TheNanny Maxwell Sheffield]] - exactly the [[MrFanservice kind of guy]], Gere is often [[TypeCasting typecast]] as.
88* Creator/StellanSkarsgard and Creator/LiamNeeson. Skarsgård was actually asked by Spielberg to play the lead in ''Film/SchindlersList'' but declined due to the role of Oskar Schindler being too similar to his role as UsefulNotes/RaoulWallenberg in ''Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg''. When he declined he suggested to Spielberg that he should offer the role to Liam Neeson instead, since people kept getting Neeson and Skarsgård mixed up.
89* So you want a young Creator/HarrisonFord but don't have a [[OurTimeTravelIsDifferent time machine]]? Do you want Creator/BradPitt, but he's out of your price range? Get Creator/JensenAckles.
90* If you want the role of an older Harrison Ford without the money, try Creator/DennisQuaid. The film adaptation of Creator/CarrieFisher's semi-autobiographical novel ''Postcards fron the Edge'' notably had Quaid as the love interest of Fisher's surrogate, heavily implied to be Harrison Ford. Dennis Quaid is also considered by some to be a poor man's Creator/KevinCostner.
91* Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio to Creator/RiverPhoenix in the early 90s. He took on two roles that were meant for River (''Total Eclipse'' and ''Literature/TheBasketballDiaries'') and was considered to play Daniel in ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'', which was initially meant for River Phoenix (ultimately played by Creator/ChristianSlater).
92* If you can't get Creator/JavierBardem, you can always call Javier's older brother, Carlos Bardem.
93* Can't get Creator/JoaquinPhoenix? Try Creator/RufusSewell.
94* Creator/BrendanFraser has become a poor man's Creator/NathanFillion.
95* Creator/NathanFillion is sometimes mistaken for Creator/JasonBateman. To the point where it got him out of a speeding ticket once. Later lampshaded on ''Castle'', when (fictional) celebrity author Richard Castle is mistaken for Bateman by the press.
96** On the Richard Castle Twitter feed, Castle says he's sometimes mistaken for Nathan Fillion. He mentions in one episode that he's a fan of that old Creator/JossWhedon scifi show, though he doesn't mention it by name. Thus resolving the CelebrityParadox in the ''Castle''-verse.
97* James Franciscus was cast in ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'' specifically because he looked like Creator/CharltonHeston (who is also in the movie, but for much less time).
98* Can't afford Creator/RussellCrowe for your movie? Then give Creator/GerardButler a call.
99* Creator/JudeLaw has twice taken roles once played by a younger Creator/MichaelCaine, in remakes of ''Film/{{Alfie}}'' and ''Film/{{Sleuth}}''.
100* Creator/TomHanks has sort of taken roles twice played by Creator/CaryGrant, directly doing so in ''Film/TheMoneyPit'', a remake of ''Film/MrBlandingsBuildsHisDreamHouse'' and indirectly doing so in ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'', a pseudo-remake of ''Film/AnAffairToRemember''. For Tom Hanks himself, if you can't afford him, you can always call his brother Jim Hanks, or Tom's son Creator/ColinHanks if you want a younger version of him.
101* Creator/MichaelCaine is an inversion. As he got older, he began to look a lot like Creator/MichaelGough, who was Alfred Pennyworth in all of the Film/BatmanFilmSeries. Guess who wound up being cast as Alfred in Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy?
102* In ''Film/TheDukesOfHazzard'' movie, Creator/JamesRodayRodriguez is basically the typical "[[OpposingSportsTeam jock sports rival]]" Creator/BenStiller portrayed in films such as ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory''.
103* Want Creator/MartinSheen but he's out of your price range? Get his brother Joe Estevez, who is nearly identical in both appearance and voice. This resemblance came in handy during the making of ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' -- Sheen's near-fatal heart attack during the filming led to Estevez being brought in as a double in some shots, and Estevez was again used during post-production to record Willard's voiceover narration when Sheen was unavailable.
104* Thickly accented German bodybuilder Ralf Möller for thickly accented Austrian bodybuilder Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger in the low-budget TV series ''Series/ConanTheAdventurer''.
105* Since Creator/WesleySnipes wouldn't resume his role as ComicBook/{{Blade}} for ''Series/BladeTheSeries'', the creators replaced him with rapper Sticky Fingaz.
106* Patrick Bergin for Creator/RutgerHauer. Both actors even played Morgan Edge at one point during the third season of ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
107* Want Creator/JasonStatham, but he isn't available? Chris Vance can drive around and kick butt, while retaining the accent.
108* Someone looking for a less prominent Creator/TomCruise could go with Creator/JohnBarrowman, who has almost identical cheekbones and even a similar voice, though much higher and smoother. In the same vein, Creator/EthanHawke has been described as a much-cheaper Tom Cruise.
109* Can't afford Creator/MatthewMcConaughey? Get Creator/JoshLucas.
110* Need a [[BrooklynRage tough, rugged-faced New York Jew]] but can't get a hold of Creator/HarveyKeitel? Joseph Bologna will do (even though [[FakeNationality he isn't actually Jewish]]). [[note]] In fact, both have portrayed characters who are the fathers of characters played by Creator/AdamSandler - in ''Film/LittleNicky'' and ''Film/BigDaddy'', respectively. [[/note]]
111** If you can't afford Keitel to play an Italian-American tough guy (even though [[FakeNationality he isn't actually Italian-American]]) don't worry, you still can try with Dennis Farina, Joe Mantegna, and Frank Vincent.
112*** Keitel actually played himself playing Dennis Farina's character in the [[ShowWithinAShow movie-within-a-movie]] in ''Film/GetShorty''
113* While either is fairly pricy, if you need Creator/SamuelLJackson, and he's not available, Creator/LaurenceFishburne would do nicely. Likewise, if you need Fishburne and can't get him, Jackson's a good bet.
114** Though they look nothing alike, Creator/VingRhames is a cheaper alternative to both, if all you're looking for is a generic ScaryBlackMan character. In addition, Rhames and Creator/TinyLister are pretty good substitutes for (the now deceased) Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan.
115* This is a much older example, but on Broadway, if you couldn't get Paul Ford (due to his TV and film commitments), you could hire David Burns. Funnily enough, Burns opened on Broadway in characters that Ford would play in films, even though Ford was the original choice of most of the Broadway directors. Ford actually replaced Burns as Mayor Shinn in ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'' for a few months of the Broadway run, and later appeared in the movie.
116* Creator/KevinJames has carved out a niche for himself as the poor man's Creator/ChrisFarley. And if Kevin James is outside your price range for your direct-to-video comedy film, his nearly identical looking brother Gary Valentine is waiting for your call!
117* Creator/JonCryer spent the 1980s taking on the excess workload that Creator/MatthewBroderick didn't have time for. He even replaced Broderick in ''Theatre/TorchSongTrilogy'' on Broadway. This was even lampshaded on ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'', when Cryer's character Alan Harper pretends to be Matthew Broderick in order to get into an invite-only nightclub (which didn't work), and later to a doctor in order to get them to check on Charlie (the doctor believed him.)
118* If you need someone like Creator/GeorgeClooney but can't afford him, Creator/AdamArkin is your man.
119* Looking for a younger version of Creator/TommyLeeJones? Look no further than Creator/JoshBrolin. (He could be an excellent substitute for Creator/HarrisonFord, too.)
120* Need Creator/TimCurry and he's not available or is too expensive for you? Creator/JemaineClement demonstrated in ''Film/MenInBlack3'' that he'd do very well as a substitute.
121* Need Creator/ZacEfron but he's too expensive for you? Drew Seeley's your man! They don't actually look too much alike, but Seeley did Zac's singing bits in the first ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' and toured with the cast (Efron took vocal lessons to do his own singing in the sequels). Since then he's been in a lot of lower budget tween-friendly musical projects, the type Zac would have been perfect for it ''High School Musical'' hadn't turned him into a known name.
122* The movie ''Film/Infamous2006'' set Creator/TobyJones on the path of a poor man's Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman. However, since then Toby Jones has had at least some fairly high-profile roles, including a fairly significant supporting role in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''.
123* The success of ''Series/ModernFamily'' has created a demand for a more affordable Creator/TyBurrell, a niche capably filled by Mather Zickel.
124* Since Creator/JohnBelushi is no longer with us, his brother, Creator/JamesBelushi, is almost as good.
125* Can't get Creator/DanielCraig for a badass action movie lead role? Give Callum Keith Rennie, Creator/ThomasKretschmann or Creator/ChristopherEccleston a call.
126* {{Averted}}: In his memoir, Creator/ChristopherEccleston revealed that he lost Creator/RalphFiennes' roles in ''Literature/WutheringHeights'', ''Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'', ''Film/QuizShow'' and ''Oscar and Lucinda'' because Fiennes was better-looking.
127* Can't get Creator/BillPullman? Try Creator/AnthonyLaPaglia.
128* Creator/BillPullman and Creator/BillPaxton are so similar it can be tricky to remember which was in which movie without looking it up.
129* Can't get Creator/JonahHill? Try with Creator/JoshGad.
130* Creator/AndyGarcia has always been the cheaper, 20-years-younger Creator/AlPacino.
131* Scottish comedian Creator/BillyConnolly seems to have become the "bargain bin" Creator/JohnCleese, when a Cleese-esque character is needed for a big budget film.
132* Can't get Creator/BradPitt, but want someone who looks a lot like him? Hire Martin Cummins.
133* Need a younger Creator/SamuelLJackson in a live-action role? Creator/TerryCrews might be your man.
134* Want Creator/AndrewGarfield, but can't afford him? Nick Palatas will do just as nicely.
135* Want Creator/WillemDafoe, but on a television budget? Creator/JohnGlover to the rescue!
136* French martial artist Olivier Gruner for Belgian martial artist Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme.
137* Early in his career, Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme filled out a niche for action movie producers who couldn't afford Creator/ChuckNorris or Creator/StevenSeagal to play the lead.
138* Creator/PatrickDempsey and Creator/ColinDonnell look remarkably similar.
139* Creator/JasonSudeikis and Creator/EdHelms look similar and often do similar types of movies. Early in Sudeikis' career, he probably was the poor man's Ed Helms, but at this point they're at an equal level of stardom.
140* Creator/AlecBaldwin's brothers, Creator/DanielBaldwin, Creator/WilliamBaldwin and Creator/StephenBaldwin, all of whom are also involved in the movie industry, are generally considered to be poor man's substitutes for their more successful relative if you don't have enough money in your budget to hire him.
141* Need a charming rogue with a heart of gold and Creator/CaryElwes turned you down? Creator/MatthewModine is visually indistinguishable and is almost charismatic!
142* There's a reason some fans of ''Series/BreakingBad'' refer to Creator/JessePlemons' character Todd as "[[Creator/MattDamon Meth Damon]]". Plemons in fact was cast as a younger version of Damon's character in the film adaptation of ''Literature/AllThePrettyHorses''.
143* Todd Duncan starred as the poor man's Creator/PaulRobeson in the original productions of ''Theatre/PorgyAndBess'' and ''[[Literature/CryTheBelovedCountry Lost in the Stars]]'', though his singing voice wasn't quite strong enough to do Porgy without cuts.
144* In TheNineties, if you can't afford Creator/JetLi for your kung-fu flick, Creator/VincentZhao will do. Even moreso when Zhao was cast as TheOtherDarrin for Wong Fei-Hong in the ''Film/OnceUponATimeInChina'' sequels when Jet refuse to reprise his role as the character, and the fact that a sequel to ''Film/HighRisk'' was planned involving Jet Li, only to have Li back out and subsequently replaced by Zhao and the sequel getting retooled into a standalone film called ''Film/TheBlacksheepAffair''.
145* Want Creator/JonathanRoss to host your show but he's a bit out of your price range? Get his brother Paul.
146* If you want a scruffy Aussie type who can do both drama and comedy and Brendan Cowell is out of your reach, get Patrick Brammall. It helps that they're about the same age.
147* Creator/JohnBoorman wanted Creator/BurtReynolds, whom he'd just done ''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' with, to star as Zed in his next film, ''Film/{{Zardoz}}''. After he declined, Creator/SeanConnery took the part with a paycut, so it isn't surprising that Connery ends up looking like Reynolds here. This came just a few years after Albert Broccoli had tried to cast Reynolds as Franchise/JamesBond in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', which would have made Reynolds the poor man's American Connery.
148* In his early days, Creator/ChrisFarley was seen as a Poor Man's Creator/JohnBelushi or Creator/JohnCandy.
149* Want to make a movie with a British star, but can't afford Creator/SimonPegg? Then Creator/StuartAshen is the next best choice, since he looks a lot like Pegg.
150* If you can't afford Creator/TomHardy, Creator/LoganMarshallGreen is your man. Chances are most audiences [[IdenticalStranger won't even tell the difference]].
151* The Film/CarryOnSeries occasionally had to deal with absent castmembers in this manner:
152** In ''Film/CarryOnCruising'', Creator/LancePercival and Creator/DilysLaye filled in for Creator/CharlesHawtrey and Creator/JoanSims.
153** In ''Film/CarryOnUpTheKhyber'', Creator/RoyCastle fills in for Creator/JimDale.
154** In ''Film/CarryOnGirls'', it's really obvious that the Cecil Gaybody role was meant to be played by either Hawtrey or Creator/KennethWilliams. Creator/JimmyLogan winds up doing a pale imitation of both. Also, for the first time since ''Film/CarryOnRegardless'', someone other than Creator/HattieJacques is cast as the Matron character. Creator/BrendaCowling does a fine job in her one scene, but one can only think of how Jacques would have performed the role.
155** ''Film/CarryOnEngland'':
156*** Creator/PatrickMower plays the kind of romantic leading man role that Jim Dale used to.
157*** Creator/DianeLangton plays the type of role that is usually filled by Creator/BarbaraWindsor, and seems to be trying to copy her voice.
158* Early in Creator/JackieChan's career, he was sold as the next Creator/BruceLee, to the extent that one of his early films was ''Fist of Fury II''. This was not the direction he wanted his career to go in and it wasn't until ''Film/DrunkenMaster'' that his unique blend of action and comedy came through.
159* After being TheOtherDarrin to Creator/RogerMoore in ''[[Series/TheSaint The Return of the Saint]]'', Ian Oglivy was frequently cast as TuxedoAndMartini secret agents, playing [[YouLookFamiliar several such characters]] in ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' alone.
160* Can't get Creator/JonathanGroff? Don't worry, you can always grab Creator/JeremyJordan.
161* If you have the Brit polish and VillainousCheekbones of Creator/RichardEGrant in mind but can't get him, Creator/SteveValentine is an able stand-in.
162* Jason David Frank was set to play Len/Wing Knight in ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight''. And then the producers decided to make the show succeed on its own merits rather than piggybacking on JDF's popularity from ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', making replacement Matt Mullins a poor man's Jason David Frank.
163* Mojo Nixon said that his role as Toad in ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'' came from being pitched as this by a casting director: "They said we gotta have Music/TomWaits for this role, but he wants too much money. Well I can get you a third-rate Tom Waits—for half-price!"
164* Creator/RodTaylor is essentially a poor man's Creator/CaryGrant. Perhaps confirmed by him essentially doing the kind of role Grant would've done in an Creator/AlfredHitchcock film in Hitchcock's own ''Film/TheBirds'' (with Creator/TippiHedren doing her best Creator/GraceKelly impression).
165* Worried that we'll never get a guy with the looks, wit and mannerisms of Creator/CharlesBronson ever again? Don't worry, Robert Bronzi is awaiting your call!
166* If you can't get Creator/AlexanderSkarsgard, his brothers [[Creator/GustafSkarsgard Gustaf]], [[Creator/BillSkarsgard Bill]] and Valter are always available. However, Bill has managed to get a handful of high-profile roles, including Pennywise the Dancing Clown in ''Film/It2017'' and [[Film/ItChapterTwo its sequel]] and Henry Deaver/"The Kid" in ''Series/CastleRock''.
167
168!!!Actresses
169* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' has Robin Curtis as a poor woman's Creator/KirstieAlley.
170* Creator/MillaJovovich too expensive or busy working on another of her husband's movies? Try Creator/KristannaLoken. And if you can't get Kristanna, you might need to settle for Creator/NatassiaMalthe.
171* Creator/RhonaMitra can be considered a poor man's Creator/KateBeckinsale or Creator/MillaJovovich. Especially since she starred in ''Film/UnderworldRiseOfTheLycans'' as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Beckinsale's character.
172* If you can't afford Creator/HelenHunt or Creator/LauraDern, try to get Creator/LauraLinney, or Creator/LeeleeSobieski for a younger version. Sobieski's also the cheap Creator/KirstenDunst.
173* Creator/BryceDallasHoward was the substitute Creator/NicoleKidman in Creator/LarsVonTrier's ''Film/{{Manderlay}}'', when Nicole refused to work with him again after ''Film/{{Dogville}}''.
174* Can't afford Creator/DemiMoore? Try Creator/MimiRogers on for size.
175** Creator/MimiRogers, with eerie accuracy, played an actress playing Creator/WendieMalick's character in an episode of ''Series/DreamOn''.
176* After her roles in ''Film/{{Superbad}}'', ''Film/TheRocker'', ''Film/TheHouseBunny'' and ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', Creator/EmmaStone seemed to have become an uncannily perfect substitute for Creator/LindsayLohan. For a few years, this was inverted when Lohan's career was hit with personal struggles caused by drug addiction, while Stone had a more successful career, but by the end of the 2010s Lohan had regained popularity thanks to the continuing popularity of ''Film/MeanGirls'' and had staged a comeback of sorts with the hit Creator/{{Netflix}} film ''Film/FallingForChristmas''.
177* There has been a fair amount of talk describing Creator/KatieMcGrath of ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' as a potential substitute for Creator/KeiraKnightley, despite their notably different body shapes (one has famously modest cleavage while the other... doesn't) and the fact that Katie isn't even English (she's Irish). Apparently, having a strong jawline and being a pale, twenty-something brunette actress (and one who is naturally blonde at that) is enough similarity.
178* Creator/KeiraKnightley herself was the poor man's Creator/NataliePortman in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'': she was cast as the decoy queen because of [[IdenticalStranger her resemblance to Portman]], who was playing the actual queen. Portman's own parents mistook Knightley for their daughter. Though to be fair, she was in costume and wearing a ton of make-up.
179** Creator/ChristinaRicci has often described herself as the poor man's Creator/NataliePortman. In the 90s, she often took roles that Portman had already passed on.
180* Originally, Creator/ScarlettJohansson was this for the [[Creator/MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen Olsen twins]]. Now, it's probably the other way round. And if Johansson herself isn't available or too expensive, you can always choose fellow MsFanservice actress Creator/AlexandraDaddario as a substitute.
181* Moira Kelly took over the role of Donna Hayward from Creator/LaraFlynnBoyle in ''Film/TwinPeaksFireWalkWithMe''.
182* Creator/RitaWilson seems to be a poor man's Kelly Preston.
183* Creator/MiaWasikowska looks uncannily like a young Creator/GwynethPaltrow, should one be called for.
184* Creator/MeganFox started out as this for Creator/AngelinaJolie. And if you can't get Megan Fox, Odette Annable is probably available, while Creator/DinaMeyer makes a great poor man's Angelina Jolie.
185* Can't get Creator/JuliaStiles for your sequel? Just call Kam Heskin or Isabella Miko.
186** Erika Christensen is frequently referred to as a poor man's Julia Stiles.
187* Need an older Music/MileyCyrus? Call Alexis Dzienza or Lyndsy Fonseca.
188* Meet [[http://www.imdb.com/media/rm502897408/nm1273975 Mónica Cruz]], the 3 years younger and nearly indistinguishable sister to Creator/PenelopeCruz. The hilarious part is that she wasn't an actress originally but a dancer and choreographer, and she began acting just because of how many people who couldn't cast Penélope kept offering roles to her.
189* Creator/TinaFey did this to herself by casting Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus to play her in flashbacks during ''Series/ThirtyRock'''s live episode. It's a toss up who's the poor man in this one.
190--> '''Liz Lemon:''' My memory has ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' money.
191* Creator/MaggieLawson and Creator/AliciaSilverstone look almost identical. In addition, Rachel Blanchard, who [[TheOtherDarrin Darrin'd]] Silverstone in the ''Film/{{Clueless}}'' TV series, was considered a poor man's Alicia Silverstone during that time period.
192* Creator/AliciaSilverstone, Creator/DrewBarrymore, and Creator/ReeseWitherspoon have all said that they sometimes get mistaken for each other.
193* There was a point in TheNineties where Creator/AlyssaMilano seemed like she was Creator/DrewBarrymore's substitute. Milano starred in ''Film/PoisonIvy2Lily'', following Barrymore in the [[Film/PoisonIvy first movie]] (though as a different character), and both women played [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Fisher Amy Fisher]] in a MadeForTvMovie.
194* Blonde B-movie actresses Creator/KristySwanson and Erika Eleniak are about the same age (Eleniak is a few months older) and look enough like each other to be confused often - so much so that Swanson was once credited as a ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' cast member (Eleniak's show) despite never having appeared on it. Eleniak is (arguably) the more famous of the two due to ''Baywatch'' and her ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' appearances.
195* Aussie actress Marta Dusseldorp, who among other minor roles played Officer Yal Henta (an old friend of Aeryn Sun's from her Peacekeeper days) in parts I and II of the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "Into the Lion's Den", bears an uncanny resemblance to Creator/BridgetFonda.
196* Saskia Reeves looks and sounds remarkably like Creator/EmmaThompson, having been born in the same area of London.
197* Either will probably cost you, but Creator/GinniferGoodwin and Jennifer Morrison are apparently so interchangeable they've actually done interviews as each other (without discussion between them about it), since people mix them up so frequently.
198** If you need a child version of either (especially Goodwin), you need Bailee Madison.
199* You want a Creator/MichellePfeiffer-type, but a decade younger and more affordable? Then call Amanda Detmer. How about ''three'' decades younger? Creator/AmandaSeyfried.
200* You're casting the female lead for a romantic comedy. If she already has a boyfriend, you hire Creator/CameronDiaz. If she doesn't (but has a romantic rival), you hire Creator/JenniferAniston.
201* Creator/GlennClose once quipped that she's often mistaken for Creator/MerylStreep, but never on Oscar night. Similarly, Creator/SigourneyWeaver once quipped that she gets the roles that Streep's not doing.
202* After Creator/GraceKelly stopped making movies, Creator/AlfredHitchcock cast several substitutes in his films - Creator/KimNovak in ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', Creator/EvaMarieSaint in ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'' and Creator/TippiHedren in ''Film/TheBirds'' and ''Film/{{Marnie}}''. In the case of Novak, her big break was when Creator/ColumbiaPictures signed her specifically with the intention of turning her into their version of Creator/MarilynMonroe. In fact, she was born Marilyn Novak and changed her name to Kim after Monroe became famous. After Monroe died, Novak took one part originally written for Monroe (''Film/KissMeStupid''), and turned down an offer to replace Monroe in the unfinished ''Something's Got to Give''.
203* If you want Creator/AmySchumer and can't get her, go for Nikki Glaser. And if you can't get Glaser, try Iliza Shlesinger. Schumer herself has acknowledged in the MediaNotes/{{Academy Awards|Ceremonies}} that "I’m Amy Schumer—or as they know me in Hollywood, ‘Creator/MelissaMcCarthy said no’".
204* Can't afford Creator/AmyAdams? Get Creator/IslaFisher. This similarity inspired a CastingGag in ''Film/NocturnalAnimals''. Another available substitute for Adams is Creator/JoAnnaGarciaSwisher, who says she's constantly mistaken for Adams in RealLife. And for Adams herself, back in her career's early days she was considered so similar to Creator/JennaFischer that she got cast on ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' as a RomanticFalseLead for Jim, who even gets called "new-and-improved Pam" by Michael Scott.
205* Now that Creator/MargotRobbie is an A-lister thanks to her {{Star Making Role}}s in ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' and ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'', she'll probably never do any low-budget horror movies. In which case, her fellow blonde-haired, blue-eyed Australian Creator/SamaraWeaving is your girl, having carved out a niche as a UsefulNotes/{{scream queen|s}} version of Robbie. Weaving is [[https://uproxx.com/movies/samara-weaving-margot-robbie-ready-or-not/ aware of the comparisons]], and perhaps not coincidentally, she and Robbie are friends. There's even a CastingGag in ''Film/Babylon2022'' where Weaving plays an actress who starts losing roles to Robbie.
206* Creator/EizaGonzalez is considered by some to be a poor man's Creator/AnaDeArmas. They both even had the same background of being Latina women who started out their careers in a Spanish-speaking country (González in her native Mexico, de Armas in Spain after having emigrated there from her native Cuba) before having their break in Hollywood.
207** Creator/LorenzaIzzo appears to have also been called to be a poor man's Ana de Armas, ever since both Izzo and de Armas had one of their first English-language roles together in ''Film/KnockKnock2015''. ''Confess, Fletch'' even had Izzo made up ([[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/confess_fletch_poster_detail.jpg as seen on the poster]]) to look a lot [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ana_de_armas_comparison.jpg like de Armas]].
208* Creator/{{Lifetime}}'s [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek original movies]] use a rotating set of actresses, many of whom fit this category.
209** Brytnee Ratledge could easily pass for Creator/AnnaKendrick's younger sister. She even has many of the same mannerisms.
210** Anna Marie Dobbins, as the plucky GirlNextDoor with dirty blonde hair, is Lifetime's Creator/JenniferAniston.
211** Crystal Allen is an interesting [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zagged variation]], with most of her performances evoking a PlayedForDrama Creator/AmyPoehler.
212** A whole bunch of other Lifetime regulars count, like Chelsea Gilson (Creator/KateHudson), Alyshia Ochse (Creator/OliviaWilde), Jhey Castles (Creator/MariskaHargitay) and Monroe Cline (Creator/MichelleTrachtenberg).
213** There's also a weird inverse trope you might call Rich Man's Substitute involving Lifetime. Occasionally they'll make a quickie RippedFromTheHeadlines movie about a TrueCrime case, starring a fairly well-known actress, then later there will be a bigger-budgeted limited series about the case on another platform, with a similar--but more A-list-- actress taking over the lead role, like Creator/PatriciaArquette (''Series/EscapeAtDannemora'') replacing Creator/PenelopeAnnMiller (''New York Prison Break: The Seduction of Joyce Mitchell''), or Creator/ElleFanning (''Series/TheGirlFromPlainville'') replacing Creator/BellaThorne (''Conrad & Michelle: If Words Could Kill'').
214* Creator/RosaSalazar is available if you're unable to get Creator/AubreyPlaza.
215* Several studios tried to created their own Creator/MarilynMonroe. Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox (Monroe's studio) had Creator/JayneMansfield and Sheree North, Creator/UniversalPictures had Creator/MamieVanDoren, Creator/ColumbiaPictures had Creator/KimNovak and Creator/TheRankOrganisation had Creator/DianaDors. In the latter's case, the fact that both Rank and Dors were British also makes it somewhat of a TransatlanticEquivalent.
216* After ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' and ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24: Live Another Day]]'', Creator/YvonneStrahovski was put on the career path of a poor man's Creator/CateBlanchett. However, she's had some high-profile roles since, including a lead role in ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale''.
217
218!!!Complex
219* In the TV version of ''Film/HarryAndTheHendersons'', Bruce Davison and Molly Cheek were substitutes for Creator/JohnLithgow and Creator/MelindaDillon.
220* ''Film/StanHelsing'' is notable only for having at least three PoorMansSubstitute - Creator/DioraBaird and Creator/SteveHowey are uncanny substitutes for Creator/RachelBilson and Creator/AshtonKutcher and while Creator/DesiLydic doesn't especially ''physically'' resemble Creator/ChristinaApplegate (other than being blonde and pretty in a kooky sort of way) her ''voice'' is absolutely identical.
221
222!!!Directors
223* A ''lot'' of directors have been seen as the poor man's Creator/StevenSpielberg:
224** Creator/RonHoward (''Film/Apollo13'', ''Film/ABeautifulMind'', ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'')
225** Creator/RobertZemeckis (''Film/RomancingTheStone'', ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', ''Film/ForrestGump'', ''Film/{{Contact}}'' and ''Film/CastAway''), which is not surprising since Spielberg helped produce many of Zemeckis's 1970s and '80s films
226** Creator/JoeJohnston (''Film/{{Jumanji}}'', ''Film/OctoberSky'', ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'')
227** Film critic Drew [=McWeeny=] argued on the ''Podcast/EightiesAllOver'' podcast that a more literal example of this trope was Creator/LarryCohen, who could effectively bring Spielberg-style premises to life on pinchpenny BMovie budgets (as in ''Film/ItsAlive'', ''Film/QTheWingedSerpent'', and ''Film/TheStuff'').
228* For the horror film industry, filmmaker and writer Creator/CliveBarker can be considered their poor man's Creator/KenRussell. For the film adaptation of one of Barker's stories, ''Film/{{Candyman}}'', director Bernard Rose was the poor man's Creator/StanleyKubrick in terms of their surreal directorial styles.
229* Creator/AbelFerrara used to be called "the poor man's Creator/MartinScorsese" for his New York background and the gritty subject matter of his films. He's even directed a gangster flick ''Film/KingOfNewYork'' and his most famous film ''Film/BadLieutenant'', starred Creator/HarveyKeitel, who also appeared in Scorsese's ''Film/TaxiDriver''.
230* Henry Hathaway seems to have the been the official second-string Creator/JohnFord, directing Creator/JohnWayne in six of his non-Ford films (including ''Film/NorthToAlaska'', ''Film/TheSonsOfKatieElder'' and ''Film/TrueGrit''). Hathaway even co-directed ''Film/HowTheWestWasWon'' with Ford and George Marshall. But, Hathaway could also be a good substitute for Creator/AlfredHitchcock, with films like ''Call Northside 777'', ''Film/KissOfDeath'' and especially ''Film/{{Niagara}}'', which features Creator/MarilynMonroe doing her take on the "Hitchcock blonde" before he even really estabished the archetype, and a death scene in a bell tower several years before ''Film/{{Vertigo}}''.
231* In WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's First Viewing of ''Film/TheMummy1999'', Rob Walker felt that Creator/StephenSommers' direction was like "Creator/SamRaimi's hand-me-downs".
232[[/folder]]
233
234[[folder:Voice Acting]]
235* Famous voices in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon are usually replaced with Poor Man's Substitutes most of the times in DirectToVideo and [[RecycledTheSeries TV Series]] sequels.
236** Creator/DanCastellaneta replaced Creator/RobinWilliams as the voice of Genie from ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' after Williams cut ties with Disney for using his voice in advertising. They eventually reconciled [[TheOriginalDarrin with Williams returning for]] ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves''.
237** ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': [[AllStarCast While all the cast of the original movie]] reprised their roles in the sequels (except Creator/RowanAtkinson as Zazu, so Creator/EdwardHibbert filled in the role), only Pumbaa, Ed, and Rafiki retain the same voice actor in ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' and, joined by Banzai, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. (Mufasa had a different voice in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'', and was "voiced" by archive recordings of James Earl Jones for ''Kingdom Hearts II''). Simba had the same voice in both movies (save for his singing voice, which was different in both-- [[Music/{{Toto}} Joseph Williams]] vs. Creator/CamClarke), as did Nala. ([[AllStarCast For all of the two lines she appeared in it]].) Creator/CamClarke also did Simba's speaking voice in ''Timon and Pumbaa'', ''House of Mouse'', and ''Kingdom Hearts II''. A single archive recording of Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Young Simba was also used for ''Kingdom Hearts II''.
238** Timon's voice casting in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' is kinda funny - he's played by Bruce Lanoil, but they already had another of Lane's substitutes in the cast: Creator/QuintonFlynn, who was already playing a supporting role. Lanoil would reprise his role as Timon in ''Disney Think Fast'' and ''Wild About Safety'', educational shorts played at various Disney Parks.
239** ''WesternAnimation/PocahontasIIJourneyToANewWorld'' replaces Creator/MelGibson with his brother Donald.
240** In games and merchandising for Disney/Pixar's ''Franchise/ToyStory'', Woody is not voiced by Creator/TomHanks but his brother Jim (who has carved a niche in Hollywood as the go to guy for those who can't afford his brother). Likewise, voice actor Mike [=MacRae=] does a spot-on Creator/TimAllen impression, and has been voicing Buzz Lightyear in all ''Toy Story'' spinoffs (''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'', etc) since 2010.
241** ''WesternAnimation/MulanII'' has Mark Moseley replacing Creator/EddieMurphy as Mushu.
242** ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'' had to substitute Creator/DavidSpade and Creator/JohnGoodman (although, in the latter's case, just for one season).
243** Creator/JamesArnoldTaylor replaced Creator/MichaelJFox as Milo Thatch for ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisMilosReturn'' (the sequel to ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''; Creator/CreeSummer was involved in both the movie and its video sequel).
244*** Even people who don't like Creator/TelltaleGames' ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'' series are blown away by AJ Locascio's Creator/MichaelJFox impression.
245** On ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', Creator/PatrickWarburton was ThePoorMansSubstitute for Creator/TimAllen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear (although Allen did reprise the role in ''Buzz Lightyear: The Adventure Begins''; Warburton revoiced Buzz when the movie was shown as episodes of the series).
246** Actually, this happens quite a bit in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', probably due to the nature of the whole thing - Tate Donovan apparently turned down the role of Hercules for the first game, so Disney hired Creator/SeanAstin. However, once it took off, Donovan reprised the role for ''II''. Susanne Blakeslee fills in for the late Eleanor Audley as Maleficent and Lady Tremaine and the late Lucille [=LaVerne=] as the Evil Queen. Nowadays, they still have [[TheOtherDarrin four major Darrins]], the voice actresses for Kairi and Naminé, presumably because Creator/HaydenPanettiere was doing ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' and Brittany Snow was off doing... something[[note]] Panettiere ''herself'' was, in turn, TheOtherDarrin to Alyson Stoner when she replaced her as the voice of Xion; Stoner had previously been TheOtherDarrin to Panettiere as Kairi and is now the current voice actor for Kairi and Xion. Got it memorized?[[/note]], Creator/CoreyBurton who filled in for Creator/ChristopherLee as [=DiZ=]/Ansem the Wise in a couple of the spinoff games before taking over the character fulltime after Lee's death, and the voice actor for Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (Creator/RichardEpcar replacing Creator/BillyZane). Also, all of the voices of the Hollow Bastion Restoration committee (plus Sephiroth) were replaced for ''II'' (resulting in Music/MandyMoore, Aerith, being replaced and resulting in a hugely amusing voicing situation for Yuffie). And the game ''RE: Chain of Memories'' offers Darrins for the entire Castle Oblivion party because all their voice clips in the [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories original game]] were of Japanese actors simply with any sentences or spoken phrases removed. There are, however, quite a few surprising aversions for this trope, regardless; the original game had Kathryn Beaumont, the original voice actress of [[WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland Alice]] and [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Wendy]].
247** Creator/CoreyBurton is basically the Patron Saint of this trope for ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' having filled in for Hans Conried as Captain Hook, Bill Thompson as the White Rabbit, Paddi Edwards as Flotsam and Jetsam, Joseph Kearns as the Doorknob, Creator/MiguelFerrer as Shan Yu, Creator/DavidWarner as Sark and the MCP, Creator/RobinWilliams as the Peddler, Edward Ivory as Santa Claus, Creator/ChristopherLee as [=DiZ=]/Ansem the Wise, Creator/TonyJay as Claude Frollo, Creator/RipTorn as Zeus, and Michael Rye as Yen Sid!... Whew.
248** Keith Ferguson replaced Owen Wilson as the voice of [[Franchise/{{Cars}} Lightning McQueen]] in the ''[[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Cars Toons]]'' series of shorts (Creator/LarryTheCableGuy still reprises his role as Mater, however).
249** Creator/CarlosAlazraqui can pull off a ''scarily'' accurate Creator/BillyCrystal impression, making him the go-to Mike Wazowski substitute for every ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' spin-off.
250** Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' where King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, voiced by Creator/MauriceLaMarche and Jennifer Lee, respectively in the first movie, are now voiced respectively instead by Creator/AlfredMolina and Creator/EvanRachelWood.
251* Creator/CrispinFreeman has voiced Will Turner (Creator/OrlandoBloom's character from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'') so often that even ''he'' has lost track of when the character is voiced by him and when the character is actually voiced by Creator/OrlandoBloom in anything other than the movies themselves.
252* Danny Jacobs sounds a lot like Creator/SachaBaronCohen. See ''Film/EpicMovie'' and any ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}''[[WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar -related]] [[WesternAnimation/{{AllHailKingJulien}} media]] where King Julien appears.
253* Creator/MikeMyers voices {{Franchise/Shrek}} in the movies as well as the occasional short, but Creator/MichaelJGough has taken over for all non-movie appearances and has voiced the character far more as a result.
254* Creator/CoreyBurton perfected a spot-on Creator/DavidWarner impression for the character Shockwave on ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. Some 22 years later, he ''actually'' got to substitute for Warner in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. Interestingly enough, he played [[Film/{{Tron}} Sark]], whose voice was the primary influence behind Shockwave's.
255** He's also a decent substitute Creator/ChristopherLee, having played Count Dooku in both ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars Clone]] [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Wars]]'' series and [=DiZ=]/Ansem the Wise in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' following Lee's death.
256** He's also an excellent stand-in for Hans Conried, having taken over as Captain Hook's offical voice actor in all Disney's ''[[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Peter Pan]]'' media.
257* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
258** Creator/JamesArnoldTaylor has played the prequel incarnation of [[Franchise/StarWars Obi-Wan Kenobi]] (originally played by Creator/EwanMcGregor) on three separate occasions; he's actually not too shabby at it. In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', he's been allowed more free reign with his Obi-Wan. He put pieces of Sir Creator/AlecGuinness into his performance, making the character his own and breaking free from being another poor man's substitute. (The irony being that Ewan's performance is supposed to be an impression of Sir Alec Guinness in the first place.)
259** Before his career-ending stroke, Creator/TomKane often stood in for Creator/FrankOz as Yoda.
260** Terrence "TC" Carson usually takes over for Creator/SamuelLJackson as Mace Windu.
261** Creator/SamWitwer (previously Creator/NickJameson) as a VA stand-in for Creator/IanMcDiarmid as Palpatine.
262*** Until his death, Creator/IanAbercrombie did the same in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' and related media.
263** Matt Sloan (the voice of WebVideo/ChadVader) and Creator/ScottLawrence are the go-to VA stand-ins for Creator/JamesEarlJones as Darth Vader
264* Since ''Franchise/TombRaider'' fans obviously have no way of getting Creator/KeeleyHawes to voice Lara in their fanmade works, they use ''Tomb Raider'' Forums mod Greenkey2 (Jenni Milward) who sounds very similar to both Keeley and a previous voice actress, Judith Gibbins.
265* Creator/JohnRhysDavies' voice bears a remarkable similarity to Creator/SeanConnery, to say nothing of his uncanny performance in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves''.
266** Unable to get either Connery or Rhys-Davies for a voice role? Leave it to Bob Joles.
267* This is pretty common with movie trailers announcers.
268** '''InAWorld''' where Creator/DonLaFontaine is no longer with us, Redd Pepper or Creator/PeterCullen will come to the rescue when you need someone to announce an epic movie trailer. Hal Douglas also handled a lot of [=LaFontaine=]'s former gigs until his own death.
269** In Japanese trailers, if you can't get Creator/FumihikoTachiki, call Creator/HirokiYasumoto.
270** In Brazil, Luiz Feier Motta picked up most of Jorgeh Ramos' gigs after he died
271** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvv8SMTyAgk Pablo Francisco]] can do an imitation of Don [=LaFontaine=], as well as ones of Creator/KeanuReeves, Creator/JackieChan and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
272** Jon Bailey showcases in Webvideo/HonestTrailers how he is capable of narrating previews. His Peter Cullen impression even landed him gigs in actual ''Transformers'' works.
273* Creator/CreeSummer can do a good impression of the late Creator/EarthaKitt, as she once replaced Kitt as the voice of Vexus in a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' and also voiced ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} in Creator/LaurenFaust's ''WesternAnimation/{{DC Super Hero Girls|2019}}'' with an Eartha Kitt impression.
274* Averted when Creator/NathanLane voiced Timon on the ''Westernanimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' animated series, but played straight when he was replaced by Kevin Schon after the first season. Schon also replaced Lane in Disney's ''Teacher's Pet'' in a few episodes, sometimes with both voices appearing ''in the same episode.''
275* When Creator/ChuckJones wanted to make a sequel to "WesternAnimation/OneFroggyEvening", in honor of Michigan J. Frog becoming the mascot of Creator/TheWB, they ran into a major problem--nobody seemed to be able to pinpoint who had played him. When they finally figured it out, they found the voice was that of Bill Roberts, who had been dead for years. For the new short and WB bumpers, the Frog was voiced by Jeff [=McCarthy=] until the character was retired in 2005.
276* Too cheap to get Creator/PeterCullen to voice [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]]? Jon Bailey is your man. If you can't get Cullen or Bailey due to [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood union issues]], Jake Foushee will do in a pinch, having voiced Prime in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRescueBotsAcademy'' and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersWarForCybertronTrilogy'', both of which used non-union casts.
277* Creator/JamesArnoldTaylor is your man to go if you want a Creator/JohnnyDepp stand-in voice on the cheap, as evidenced by the ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' LicensedGame and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''.
278* Can't get Creator/NormMacDonald to voice a cartoon character? Call Creator/RobertCait or Adam Carolla.
279* Creator/TaraStrong is your lady if you want a Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus voice double on the cheap, as evidenced by Big Wanda in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''.
280* Want someone to imitate animal noises, but can't get Creator/FrankWelker? Then Creator/DeeBradleyBaker has got you covered.
281* Creator/JeremyIrons damaged his vocal chords while screaming "'''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 You won't get a sniff without me!]]'''"? Creator/ChristopherLloyd [[WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}} just can't sing]]? Just need someone to say something while sounding somewhat like someone else? Call [[Creator/JimCummings1952 Jim Cummings]]! Cummings is an embodiment of this trope, having replaced Louis Prima as Louie from ''[[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967 The Jungle Book]]'', Creator/MelBlanc as the Tasmanian Devil, and Sterling Holloway and Paul Winchell as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, respectively.
282* Creator/BillyWest can do a very good imitation of the late Creator/PhilHartman. Case in point, Zapp Brannigan in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', whose part was written with Hartman in mind before he passed away. And if you can't get Billy West, there's always Creator/DaranNorris.
283* Eric Loomis voice subs for Creator/RobertDowneyJr as Iron Man for the tie-in game to the second film and ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''. It's actually pretty damn close and since those, he's reprised the role in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''. It also happens to be his natural speaking voice.
284* If you can't get Creator/RieKugimiya, you'd do well to track down Kyouka (Reo Kawamura's seiyuu from {{Sonohana}}).
285* According to an interview, Creator/KieferSutherland started his career by calling places and claiming he could do "Creator/DonaldSutherland voiceovers"...for half price. Donald just happens to be his father.
286* If Creator/JackieChan is not available, there is always James Sie. James Sie is Jackie Chan in ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' cartoon segments while the real Jackie Chan is in the live action segments. Sie also voices Master Monkey in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'' and the video game adaptation of the original movie.
287* Other people that haven't subbed for each other but could - Creator/GenevievePadalecki and Eve Harlow
288* Creator/MicahSolusod is often considered to be Creator/{{Funimation}}'s equivalent to Creator/JohnnyYongBosch. This was mainly because his role as the titular character of ''Manga/SoulEater'' was misattributed to Johnny. To hammer this comparison out, Micah's role as Liszt in ''Literature/OkamiSan'' sounds ''exactly'' like Johnny's role as [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya Itsuki.]] And made funnier when he replaced Johnny in the role of Kazuki Makabe in the [[Anime/FafnerInTheAzureDeadAggressor Fafner]] film adaptation and Claus Valca in the ''Anime/LastExile'' [[Anime/LastExileFamTheSilverWing sequel.]]
289* Want Creator/JamesArnoldTaylor to voice a badass character? Too bad, [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood union issues]]. Until his [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor career-ending scandal]], Creator/VicMignogna often filled in.
290* Many have mistaken the voice acting of Creator/TravisWillingham with Creator/PatrickSeitz and vice versa. This is mainly due to their similarly deep voices.
291* Creator/JessicaBoone, Creator/MelissaDavis and Creator/EmilyNeves also get mistaken for each other, whenever either of them use a teenage-like voice, they sound creepingly the same.
292* Is Creator/JeffBridges or Creator/AlecBaldwin unavailable for voice work? Just call Creator/FredTatasciore.
293* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' examples:
294** After Creator/DonMessick's death, Hadley Kay and Scott Innes took turns voicing the titular dog until Creator/FrankWelker (the voice of Fred since the beginning) became his new permanent voice.
295** When the series made its ChannelHop from CBS to ABC, Nicole Jaffe was replaced as the voice of Velma with Pat Stevens. Stevens left in the middle of the 1979 season and was replaced with Marla Frumkin.
296** Scott Innes and Creator/MatthewLillard have voiced Shaggy when Creator/CaseyKasem was unavailable, with Lillard eventually taking over the role after Kasem retired from it.
297* Creator/CraigMcCracken originally wanted Creator/JackBlack as the voice of the evil gnome in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' episode "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey". Black was too busy and too expensive, so Creator/JessHarnell assumed the voice, doing an eerily good impression.
298** Creator/MickWingert also does a frighteningly good Jack Black impression playing Po, Jack Black's character from ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' in the Nickelodeon show ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness''. To the point he replaced Black again as Slappy in ''Film/Goosebumps2HauntedHalloween''.
299* Due to high demand with popular AAA video game roles and motion capture work since ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' in addition to wanting to become a musician, Creator/TroyBaker is unable to lend his voice in anime and {{JRPG}} titles anymore. Fortunately he’s got a perfect double in Creator/MatthewMercer. Even AAA game developers call him up if Troy isn’t available or is too expensive for their budget.
300* Creator/AlexisTipton can be seen as this towards Creator/LauraBailey due to her voice being uncannily similar to Bailey’s. Tipton even inherited several of Bailey’s old voice acting roles after the former left to voice act in California and the latter started to do mostly Union-only voice-over work. Among said roles, they include: Erasa in ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'', Kid Trunks in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Platinum the Trinity in ''Anime/BlazBlueAlterMemory'' & ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'', Lucina in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors'' & ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' and Palla in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes''.
301* If anyone ever wants an animated ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Creator/MauriceLaMarche could easily pass for Creator/KelseyGrammer and he already ''is'' the world champion Creator/OrsonWelles.
302* Here's one convoluted example: Creator/LorenzoMusic substituted for Creator/BillMurray in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''. Creator/BillMurray returned the favor (a few years after Music's death) in the big screen adaptation of ''Film/{{Garfield}}''. And when ExecutiveMeddling settled in for ''The Real Ghostbusters'', Lorenzo Music walked out and Dave Coulier was brought in as a replacement.
303* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' is notorious for pulling this on the ''entire main cast'' of the dub from the ''Anime/PokemonTheMastermindOfMiragePokemon'' special onwards when the Pokémon Company took over from 4Kids and replaced most of the longstanding cast with soundalike VA's to cut costs. While the replacements did improve over time (generally agreed to be around the second season of ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl Diamond & Pearl]]''), some older fans are still understandably bitter about this and the shabby way the original cast was treated.
304* Can't get Creator/MarkHamill or Creator/CrispinFreeman to voice a villain for you? Hire Creator/LiamOBrien, Creator/KeithSilverstein, Creator/DougErholtz, or Creator/JMichaelTatum instead.
305* Can't get a Creator/KariWahlgren to voice a LadyOfWar, FemmeFatale, mature/stern woman, MsFanservice or a spunky girl? Hire Creator/LaurenLanda or Creator/LuciChristian.
306* Can't get Creator/AkiraIshida to voice a NiceGuy {{bishonen}}? Hire Creator/HiroShimono instead.
307* Can't get Creator/YuriLowenthal to voice a KidHero in an anime? No problem! Either Creator/BrycePapenbrook, Creator/JohnnyYongBosch, Creator/SteveStaley or Creator/ToddHaberkorn (among many others) will do the job.
308* If an anime is being dubbed in Houston and you want someone to voice a [[TokenMiniMoe loli]] and Creator/HilaryHaag is somewhat not available, get Creator/LuciChristian to do it.
309** And for the record with Creator/BangZoomEntertainment, relative newcomer Creator/ChristineMarieCabanos is filling the void as well for Creator/StephanieSheh.
310* If you can't get Creator/ClancyBrown to voice a villain, then Creator/JohnDiMaggio or Creator/LexLang will do just as nicely.
311* If you're in Montreal (or, occasionally, Ottawa) and want an actress to voice kids [[CrossdressingVoices of both genders]] and female adults alike, and you can't get Creator/GreyDeLisle? No problem! Hire Creator/SonjaBall to do the job.
312* Recording your cartoon's voices in Canada and you can't get Creator/TaraStrong to voice a kid or cute character? Hire Creator/HollyGauthierFrankel or Creator/ChiaraZanni instead!
313* Worried that Creator/AndrewRannells being dedicated to theater now has left an anime character he voiced silent? Daniel J. Edwards is awaiting your call!
314* Can't afford the "angry nasally man" voice of Creator/GilbertGottfried due to his death? Don't worry, there's always Dan [=McKeague=]!
315* ''Westernanimation/TheSimpsons'' had an amusing case where they actually got Music/MichaelJackson to play as a fat white guy who was in a mental hospital who thought he was Michael Jackson. However, his contract stipulated he would only speak (credited as John Jay Smith), and his singing voice would be performed by a soundalike (apparently because Jackson wanted to play a joke on his brothers, fooling them into thinking the impersonator was him), and thus singer Kipp Lennon served as a poor man's MJ.
316* If Creator/JimCarrey is unavailable, then Creator/RobPaulsen can get the job done.
317* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' has had three notable examples of this trope:
318** When Creator/MichaelAngelis started narrating the original UK version, he was this to original narrator Music/RingoStarr (of whom Michael's brother Paul voiced in ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine''). Angelis went on to narrate the show for close to a decade, with his 21-year stint outlasting Creator/GeorgeCarlin and Creator/AlecBaldwin's stints as the narrator for the US version. Angelis retired from the show after season 16, and was replaced by Mark Moraghan, who became the poor man's substitute for Angelis, as he sounds almost exactly like him. Moraghan also took over from then-US narrator Michael Brandon at the same time, and narrated both the UK and US versions of the show up until the ''Big World! Big Adventures!'' {{retool}}.
319** Robin Smith -- who did voicework for many of the series' US DVD promos, video games and merchandise between the late-90s and 2009 -- sounded very similar to the show's third US narrator Creator/AlecBaldwin, who held those duties at the time Smith was hired.
320* Can't get Tony Anselmo to voice WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck? Get Daniel Ross.
321* Can't get Creator/ChrisRock or Creator/WillSmith to voice a character for you? Then leave to it [[Creator/PhilLaMarr Phil [=LaMarr=]]].
322[[/folder]]
323
324[[folder:Music]]
325* The UrExample could be the [[CaptainErsatz many imitators]] of Rudy Vallée that recorded for the many dime-store labels of [[TheGreatDepression the early 1930s]]. Standouts were Smith Ballew and [[Series/TheAdventuresOfOzzieAndHarriet Ozzie Nelson]], who had bigger success in ensuing years as actors. Nelson even looked a bit like Vallée and made a big deal out of being a Rutgers alum the same way Vallée played up his connections to Yale.
326* The band Music/{{Journey|Band}} hired Filipino singer Arnel Pineda as a replacement for former lead Steve Perry. Obviously, being Filipino, Pineda ''looks'' nothing like Perry-- but his voice is ''incredibly'' similar.
327* It can be hard to tell Music/TimMcGraw and Rodney Atkins apart.
328* Music/PhilCollins, already the drummer for the band Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, became the lead singer after Music/PeterGabriel left, and was described as being a better Gabriel sound-alike than Gabriel himself (though without the eccentric theatrical flair). So, possibly an inversion.
329* Also applies to the soundtracks of movies too. Can't get Music/EltonJohn? Get Music/BarryManilow instead.
330* Long before his death, Music/JerryGoldsmith was often the poor man's substitute to Music/JohnWilliams. If you can't get the more expensive John Williams (who is often picky about the films he wanted to score) you could get the equally awesome and extremely prolific Jerry Goldsmith to score your films. In fact, it used to be said that Williams is a white-collar composer, whereas Goldsmith was a blue-collar composer, because he was willing to score any kind of films, regardless of content.
331** According to the first ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Franchise/StarWars'' parody, Music/DannyElfman is now the poor man's John Williams.
332** Despite being in the music scoring business since the early 1990s, Joel [=McNeely=] has now become the poor man's Creator/MichaelGiacchino (who is ironically considered to be [=McNeely=]'s SpiritualSuccessor) due to them being constantly compared to John Williams and having worked with Creator/{{Disney}} more than once despite also composing for other studios' works in their resumes.
333** ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse'', ''Film/TrickRTreat'' and ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' composer Douglas Pipes can be considered the poor man's Creator/MichaelGiacchino too. For his brassy instrumentations, Pipes is also considered to be the poor man's Music/AlanSilvestri.
334** Music editor-composer [[Film/ThePhiladelphiaExperiment Kenneth Wannberg]] was also seen the poor man's John Williams that precedes [=McNeely=] and Giacchino for this title to the point he's been complimented as "John Williams' composer" then just his editor for works like ''Film/ANewHope''.
335** Like his SpiritualSuccessor Giacchino and when John Williams becomes an untouchable fledging household name in the movie industry, [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Stu]] [[Series/KnightRider Phillips]] can count as the poor man's John Williams for TV land and Glen A. Larson.
336** Before actually working with John Williams as his AssociatedComposer, [[Film/{{Duel}} Billy]] [[Series/NightGallery Goldenberg]] was Creator/StevenSpielberg's poor man's John Williams as his initial AssociatedComposer for his early television projects while working for Creator/{{Universal}}.
337** For Creator/StudioGhibli, the studio founder Creator/HayaoMiyazaki and the anime and Japanese film industry, Joe Hisaishi is their poor man's John Williams.
338** For Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures and B-movies, Les Baxter can be considered their poor man's Music/LaloSchifrin.
339** Creator/FullMoonFeatures composer Richard Band can himself be considered the poor man's Music/DannyElfman and Pino Donaggio.
340** For Creator/SamRaimi, Joseph [=LoDuca=] was Raimi's poor man's Music/DannyElfman before Raimi would later actually work with Elfman starting with ''Film/{{Darkman}}''. For [[Film/{{Sleepwalkers}} Mick Garris]], Nicholas Pike was Garris' poor man's Danny Elfman.
341** One of Danny Elfman's ProductionPosse conductors the late great [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Shirley]] [[Film/FinalDestination Walker]] had qualified as the poor man's Elfman herself.
342** ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' composer Harry Manfredini can be considered the poor man's Bob Cobert of ''Series/DarkShadows'', ''Film/BurntOfferings'', ''Series/KolchakTheNightStalker'' and ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror'' due to their similar scoring styles in general.
343** For genre and television projects during TheEighties and despite being active since TheSeventies, [[Film/RemoWilliamsTheAdventureBegins Craig]] [[Film/TheLastStarfighter Safan]] acts as the poor man's Music/MichaelKamen due to their comparable musical styles.
344** If Goldsmith was the poor man's Williams, then Music/JamesHorner was the poor man's Jerry Goldsmith as well as also the poor man's John Williams.
345** [[Series/HawaiiFiveO Morton Stevens]] was also the poor man's Jerry Goldsmith (who was Stevens' mentor).
346** AwesomeMusic/BruceBroughton himself is considered to be the poor man's Music/BasilPoledouris and Music/BillConti and can also act as either the poor man's Jerry Goldsmith (whom he's real-life friends with) or the poor man's Music/MichaelKamen. Both Poledouris and Broughton can also be considered the poor man's [[Film/{{Rocky}} Bill Conti]].
347** [[Film/BlueThunder Arthur]] [[Film/WarGames B.]] [[Film/{{Stakeout}} Rubinstein]] can himself qualify as the poor man's AwesomeMusic/BruceBroughton.
348** For comedies and other film and television work, [[Film/PoliceAcademy Robert]] [[Film/{{Tremors}} Folk]] can count as the poor man's AwesomeMusic/BruceBroughton and Music/MichaelKamen during the mid-to-late TheEighties up to TheNineties up to the dawn of the TurnOfTheMillennium. One of Kamen's proteges and Music/BrianTyler's former conductor and orchestrator [[Film/{{Hop}} Christopher]] [[Series/TheBoys2019 Lennertz]] can be now considered to be the poor man's Robert Folk for recent comedy projects.
349** [[Franchise/TheMatrix Don Davis]] in general during TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium can be considered the poor man's AwesomeMusic/BruceBroughton and Music/MichaelKamen.
350** Nowadays, [=McNeely=], Giacchino and Music/AlanSilvestri are the poor man's John Williams.
351*** Silvestri can also be seen as the poor man's Music/JamesHorner and Jerry Goldsmith.
352** For music within the video game industry, [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII Wilbert]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat11 Roget,]] [[VideoGame/VaderImmortal II]] is their poor man's John Williams, Creator/MichaelGiacchino, Music/JamesHorner, Music/AlanSilvestri and to a lesser extent Jerry Goldsmith. Inon Zur also fits, though he's seen as both a poor man's John Williams and [[Series/TheXFiles Mark Snow]].
353** Also amongst video games, Garry Schyman of ''VideoGame/BioShock'' is the industry's poor man's [[Literature/PetSematary Elliot]] [[Film/BatmanForever Goldenthal]], while ''Franchise/DeadSpace'''s Jason Graves was their poor man's Music/JohnOttman and Music/BrianTyler.
354** The same applies for orchestras. Can't get the London Symphony Orchestra or London Philharmonic Orchestra to record your film's score? Hire one of the big Prague orchestras, like the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra or the Czech Philharmonic.
355* During the 1980s, Paddy Kingsland, Music/GiorgioMoroder, Jan Hammer, Harold Faltermeyer or Vince [=DiCola=] filled in nicely when Music/TangerineDream or Music/{{Vangelis}} wasn't available.
356* Worried that we'll never get another voice like Music/MichaelJackson ever again? Don't worry, Music/BrunoMars (himself a giant MJ fan) comes to the rescue!
357** An R&B singer named Jason Malachi also comes to mind. Malachi's voice is so similar to Jackson's that some of his songs are often misattributed to Jackson and vice-versa[[note]]Due to the heavily processed-voice, several of the tracks on Jackson's first posthumous album ''Michael'' are believed by many fans, and ''even his relatives'' to have been recorded by an imposter and Malachi's name is often mentioned as said imposter. It is unknown if the vocals were actually Michael's or not.[[/note]].
358** Music/TheWeeknd has also been compared to Michael Jackson, in particular his song [[http://uproxx.com/music/the-weeknd-i-feel-it-coming-michael-jackson/ "I Feel It Coming"]].
359** During Michael's peak, within the R&B community El Music/{{Debarge}} was often compared to Jackson.
360* Canadian R&B singer Deborah Cox has become this for Music/WhitneyHouston. Due to rights issues, she re-recorded Houston's vocals for the songs used in the 2015 MadeForTVMovie about her, and she even plays Houston's part in the ScreenToStageAdaptation of ''Film/TheBodyguard''.
361* Regina Richards of "Baby Love" fame was a poor man's Music/{{Madonna}} in the mid-1980s.
362* Hoyt Curtin was in high demand throughout the 1950s and 1960s as a poor man's Nelson Riddle. It's just a matter of listening to the theme songs he composed for Hanna-Barbera's prime-time cartoons.
363* The opera world has a tendency of this. Can't get Sir John Tomlinson? Go and hire Peter Rose. Then again, years ago, a young Tomlinson was this when James Morris refused to sing Wotan in the futuristic Kupfer Ring.
364* Mike Piccirillo was frequently used by [=DiC=] in the 90s and 2000s as a poor man's Haim Saban and Shuki Levy after the duo's firm Saban Productions parted ways with [=DiC=] to produce their own shows.
365** Noam Kaniel (himself a collaborator of Haim and Shuki) also was frequently used in the 90s as a poor man's Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, even by ''Saban themselves''.
366* Worried that we'll never get a voice like Music/FreddieMercury's ever again? Don't worry, call Marc Martel!
367* {{Music/Orbital}} wanted a "Missy Elliot-type" rapper to do vocals for their song "Wonky". Ultimately they went with female UK rapper Lady Leshurr.
368* Creator/CharlotteGainsbourg was able to draw on a pool of big name collaborators for her comeback album ''5:55'', like [[Music/{{Pulp}} Jarvis Cocker]], [[Music/TheDivineComedy Neil Hannon]], Music/{{Air|Band}}, and frequent Music/{{Radiohead}} producer Nigel Godrich. For most of those names, she was the nearest they were going to be able to get to working with [[Music/SergeGainsbourg her (deceased) father]].
369* Music/{{Santana}} recorded "Why Don't You and I" with its writer, Chad Kroeger. When Music/{{Nickelback}}'s label vetoed using the singer in a single, Kroeger himself recommended Alex Band as a replacement - and while Music/TheCalling [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCrTkr5dp3Q was deemed a poor man's substitute to other]] {{Yarling}}-heavy groups, Band's throaty voice certainly makes him a fitting substitute.
370* Ral Donner sustained a modest career based on the fact that he sounded almost exactly like Music/ElvisPresley. No less than [[Music/LedZeppelin Robert Plant]] has cited Donner as an influence. Donner even did first-person narration in the voice of Elvis for the documentary ''This is Elvis'' in 1981. Related to this was a few cases of singers having hits with a CoverVersion of Elvis album tracks that he didn't release as a single himself, in which they tried to copy his vocal style ("Wooden Heart" by Joe Dowell, "Suspicion" by Terry Stafford).
371* After the success of ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' and ''Film/{{Help}}'', TV producers wanted to create a sitcom based on Music/TheBeatles. Of course, the band was far too busy touring, and later recording full-time, to commit to a weekly show. Out of this idea came Music/TheMonkees, a foursome who looked quite a bit like the Beatles, from the appearances to the songs. The group, dismissively referred to as the "pre-fab(ricated) Four" in an era where the real Beatles were leading a musical revolution, had an uphill battle to be recognized as a legitimate band, not helped by the fact that they didn't play their own instruments or write their own songs early in their career.
372* Worried that we'll never get a voice like Music/FrankSinatra's again? Don't worry, Creator/SethMacFarlane (himself a huge fan of the Creator/RatPack) will do in a pinch.
373[[/folder]]
374
375[[folder:Others]]
376* According to Wrestling/BryanDanielson, Wrestling/MichaelCole is a poor man's Wrestling/JimRoss.
377* Doing a dinosaur documentary and the UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex hasn't evolved yet? Well, Allosaurus is nearly as big! The poor thing's [[MeaningfulName name]] even means 'other lizard.'
378* The Platform/AtariST got this reputation in the U.S. as one to the Platform/AppleMacintosh as it was also a Motorola 68000-based computer with a graphical interface similar to the Mac while retailing for significantly cheaper. It was even nicknamed the "Jackintosh", after former Commodore head Jack Tramiel, who bought Atari after MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. The ST had a couple of technical edges over the original Mac: it had color two years before the release of the Macintosh II in 1987, and the built-in MIDI interface made it popular with musicians. The Atari ST also had the reputation of being the poor man's Platform/CommodoreAmiga, also considered a poor man's Mac, due to their similarities (ranging from more technical similarities such as both being 68000-based computers, to external factors such as Jack Tramiel being both the founder of Commodore and the head of Atari Corporation at the time).
379* Latin Spanish dubbing has this for ''countries/cities'' - Miami started out as the Poor Man's Los Angeles for producers who wanted their Latin Spanish dubs recorded "close to home" but didn't want to deal with [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood unions]] and such, Argentina has become the Poor Man's Venezuela for obvious reasons, Chile is the Poor Man's Argentina ([=DINT=] Doblajes Internacionales, for a period, was Creator/{{Disney}}'s go-to Poor Man's Media Pro Com), Cuernavaca (or, formerly, Monterrey for Creator/{{Disney}}) is the Poor Man's Mexico City, and Colombia, Peru, and El Salvador are Poor Man's Substitutes for ''the other "big" dubbing countries''.
380* For Brazilian Portuguese dubbing, the go-to city for something cheaper than the studios of UsefulNotes/RioDeJaneiro and Usefulnotes/SaoPaulo seems to be Campinas, which is in the latter's state (96 km/60 mi away, and the biggest city in the SP state outside the capital's metropolitan region) - tellingly the more cheaper São Paulo dub studios either trained Campinas dubbers or employ them extensively. Other cities in the country itself with a dubbing studio or two are Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Brasília, and then there's Miami (and in a few cases, Los Angeles and Buenos Aires), where the dubbers [[AmateurCast don't even need to be voice actors, as people who can speak Portuguese are accepted]].
381* Developing a racing game and Porsche won't license their models to you? Don't worry, Ruf Automobile is awaiting your call! Ruf models often filled in for their Porsche counterparts in games like the ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'' series and ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco'' during the period in which Porsche had an exclusive licensing deal with Creator/ElectronicArts.
382[[/folder]]
383
384----
385
386[[folder:In-Universe]]
387* There's a moment in the ''Series/{{Skins}}'' series 4 finale where - prompted by a drunk Naomi - Cook realises that his latest random squeeze (Arcia) is a Poor Man's Substitute for Effy. He ditches her as soon as he twigs what he's doing.
388* Played for laughs in ''Series/{{Friends}}'' when Rachel breaks up with nerdy paleontologist Ross (played by David Schwimmer) and hooks up with nerdy periodontist Russ (played by David Schwimmer).
389--> '''Monica:''' See? They're as different as night and...later that night.
390* Rare fictional example - in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, [=USAgent=] is treated by ''everyone'' as a poor man's substitute for ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. This was lampshaded in an issue of ''Mighty Avengers'', by Loki of all people. Disguised as the Scarlet Witch (long story), he attempts to recruit Captain America for his new Avengers team and on discovering that Cap is dead goes to [=USAgent=] and effectively says "You'll have to do".
391* Similarly, in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "The Greatest Story Never Told", Booster Gold spends the beginning of the episode teamed with the Elongated Man, who complains about being the League's poor man's Plastic Man. He is indeed used for that purpose by the end of the episode.
392* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore 2'' gives us Eight Ball/Hustler Two, poor man's substitute and claimed descendant of the series' [[ThatOneBoss Nine Ball/Hustler One]]. He's very low ranked and pilots a vastly inferior mech. [[spoiler: Nine Ball was also an AI.]]
393* According to the ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'', Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme is this to Creator/ChuckNorris.
394--> '''Nostalgia Critic:''' So what's the main problem with [[Film/StreetFighter this piece of shit movie]]? Four syllables: Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme is like the poor man's Creator/ChuckNorris. The guy you get if you think Creator/StevenSeagal is too classy for your movie.
395* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
396** {{Parodied}} in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E18AStarIsBurns A Star Is Burns]]". When Mr. Burns requests for Steven Spielberg to direct his movie. Upon being told that he was unavailable, Burns then requested Señor [[ElSpanishO Spielbergo]], his non-union Mexican equivalent.
397--->'''Mr. Burns:''' Get me Creator/StevenSpielberg!
398--->'''Smithers:''' He's unavailable.
399--->'''Mr. Burns:''' Then get me his non-union Mexican equivalent!
400** Also, when Bart opened a casino, he hired a Liza Minelli impersonator but needed another kind of show when he found out the "impersonator" ''was'' Liza Minelli.
401** Also occurred in ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' when they told the story of how Krustyland came to be. Krusty the Clown wanted to hire the cast of ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' to make celebrity appearances at the park's opening, but attorney Lionel Hutz was able to sign only impersonators of those celebrities, including a Creator/ShelleyWinters imitator who was obviously a man and hadn't even bothered to shave. When Krusty sees the faux celebrities, [[MythologyGag he tries to strangle Hutz]].
402* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': When pee-wee football team South Park Cows played against Middle Park Cowboys, the entertainment hired for the halftime was [[Series/FullHouse John Stamos]]' brother Richard Stamos.
403* ''Ultimate X-Men'' has Colonel Wraith refer to Sabertooth as "the poor man's Wolverine."
404* Given a weird twist in ''WebComic/GirlGenius'', when Agatha, who's on the run from the Baron's forces, joins a traveling show, and in one performance of a "Heterodyne play," fills in for actress Pix. The twist? The character she's playing is ''her own real-life mother''.
405* One of many running gags in ''WebVideo/CinemaSins'', where the poor man's substitute is referred to as "discount [A-list actor]". They'll also refer to an actor as a discount ''themselves'' if they're spotted in cheap pre-fame roles, such as a pre-''Film/{{Rocky}}'' Sylvester Stallone in ''Film/DeathRace2000'', or if it's a ''currently'' famous actor they think are in a bad movie, like Creator/ChanningTatum in ''Film/JupiterAscending''.
406* Website/CollegeHumor: Parodied--if you need help but can't afford ''Series/TheATeam'', perhaps you can hire [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6185597/the-a-b-and-c-team the B-Team, C-Team, or F-Team]]. They all include a guy who's TheStrategist (Hannibal), TheCharmer (Face), [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} The Crazy One]] (Murdock), and [[ScaryBlackMan The Tough Black Guy]] (Baracus). However, the substitute teams get increasingly less impressive on these fronts:
407** The A-Team:
408--->'''Narrator:''' One year ago, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you have a ton of money, maybe you can hire the A-Team.
409** A-Team out of your price range? Then how about this?
410--->'''Narrator:''' A different Commando unit was also sent to prison for a crime they might have committed. These men eventually escaped from a medium security facility, to a motel in Fresno. Today, still more or less acknowledged by the government, they survive as soldiers for hire. If you have a problem, if it's sort of urgent, but you don't need anything fancy, you can probably just hire the B-Team.
411** You're really broke, huh?
412--->'''Narrator:''' I'm not sure I should tell you this, but one year ago, a group of drug addicts were sent to a prison for crime they openly confessed to (they, uh, shot the mayor's dog). [[OffOnATechnicality These men were released after their case was thrown out on a technicality.]] Today, pretty much forgotten by the government, they get by with odd jobs here and there. If you have a problem, if you're totally spaced, and you just need someone, literally anyone, and if you can offer a hot meal in exchange, you can always hire the C-Team.
413** Wow, really? You can't even afford...you're killing me here!
414--->'''Narrator:''' OK, I don't usually mention these guys, but...one year ago, four idiots started fighting over half a steak left in a dumpster behind a TGI Friday's. These men---look, you don't really want to hire these men. They just-oh come on! Oh and that crazy guy? He has mild OCD! And he's clearly not black, what is he, Indian? Not even close. Look, I'm gonna level with you here. You're probably just better off taking care of it yourself. Really. Why would you ever hire anyone named the ''F-Teem''?
415** ''Website/CollegeHumor goes to Hell'': it's revealed that Hell [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uB4ZVdIX8o the second best of everything]], just to frustrate sinners.
416--->'''Katie:''' [Do you have] Music/BackstreetBoys?
417--->'''The Devil:''' 98 Degrees. They come preloaded on your Zune.
418* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Parodied. In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'' #14, Creator/StanLee is credited as "the poor man's Shakespeare"; Creator/SteveDitko is "the poor man's Da Vinci"; and letterer Creator/ArtSimek is "the poor man's rich man".
419* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', Rusty refers to Baron Underbite as a "dime store Comicbook/DoctorDoom."
420* Downplayed in the pilot of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' where [[AlwaysSecondBest Flintheart Glomgold]] is described as "the poor man's Scrooge [=McDuck=]... which to be fair, still makes him insanely rich."
421* WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead, when watching an angry-sounding Music/HenryRollins video:
422-->'''Butthead''': "Uhh, [[Creator/JamesGarner Jim]] [[Series/TheRockfordFiles Rockford]] is pissed!"
423* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "E. Peterbus Unum". Creator/AdamWest wants to invite Jesse Jackson to open peace negotiations with the micro-state of Petoria with a prayer, but because he can't make it, he hires La Toya Jackson (sister of [[Music/MichaelJackson Michael]]).
424* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' Joel and the Bots have a discussion about this trope at the end of ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E10HerculesAgainstTheMoonMen Hercules Against the Moon Men]].'' Joel calls it the "Creator/WayneRogers Effect", after the actor who replaced Creator/ElliottGould in the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{MASH}}''. The conversation gets a bit awkward when Crow points out that Gypsy's CelebCrush Creator/RichardBasehart (from ''Series/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea'') was really the replacement for Creator/WalterPidgeon [[Film/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea from the original film]]. Ironically the replacement that prompted all this discussion in the first place--Steve Reeves from ''Film/HerculesUnchained'' getting replaced by Alan Steel for ''Film/HerculesAgainstTheMoonMen''--was actually an example of DubNameChange and DolledUpInstallment, not this trope. ''Against the Moon Men'' was originally a Maciste film; it was the American distributors who changed Alan Steel's character to Hercules and tried to pass the film off as a sequel to the Steve Reeves films.
425* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' once referred to her teacher, Mr. O'Neil, as "the poor man's Kathy Lee Gifford."
426* An episode of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' had Sheldon and Leonard playing a trivia game where each guessed the name of a famous person based on clues given by the other player. For every clue Leonard gave Sheldon about UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, Sheldon assumed Leonard was talking about ''him'', until finally Leonard got annoyed enough to play along with Sheldon's hubris and describe Tesla as "the poor man's Sheldon Cooper," whereupon Sheldon got it immediately.
427* Creator/MilanaVayntrub's similarities to Creator/ZooeyDeschanel have become a RunningGag in AT&T's commercials, where Vayntrub's Lily character interviews Deschanel for a job and they have the exact same mannerisms, then Deschanel poses as Lily herself.
428* The spider in the ''[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoon "Meatless Flyday" calls the fly he's trying to catch and eat "A poor man's Bugs Bunny."
429* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei shows up to Tyler's birthday party not in her giant red panda form but in her cardboard red panda costume meaning she manages to be her own Poor Man's Substitute. Tyler is not impressed.
430-->'''Tyler''': I'm paying for the red panda, not this garbage!
431[[/folder]]

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