Re-enactors

[leroykevin]

I've read how actors in the recreations are often mistaken for the real person. It makes me think about the actor who played Gordon Paige,( The autistc boy who ran away from a nursing home) he looked sooo much like Gordon, I wonder how many times he was approached? Did he eventually have to wear a T-shirt that says " I am not Gordon Paige"

[PrettyinPink55]

Originally Posted by leroykevin

I've read how actors in the recreations are often mistaken for the real person. It makes me think about the actor who played Gordon Paige,( The autistc boy who ran away from a nursing home) he looked sooo much like Gordon, I wonder how many times he was approached? Did he eventually have to wear a T-shirt that says " I am not Gordon Paige"

Speaking of Gordon, whatever happened to him?? Did they find him??

[dynoguy88]

That is so true. It's often scary how much the actors they get to recreate the stories look so much like the real people themselves.

You're right, the actor who played Gordon Page did look an awful lot like the real Gordon Page.

Other notable actors that looked VERY much like the real people, the woman who played Bobbie Oberholzter (one of the two women from Breckenridge, Colorado that was murdered in the woods after hitchiking home - the orange sock was found near her body.) Also, the woman who played Cindy James looked pretty close to the real Cindy.

The most notable example I think is the girl who played Rhonda Hinson (the girl who was shot through the trunk of her car after leaving an office Christmas party in 1981). If you have this segment on tape, look at the actress and compare her to the pictures they show of the real Rhonda Hinson - they look like the exact same person!

I wonder what UM did to get these people - show pictures in the newspaper telling the public - If you look like these people, please contact us!

[gaf]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I wonder what UM did to get these people - show pictures in the newspaper telling the public - If you look like these people, please contact us!

I've wondered about this too. I am far from an expert in how things run in Hollywood, but my guess is that the UM people in charge of casting would go to various acting agencies and look through the pictures of wannabe actors and actresses until they found people who resembled the person the show was profiling.

[magellan333]

I noticed this in the segment where the guy lured the little girl into his trap by telling her she could help him train some animals. He was caught some years later. The actress they had play the little girl looked very much like the actual victim. Very sad.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by magellan333

I noticed this in the segment where the guy lured the little girl into his trap by telling her she could help him train some animals. He was caught some years later. The actress they had play the little girl looked very much like the actual victim. Very sad.

That was the segment about Laura Burbank - another good example. The actress looked very close to the real Laura.

[Viktory]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

The most notable example I think is the girl who played Rhonda Hinson (the girl who was shot through the trunk of her car after leaving an office Christmas party in 1981). If you have this segment on tape, look at the actress and compare her to the pictures they show of the real Rhonda Hinson - they look like the exact same person!

I wonder what UM did to get these people - show pictures in the newspaper telling the public - If you look like these people, please contact us!

They held a casting call and auditions at the local Holiday Inn in Morganton, NC, where most of the episode was filmed. The cast call must have specified young blonde females because the hotel lobby was filled with blonde actresses and their agents. I worked at the hotel at the time and auditioned on a whim. Nobody showed me a picture of the victim until the makeup artist began transforming me. They wanted to cut my hair in the 70s style Farrah Fawcett wings, but I declined. Lots of work with a curling iron and hairspray worked magic recreating the Farrah style.

[DarkDante]

You ever see the film "When Harry Met Sally?" - You could pass as Meg Ryan in the first part of the movie when she meets Billy Crystal for the first time. You two look identical probably because of the similar hair style

[Viktory]

I've been compared to Meg Ryan before. My doctor always swears I remind her of Mena Suvari.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by Viktory

I've been compared to Meg Ryan before. My doctor always swears I remind her of Mena Suvari.

I totally see the Mena Suvari reference.


As for how they find people to cast that look a lot like the people in the actual cases, someone already mentioned my opinion on it. I think that casting directors specify what they're looking for, i.e. a blonde 18 year old girl with a slender build and blue eyes, or something along those lines. I, too, have gone through the casting process (although not for Unsolved Mysteries) and casting directors usually have a vague idea of what attributes they want.

[compulsive dvd]

I like when the people look absolutely nothing like the real person. The segment with Matthew McConaughey has the guy looking far worse than the real criminal and the segment about the African American preacher who disappeared in Tennessee (car was found in woods with brush in the back seat). Compared to the photos they showed of the real person, they couldn't have gotten anyone more different.

[bellbm]

I've always wondered why there are always only 2 people credited for the re-eneactments. Surely there are more than 2 people per episode.

[Viktory]

Originally Posted by bellbm

I've always wondered why there are always only 2 people credited for the re-eneactments. Surely there are more than 2 people per episode.

You only get your name in the credits if you're already in the Screen Actors Guild. You don't get your name on the credits if you're an extra, or if you were Taft-Hartleyed like I was. At least that was the way it was when I did my episode. I was the Principle for our segment and did not get credited. But the actor who played the father, who had all his speaking scenes edited out in the final cut, was listed in the credits because he was a SAG actor.

[Viktory]

Originally Posted by AKook

Wow, Viktory!
Have you acted in anything else since then?

Unsolved Mysteries was the only TV show I did. I did some interviews and footage for a 3 part Evening News series in Boise ID, but I was just being myself for that. And I've done some plays and a dinner theatre, but stage is WAY different than TV. With a full time job and mommy duties for 3 sons, I don't have the time for that hobby right now.

There's talk about them doing a season of "24" here in Portland. If they do, I might try to get on as an extra or bit part.

The problem with TV and film is, I'd have to join SAG to get another speaking part. And that would cost more than the job would pay, unless I was a serious principle.