A Tom Cruise impersonator has revealed how being a dead ringer for the movie star helped ‘pay off his credit card debt in just one day.’
Los Angeles-based Evan Ferrante has worked as an impersonator for the past two decades, having first used the unusual skill to pick up women while studying.
After leaving university, he had racked up $40,000 in credit card debt but soon found a unique way of paying it off.
The now 44-year-old claimed that he earned enough money to cover the debt in 24 hours by mimicking the Mission Impossible star – which became the start of his successful career in Hollywood.
Evan explained: ‘I managed to pay off all of my debt in just one day.
‘I was contacted by a company in Australia. They wanted me to film a couple of comedic sketches as Tom Cruise after discovering some of my work online.
‘In the green-lit sketches Tom buys a cappuccino; he purchases some salmon at a fish store; and the final sketch shows him walking the red carpet with then-wife Katie Holmes who towers over him.
‘I wrote the scripts, hired the crew, locked down the locations and planned out my shot list.’
He continued: ‘After agonizing over the delay in receiving my first international wire transfer, I finally received approximately $40,000 on the first day of production.
‘I used this to clear all my debt in one fell swoop. It felt incredibly satisfying.
‘This was one of the pivotal parts of my career that I look back on which feels like a turning point and I feel so grateful to Tom for inadvertently looking over me,’ he said.
The New York native’s career initially got off the ground when he made friends with Alex Merkin at Boston University who is now a Hollywood director.
Alex who was able to mimic Jean-Claude Van Damme was the first one to point out how much his pal reminded him of Cruise – with the duo performing a routine to pick up women.
‘He was the one who told me that I seemed like Tom with his voice and his mannerisms.
‘Alex did a great Jean-Claude Van Damme impression so we decided to use this as a college ice-breaker and to meet women.
‘We used to knock on people’s dorm rooms to do our routine. Some of the times we had great success and other times we had doors slammed in our face,’ he recalled.
In 2004, Evan decided to take things a step further.
‘I decided to start making a montage of Tom’s performances with a wig and glasses from my apartment in Astoria in Queens, New York.
‘It caught people’s attention in Hollywood and I started doing a mix of comedy sketches and live corporate performances.
‘I’ve now worked as an impersonator for over two decades, travelling around the world including the US, UK, and New Zealand.
‘The most requested characters from clients are Maverick from Top Gun, Jerry Maguire and Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible.
‘I’ve had some crazy reactions from the public including crying fans and others completely fooled by the impersonation that they thought they were talking to Tom Cruise himself,’ he said.
Evan has also met his idol – a moment he says he will ‘never forget.’
‘It was at Chateau Marmont, an iconic landmark in Los Angeles while I was out for dessert and drinks with friends.
‘A friend told me Tom had been seen there that day. I looked around but couldn’t find him so I assumed we’d missed him.
‘Suddenly I felt this energy to my left, turned around and saw Tom at a table having dinner with 20 people.
‘I tried to buy him an expensive bottle of champagne but the waitress said it wasn’t allowed so I continued with my evening.
‘Tom left before us at around 1.45am. My girlfriend then went to the bathroom and said she’d run into Tom and that he was waiting outside for me.
‘I couldn’t believe it. I got out of my chair and literally sprinted to the valet and there he was!
‘He slowly turned to me, we were drawn together and he was so kind and attentive.
‘This was around eight years ago but I remember that he told me my voice was “uncanny,” which is something I plaster on my website now,’ he said.
Interestingly Evan says his parents weren’t huge fans of his career move at first but having seen his success and the joy he brings to a legion of Tom’s fans, their opinion has since changed.
‘My mom and dad weren’t supportive at all at first. They used to say it was a complete joke and it’s not a career.
‘However, they’re so different now they’ve seen my success and have embraced it and supported me so much.
‘All my friends are just stunned at how I’ve managed to keep this up as a career for so long,’ he confessed.
Evan gets plenty of love from fans online too with dozens of users commenting on his Instagram.
One wrote: ‘The mouth and nose crinkle! If I close my eyes and listen it is Tom Cruise!’
Another added: ‘Is it weird that I am attracted to you as Tom Cruise?’
Someone else commented: ‘Every time you post I have to check it’s not the actual Tom Cruise, you are the king.’
Others said that Evan ‘looked just like him’ as another simply said: ‘Omg you have the Tom Cruise smile.’
