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Cape Town - A real estate agent who has been mistaken for Justin Timberlake for nearly two decades has become a professional lookalike. And the best part is that he gets paid to party!
Peter Lillyman (33) from Phoenix in Arizona, USA, is so N'Sync with the superstar’s looks that he has been paid to party on a plane, asked to be a “boyfriend” for an event, and so much more.
“I’ve had hundreds of people say I look like Justin Timberlake throughout my life, I thought if people think I’m him without even trying I should do something about it.”
His likeness to Justin started after Peter (then 14) cut his hair short – his siblings initially teased him about it. Since then hundreds of people have compared him to the superstar – from air hostesses who treat him as if he’s the SexyBack singer to directors on film sets believing he’s the real deal.
He can charge up to $500 (R6 000) for his work, ranging from meet-and-greets to club appearances and he was even filmed for a documentary about Britney Spears.
He says his lookalike career began when he was working as an Uber driver. “One night a party of pilots and hostesses for a private jet paid me to stop driving and party with them!
“I’d love to see how far I could go with this and do it full time travelling around the country or world making things happen.”
Peter says his neighbour was the first person to catch on when he was 14 and Justin 18. “I had buzz cut my hair and my neighbour told me I looked just like Justin. She suggested I try to double for him.”
But Peter downplayed his likeness until September 2016 when he realised that even if he didn’t try to imitate Justin people would still believe he was the performer.
Now he’s signed to Mirror Images, a lookalike and talent agency for celebrity doppelgangers.
He wants to extend his act to become more of a performer. “I wouldn’t classify myself as a dancer or a singer. Last year I started choreography lessons – I’m not there yet but have practiced a fair amount.
“What I really enjoy is interacting with the crowd or people on the street – meeting them, taking photos and videos. I’m slowly but surely ramping up more performances too.”
Take a look at some pics here:
(PHOTOS: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA)
