Being an actor can be a difficult job. There’s little job security, there are critics scrutinising your work, and for the vast majority of those in the industry the pay is lousy. Every so often, however, a lucky actor will break through the pack and become a ‘Star’. Those anointed reach a point at which they may escape certain drudgeries of the profession. For the movie star, the uncomfortable parts of acting are allocated to others. 

These uncomfortable parts may be the roles that are physically taxing; requiring extreme fitness and coordination or roles which are slightly embarrassing; requiring a bare backside or breast to be revealed, and the biggest obstacle most movie actors face is incredible boredom; the hours waiting around on set can be mind numbing. Luckily, for famous movie stars none of these difficulties need to be handled personally. This is where the stunt double, the stand in, and the body double enter. They work while the movie star relaxes in their trailer. 

The stunt double’s role is fairly well known. Fans may have once been disappointed to find out that Errol Flynn wasn’t actually throwing himself off banisters and clifftops for their entertainment, but it is now mostly understood that professional stunt performers execute much of the perfectly choreographed fights and acrobatics on screen today (You may take solace in the fact that Tom Cruise DOES routinely hurl himself into his own explosions. We wouldn’t have it any other way). Less glamorous stunt double duties may also include more mundane tasks like on-screen piano playing, skiing, driving, or even dancing for the star. Natalie Portman’s dance double for Black Swan made a lot of noise earlier this year, claiming that her role was underestimated by the press. While Portman’s people claimed that she did most of the dancing herself, Sarah Lane, her dance double, insisted Portman only did 5% of the final dancing seen (I’m not sure what she was complaining about. If someone mistook my body for Natalie Portman’s I’d be thrilled).

The Stand in’s job is slightly different. Each shot in a film can take hours to set up. Shots must be blocked, lighting must be set, and camera angles must be determined. Often, all this hoopla, plus an entire day shooting, will only result in twenty seconds worth of footage making it to the final cut, so over the course of production actors wait around a lot. Someone of the actor’s height, shape, and colouring must be present for all these elements to be set just right. Unfortunately for most actors this person is themselves and they must stand dutifully on their mark while everyone else prepares. Movie stars, on the other hand, are far too special for all of this hanging around so a stand in; of exactly their height, shape, and colouring; is hired to do the standing around for them. Many big-name actors have stand-ins they have worked with for years. Robin Williams has used the same man, Adam Bryant, as a stand in for 20 years. Occasionally Bryant also managed to score a small extras role in William’s films.

The body double fills in for bashful stars who would rather not show their naked body. Just when the sexy star starts lowering their bra strap the body double, who can’t wait to be naked; subs in and does their naked thing. The star brings the talent, the body double brings the nipples. Body doubles may also be used for necessary cutaway shots like a hand answering a telephone or a foot going into a boot so the studio or producer doesn’t have to pay the star’s enormous fee for a day of shooting only their elbow.

The work of a stunt double takes rigorous training and unwavering devotion to the craft, but body doubles and stand ins need only have one skill; looking similar to a movie star. Making your living out of being a doppelganger sounds like a pretty sweet ride but like most careers based on looks a body double must at some point in their career diversify or face oblivion. 

Shelly Michelle proudly declares herself to be The World’s Most Famous Body Double. Her website proudly declares her success doubling for various Hollywood stars. She played Julia Roberts’s various bits in Pretty Woman. According to Shelly Michelle it is her body in the montage at the beginning of the film in which the title character dresses in her stylish prostitute uniform. Through a series of close ups we see Michelle’s foot, hip, and shoulder, not, as many would believe, Julia Robert’s foot, hip, and shoulder. It is still unclear whether it is actually Robert’s legs in the tub scene or if Michelle was under the water upside down with a snorkle. Michelle has also played Kim Basinger’s bits in Final Analysis, and Barbra Streisand’s in The Prince of Tides. 

Shelly Michelle hasn’t relied on coyly clothed movie stars alone for her bread and butter. Her website proudly declares she is a “celebrity” (inverted commas her own. I’m not sure she has the courage of her convictions). Here are the several avenues, according to her own website, Shelly Michelle is currently walking with her “insured for $1 million by Lloyds of London” legs. 

(Each point is marked with an astonished face, :O  because that’s how impressed I am).


:O She has released a fitness line!

Who better to endorse a fitness product than someone who is famous for having a body. The line is called “Body Perfect” and is the culminate point of years starring in fitness informercials including a spot for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s home gym. She is mad for fitness and according to her website (the designer of which seems to be mad for inverted commas) she is 'currently studying authentic “Thai boxing” under a “World Champion” trainer'. Sus.

:O She is a singer!
Wow. This song! This video! In Shelly Michelle’s song ‘Body Double’ she celebrates her career. I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say she wrote the lyrics for this song too. The Dancing at 1:30 is outstanding.

video is reasonably safe for work, but pretty embarrassing to be caught watching in any context.

:O She is a ‘Leading expert beauty consultant’!
Apparently

:O She wrote a book!
Shelly Michelle’s website doesn’t say much about her book, Confessions of a Body Double, but it does have her name on the cover twice, so that’s something.


 :O She’s done soft-core porn!
Perhaps this one is a given. What Galaxy Hunter appears to lack in original plot it makes up in boobs, and lines like “he’s the nastiest son of a bitch this side of Neptune”. This trailer is all kinds of brilliant.

NSFW