Court TV Host: Our guest today is Tom Cruise look-a-like Mike Hoagland. He was recently profiled in a Hollywood Heat article, along with other celebrity impersonators. The article focused on the legal limits and the areas of difficulty that look-a-likes can face.

Court TV Host: Or you can go to Hollywood Heat's main page and find it there as well along with all sorts of other entertainment news.

Court TV Host: Mike Hoagland, thanks for being our guest today.

Mike Hoagland: Good to be here with you. Fire away with questions!

Court TV Host: Anything you'd like to say before we take questions?

Mike Hoagland: I've been doing look-alike work since 1999. I am centered in the Boston area, but have worked as far west as Denver and in Puerto Rico twice!

Question from boca: Hi, Mike, I look like Nicole Kidman -- wanna go to Vegas??

Mike Hoagland: I'd love to!! :-) Seriously, if you look like Nicole and don't do work, you should contact my agent. If you do do look-alike work, we need to work together. We could do quite a show!

Question from tara: Mike, what exactly do you do in your appearances?

Mike Hoagland: It ranges from meet-and-greet at corporate parties to performing lines as a mystery agent at sales meetings. There's some acting involved, but mostly it's about smiling, taking photos, and looking pretty like Tom!

Question from kapsy: If I looked like Nicole I wouldn't need your agent.

Mike Hoagland: I don't know...I look like Tom and I NEED my agent! :-)

Question from Cortaid: Does looking like someone else take any practice?

Mike Hoagland: Well, for me no. My features and mannerisms happen to be a lot of his...just by my nature. That's what people tell me...and by people I mean friends, family, co-workers and so on. But many look-alikes spend hours with make-up, wigs, fitting into tight dresses, etc. So I'm lucky... But what I do do is keep up- to-date on Tom's news, and I watch his movies over time and again just to stay sharp on the one-liners and his attitude, etc. That's what I take with me to my jobs.

Question from kate_oregon: Did you alter anything about yourself to make you look more like cruise? Like plastic surgery, dental implants, etc?

Mike Hoagland: Good question. Again, I am fortunate to have some of his features so not only do I not have to do that, I wouldn't do that. It's just not worth it for me. But my agent points out to me time and again that my eyebrows are not as dark or bushy as his so that's what I work on before an event. Other than that, it's trying to maintain his latest hairstyle, and in the Vanilla Sky days, that was rough!

Question from Cortaid: Mike...if kapsy looks like Nicole, could you ask her to call me?

Mike Hoagland: Will do Cortaid!!

Question from Lolly-In-Ohio: Hi Mike, do you adjust your looks (hair length, color, facial hair, etc) based on Tom's current look?

Mike Hoagland: Yes! I always ask the client if they want scruffy Tom or clean cut Tom! And you read my comment above about the hair. BTW, I'm from Ohio!!

Question from kapsy: So, where do you draw the line, as far as "how far can celebrity impersonators go?"

Question from Cortaid: Mr. Hoagland - Just how far can celebrity impersonators go?

Mike Hoagland: How far can they go or how far do they go? The people I have worked with all have seemed to have a lot of integrity. It was actually news to me what I read in the articles mentioned above ...that look-alikes were going out and goofing on people trying for freebies. As I told the interviewer, if someone WANTS to believe I'm him, I won't necessarily dissuade them, but I'm not going to go out with an entourage either. Oh, and I've never explicitly used it to pick up "chicks". It has certainly made people approach me and ask questions (like you are now), but at no point was I trying to make moves on people as Mr. Cruise. Just not my style.

Question from elroh: First, I think you're cuter than Tom...How often do you work in this capacity?

Mike Hoagland: HAHAHA!! Thank you. My wife thinks so too. ;-) 2005 was a great year for me. I had on average one gig per month, but 2006 has been slower, only one job so far and that was in Dallas back in April, but I do it for side money and for fun so it's more like a hobby than a career!

Question from JERRY: Mike, have you ever been requested to jump up and down on a couch with an Oprah look alike sitting next to you?

Mike Hoagland: HAHAHA!!! I love it! No, but at a corporate holiday party I did last December I was asked to stand on a chair and yell "I love her!!" Of course I obliged. The customer is "always" right...so long as they don't ask for autographs!

Question from tara: Mike, Has Tom's scientology affected your job as his look-a-like in a negative manner?

Mike Hoagland: Great question. To be honest I thought it might and this year has been slower so that may be possible. But I have had many offers for work that, for one reason or another did not get booked in the end. So the jury is out on that.

Question from tara: Mike, how do you sign autographs?

Mike Hoagland: Easy answer...I don't "sign" anything. When asked, I will tell people that I cannot sign his name but I would happy to print "Tom" in quotes. That's the so-called gray area and I'm not going there. Tom is not opposed to law suits and I want no part of them! :-)

Question from OO7: Do you get mistaken for Tom Cruise when you are not performing?

Mike Hoagland: Not mistaken for him (I'm too tall and my nose is smaller), but very often folks will randomly come up to me and say, "Has anyone ever told you you look like Tom Cruise?" My friends say that if they had a nickel for every time someone asked when we were out they'd be retired and sailing off some tropical island.

Question from jill: Have you done any stand in work for tom? If so, I have another question pertaining to that,,,

Mike Hoagland: No, no stand in work but I would LOVE to! What I have heard is that Tom is not a fan of look-a-likes. So while I'm sure he has stand-ins, I'm not sure they would come looking for me since I am a look-a-like in this business.

Question from tara: Mike, does being 'Tom' pay well or you need a second job?

Question from elroh: What's your day job, and does your TC resemblance hinder you in that?

Mike Hoagland: Great questions. I definitely could not do this for a living, although some look-a-likes do. I'm an electrical engineer by day, and being Tom Cruise is merely side work. In reality, my resemblance allows me to better develop relationships and establish direct rapport. It's an icebreaker.

Question from Lolly-In-Ohio: Mike, does anyone think you look like Dustin Hoffmann? I was watching your video on your rep's website and I think you resemble him also.

Mike Hoagland: Interesting. I haven't heard that one before. But I also wouldn't be opposed to it. My nose is definitely not big enough there...HAHA

Question from Cortaid: Mike...it sounds like great fun. Is it?

Question from Didier2: Where is the pleasure trying to look like a celebrity?

Mike Hoagland: I really do enjoy it. I'm a people person by nature, and I enjoy opportunities to make people smile and be happy. So the pleasure and fulfillment I get beyond side money comes from seeing that wry smile and knowing that in some small way I was able to brighten someone's day.

Court TV Host: Thank you very much for being our guest today. You showed us the money!

(June 8, 2006)