Guides
Lookalike guide: booking and consent for New York doubles
This lookalike guide covers how New York doubles are booked, stand-in versus photo-double duties, the union contracts that apply, agency licensing and consent.
This lookalike guide covers how a New York double gets booked for stage and television work, what separates a stand-in from a photo double, which union agreement a booking falls under, how to check a New York agency, and what the state's likeness law requires. It describes the process and the paperwork; the dollar minimums come from the current union rate sheet named in each deal.
What to take away
- A production request can reach casting, which may draw on existing files or agency submissions.
- A stand-in holds position for lighting. A photo double is filmed. The brief names which role pays.
- Television and stage bookings may fall under different agreements, including the SAG-AFTRA Network Television Code and the Actors' Equity Production Contract.
- In New York City, a business whose primary work is finding engagements for artists is a theatrical employment agency and needs an Employment Agency license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
- Sections 50 and 51 of the New York Civil Rights Law make prior written consent the dividing line.
How a New York double gets booked
For Broadway double work, a company manager or general manager can send the request to casting, which may pull from files it already holds.
That request names the principal, the dates, the required match and the rate. Without a file entry, an agency submission is the normal route in.
The match is measured. Height, build, hairline, skin tone and gait have to read from the back of the house or through a lens.
A resemblance that cannot hit a mark will not survive a preview. Stage management watches whether you hold blocking and stay quiet in the wings. Costume changes between cues decide many jobs.
That is a wardrobe problem more than a likeness problem. At the first fitting, ask how many changes the track has and how fast each one has to happen.
- The production or general manager sends the double request to casting and agencies.
- Casting reviews submissions and may ask for a self tape or an in person match test.
- The chosen double is checked for union status and availability.
- The company manager issues a contract or deal memo with dates, role type and rate.
- The double reports to the theatre for wardrobe, fittings and cue calls.
Broadway double booking sequence
- Production sends double request
- Casting reviews submissions
- Self tape or match test
- Check union status and availability
- Book double and confirm rate
Union status is checked at step three. Some Broadway double work sits under an Equity contract and some is hired on a waiver. Even then the double is an employee under the FLSA, which sets minimum wage and overtime where no exemption applies.
Stand-in work and photo double work compared
What you do
- Stand-in
- Holds position while lighting and camera are set
- Photo double
- Performs on camera, usually in long shot
- Both
- One person does both on some shows
How pay is set
- Stand-in
- Background rate plus a daily bump
- Photo double
- Union day rate, or a non-union rate
- Both
- The brief names both roles and rates
Non-union stand-in days in New York commonly fall in a $200 to $400 range for a ten hour day. That is a typical range, not a published rate.
Union minimums are set in each contract's rate sheet and move with each bargaining cycle, so take the figure from the current sheet for the agreement named in your deal memo. The Bureau of Labor Statistics actor occupation overview shows part-time work and wide earnings variation nationally.
Union contract tiers that cover double work
SAG-AFTRA covers most network television and film, and Actors' Equity Association covers most Broadway and off-Broadway stage. A signatory production applies its contract to doubles too. The SAG-AFTRA rules for lookalikes and photo doubles are relevant when determining which agreement applies to a booking.
For Broadway, the Equity Production Contract is the main tier. Smaller houses often use the Off-Broadway Agreement or the American National Theatre Agreement. On television, the Network Television Code and the TV/Theatrical Agreement carry different minimums and residual terms.
Confirm five points in writing: the minimum rate, fitting and rehearsal pay, the overtime trigger, residuals on reused footage, and the credit rule. For most workers, overtime is paid for time worked after 40 hours in one work week, according to the New York Attorney General's wages and pay guidance.
Vetting a New York agency
Agency requirements and exemptions can differ by jurisdiction and type of representation. In New York City, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection draws the line: if a business's primary work is finding employment or engagements for artists, it is a theatrical employment agency and needs an Employment Agency license, and a theatrical agency files the Theatrical Employment Agency Self-Certification. A personal manager whose job-finding is only incidental to managing artists falls outside that license. Ask which one you are signing with, then review the written agreement and vet its terms yourself.
- Commission comes out of your earnings, never an upfront fee.
- The commission rate and what it covers are written into the contract.
- The agency is franchised by SAG-AFTRA for union submissions.
- You keep approval over any use of your likeness.
- The contract has an end date and a clear exit.
Agency rules before signing
- Commission from earnings, not upfront fee
- Commission rate written in contract
- Union franchised if submitting union work
- You approve likeness use
- Clear end date and exit
- No required photo or class purchases
- Check BBB and attorney general
Exclusivity, commission, likeness rights and termination terms can affect a booking long after it ends. Check whether the agreement limits the uses and duration of your likeness; US lookalike contract clauses can help identify the terms that need scrutiny.
What sections 50 and 51 require in New York
Sections 50 and 51 cover unauthorized use of a living person's name, portrait, picture or voice for advertising or trade. Section 50 makes that a misdemeanor. Section 51 gives a civil claim for damages and an injunction.
The dividing line is prior written consent. New York has no broad statutory post-mortem right of publicity, and its statute is narrower than California's. This sits inside the wider field of personality rights.
A release should state scope, term, media and fee. A clause that does the work reads like this:
The Producer may use the Performer's likeness in Series X, Season 2, in the United States and Canada, for twelve months from first broadcast, in the program and its trailers. Any other use, medium or term requires a separate written agreement and an additional fee.
Example: a release that stopped at the episode
A New York actor books a photo double role on a network series. Her agency submits, casting books, and the production issues a deal memo under a SAG-AFTRA contract. She signs a release limited to the episode and its trailer for one year.
The scope of a signed release—not the booking alone—sets the limits on the production's later use. US right-of-publicity law differs by state, so the release should define the permitted uses.
