HOT SPRINGS — Sometimes when going out to restaurants or checking into hotels, film actor Ronnie Rodriguez gets the red carpet treatment: the best table in the house or an upgrade to a suite. That's if he's not stopped and asked for autographs in the process.
If right now you're trying to place the name of Rodriguez, just take one look at his face and you're likely to make the mistake many people do and think you're looking at actor Johnny Depp.
“I look at him [Depp] sometimes and say that face looks really familiar — because I was shaving it this morning,” said Rodriguez, a celebrity impersonator who calls Southern California home, but who will be in Arkansas next week as an entertainer in the First Ever Seventh Annual World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hot Springs. Rodriguez will appear as Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp’s character from Disney's phenomenally successful Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.
“We figured Jack Sparrow was great for all ages,” said Steve Arrison, parade co-founder and CEO of the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, who said that celebrity impersonators are a traditional part of the festivities. “We're always looking for that careful balance. We thought about Tiger Woods for this year, but we thought it might be in bad taste.”
After hitting Rodriguez’s Web site, there was no longer any debate, Arrison said.
“[The resemblance] was incredible.”
Sparrow is the role that launched his career, said Rodriguez, though he said his resemblance to Depp hadn't gone entirely unnoticed before Captain Jack became popular.
“I had people coming up to me saying, 'You look like that guy on 21 Jump Street,' but I actually didn't know who they were talking about [at the time],” said Rodriguez, who said he used to wear his hair much shorter and “never put two and two together.” As a third degree black belt in tae kwon do and aspiring actor, he'd actually tried to get a part in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies before he got into impersonation.
But upon going to see the first Pirates movie, Rodriguez said his wife turned to him as soon as the Sparrow character appeared on screen and said “You look just like him.”
It wasn't until after a later Halloween party at which Rodriguez was a hit going as Sparrow that he was introduced to the impersonation business. Nine months later, his resume was out there, and within two weeks he was being hired by a Japanese TV show.
“I thought, wow, they paid me really well and treated me like a celebrity, so this is great!” he recalled.
Since then he's done corporate gatherings, TV appearances, birthday parties and yes, even a couple parades. But unlike many impersonators, Rodriguez actually got to work with the person he impersonates when he was hired on to be Depp’s photo double during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
“It's actually very rare [that we would work together],” Rodriguez said. “Some actors, they just get a little uncomfortable with a lookalike around, but Johnny was great. ... I wish I'd had more time to work with him, because he was a really nice guy.”
Often, though, the work would put Rodriguez out on a boat on the ocean while Depp was in a Disney studio — or even off shooting another project. Owing to the resemblance not only of face but also of height and weight, it kept the studio from having to rely on CGI to insert Depp into scenes.
Of course, while the resemblance and ability to do the character have earned him work, it's also cost him, said Rodriguez. He recalls the makers of an action movie spoof having him in for an audition and being so struck by his resemblance to Depp they worried that using him might get them sued.
“So yeah, sometimes it can work against you,” he said.
Still, it makes for an interesting life, accidentally starting Twitter rumors that Depp is at Disneyland or occasionally getting stalked in the airport by people wanting an autograph or a picture. Rodriguez will kindly oblige, but he said rule No. 1 of impersonation is that you always admit to not being the real thing.
“You do have to be very careful about what you do, because it can go to your head very quickly. You have to remind yourself that you're not the real celebrity,” he said.
Most of the time, though, people want a picture anyway, even after getting the truth.
“I think as an impersonator, there's a void that you can fill for people,” he said. “You can help them feel like they've met the real person, even though they know they haven't. And I think people then feel like they know that actor better.”