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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilarityEnsue, but let's just say it Didn't End Well for either of them.
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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilarityEnsue, did this guarantee that HilarityEnsues, but let's just say it Didn't End Well for either of them.
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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilarityyEnsue, but let's just say it Didn't End Well for either of them.
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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilarityyEnsue, HilarityEnsue, but let's just say it Didn't End Well for either of them.
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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilaryEnsue, but let's just say it Didn't End Well.
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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilaryEnsue, HilarityyEnsue, but let's just say it Didn't End Well.Well for either of them.
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* ''TheFlintstones'' had Fred fill in for a prominent billionaire who ran off to play hooky for a day. Not only did HilaryEnsue, but let's just say it Didn't End Well.
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* Played for laughs in ''{{Blackadder}}'', when a woman comes to see her condemned husband but Blackadder has already has him executed ahead of schedule, and so Blackadder himself has to impersonate him. With the aid of [[PaperThinDisguise a bag over his head]].
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** And reused in the Creator/RobertAHeinlein novel ''DoubleStar'', also known as ThePrisonerOfZenda...''InSpace!''
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** And reused in the Creator/RobertAHeinlein novel ''DoubleStar'', ''Literature/DoubleStar'', also known as ThePrisonerOfZenda...''InSpace!''
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* The {{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'' does this, with [[AC:Death]] impersonating the Hogfather (the local equivalent of SantaClaus). It's also the plot of ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'', with Mort impersonating [[AC:Death]].
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* The {{Discworld}} Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'' does this, with [[AC:Death]] impersonating the Hogfather (the local equivalent of SantaClaus). It's also the plot of ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'', with Mort impersonating [[AC:Death]].
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* In ''BobAndGeorge'', [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000507c Dr. Light decides to force the Author to serve as Megaman.]]
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* This is the basic premise for Creator/AkiraKurosawa's movie ''{{Kagemusha}}'', where the thief disguises himself as the warlord.
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* This is the basic premise for Creator/AkiraKurosawa's movie ''{{Kagemusha}}'', ''Film/{{Kagemusha}}'', where the thief disguises himself as the warlord.
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A World Wide Punomenon cleanup. Incredibly Lame Pun is the pothole magnet; World Of Pun is for worlds that use many puns
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* In one {{Goofy}} short, "[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]", Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
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* In one {{Goofy}} short, "[[AWorldwidePunomenon "[[IncrediblyLamePun A Knight For a Day]]", Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
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* Probably one of the weirdest versions of this trope is in the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The Host", which is the introductory episode of the Trill. The Trill ambassador is killed in an attack, but his symbiote is still alive. However, no other Trill is able to make it before it dies, so Commander Riker has the symbiote implanted in him. Thus, Riker is forced to carry out the ambassador's mission, which is a slight problem when the factions that requested the ambassador see him.
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* Probably one of the weirdest versions of this trope is in the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The Host", which is the introductory episode of the Trill. The Trill ambassador is killed in an attack, but his symbiote is still alive. However, no other Trill is able to make it before it dies, so Commander Riker has the symbiote implanted in him. Thus, Riker is forced to carry out the ambassador's mission, which is a slight problem when the factions that requested the ambassador see him.
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* Played slightly straighter, only with time travel in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s "[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Past Tense]]", where Sisko's presence in the past caused the premature death of an important historical figure a few days before he was supposed to die heroically, then has to impersonate him.
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* Played slightly straighter, only with time travel in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s "[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Past Tense]]", where Sisko's presence in the past caused the premature death of an important historical figure a few days before he was supposed to die heroically, then has to impersonate him.
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** And reused in the RobertAHeinlein novel ''DoubleStar'', also known as ThePrisonerOfZenda...''InSpace!''
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** And reused in the RobertAHeinlein Creator/RobertAHeinlein novel ''DoubleStar'', also known as ThePrisonerOfZenda...''InSpace!''
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* This is the basic premise for AkiraKurosawa's movie ''{{Kagemusha}}'', where the thief disguises himself as the warlord.
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* This is the basic premise for AkiraKurosawa's Creator/AkiraKurosawa's movie ''{{Kagemusha}}'', where the thief disguises himself as the warlord.
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* ''The Mad King'' by EdgarRiceBurroughs is very similar to ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' except that at the end [[spoiler: the hero gets to marry the princess and remain as king after the real king is murdered]].
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* ''The Mad King'' by EdgarRiceBurroughs Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs is very similar to ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' except that at the end [[spoiler: the hero gets to marry the princess and remain as king after the real king is murdered]].
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The former trope name comes from [[{{Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise}} the title of an episode]] of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' which used an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this plot, wherein the title character went missing and was impersonated by a member of the supporting cast. It might also be considered a subversion, as the missing character ended up learning absolutely nothing.
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The former trope name comes from [[{{Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise}} [[Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise the title of an episode]] of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' which used an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this plot, wherein the title character went missing and was impersonated by a member of the supporting cast. It might also be considered a subversion, as the missing character ended up learning absolutely nothing.
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* This is the entire plot of the manga ''{{Magical x Miracle}}''.
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* This is the entire plot of the manga ''{{Magical x Miracle}}''.''MagicalXMiracle''.
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* MelBrooks' film ''{{History of the World Part I}}'' uses this trope near the end, when the urinal boy replaces Louis XVI (both played by Brooks). Origin of the phrase, "It's good to be the king." Or, at least, origin of its entrance into pop culture.
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* MelBrooks' Creator/MelBrooks' film ''{{History of the World Part I}}'' ''HistoryOfTheWorldPartI'' uses this trope near the end, when the urinal boy replaces Louis XVI (both played by Brooks). Origin of the phrase, "It's good to be the king." Or, at least, origin of its entrance into pop culture.
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* In the second CodexAlera novel Max winds up having to impersonate the First Lord using [[VoluntaryShapeshifting watercrafting]] after he collapses from exhaustion so the First Lord's enemies won't realize he's incapacitated.
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* In the second CodexAlera novel Max winds up having to impersonate the First Lord using [[VoluntaryShapeshifting watercrafting]] after he collapses from exhaustion so the First Lord's enemies won't realize he's incapacitated.
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* ''[[HogansHeroes Hogan's Heroes]]'' does this ''three times''. The first is when Kinch impersonates an African prince, the second when Crittendon impersonates an English traitor, and the third in reverse where the heroes help a German defector, who looks exactly like Schultz, escape by dressing him up in Schultz' uniform.
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* ''[[HogansHeroes Hogan's Heroes]]'' ''HogansHeroes'' does this ''three times''. The first is when Kinch impersonates an African prince, the second when Crittendon impersonates an English traitor, and the third in reverse where the heroes help a German defector, who looks exactly like Schultz, escape by dressing him up in Schultz' uniform.
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* In ''Series/{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'', Willow impersonates the captured alternate universe Willow to get her mooks to go outside.
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* In ''Series/{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'', ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Willow impersonates the captured alternate universe Willow to get her mooks to go outside.
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* In KeithLaumer's ''Worlds of the Imperium'', the protagonist is dragooned by agents from the Imperium's AlternateHistory to replace a dictator (the version of himself from a third AlternateHistory). [[spoiler: The dictator lost both legs to war wounds, a fact kept secret from the public. The impersonation thus fails immediately when the protagonist is seen by someone who has actually met the dictator.]]
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* In KeithLaumer's Creator/KeithLaumer's ''Worlds of the Imperium'', the protagonist is dragooned by agents from the Imperium's AlternateHistory to replace a dictator (the version of himself from a third AlternateHistory). [[spoiler: The dictator lost both legs to war wounds, a fact kept secret from the public. The impersonation thus fails immediately when the protagonist is seen by someone who has actually met the dictator.]]
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* In AAMilne[='=]s play ''The Ugly Duckling'', the prince and princess who are supposed to marry are both so plain that they have better-looking servants stand in for them at the betrothal. (At the actual wedding they plan to be wearing full armor and a face-obscuring veil, respectively.)
* In ''TheTamingOfTheShrew'', a servant, Tranio, switches clothes with and fills in for his master, Lucentio, as part of a classic ZanyScheme. Later, he pushes the scheme further by getting another character to impersonate Lucentio's father.
* In ''TheTamingOfTheShrew'', a servant, Tranio, switches clothes with and fills in for his master, Lucentio, as part of a classic ZanyScheme. Later, he pushes the scheme further by getting another character to impersonate Lucentio's father.
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* In AAMilne[='=]s Creator/AAMilne[='=]s play ''The Ugly Duckling'', the prince and princess who are supposed to marry are both so plain that they have better-looking servants stand in for them at the betrothal. (At the actual wedding they plan to be wearing full armor and a face-obscuring veil, respectively.)
* In''TheTamingOfTheShrew'', ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'', a servant, Tranio, switches clothes with and fills in for his master, Lucentio, as part of a classic ZanyScheme. Later, he pushes the scheme further by getting another character to impersonate Lucentio's father.
* In
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* The ''GetSmart'' episode "The King Lives?".
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* The ''GetSmart'' ''Series/GetSmart'' episode "The King Lives?".
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* The {{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'' does this, with [[AC:Death]] impersonating the Hogfather (the local equivalent of SantaClaus). It's also the plot of ''Mort'', with Mort impersonating [[AC:Death]].
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* The {{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'' does this, with [[AC:Death]] impersonating the Hogfather (the local equivalent of SantaClaus). It's also the plot of ''Mort'', ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'', with Mort impersonating [[AC:Death]].
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* In ''DeathNote'', this is played with - all the relevant major characters know about the deception, and it's all in all a pretty twisted case of the trope.
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* In ''DeathNote'', ''Manga/DeathNote'', this is played with - all the relevant major characters know about the deception, and it's all in all a pretty twisted case of the trope.
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* An episode of ''TheJamieKennedyExperiment'' had the mark told he bore a striking resemblance to a foreign prince who was too hung over to appear at a press conference, and was asked to take his place.
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* In the second CodexAlera novel Max winds up having to impersonate the First Lord using [[VoluntaryShapeshifting watercrafting]] after he collapses from exhaustion so the First Lord's enemies won't realize he's incapacitated.
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no longer trope namer
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* The ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[TropeNamer Guise Will Be Guise]]", in which Wesley is forced to play the part of the missing Angel. (Considering that this story kicks off Wesley's years-long transformation from comic relief to tragic hero, this might be be the most successful impersonation in history.)
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* The ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[TropeNamer Guise "Guise Will Be Guise]]", Guise", in which Wesley is forced to play the part of the missing Angel. (Considering that this story kicks off Wesley's years-long transformation from comic relief to tragic hero, this might be be the most successful impersonation in history.)
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* In an ''{{Airwolf}}'' episode, the pilot was recruited to fly a plane during an air show while the look-alike Soviet pilot was debriefed by the Firm to see if he actually wanted to defect. Unfortunately the Soviets got wind of it, brought his wife to threaten him, the pilot and the wife got kidnapped. . . .
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* Happens in ''Hair'' (the movie): George Berger impersonates Claude Hooper Bukowski to extract Claude from the base for a last meeting with Sheila, taking his place, but while Claude is away, [[spoiler:the unit flies out to Vietnam, taking Berger with them. [[TearJerker The film ends with the main cast singing at Berger's grave.]] Damn you, Milos Forman!]]
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* In one {{Goofy}} short ''[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]'', Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
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* In one {{Goofy}} short ''[[AWorldwidePunomenon short, "[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]'', Day]]", Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
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* The ''[[SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman]]'' animated series episode "Knight Time" uses this plot, with Batman disappearing, and Superman putting on his costume. Bane sure picked the wrong episode to return in...
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* The ''[[SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman]]'' animated series ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Knight Time" uses this plot, with Batman disappearing, and Superman putting on his costume. Bane sure picked the wrong episode to return in...
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* In one [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Goofy]] short ''[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]'', Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
* In a ''DannyPhantom'' episode, Tucker and Sam took turns dressing as Danny Fenton to ensure his parents of his whereabouts since the ''real'' Danny is currently stuck in ghost mode. They had to keep running away, declaring "a ghost took their face" since...well, his parents would probably notice that they're respectively a different race and gender than their actual son.
* In a ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode, their dad accidentally gets into Perry's secret base and has his memory wiped. [[AnimalSuperhero Perry]] has to stand in for him at Candace's Father/Daughter Competition in a robot version of him that [[TheIntern Carl]] had made "[[CrazyPrepared just for this type of situation]]."
* In a ''DannyPhantom'' episode, Tucker and Sam took turns dressing as Danny Fenton to ensure his parents of his whereabouts since the ''real'' Danny is currently stuck in ghost mode. They had to keep running away, declaring "a ghost took their face" since...well, his parents would probably notice that they're respectively a different race and gender than their actual son.
* In a ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode, their dad accidentally gets into Perry's secret base and has his memory wiped. [[AnimalSuperhero Perry]] has to stand in for him at Candace's Father/Daughter Competition in a robot version of him that [[TheIntern Carl]] had made "[[CrazyPrepared just for this type of situation]]."
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* In one [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Goofy]] {{Goofy}} short ''[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]'', Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
* In a''DannyPhantom'' ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' episode, Tucker and Sam took turns dressing as Danny Fenton to ensure his parents of his whereabouts since the ''real'' Danny is currently stuck in ghost mode. They had to keep running away, declaring "a ghost took their face" since...well, his parents would probably notice that they're respectively a different race and gender than their actual son.
* In a''PhineasAndFerb'' ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode, their dad accidentally gets into Perry's secret base and has his memory wiped. [[AnimalSuperhero Perry]] has to stand in for him at Candace's Father/Daughter Competition in a robot version of him that [[TheIntern Carl]] had made "[[CrazyPrepared just for this type of situation]]."
* In a
* In a
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The trope name comes from [[{{Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise}} the title of an episode]] of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' which used an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this plot, wherein the title character went missing and was impersonated by a member of the supporting cast. It might also be considered a subversion, as the missing character ended up learning absolutely nothing.
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The former trope name comes from [[{{Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise}} the title of an episode]] of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' which used an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this plot, wherein the title character went missing and was impersonated by a member of the supporting cast. It might also be considered a subversion, as the missing character ended up learning absolutely nothing.
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* Near the end of ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'', the heroic army is StormingTheCastle of the villains, but Prince Josua and Sir Camaris unexpectedly end up sneaking in via the tunnels -- in Camaris' case because he is [[ClingyMacguffin compelled by the]] Great Sword he is carrying and Josua because he wants to try to persuade Camaris to return (and another, more personal reason). This leaves the army without its two main leaders, so the remaining ones quickly grab two lookalikes, dress them appropriately, and send them off to lead instead.
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A secondary character of some importance in the world at large has disappeared or been rendered incapable of performing his usual duties: they've been kidnapped, or have run away, or they might have even died. Someone else (usually one of the program's leads) finds themself dragooned into service; they must impersonate the missing person during some critical event or meeting...or for much longer.
While sometimes the impostor receives sufficient briefing and/or real-time aid to bring off the deception seamlessly, it's more common for time or other constraints to prevent this seemingly necessary step. In a comedic setting, naturally, HilarityEnsues; in more dramatic locales, the results can be anything from painfully embarrassing to potentially fatal.
Eventually the missing person (if they aren't deceased) is recovered, but often only after they learn AnAesop about some aspect of the world which was hidden from them in their usual role.
Compare with PrinceAndPauper and DecoyLeader. Closely related to ElCidPloy and YouWillBeBeethoven.
The trope name comes from [[{{Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise}} the title of an episode]] of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' which used an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this plot, wherein the title character went missing and was impersonated by a member of the supporting cast. It might also be considered a subversion, as the missing character ended up learning absolutely nothing.
However, the fact that this plot comes from the classic novel, ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', makes it at least OlderThanRadio.
Usually -- but not always -- involves an IdenticalStranger. See also BodyDouble and MockMillionaire.
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* In ''ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'', Makoto Mizuhara is forced to impersonate the missing Princess Fatora until she is rescued. He pulls this off [[{{Bishonen}} with surprising ease]].
* In episode 12 of ''{{Mai-Otome}}'', Mashiro runs away rather than meet a foreign prince, and Arika is forced to impersonate her. However, in a double invocation of the trope, the prince is himself an impostor, the bodyguard of the true prince who himself is missing. Naturally, Mashiro and Prince Takumi meet, neither knowing who the other is. (Pleasantly enough, this is ''not'' played for laughs, despite the strong tendency of anime using this trope to do so. What ''is'' played for laughs is Nina claiming to be Arika just for the hell of it -- and to further perpetrate the joke, Mashiro introduces herself as Nina, completing the circle.)
* Inverted in an episode of ''SailorMoon'', where Usagi is kidnapped and Minako must pretend to be Sailor Moon. Everyone else is fooled, but Usagi is less than impressed.
* Subverted in the anime ''PaniPoniDash''. Form teacher Rebecca Miyamoto disappeared just as the PTA are about to sit in during her class and her loyal students all but press gang Serizawa Akane to be her replacement or as Akane herself thinks, a "kagemusha". The subversion is that [[spoiler: Rebecca had been present all along, using her disguise skills to appear as various other members of the cast. This is revealed in a sequence that pays homage to ''CuteyHoney''. She did this because she hated such visits from the PTA.]]
* Utilized in the manga ''PrincessPrince'', where HalfIdenticalTwins trade places after one gets pregnant. The twist is that not only is the "replacement Princess" a boy, but his "fiancee" is well aware of this.
* In ''DeathNote'', this is played with - all the relevant major characters know about the deception, and it's all in all a pretty twisted case of the trope.
** Specifically, Light takes on the guise of [[spoiler: L, after killing the real L. Near, however, knows L is dead and figures out who the new L is pretty easily. After the grand finale, Near himself takes up the mantle of L]].
* This is the entire plot of the manga ''{{Magical x Miracle}}''.
* In ''Manga/TentaiSenshiSunred'', Sunred receives the outfit of Sakyun, a fellow toku hero, back from the laundromat. He decides to beat up Florsheim, the local villain group, for the hell of it. It's only when ink is sprayed on the suit that Sunred realizes he has to return it to its rightful owner. This is the closest Sunred ever gets to acting like an actual toku hero.
* In the ''DetectiveConan vs LupinIII'' {{Crossover}} TV special, Ran turns out to be a near ringer for the princess of a small European country. [[spoiler:She ends up involuntarily impersonating the girl for a while, to help draw out a murderer.]]
* In TheWorldGodOnlyKnows, Elsea has to fill in for the idol Kanon [[spoiler: as Kanon is the host of Apollo. She gets stabbed and enters a dormant state to save herself.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* Happens accidentally to Shakira in an issue of ''TheWarlord''. Shakira discovers she is a [[IdenticalStranger dead ringer for a kidnapped princess]]. She takes the princess's place, leading the kidnappers to believe the princess has escaped.
* ''JonSableFreelance'' #49 is an {{Homage}}[=/=]WholePlotReference to ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' with Jon standing in for a kidnapped European monarch.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film ]]
* The plot of the movie ''{{Dave}}'', where the title character takes the place of the President of the United States after the latter unexpectedly suffers a stroke while having sex with an intern. Dave has to fool not only the country but the late president's ''wife,'' for RomCom reasons. At the end, [[spoiler: Dave-as-President is giving a speech, fakes having a stroke and fainting, and they replace him with the real comatose President so Dave can go back to his normal life.]] By which we mean [[spoiler: he goes to run for his city council as himself.]]
* The cult favorite ''BubbaHoTep'' relies on the premise that in the early '70s, Elvis Presley traded places with an Elvis impersonator; the impersonator died in 1977, and the real Elvis lived to a ripe old age in a retirement home.
* Premise of the 1988 movie ''MoonOverParador.'' An actor who has just finished filming a movie on location in the fictional Latin American BananaRepublic of Parador gets coerced into pretending to be that country's dictator (whom he resembles and was already good at impersonating) when the latter unexpectedly dies.
* MelBrooks' film ''{{History of the World Part I}}'' uses this trope near the end, when the urinal boy replaces Louis XVI (both played by Brooks). Origin of the phrase, "It's good to be the king." Or, at least, origin of its entrance into pop culture.
* This is the premise of the Wayans Bros. movie ''WhiteChicks''.
* The premise of the movie ''BadCompany'', in which a dead CIA agent posing as a nuclear arms dealer has to be impersonated by his SeparatedAtBirth identical twin brother.
* This is the basic premise for AkiraKurosawa's movie ''{{Kagemusha}}'', where the thief disguises himself as the warlord.
* In the ''{{Bollywood}}'' movie ''Don'', the protagonist, Vijay, has to go undercover to impersonate the dead eponymous character, a leader of an underworld gang in Mumbai, in order to help the police arrest the rest of the gang. In TheRemake, [[spoiler:this trope is subverted as Don kills Vijay and ends up acting as Vijay acting as himself to fool both his gang and the police.]]
* Happens in ''TheGreatRace'' (as part of ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' parody) with Fate being a dead ringer for the king of [[{{Ruritania}} Pottsdorf]].
* In ''The Passenger'' Jack Nicholson's character assumes the identity of an acquaintance for reasons that remain difficult to fathom, even keeping meetings with men who turn out to be quite dangerous and who expect him to provide things he cannot.
* Most of the plot complications in ''AVeryLongEngagement'' are caused when the identities of two young WW1 soldiers are switched. The character involved, Manech, has lost his mind and isn't really able to clear things up - it's the people around him who, for their own reasons, practice the deception.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature ]]
* This trope is central to the story of ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'', where Rudolph Rassendyl has to impersonate his royal cousin who has been kidnapped the day before his coronation.
** The story is parodied in ''[[{{Flashman}} Royal Flash]]''.
** And reused in the RobertAHeinlein novel ''DoubleStar'', also known as ThePrisonerOfZenda...''InSpace!''
* The {{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'' does this, with [[AC:Death]] impersonating the Hogfather (the local equivalent of SantaClaus). It's also the plot of ''Mort'', with Mort impersonating [[AC:Death]].
* ''ConanTheBarbarian'': In the only Conan novel written by the character's original creator, ''The Hour of the Dragon'', Conan is incapacitated on the eve of battle by a wizard's servant. In order to keep his army from being demoralized and consequently losing his kingdom, he has one of his most promising commanders don his armor and lead his men in his place--only for the commander to have a cliff face dropped on him, making the world at large believe that King Conan is dead. The rest of the novel revolves around Conan trying to win back his throne and overthrow his usurper.
* In the book ''[[MythAdventures Hit or Myth]]'', Skeeve has to disguise himself as King Roderick for a day so the king can take a vacation. Then the king does a bunk, leaving Skeeve to carry on the charade... which includes marrying the king's fiancée...
* OlderThanFeudalism: In ''Literature/TheIliad'', when Achilles refuses to fight, his friend (and possible lover) Patroclus dons his armor and fights the Trojans and their many allies in his stead. Until he's killed, then Achilles is mega-pissed. However, Achilles is the protagonist while Patroclus is a side character.
* There's a rather strange, but sad, example on ''{{Catch 22}}'' -- while in hospital, main character Yossarian is roped in to play a dying soldier visited by his family, because the real soldier is already dead and the doctor doesn't want to disappoint them. Made especially weird by the fact that Yossarian insists they call him by his real name, rather than the dead soldier's name, and manages to convince the family (except the mother) that the soldier's name was Yossarian all along.
* In Mary Stewart's ''The Ivy Tree'', a young woman just come to town is recruited to impersonate the long-missing heir of a local estate, so as to convince the missing woman's grandfather to change his will. [[spoiler:Subverted in that it's eventually revealed she ''is'' the heir, going along with the scheme for her own reasons. The deception is particularly startling because the whole book is [[TheAllConcealingI in her first-person perspective]].]]
* In KeithLaumer's ''Worlds of the Imperium'', the protagonist is dragooned by agents from the Imperium's AlternateHistory to replace a dictator (the version of himself from a third AlternateHistory). [[spoiler: The dictator lost both legs to war wounds, a fact kept secret from the public. The impersonation thus fails immediately when the protagonist is seen by someone who has actually met the dictator.]]
* In ''TheLiesOfLockeLamora'', the titular thief is hired by [[spoiler:The Gray King]] to impersonate him at a meeting with the local crime lord. He assures Locke that no harm will come to him. [[spoiler:It does.]]
* ''The Mad King'' by EdgarRiceBurroughs is very similar to ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' except that at the end [[spoiler: the hero gets to marry the princess and remain as king after the real king is murdered]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* Probably one of the weirdest versions of this trope is in the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The Host", which is the introductory episode of the Trill. The Trill ambassador is killed in an attack, but his symbiote is still alive. However, no other Trill is able to make it before it dies, so Commander Riker has the symbiote implanted in him. Thus, Riker is forced to carry out the ambassador's mission, which is a slight problem when the factions that requested the ambassador see him.
* ''[[HogansHeroes Hogan's Heroes]]'' does this ''three times''. The first is when Kinch impersonates an African prince, the second when Crittendon impersonates an English traitor, and the third in reverse where the heroes help a German defector, who looks exactly like Schultz, escape by dressing him up in Schultz' uniform.
* Played slightly straighter, only with time travel in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s "[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Past Tense]]", where Sisko's presence in the past caused the premature death of an important historical figure a few days before he was supposed to die heroically, then has to impersonate him.
** In a later season, a character was studying Earth's history, and when he encountered an entry about the historical figure, passed comment about how closely Sisko resembled a picture of him (the picture, of course, being that of Sisko).
** Sisko also, at one point, [[spoiler: gets kidnapped by Miles 'Smiley' O'Brien from the Mirror Universe, because Mirror-Sisko was killed-in-action and they need someone to convince Sisko's Mirror-wife to join the rebel cause. Naturally, it works.]]
*** Subverted though when at the end of the episode[[spoiler: Mirror Jennifer asks what happened to her real husband revealing she knew all along who he was.]]
* The ''GetSmart'' episode "The King Lives?".
* The classic ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The Enemy of the World'' is centered around the Doctor impersonating wannabe world dictator Salamander in order to uncover information that would discredit him.
** A subplot of an earlier serial, ''The Crusade'', involved knight William des Préaux pretending to be [[RichardTheLionHeart King Richard]] during an Arab ambush to save the real Richard from capture. TruthInTelevision, because this incident actually happened.
* The ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[TropeNamer Guise Will Be Guise]]", in which Wesley is forced to play the part of the missing Angel. (Considering that this story kicks off Wesley's years-long transformation from comic relief to tragic hero, this might be be the most successful impersonation in history.)
* Happened occasionally on ''{{Sliders}}'', when one or another character had to fill in for alternate-world versions of themselves.
* In ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Ducky impersonates the deceased arms dealer to try to capture La Grenouille.
* In ''Series/{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'', Willow impersonates the captured alternate universe Willow to get her mooks to go outside.
** The Buffybot takes this role at the beginning of Season 6, impersonating the dead Buffy on patrols and Parent-Teacher Days.
* In the ''SimonAndSimon'' episode "Walk a Mile in My Hat", a potential client shows up looking for A.J. while he's out of town, and Rick decides to impersonate A.J.--clothing and behavior included--to get her business. A.J. comes back after the case has gotten complicated and winds up taking on ''Rick's'' persona just to shake up the opposition.
* Done a few times on ''XenaWarriorPrincess'', where Xena has at least two {{Identical Stranger}}s who she either impersonates or impersonate her.
* In two episodes of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', Iolaus is required to step in for his lookalike cousin, Prince (later King) Orestes.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* ''PricklyCity'': Senator Kevin refuses to go see his constituents. So Winslow goes in disguise.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Theater ]]
* The play ''Lend Me a Tenor'' features a stage manager's assistant stepping in for a famous opera star who has supposedly committed suicide just before a performance.
* In AAMilne[='=]s play ''The Ugly Duckling'', the prince and princess who are supposed to marry are both so plain that they have better-looking servants stand in for them at the betrothal. (At the actual wedding they plan to be wearing full armor and a face-obscuring veil, respectively.)
* In ''TheTamingOfTheShrew'', a servant, Tranio, switches clothes with and fills in for his master, Lucentio, as part of a classic ZanyScheme. Later, he pushes the scheme further by getting another character to impersonate Lucentio's father.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Video Games ]]
* In ''FinalFantasyVI'', Celes is asked to stand in for opera singer Maria, who happens to [[IdenticalStranger look exactly like her]], because Setzer is planning to kidnap Maria.
* This is the premise of the DS strategy-{{RPG}} ''RondoOfSwords''. A prince is killed during an invasion, and asks his body double to stand in for him permanently. Since the double has been doing this for years already, he does a fairly convincing job, though "Serdic's" memory turn out to have some rather conspicuous holes.
* Most of the first part of ''WildARMsXF'' revolves around Clarissa impersonating [[IdenticalStranger Princess Alexia]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Torg is [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19990706 forced into impersonating Lord Torgamous]], a medieval warlord who [[IdenticalStranger just happens to look exactly like him]]. [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19990710 It doesn't work out so well.]]
** Arguably, the Torg Potter arcs are this as well, although it requires little effort on Torg's part to pull it off.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* The ''[[SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman]]'' animated series episode "Knight Time" uses this plot, with Batman disappearing, and Superman putting on his costume. Bane sure picked the wrong episode to return in...
** "I'm twice as strong as before!" [Tries to beat up Superman.]
** Also includes a hilarious scene where Superman mimics Batman's voice flawlessly, surprising Robin. When asked how, Supes replies with "Precise muscle control." It beats "Super Ventriloquism", at least.
*** Actually, that would have been an amusing MythologyGag if you ask me.
* In one [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Goofy]] short ''[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]'', Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
* In a ''DannyPhantom'' episode, Tucker and Sam took turns dressing as Danny Fenton to ensure his parents of his whereabouts since the ''real'' Danny is currently stuck in ghost mode. They had to keep running away, declaring "a ghost took their face" since...well, his parents would probably notice that they're respectively a different race and gender than their actual son.
* In a ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode, their dad accidentally gets into Perry's secret base and has his memory wiped. [[AnimalSuperhero Perry]] has to stand in for him at Candace's Father/Daughter Competition in a robot version of him that [[TheIntern Carl]] had made "[[CrazyPrepared just for this type of situation]]."
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Night of the Batmen," Green Arrow, Aquaman, Captain Marvel and Plastic Man all independently decide to fill in for an injured Batman. In this case, it's the impersonators that learn the Aesop, that Batman doesn't need anyone's help, because he's Batman. Even working together, they end up being captured, and Batman has to build a robotic suit and rescue them while he's still recovering.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Real Life]]
* Canadian Member of Parliament Rahim Jaffer [[http://www.robertfulford.com/RahimJaffer.html was impersonated on a radio phone-in show by an aide]] in March 2001. He was apparently double booked. And the aide sounds nothing like him.
[[/folder]]
----
While sometimes the impostor receives sufficient briefing and/or real-time aid to bring off the deception seamlessly, it's more common for time or other constraints to prevent this seemingly necessary step. In a comedic setting, naturally, HilarityEnsues; in more dramatic locales, the results can be anything from painfully embarrassing to potentially fatal.
Eventually the missing person (if they aren't deceased) is recovered, but often only after they learn AnAesop about some aspect of the world which was hidden from them in their usual role.
Compare with PrinceAndPauper and DecoyLeader. Closely related to ElCidPloy and YouWillBeBeethoven.
The trope name comes from [[{{Recap/AngelS02E06GuiseWillBeGuise}} the title of an episode]] of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' which used an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of this plot, wherein the title character went missing and was impersonated by a member of the supporting cast. It might also be considered a subversion, as the missing character ended up learning absolutely nothing.
However, the fact that this plot comes from the classic novel, ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', makes it at least OlderThanRadio.
Usually -- but not always -- involves an IdenticalStranger. See also BodyDouble and MockMillionaire.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* In ''ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'', Makoto Mizuhara is forced to impersonate the missing Princess Fatora until she is rescued. He pulls this off [[{{Bishonen}} with surprising ease]].
* In episode 12 of ''{{Mai-Otome}}'', Mashiro runs away rather than meet a foreign prince, and Arika is forced to impersonate her. However, in a double invocation of the trope, the prince is himself an impostor, the bodyguard of the true prince who himself is missing. Naturally, Mashiro and Prince Takumi meet, neither knowing who the other is. (Pleasantly enough, this is ''not'' played for laughs, despite the strong tendency of anime using this trope to do so. What ''is'' played for laughs is Nina claiming to be Arika just for the hell of it -- and to further perpetrate the joke, Mashiro introduces herself as Nina, completing the circle.)
* Inverted in an episode of ''SailorMoon'', where Usagi is kidnapped and Minako must pretend to be Sailor Moon. Everyone else is fooled, but Usagi is less than impressed.
* Subverted in the anime ''PaniPoniDash''. Form teacher Rebecca Miyamoto disappeared just as the PTA are about to sit in during her class and her loyal students all but press gang Serizawa Akane to be her replacement or as Akane herself thinks, a "kagemusha". The subversion is that [[spoiler: Rebecca had been present all along, using her disguise skills to appear as various other members of the cast. This is revealed in a sequence that pays homage to ''CuteyHoney''. She did this because she hated such visits from the PTA.]]
* Utilized in the manga ''PrincessPrince'', where HalfIdenticalTwins trade places after one gets pregnant. The twist is that not only is the "replacement Princess" a boy, but his "fiancee" is well aware of this.
* In ''DeathNote'', this is played with - all the relevant major characters know about the deception, and it's all in all a pretty twisted case of the trope.
** Specifically, Light takes on the guise of [[spoiler: L, after killing the real L. Near, however, knows L is dead and figures out who the new L is pretty easily. After the grand finale, Near himself takes up the mantle of L]].
* This is the entire plot of the manga ''{{Magical x Miracle}}''.
* In ''Manga/TentaiSenshiSunred'', Sunred receives the outfit of Sakyun, a fellow toku hero, back from the laundromat. He decides to beat up Florsheim, the local villain group, for the hell of it. It's only when ink is sprayed on the suit that Sunred realizes he has to return it to its rightful owner. This is the closest Sunred ever gets to acting like an actual toku hero.
* In the ''DetectiveConan vs LupinIII'' {{Crossover}} TV special, Ran turns out to be a near ringer for the princess of a small European country. [[spoiler:She ends up involuntarily impersonating the girl for a while, to help draw out a murderer.]]
* In TheWorldGodOnlyKnows, Elsea has to fill in for the idol Kanon [[spoiler: as Kanon is the host of Apollo. She gets stabbed and enters a dormant state to save herself.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* Happens accidentally to Shakira in an issue of ''TheWarlord''. Shakira discovers she is a [[IdenticalStranger dead ringer for a kidnapped princess]]. She takes the princess's place, leading the kidnappers to believe the princess has escaped.
* ''JonSableFreelance'' #49 is an {{Homage}}[=/=]WholePlotReference to ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' with Jon standing in for a kidnapped European monarch.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film ]]
* The plot of the movie ''{{Dave}}'', where the title character takes the place of the President of the United States after the latter unexpectedly suffers a stroke while having sex with an intern. Dave has to fool not only the country but the late president's ''wife,'' for RomCom reasons. At the end, [[spoiler: Dave-as-President is giving a speech, fakes having a stroke and fainting, and they replace him with the real comatose President so Dave can go back to his normal life.]] By which we mean [[spoiler: he goes to run for his city council as himself.]]
* The cult favorite ''BubbaHoTep'' relies on the premise that in the early '70s, Elvis Presley traded places with an Elvis impersonator; the impersonator died in 1977, and the real Elvis lived to a ripe old age in a retirement home.
* Premise of the 1988 movie ''MoonOverParador.'' An actor who has just finished filming a movie on location in the fictional Latin American BananaRepublic of Parador gets coerced into pretending to be that country's dictator (whom he resembles and was already good at impersonating) when the latter unexpectedly dies.
* MelBrooks' film ''{{History of the World Part I}}'' uses this trope near the end, when the urinal boy replaces Louis XVI (both played by Brooks). Origin of the phrase, "It's good to be the king." Or, at least, origin of its entrance into pop culture.
* This is the premise of the Wayans Bros. movie ''WhiteChicks''.
* The premise of the movie ''BadCompany'', in which a dead CIA agent posing as a nuclear arms dealer has to be impersonated by his SeparatedAtBirth identical twin brother.
* This is the basic premise for AkiraKurosawa's movie ''{{Kagemusha}}'', where the thief disguises himself as the warlord.
* In the ''{{Bollywood}}'' movie ''Don'', the protagonist, Vijay, has to go undercover to impersonate the dead eponymous character, a leader of an underworld gang in Mumbai, in order to help the police arrest the rest of the gang. In TheRemake, [[spoiler:this trope is subverted as Don kills Vijay and ends up acting as Vijay acting as himself to fool both his gang and the police.]]
* Happens in ''TheGreatRace'' (as part of ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' parody) with Fate being a dead ringer for the king of [[{{Ruritania}} Pottsdorf]].
* In ''The Passenger'' Jack Nicholson's character assumes the identity of an acquaintance for reasons that remain difficult to fathom, even keeping meetings with men who turn out to be quite dangerous and who expect him to provide things he cannot.
* Most of the plot complications in ''AVeryLongEngagement'' are caused when the identities of two young WW1 soldiers are switched. The character involved, Manech, has lost his mind and isn't really able to clear things up - it's the people around him who, for their own reasons, practice the deception.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature ]]
* This trope is central to the story of ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'', where Rudolph Rassendyl has to impersonate his royal cousin who has been kidnapped the day before his coronation.
** The story is parodied in ''[[{{Flashman}} Royal Flash]]''.
** And reused in the RobertAHeinlein novel ''DoubleStar'', also known as ThePrisonerOfZenda...''InSpace!''
* The {{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'' does this, with [[AC:Death]] impersonating the Hogfather (the local equivalent of SantaClaus). It's also the plot of ''Mort'', with Mort impersonating [[AC:Death]].
* ''ConanTheBarbarian'': In the only Conan novel written by the character's original creator, ''The Hour of the Dragon'', Conan is incapacitated on the eve of battle by a wizard's servant. In order to keep his army from being demoralized and consequently losing his kingdom, he has one of his most promising commanders don his armor and lead his men in his place--only for the commander to have a cliff face dropped on him, making the world at large believe that King Conan is dead. The rest of the novel revolves around Conan trying to win back his throne and overthrow his usurper.
* In the book ''[[MythAdventures Hit or Myth]]'', Skeeve has to disguise himself as King Roderick for a day so the king can take a vacation. Then the king does a bunk, leaving Skeeve to carry on the charade... which includes marrying the king's fiancée...
* OlderThanFeudalism: In ''Literature/TheIliad'', when Achilles refuses to fight, his friend (and possible lover) Patroclus dons his armor and fights the Trojans and their many allies in his stead. Until he's killed, then Achilles is mega-pissed. However, Achilles is the protagonist while Patroclus is a side character.
* There's a rather strange, but sad, example on ''{{Catch 22}}'' -- while in hospital, main character Yossarian is roped in to play a dying soldier visited by his family, because the real soldier is already dead and the doctor doesn't want to disappoint them. Made especially weird by the fact that Yossarian insists they call him by his real name, rather than the dead soldier's name, and manages to convince the family (except the mother) that the soldier's name was Yossarian all along.
* In Mary Stewart's ''The Ivy Tree'', a young woman just come to town is recruited to impersonate the long-missing heir of a local estate, so as to convince the missing woman's grandfather to change his will. [[spoiler:Subverted in that it's eventually revealed she ''is'' the heir, going along with the scheme for her own reasons. The deception is particularly startling because the whole book is [[TheAllConcealingI in her first-person perspective]].]]
* In KeithLaumer's ''Worlds of the Imperium'', the protagonist is dragooned by agents from the Imperium's AlternateHistory to replace a dictator (the version of himself from a third AlternateHistory). [[spoiler: The dictator lost both legs to war wounds, a fact kept secret from the public. The impersonation thus fails immediately when the protagonist is seen by someone who has actually met the dictator.]]
* In ''TheLiesOfLockeLamora'', the titular thief is hired by [[spoiler:The Gray King]] to impersonate him at a meeting with the local crime lord. He assures Locke that no harm will come to him. [[spoiler:It does.]]
* ''The Mad King'' by EdgarRiceBurroughs is very similar to ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'' except that at the end [[spoiler: the hero gets to marry the princess and remain as king after the real king is murdered]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* Probably one of the weirdest versions of this trope is in the ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The Host", which is the introductory episode of the Trill. The Trill ambassador is killed in an attack, but his symbiote is still alive. However, no other Trill is able to make it before it dies, so Commander Riker has the symbiote implanted in him. Thus, Riker is forced to carry out the ambassador's mission, which is a slight problem when the factions that requested the ambassador see him.
* ''[[HogansHeroes Hogan's Heroes]]'' does this ''three times''. The first is when Kinch impersonates an African prince, the second when Crittendon impersonates an English traitor, and the third in reverse where the heroes help a German defector, who looks exactly like Schultz, escape by dressing him up in Schultz' uniform.
* Played slightly straighter, only with time travel in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s "[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Past Tense]]", where Sisko's presence in the past caused the premature death of an important historical figure a few days before he was supposed to die heroically, then has to impersonate him.
** In a later season, a character was studying Earth's history, and when he encountered an entry about the historical figure, passed comment about how closely Sisko resembled a picture of him (the picture, of course, being that of Sisko).
** Sisko also, at one point, [[spoiler: gets kidnapped by Miles 'Smiley' O'Brien from the Mirror Universe, because Mirror-Sisko was killed-in-action and they need someone to convince Sisko's Mirror-wife to join the rebel cause. Naturally, it works.]]
*** Subverted though when at the end of the episode[[spoiler: Mirror Jennifer asks what happened to her real husband revealing she knew all along who he was.]]
* The ''GetSmart'' episode "The King Lives?".
* The classic ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The Enemy of the World'' is centered around the Doctor impersonating wannabe world dictator Salamander in order to uncover information that would discredit him.
** A subplot of an earlier serial, ''The Crusade'', involved knight William des Préaux pretending to be [[RichardTheLionHeart King Richard]] during an Arab ambush to save the real Richard from capture. TruthInTelevision, because this incident actually happened.
* The ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[TropeNamer Guise Will Be Guise]]", in which Wesley is forced to play the part of the missing Angel. (Considering that this story kicks off Wesley's years-long transformation from comic relief to tragic hero, this might be be the most successful impersonation in history.)
* Happened occasionally on ''{{Sliders}}'', when one or another character had to fill in for alternate-world versions of themselves.
* In ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Ducky impersonates the deceased arms dealer to try to capture La Grenouille.
* In ''Series/{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'', Willow impersonates the captured alternate universe Willow to get her mooks to go outside.
** The Buffybot takes this role at the beginning of Season 6, impersonating the dead Buffy on patrols and Parent-Teacher Days.
* In the ''SimonAndSimon'' episode "Walk a Mile in My Hat", a potential client shows up looking for A.J. while he's out of town, and Rick decides to impersonate A.J.--clothing and behavior included--to get her business. A.J. comes back after the case has gotten complicated and winds up taking on ''Rick's'' persona just to shake up the opposition.
* Done a few times on ''XenaWarriorPrincess'', where Xena has at least two {{Identical Stranger}}s who she either impersonates or impersonate her.
* In two episodes of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', Iolaus is required to step in for his lookalike cousin, Prince (later King) Orestes.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* ''PricklyCity'': Senator Kevin refuses to go see his constituents. So Winslow goes in disguise.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Theater ]]
* The play ''Lend Me a Tenor'' features a stage manager's assistant stepping in for a famous opera star who has supposedly committed suicide just before a performance.
* In AAMilne[='=]s play ''The Ugly Duckling'', the prince and princess who are supposed to marry are both so plain that they have better-looking servants stand in for them at the betrothal. (At the actual wedding they plan to be wearing full armor and a face-obscuring veil, respectively.)
* In ''TheTamingOfTheShrew'', a servant, Tranio, switches clothes with and fills in for his master, Lucentio, as part of a classic ZanyScheme. Later, he pushes the scheme further by getting another character to impersonate Lucentio's father.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Video Games ]]
* In ''FinalFantasyVI'', Celes is asked to stand in for opera singer Maria, who happens to [[IdenticalStranger look exactly like her]], because Setzer is planning to kidnap Maria.
* This is the premise of the DS strategy-{{RPG}} ''RondoOfSwords''. A prince is killed during an invasion, and asks his body double to stand in for him permanently. Since the double has been doing this for years already, he does a fairly convincing job, though "Serdic's" memory turn out to have some rather conspicuous holes.
* Most of the first part of ''WildARMsXF'' revolves around Clarissa impersonating [[IdenticalStranger Princess Alexia]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' Torg is [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19990706 forced into impersonating Lord Torgamous]], a medieval warlord who [[IdenticalStranger just happens to look exactly like him]]. [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19990710 It doesn't work out so well.]]
** Arguably, the Torg Potter arcs are this as well, although it requires little effort on Torg's part to pull it off.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* The ''[[SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman]]'' animated series episode "Knight Time" uses this plot, with Batman disappearing, and Superman putting on his costume. Bane sure picked the wrong episode to return in...
** "I'm twice as strong as before!" [Tries to beat up Superman.]
** Also includes a hilarious scene where Superman mimics Batman's voice flawlessly, surprising Robin. When asked how, Supes replies with "Precise muscle control." It beats "Super Ventriloquism", at least.
*** Actually, that would have been an amusing MythologyGag if you ask me.
* In one [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Goofy]] short ''[[AWorldwidePunomenon A Knight For a Day]]'', Red-headed Squire Goofy accidentally knocks out his Blonde-Goofy (Okay, everyone's a Goofy, not sure if any of them is the "Real Goofy") right before a match, and had to take his place.
* In a ''DannyPhantom'' episode, Tucker and Sam took turns dressing as Danny Fenton to ensure his parents of his whereabouts since the ''real'' Danny is currently stuck in ghost mode. They had to keep running away, declaring "a ghost took their face" since...well, his parents would probably notice that they're respectively a different race and gender than their actual son.
* In a ''PhineasAndFerb'' episode, their dad accidentally gets into Perry's secret base and has his memory wiped. [[AnimalSuperhero Perry]] has to stand in for him at Candace's Father/Daughter Competition in a robot version of him that [[TheIntern Carl]] had made "[[CrazyPrepared just for this type of situation]]."
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Night of the Batmen," Green Arrow, Aquaman, Captain Marvel and Plastic Man all independently decide to fill in for an injured Batman. In this case, it's the impersonators that learn the Aesop, that Batman doesn't need anyone's help, because he's Batman. Even working together, they end up being captured, and Batman has to build a robotic suit and rescue them while he's still recovering.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Real Life]]
* Canadian Member of Parliament Rahim Jaffer [[http://www.robertfulford.com/RahimJaffer.html was impersonated on a radio phone-in show by an aide]] in March 2001. He was apparently double booked. And the aide sounds nothing like him.
[[/folder]]
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