History Main / BodyDouble

When important figures feel they need extra insurance, someone takes on the appearance and role of someone else, especially in dangerous situations. Though this is still used today by some leaders, before the advent of modern photography this was much easier to pull off, since the average person would probably not know what the leader looked like outside of a vague description or drawing, making any differences between the double and the real person less noticeable. In more modern works the close resemblance may be explained away by MagicPlasticSurgery, while science fiction settings may use SendInTheClones and have the clones be made with this specific purpose in mind.

This is very much a TruthInTelevision, and generally the more paranoid a leader the more doubles they will have. Saddam Hussein reportedly had over 50 doubles that he used at various times, and other notorious leaders like Josef Stalin and Hitler have also had confirmed body doubles.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Overlord|2012}}'', one of Ainz's servants is Pandora's Actor, a Greater Doppelganger NPC Ainz created. As a Greater Doppelganger, Pandora's Actor has the power to shapeshift into any of the 41 guildmembers of Ainz's former guild, including Ainz himself. Pandora's Actor throughout the series has filled in for Ainz to help facilitate various plans. In volume 14 [[spoiler:the "Ainz" that fights Platinum Dragon Lord's remote armor is actually Pandora's Actor.]]

* Allegedly, [[RebelliousPrincess Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary]] aka ''Sissi'' often asked one of her hairstylists, a German lady who bore quite the resemblance to her and had similar long hair, to replace her in several official acts.

* In one of the Otto Stahl novels by Leo Kessler, a double of General Eisenhower is used as a precaution against an attempt by SS commandos to assassinate him during the Battle of the Bulge. At the end of the novel Otto begins to suspect that the attempt may have succeeded after all, and [[YouKnowTooMuch barely escapes with his life]]. As is pointed out, the real question is whether General Eisenhower was only [[EmergencyImpersonation temporarily incapacitated]], or did his double go on to become President of the United States?!!

* Mary Hoffmans' ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}'' has this in the first book, as the [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Duchessa of Belleza]] uses different doubles for all the flashy ceremonies, such as the Marriage with the Sea. She began this procedure when [[spoiler:she became pregnant with her daughter, Arianna.]] One such double thinks she can outsmart the Duchessa, rat out her secret, and throw her lot in with the di Chimici with no ill consequences. She's wrong.)

* In ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'', the titular Nikki pulls this for her IdenticalStranger Bai Jinjin, [[spoiler:when her OverprotectiveDad's envoys try to kidnap her back into her rich home ''and'' take a hold of some ''very'' important items that she supposedly took with her when she ran away.]]

* ''Film/TheGameChanger'' has a rather depressing example (like so many HeroicBloodshed movies) when Zi-Hao, in his ROaringRampageOfRevenge final shootout, guns down who he assumes is the BigBad and the person responsible for his best friend Fang-Jie's demise. It turns out to be a double, and it is [[spoiler:said BigBad's ''daughter'', Qin-Qin, who serves as Zi-Hao's LoveInterest, hoping to atone for her father's sins by dying in his place]]. Oops.

* In the ActionPrologue of ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', James Bond tracks down and kills Ernst Stavro Blofeld, right before he's going to use plastic surgery to make one of his minions look like himself as a decoy. Halfway through the movie however, Bond is shocked to find Blofeld not only alive, but living with an identical impersonator, as it turns out the Blofeld he killed earlier was also a decoy.

* The film ''Film/TheEagleHasLanded'' is about a group of Nazi paratroopers who sneak into England in an attempt to assassinate Winston Churchill. The last member of the team succeeds in doing so before being shot, but after he dies, it is revealed that the Prime Minister was out of the country at a secret conference in Teheran - the man who was just killed was actually a vaudeville comedian and impressionist whose turn as Winnie was good enough that he ended up on the government's payroll.
** The novel the movie was based on had this as the final twist at the end as a writer is going to publish it only to be informed it will be cited as fiction because records show Churchill was in Teheran at the time. He thus realizes the truth.
** In a sequel novel ''The Eagle Has Flown'', the one survivor of the mission literally howls with laughter at realizing it was all for a fake Churchill.

** Both the original novel and the movie version of ''Film/TheEagleHasLanded'' have the twist of how [[spoiler: the Winston Churchill the Germans are trying to kill is an actor while the real Churchill is at a conference]].

* One of the plot twists of ''Film/BatmanBegins'' is that [[spoiler:the East Asian man identified as Ra's al Ghul was just a front for the real Ra's -- the man who until this point had called himself Ducard]].

* a variant in the ''Series/ForeverKnight'' episode ''Dying for Fame''. The main plot involves a rock singer being stalked by an obsessed fan. Near the end of the ep, Rebecca is BoundAndGagged and hidden in a closet by one of her backup singers, so she can impersonate Rebecca on stage (that night's concert was on tape) and be the star herself. Unfortunately, that turns out to be the night Rebecca's obsessed fan is in the audience and pulls out a semi-machine gun.

* ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' has Roy serve as this for the Prince after he [[DuelBoss loses their duel]]. It comes into play several times, with one of Roy's most awesome moments coming only if the player really screws up. While Roy bears an uncanny resemblance to the Prince in both face and body type (so long has he wears a good wig to conceal their different hair color), and can even convincingly copy the Prince's [[FightingWithChucks unique fighting style]], but his LargeHam tendencies are [[TheQuietOne a distinct flaw]].

* In ''LightNovel/RakuinNoMonshou'' Fedom claims Orba is acting as a body double for Prince Gil due to the danger of assassination as the royal wedding approaches. Orba sees through this excuse fairly quickly as Fedom's people are the only ones aware of it and the political dangers of having a body double standing in for Gil so often.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}'', one of Ainz's servants is Pandora's Actor, a Greater Doppelganger NPC Ainz created. As a Greater Doppelganger, Pandora's Actor has the power to shapeshift into any of the 41 guildmembers of Ainz's former guild, including Ainz himself. Pandora's Actor throughout the series has filled in for Ainz to help facilitate various plans. In volume 14 [[spoiler:the "Ainz" that fights Platinum Dragon Lord's remote armor is actually Pandora's Actor.]]

* ''FanFic/ToHellAndBackArrowverse'': Barry manages to create technology that replicates Christopher Chance's impersonation abilities. This is pivotal to the three leads' return to modern civilization, as it allows the League of Assassins to send three body doubles of their vigilante alter-egos months ahead of their returns, making it impossible for them and their civilian identities to be connected; indeed, throughout the first two arcs of the story, none of their loved ones, which include two experienced detectives, suspect that Oliver, Barry, and Kara are one of the three vigilantes. Even Malcolm Merlyn remains fooled, and he spends months researching for clues to the Hood's identity during the second arc. The only people to see through the ruse are Eobard Thawne (who's from the future), A.R.G.U.S. (who makes it a point to keep track of all the League's actions), and Astra and her forces (who have insider knowledge regarding the emblem on the Girl in Blue's suit).

* In the second Literature/{{Quiller}} novel, the British shadow executive is sent to counter-snipe a ProfessionalKiller out to assassinate an [[InvisiblePresident unnamed British royal VIP]] in Bangkok. It's only after he shoots his target and the VIP is kidnapped that Quiller realises he's been set up. He's just shot a double while the real killer fired from elsewhere at the VIP's driver, sending the car off the road. In this case the deception was helped by the decoy shooter firing from inside a darkened building, so he didn't have to look much like the assassin. The real assassin had also shown up in the same location earlier, as if to scout it out, to further the deception.

* Turns out that the houses in Iraq that the [[Series/ArrestedDevelopment Bluth]] company built were housing a group of UsefulNotes/{{Saddam|Hussein}} doubles. [[spoiler:Though one on of them may be the real Saddam and a double was killed in his place.]]

* Used several times in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' [[spoiler:this is the endgame twist. The player character in ''The Phantom Pain'' is not Naked Snake who was the protagonist in the previous prequels (including ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes Ground Zeroes]]''), but rather an MSF Medic (the same one who extracted the bomb from Paz in the closing sequence of ''Ground Zeroes'') who become his double. While Naked Snake builds up the nation of Outer Heaven off-screen, Venom Snake lead the Diamond Dogs in order to build up his legend in your own way, in addition to seeking retribution for the events of ''Ground Zeroes''. By the end, Naked Snake acknowledges that Venom is just as worthy of the title as he is, and it turns out that Venom did become the Big Boss of the original ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'', whereas Naked Snake is the Big Boss in ''Videogame/MetalGear2SolidSnake''.]]

* In ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', the "Doppleganger" character is a body-double for Jack. His real name is Timothy Lawrence, who took the job out of desperation because of his crushing student debt, and was surgically altered to look and sound like Jack (with implications that they also implanted a bomb in him that would explode if he ever tried to get the surgery reversed). However, he is very much his own person, and while he is required by law to act and talk like Jack (and even has a contractual clause that forbids him from using his real name), he proves to be far more morally sound compared to the real Jack, especially after he [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumps off the slippery slope]] halfway through the game. The "Handsome Jackpot" DLC of ''Videogame/Borderlands3'' reveals that Timothy actually survived past Jack's death and has been stuck in an abandoned casino built by Jack where he's hunted down by the survivors due to both his appearance and the fact that he has a VIP Pass grafted to his hand that can grant anyone full access to the casino's systems.
** In ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', the player is required to kill a body double of Jack in order to snatch a piece of Jack's DNA for a disguise. Unlike the above however, this one is just a regular Engineer mook using a holographic disguise, and doesn't sound ''at all'' like the real Jack.

* In ''Videogame/Dishonored2'', Duke Luca Abele has a body double living within his personal estate. If the player can find him... [[spoiler:he'll agree to replace the duke by taking his medallion and have the real one arrested, telling the guards that his "body double" went mad and believes he's the real thing. Luckily, he proves to be a far better ruler than the real thing]].

%%* Prince Philip in ''Film/PrincessOfThieves''.

* A ''BattleTechExpandedUniverse'' novel shows Joshua Marik, son of ruler of the Free Worlds League Thomas Marik, dying of leukemia on the capitol of Federated Commonwealth, New Avalon. Thomas' legitimized daughter Isis is betrothed to Sun-Tzu Liao, who has a massive chip on his shoulder towards the Commonwealth and, should the marriage go forward, likely waste no time in mobilizing the Free Worlds' League and his own Capellan Confederation against the [=FedCom=], distracting them from the still-present threat of the invading Clans. So Victor Steiner-Davion, ruler of the Federated Commonwealth, goes through with a plan his father Hanse had initiated to replace Joshua with a body double, letting everyone think he's still alive. Notably, the plan was never for this imposter Joshua to assume the throne of the Free Worlds' League as a PuppetKing, but rather just to buy time and keep Thomas Marik nominally an ally. Of course, once the plan comes to light, everyone assumes that's exactly what Victor had intended, half his own realm turns against him and a not-so-minor war kicks up. [[spoiler:And Thomas Marik himself was an imposter installed by [=ComStar=], with the real Thomas Marik still alive elsewhere, a fact which would have dire consequences for the [=BattleTech=] universe in the near future.]]

** Interestingly, [[=DePalma=] came up with the basic idea for this movie while working with an actual body double: for Angie Dickinson in the infamous shower scene in ''Film/DressedToKill''.

** Similarly, after Boris Yeltsin left politics there were some theories about how he actually [[VodkaDrunkenski drank himself to death]] in 1999 and the Yeltsin that lived until 2006 was a body double.

* Creator/JackHiggins'' is fond of this in his works:

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', aspirant singer Meer Campbell fills this role for Lacus Clyne, [[spoiler:though she's actually working for the BigBad, who has told her that she'll be able to help keep the fragile peace if she poses as Lacus]]. Meer eventually begins to crack under all the stress and self-esteem problems, deciding that she doesn't care that she's being used to further Durandal's goals and only wants to continue to pretend being Lacus [[IJustWantToBeLoved since nobody loves Meer herself]]. [[spoiler: Lacus herself faces Meer and manages to talk her out of it... only for poor Meer to be [[RedemptionEqualsDeath shot to death]] while TakingTheBullet for Lacus and perish in her arms.]]

* In ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'', [[spoiler: Rosemary becomes Nadja's Body Double and the accomplice of SmugSnake Hermann.]]

* [[spoiler: Dix-Neuf Noinheim]] from the ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' novel ''Frozen Teardrop'' was this for his brother-in-law, [[spoiler: Milliardo Peacecraft aka Zechs Merquise. And was killed for it, [[DecoyGetaway but his sacrifice let Zechs escape safely]].]]

** In an early case, Kogoro is given the supposedly easy work of spying on a certain man in exchange for a large sum of money... but in a subversion, said man turns out to be a Body Double. [[spoiler: The guy that said actor is impersonating? He's found dead some days later -- and the dude who hired Kogoro not only is the killer, but he ''[[UnwittingPawn he had used Kogoro to have an alibi for said murder]]''. Kogoro really hates being lied to, so he's understandably pissed off but has no evidence to get to him. Of course, the murderer ultimately doesn't pass through Conan's deducing skills.]]
** Again subverted in a {{filler}} case where [[spoiler: the Body Double ''was the killer''. She was an aspiring actress who worked as the double for a famous idol, then her envy and jealousy peaked to the point of killing her boss, hiding her body, and then impersonating her until the dead woman was found and everyone believed she had commited suicide. Again, Conan easily saw through her.]]
** Played straighter in the "Fake Wedding" case, where Yumi and Takagi have to be body doubles for a soo-to-be married couple who have been threatened by a SerialKiller. [[spoiler: Then Yumi's best friend/Takagi's girlfriend Sato switches places with Yumi, having deduced the killer's identity and fearing that he will harm Yumi... and since said culprit is soon found out ''and he attacks her while she's still posing as the bride'', [[KickingAssInAllHerFinery it's a good thing]].]] Sato does this [[spoiler: again]] in a later case, where she covers up for [[spoiler: her IdenticalStranger and Shiratori's soon-to-be girlfriend Sumiko Kobayashi, who is being targetted by a killer who wants to silence her because s{{he knows too much}}.]]
** In the "Heiji Hattori in the Vampire Mansion" case, [[spoiler: Kazuha Touyama switches places with the maid Hikaru so she and Ran can catch the culprit that is after her.]]

** In ''Manga/HonooNoAlpenRose'', [[spoiler: Toulonchamp's BatmanGambit relies on using [[DaddysLittleVillain his daughter Mathilda]] as one of these, acting as the stand-in for the lead female Jeudi. Jeudi herself went missing as a little girl in an horrible accident that left her mother Helene Durant with severe physical and psychological consequences, and Mathilda's mission is to make the almost blind Helene believe that ''she'' is the real Jeudi; meanwhile, Toulonchamp forces the Durant family to do whatever he wants on the threat of taking Mathilda away, which would send Helene into a DeathByDespair. [[SpannerInTheWorks Too bad that Jeudi showed up anyway...]] ]]
** In ''Manga/{{Amakusa 1637}}'', the plot heavily leans on lead female Natsuki becoming one of these for a local swordsman, Shirou. [[spoiler: Yes, she's one for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amakusa_Shiro THAT Shiro]]. Who in this story, is actually dead.]]

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the Survey Corps use Jean and Armin as body doubles for [[spoiler: Eren and Historia/Krista]] when necessary, due to the latter's LivingMacGuffin status.

** A popular fan theory is that this explains [=CereCere=]/[[spoiler: Sailor Ceres]]'s resemblance to Chibiusa: she's meant to be Chibiusa's decoy should the need arise.

* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'': Shigeshige has had many body doubles from when he was a child. [[spoiler: He switched places with one to save the clan of bodyguards when he was injured.]]

* In ''Manga/SleepyPrincessInTheDemonCastle'', Princess Syalis recruits Bussy the succubus as her body double after noticing how much they resemble each other. The training includes all of the princess's usual activities, like slaughtering ghost shrouds and even attacking high-ranking demons. The rememblance is strong enough to even fool [[spoiler: Syalis's mother, Queen Aurora Nem Lis Goodereste]] during an excursion to the human capital.
** This is pretty much always played for laughs, as it's mostly Syalis and Bussy who are convinced they're doubles. While having the same height, build, facial structure, and similar hairstyles, their eyes, hair ''colors'', skin tone, body language, and personalities are all quite different. Bussy can pass for the princess while wearing her clothes, addressing a crowd at a distance (lip-synching) and in the company of somebody vouching for her, but there's only one time anybody who knew either of them was clearly fooled, and it's developed [[spoiler: that most of Syalis's family are surprisingly okay with her kidnapping so Queen Aurora was almost certainly entertaining herself at Bussy's expense and helping her get away with it]].

* ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}} had a [[http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2003-04-09/ brief strip or three]] where the boss turns Asok into one to avoid decisions.

* In the ''ComicBook/YokoTsuno'' story "The Prey and the Shadow", [[spoiler: a secretary named Margaret is blackmailed into becoming the double of Cecilia, her boss's unstable adoptive daughter. As time passes, she's more and more aware that something ''horrible'' will happen, but she's completely trapped in the web of lies that her boss extended around her. Once the titular ActionGirl and her PowerTrio spend a night in the boss's castle, Margaret confides on her so they can both save Cecilia from her "father" ''and'' free Margaret from him as well.]]

* In the first issue of ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'', Batman takes on who he thinks is ComicBook/TheJoker wearing a red hood at the ACE Chemical Plant. [[spoiler: He pulls the hood off to reveal Harley Quinn]]!

* ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'': [[spoiler: Young lord Noriyuki]] had one who was identical in all but voice, and he never said a word even as he was dying; two other "doubles" turned out to be dolls. Usagi hated the idea of people dying because they didn't know they were only protecting a doll even though he understood how their ignorance helped keep the "original" safe; later [[DramaticIrony he used the same trick which caused someone to die trying to protect a doll because he was trying to keep the "original" safe]].

* Mary Hoffmans' ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}'' has this in the first book, as the [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Duchessa of Belleza]] uses different doubles for all the flashy ceremonies, such as the Marriage with the Sea. She began this procedure when [[spoiler: she became pregnant with her daughter, Arianna.]] One such double thinks she can outsmart the Duchessa, rat out her secret, and throw her lot in with the di Chimici with no ill consequences. She's wrong.)
* In one of Francoise Rivier and Michel Laponte's ''Jonathan Cap'' books, [[spoiler: a dangerous {{plan}} to overthrow an Arabian Sheik depends on one of these, a Middle-Eastern OrdinaryHighschoolStudent named Jamil who is forced by the terrorist group to serve as the double to the Crown Prince (whom they plan to kidnap, kill, and then replace with the kid, whom they have trapped in a complicated web of lies to make sure he can't escape). Coincidentally, the BigBad chooses a Parisian private clinic as its hideout since the gambit's supposed to take place during the Prince's visit to France, and a girl named Juliette is operated there... and [[SpannerInTheWorks she happens to be the best friend]] of Jonathan's {{Kid Sidekick}}s and nephews Alex and Nico...]]
** Used in a lighter note afterwards. [[spoiler: Once the deal is defused and Jamil is released from his captors's control, the Crown Prince forgives him on grounds of having been ForcedIntoEvil without any way out. ''Then'' he makes Jamil replace him during the official activities in Paris, therefore making him a full-blooded Body Double, while he goes outside to have fun with Alex, Nico and a girl named Elisabeth who had also been forced to help the group.]]

** In book 2 (''Blood and Honor''), Jordan, an actor, is hired to serve as one for Prince Viktor of Redheart, so nobody will know the real Viktor is unavailable. [[spoiler: The transformation into an exact physical duplicate proves to be ''so'' effective that it gives him the same royal Blood as the original Viktor, granting him Viktor's fire magic and letting him pass the blood test issued by the Stone of Redheart, thus letting him become king.]]

* Turns out that the houses in Iraq that the [[Series/ArrestedDevelopment Bluth]] company built were housing a group of UsefulNotes/{{Saddam|Hussein}} doubles. [[spoiler: Though one on of them may be the real Saddam and a double was killed in his place.]]

* In ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', Ken Lawson was Burton Harris' body double -- and ended up being put into V2 for his pains. Burton, of course, then managed to land himself in V3 too. [[spoiler: Both ended up getting killed.]]

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'': [[spoiler: [[DiscOneFinalBoss Hades]] has a body double whom he uses to host a meeting with several KVA supporters/officials. The team sent in to assassinate him don't figure this out until ''after'' the imposter has been shot, and right before a bomb goes off in the room they're in.]]
* Used for Sakaki Joushiro's backstory in the ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' games (more exactly, Warrior's Rage). [[spoiler: With a twist, though! The body double was not ''him'' but his girlfriend Karen, an ActionGirl who posed as a princess's double... but was killed by the BigBad Oboro. Joushiro got wrongfully blamed for all of it and now he's a runaway.]]

* In ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'', Jeanne's childhood friend Lianne is forced to do this for Jeanne [[spoiler: after she disappears and is believed to be dead.]] Ultimately, [[spoiler: ''Liane'' is the one who [[BurnTheWitch is burned at the stake]], [[BreaktheCutie much to Jeanne's horror]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'', the titular Nikki pulls this for her IdenticalStranger Bai Jinjin, [[spoiler: when her OverprotectiveDad's envoys try to kidnap her back into her rich home ''and'' take a hold of some ''very'' important items that she supposedly took with her when she ran away.]]

** On another occasion, Homer was a licensed lookalike for Krusty (similar to Bozo's licensees) and unknowingly became mistaken for him when the latter was being targeted by the mob.[[note]]This also serves as a dual LampshadeHanging of their similar physical appearances and a DevelopmentGag, since Matt Groening originally intended to have Krusty and Homer be one in the same, the irony being that Bart worshiped Krusty but disrespected his dad not knowing they were the same person[[/note]].

** In an early case, Kogoro is given the supposedly easy work of spying on a certain man in exchange for a large sum of money... but in a subversion, said man turns out to be a Body Double. [[spoiler: The guy that said actor is impersonating? He's found dead some days later -- and the dude who hired Kogoro not only is the killer, but he ''[[UnwittingPawn he had used Kogoro to have an alibi for said murder]]''. Kogoro [[BerserkButton really hates being lied to]], so he's understandably pissed off but has no evidence to get to him. Of course, the murderer ultimately doesn't pass through Conan's deducing skills.]]