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Astand-in, sometimes alighting double, forfilm andtelevision is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup.Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production.
Stand-ins allow thedirector of photography to light the set and the camera department to light and focus scenes while the actors are absent. The director will often ask stand-ins to deliver the scene dialogue ("lines") and walk through ("blocking") the scenes to be filmed.
Stand-ins are distinguished fromdoubles, who replace actorson camera from behind, in makeup, or during dangerous stunts. Stand-ins do not appear on camera. However, on some productions the jobs of stand-in and double may be done by the same person. In rare cases, a stand-in will appear on screen, sometimes as an in-joke. For instance, a scene inHeidi (1937) features the title character's grandfather (Jean Hersholt) mistake a stranger for Heidi (Shirley Temple); the look-alike was played by Temple's regular stand-in, Mary Lou Islieb.[1] In another case, the actress who pretends to be Ann Darrow in the stage show during the final act ofKing Kong (2005) is played byNaomi Watts' stand-in, Julia Walshaw.
Stand-ins do not necessarily look like the actor, but they must have the same skin tone, hair color, height and build as the actor so that the lighting in a scene will be set up correctly. For example, if the lighting is set up with a stand-in shorter than an actor, the actor might end up having their head in relative darkness. In some cases, a star and stand-in do differ in height:Ann Sheridan's stand-in, Marveen Zehner, was taller than the actress and reportedly worked shoeless,[2] and actorTommy Noonan wore three-inch risers in his shoes to stand-in forTyrone Power.[3]
Some actors' contracts mandate that they will always have the same stand-in. Famous cases include Pluma Noisom (stand-in forClaudette Colbert), Harry Cornbleth (Fred Astaire) and Adam Bryant (Robin Williams).Myrna Loy wrote in her autobiographyMyrna Loy: Being and Becoming about her friendship and working relationship with her stand-in, Shirley Hughes. WhenBette Davis walked out on her Warner Bros. contract, she negotiated for her regular stand-in, Sally Sage, to continue to work at the studio.
Stand-ins are also used for animated characters inlive-action animated films, sometimes with life-size character models instead of people. This lets the animators know where to place the animated character in the scene, how to make them move realistically, and for actors to know where to look. In these cases, skin tone and hair color are not important. Height and build, however, are still important for any interaction between live-action actors and animated characters.
