Promoting a movie can be draining for an actor, but usually you can expect them to come to the premiere if they're not busy with another project. That was the case last night with comedian Hannibal Buress, who couldn't appear Spider-Man: Homecoming premiere in Los Angeles because he's currently in Atlanta working on the movie Tag. But rather than just not show up to the big Marvel event, Buress hired a double to go to the premiere in his place, and the result was hilarious. Take a look at what went down.
As you can see, the guy filling in for Hannibal Buress plays it straight with answering questions about Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it's more hilarious that A, he looks nothing like Buress, and B, Marvel Live correspondent Tamara Krinsky doesn't know he isn't the real deal. As for how this stunt came to be, Buress first posted on Twitter (those tweets have since been deleted) that he was offering a $500 reward for a double to fill in for him at the Spider-Man: Homecoming premiere and get pictures. He eventually emailed Joe Carroll, an actor and author who has worked for Buress before. Carroll said:
I've actually done body-double work for him before, but not on this capacity. I didn't actually know what he wanted me to do for this until last minute. I was cooking dinner and he emailed me, and I had less than an hour to get ready.
Not having that much time to prepare, Joe Carroll told People that he watched videos of Hannibal Buress to quickly learn his mannerisms. He then hired a car to take him to the Spider-Man: Homecoming premiere, and while he was worried that the "jig was up" when he arrived, this stunt went off without a hitch. Carroll even spoke to some other members of the Spider-Man: Homecoming cast, who didn't realize what was going on. Carroll left early because his phone died and he didn't want to be found out, but he said would want to walk down the red carpet again if it was under his own name. As for Buress, he just wanted to have a little fun while he was working on the other side of the United States. He explained:
I was on set, in between shooting while it was all happening. I just couldn't not be involved at all, and I knew it would get some interest, I but I definitely didn't expect it to go this crazy. I don't know how the higher ups feel about it, but I think it was good for all parties. It's a fun thing --- it was harmless.
Spider-Man: Homecoming reunites moviegoers with Peter Parker a few months after Captain America: Civil War, where he's balancing his high school life with his superhero activities. Hannibal Buress plays Coach Wilson, the gym teacher at Peter's school.
The first MCU Spider-Man movie spins its web in theaters on July 7.
