History Main / TalentDouble

The main difference from a simple StuntDouble is that the action the Talent Double performs usually does not require raw athletic power or include potentially dangerous situations, but instead expertise in a specific field. Music, dancing, and figure-skating are the most common ones.

* Controversially, China used a talent double for their child singer during the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, a less pretty and cute but more talented little lady. Later at the same Olympics, a parade of China's 56 ethnic groups were all Han Chinese in costume. Their talent was they could be trusted not to stage a sudden protest over China's treatment of their portrayed minority.

* Noted jazz trombonist Bill Watrous dubbed for Creator/JonathanFrakes in some scenes where Will Riker is shown playing the trombone. Frakes really could play jazz trombone, but sometimes Riker's proficiency was written to be above Frakes' actual skill level. Frakes once joked "When Riker played badly, it was me, but when he was playing well, it was Bill Watrous."

* Creator/AngelaBassett lipsync'd to recordings of the real Music/TinaTurner in ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt''.

* In the ballet flick ''Film/CenterStage2000'', Jody Sawyer, Cooper Nielsen, and a couple of the supporting characters are played by professional dancers (notably Creator/AmandaSchull, a member of The San Francisco Ballet's ''corps de ballet'' for three seasons, as Jody, and Ethan Stiefel, who very quickly became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet early in his career and who has been a principal at American Ballet Theatre for years now, as Cooper). Creator/ZoeSaldana, who had extensive ballet training, did much of her own dancing, but was doubled for the long shots of the final performance. Ironically, Maureen, the best dancer in the school, was played by a non-dancer.

* Mickey's harmonica solos in the "Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi" story from ''WesternAnimation/MickeysOnceUponAChristmas'' was performed by the late session musician Tommy Morgan.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* ''Film/{{Ronin}}'' used, in a similar fashion to the ''Skyfall'' example above, out-of-shot stunt drivers in the passenger seats manipulating a special second set of controls.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': [=Troy McClure=] from the film ''Young Jebediah Springfield'' rides a buffalo like a bull at a rodeo. Except that close ups clearly show Troy on a very, very fake buffalo with stage hands pushing it around. However shots from far off show the a real buffalo bucking wildly, nearly throwing off the talent double. The children watching in-universe don't appear to notice the discrepancy.

* Controversially, China used a talent double for their child singer during the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, a less cute but more talented little girl. Later at the same Olympics, a parade of China's 56 ethnic groups were all Han Chinese in costume. Apparently their talent was they could be trusted not to stage a sudden protest over China's treatment of their portrayed minority.

* ''Film/{{Illusions}}'': When a musical film star in 1942 Hollywood can't participate in redubbing a number because she is off fighting the war, studio exec Mignon Dupree has to find a talent double to record the audio track. She uses a young black woman named Esther Carter. Employing a black woman to be the true talent propping up a talentless white lady leads Mignon to a crisis of conscience.

* Averted in ''Series/BlakesSeven'' in the case of Vila Restal, who prior to filming was taught by a magician to perform the sleight of hand tricks that are the vital distraction in [[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E2SpaceFall the second episode]]. Despite the cutting of that scene being concentrated on the other characters, Michael Keating performed actual tricks and entertained the rest of the cast with them on slow days.

* ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' is about a silent actor and actress who are a famous "movie couple" that have to adjust to the emergence of talkies. They're signed on to do a musical. The actor's fine, as he used to be in musical theatre, but the actress (played by Jean Hagen) can't carry a tune without a bucket, so she needs a talent double. In a particularly confusing occurrence, Creator/DebbieReynolds, who played the fictional talent double, was herself using a talent double in real life -- in one scene, the voice dubbed in over Debbie Reynolds' voice is Jean Hagen's!

* In the ballet flick ''Film/CenterStage'', Jody Sawyer, Cooper Nielsen, and a couple of the supporting characters are played by professional dancers (notably Creator/AmandaSchull, a member of The San Francisco Ballet's ''corps de ballet'' for three seasons, as Jody, and Ethan Stiefel, who very quickly became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet early in his career and who has been a principal at American Ballet Theatre for years now, as Cooper). Creator/ZoeSaldana, who had extensive ballet training, did much of her own dancing, but was doubled for the long shots of the final performance. Ironically, Maureen, the best dancer in the school, was played by a non-dancer.

* The scene in ''Honey'' where the title character does a pirouette in the air is the only moment where Creator/JessicaAlba used a stand-in.

* The sketch that Jack does of Rose in ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'' was actually done by Creator/JamesCameron, the director.

* Creator/DennisQuaid lipsync'd to recordings of the real Music/JerryLeeLewis in ''Great Balls Of Fire!''

* In ''Film/{{Crossroads}}'' Ralph Macchio gives a pretty decent impression of playing the guitar, but the actual music was recorded by Ry Cooder (most of the blues parts) and Steve Vai (the final part of the famous duel).

** ''Smeg outs'' featured Creator/CraigCharles insisting that he didn't need a double for playing golf. HilarityEnsues.

* In the ballet flick ''Film/CenterStage'', Jody Sawyer, Cooper Nielsen, and a couple of the supporting characters are played by professional dancers (notably Amanda Schull, a member of The San Francisco Ballet's ''corps de ballet'' for three seasons, as Jody, and Ethan Stiefel, who very quickly became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet early in his career and who has been a principal at American Ballet Theatre for years now, as Cooper). Creator/ZoeSaldana, who had extensive ballet training, did much of her own dancing, but was doubled for the long shots of the final performance. Ironically, Maureen, the best dancer in the school, was played by a non-dancer.

* In ''Film/TheIpcressFile'' when Harry Palmer (Creator/MichaelCaine) goes to make his date a meal; the hands doing the cooking and cracking the eggs are those of the original novel writer, Creator/LenDeighton.

* Some movies, such as ''Becoming Jane'' and ''Prospero's Books'', feature "hand doubles" for scenes in which characters are shown ''writing'' in close-up. Even if the actor or actress has good handwriting, styles do change over the centuries, and getting a professional in may be the best way to emulate a historical style of calligraphy.
** Also fairly common for typing or keyboard scenes any time the actor lacks touch-typing skills.