Tom Cruise is thriving, and Top Gun: Maverick is still breaking Paramount records. And while the star is achieving success, Miles Fisher, famous for his deepfakes of Cruz, is getting a significant stir. Of course, the viral spread of his supernatural images of the actor helped to raise his authority. But, as Fischer now says, tricking people into thinking he’s Cruz has proven to be a burden, even among celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio.
Miles Fisher definitely seems to appreciate the attention and work he’s received, thanks to his resemblance to the “Mission Impossible” star. However, whenever he works with Hollywood titans, there is something he just can’t get rid of. As explained by Fischer:
However, I’ve had a decent amount of fun playing with some extraordinary people. I’ve worked with Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie. I improvised with Vince Vaughn, Laurence Fishburne and Keegan-Michael Key. I seriously played with Elisabeth Moss, Courtney Vance and Owen Wilson. Do you know what they all had in common? Each of them thought it was crazy how much I looked like Tom Cruise. I was doing acting to prove that I’m not just a Tom Cruise guy. I failed.
Working alongside the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and Laurence Fishburne seems to have been mostly enjoyable for him. However, it seems that it has become burdensome for Miles Fisher that they see nothing but similarities with Tom Cruise. A celebrity can certainly be a tool that can empower people in a positive way. Although Fischer opened up more in his THR article, saying that the constant comparisons put him in a very interesting state as a person:
The vast majority of people who noticed my resemblance to Tom Cruise are happy that they have established a connection (ha), and little think about what a strange burden and responsibility it was for me both personally and professionally. All my adult life I have lived in a state similar to Groundhog Day, when people stopped me every day to compare me with the most famous actor alive. I’m constantly reminded that for everyone else, I’m the guy. And it always ends with a feeling of being hit in the face.
Comparing a star to Groundhog Day really puts his situation in perspective, and it definitely sounds tedious. I can say that if I was constantly compared to another person by my appearance, I would probably feel the same as him. It is worth noting that the viral performer even demonstrated a willingness to delete viral videos so as not to offend the real actor. He also may have done so because of security concerns that analysts had due to the seamless nature of the clips.
Before going viral because of his videos with Tom Cruise on TikTok, Mike Fischer achieved early success on the internet thanks to his parodies of music videos on YouTube. He often parodied Hollywood products, including TV shows and movies, and the Maverick actor was already a huge success with Fisher at that time. He told how the fact that he posed as a Hollywood icon so early affected his growing acting career.:
I faked “American Psycho” and “Saved by the Bell.” I’ve been faking Hollywood agencies and, of course, Tom Cruise. I liked to see how the number of views exceeded the millionth mark. I felt like it was proof of concept that there are viewers who like to watch me. But were they really looking at me? The resemblance to Tom Cruise was becoming a real hindrance professionally. It seemed that no matter how good I was at faking others, I was just faking him too well. Once you saw how I was doing it, you couldn’t see it anymore, and there wasn’t much I could do to get rid of it. Believe me, I tried.
It was certainly difficult for him to get rid of the status of a Tom Cruise lookalike. Clearly, he wants to be seen as actor Mike Fisher, not as the guy from Deepfake Cruise. It can be difficult for stars to avoid such labels, and one can only hope that Fischer will be able to break out of them.
However, using these deepfakes worked for Mike Fisher as he teamed up with celebrities like Keegan-Michael Key and Paris Hilton for important viral moments. But viral success doesn’t mean happiness, as some might say. Let’s hope that his strength will grow into a Hollywood career that is not defined by his resemblance to a star.
If you want to see the real Tom Cruise in action, check out Top Gun: Maverick, which is currently in theaters. You can check out the movie schedule for 2022 to find out which other films the Top Gun star will appear in next.
