History Main / PoorMansSubstitute

** 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.

* 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, but according to Wikipedia was only willing to do the script Sellers had co-written as a GrandFinale, ''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.

** Also, James Cromwell and James Rebhorn are more or less interchangeable.
*** Not so much any more what with Rebhorn's death.

* 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 Downey's popularity appears to have made this PoorMansSubstitute too expensive for shooting flashback scenes in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''.

* 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.

* Some fans of ''Series/BreakingBad'' refer to Creator/JessePlemons' character Todd as "[[Creator/MattDamon Meth Damon]]".

** In ''Film/CarryOnGirls'', it's really obvious that the Cecil Gaybody role was meant to be either Hawtrey or Creator/KennethWilliams. Creator/JimmyLogan winds up doing a pale imitation of both.

* After being TheOtherDarrin to Creator/RogerMoore in ''Series/TheSaint'', Ian Oglivy was frequently cast as TuxedoAndMartini secret agents, playing [[YouLookFamiliar several such characters]] in ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' alone.

* 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 in Hitchcock's own ''Film/TheBirds'' (with Creator/TippiHedren doing her best Creator/GraceKelly impression).

* Creator/EizaGonzalez is considered by some to be a poor man's Creator/AnaDeArmas.

* 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.

*** That being said, during Giacchino's early years in the late 90s it was the reversal, with ''him'' being the poor man's Joel [=McNeely=] for the video game industry such as ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' and small film and television projects such the Creator/ScarlettJohansson kids comedy ''My Brother the Pig'' or the telefilm sequel to ''Film/{{Phenomenon}}''.

* Creator/RodTaylor is essentially a poor man's Creator/CaryGrant.

* Creator/JamesRodayRodriguez practically is Creator/BenStiller in ''Film/TheDukesOfHazzard'' [[TheMovie movie]].

* Creator/ChrisRock did an infamous rant on this subject during his UsefulNotes/{{Academy Awards|Ceremonies}} host monologue. He actually called people in the room poor men's substitutes (for other people in the room).

* 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 UsefulNotes/{{Academy Awards|Ceremonies}} that "I’m Amy Schumer—or as they know me in Hollywood, ‘Creator/MelissaMcCarthy said no’".

* The UsefulNotes/AtariST got this reputation in the U.S. as one to the UsefulNotes/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 UsefulNotes/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).

** Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' where King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, voiced by Creator/MauriceLaMarche and Creator/JenniferLee, respectively in the first movie, are now voiced respectively instead by Creator/AlfredMolina and Creator/EvanRachelWood.

** 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.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariST got this reputation in the U.S. as one to the UsefulNotes/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 UsefulNotes/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.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariST got this reputation in the U.S. as one to the UsefulNotes/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 UsefulNotes/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 UsefulNotes/CommodoreAmiga, also considered a poor man's Mac, due to their similarities.

* ''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 "Wayne Rogers Effect", after the actor who replaced Elliott Gould in the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{MASH}}''. The conversation gets a bit awkward when Crow points out that Gypsy's CelebCrush Richard Basehart (from ''Series/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea'') was really the replacement for Walter Pigeon [[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.

* Can't get Creator/ChrisRock or Creator/WillSmith to voice a character for you? Then leave to it Creator/PhilLamarr.

* 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 [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible the eccentric theatrical flair]]). So, possibly an inversion.

** When Michael Angelis 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}}.

** 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/TheBoys Lennertz]] can be now considered to be the poor man's Robert Folk for recent comedy projects.

* 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.)

** Creator/SamWitwer as a VA stand-in for Creator/IanMcDiarmid as Palpatine.

** Matt Sloan (the voice of WebVideo/ChadVader) is the go-to VA stand in for Creator/JamesEarlJones as Darth Vader

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Parodied. In ''The Amazing Spider-Man #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".
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Rusty refers to Baron Underbite as a "dime store Comicbook/DoctorDoom."

* Rare fictional example - in the 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".

* Can't get Tony Anselmo to voice WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck? Daniel Ross is your man.

** When Michael Angelis 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 Angelis. 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}}.

** When Michael Angelis 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 sounds almost exactly like Angelis. 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}}.

** When Michael Angelis started narrating the original UK version of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', 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 sounds almost exactly like Angelis. 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}}.