Have you ever been told you strongly resemble some celebrity or internet personality to the point where you think of making a career out of it? Well Roman Burtzev certainly has.
After having found a job as a celebrity impersonator for looking like the Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, Burtzev is now heading to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine after weight gain lost him his job.
Roman went viral after sharing images on a dating site
Like many young people, Roman Burtzev had uploaded pictures of himself on an online dating site before going viral for his resemblance to the Titanic actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
His viral fame had taken place long before President Putin launched an attack on Ukraine.
Lucky for him, the timing was right
Burtzev was lucky to have gone viral at the time Leonardo DiCaprio had recently won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role back in 2016.
The Hollywood star was on mind for a lot of people at the time, making Burtzev’s fame easier to ignite.
The resemblance was strong
Burtzev resembles the Titanic actor in more ways than one; they have both got striking blue eyes, a round face, and the same short brown hair.
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While Roman Burtzev was only thirty-three when he went viral, eight years DiCaprio’s junior, this didn’t deter him from the job.
It started paying off
The Russian computer programmer started getting contacted by modeling agencies and was soon after posing for Leonardo DiCaprio lookalike photoshoots.
The gig was so successful that Roman decided to quit his job as a programmer and take up a full-time role as the Hollywood star’s famous impersonator.
He was even invited by the press
The Russian impersonator was invited by the press to talk about his fame and could even regularly land starring roles in adverts posed as DiCaprio.
Burtzev even continued to grab the press’s attention after he had stopped impersonating the superstar.
But his new occupation didn’t last
Burtzev admitted that many modeling and advertising agencies had stopped signing him onto photoshoots as he started gaining weight and losing resemblance to the actor.
It also didn’t help that photography gigs required showing up in person on sets, something the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t freely allow for.
Burtzev decided on a new path
Roman stated that even though he found the right weight loss method for him, it was after a long time of trial and error with other methods.
The 2020 pandemic didn’t spare Burtzev’s job either, so he decided to give up on modeling and join the Russian troops.
It led Burtzev to sign a contract
After Russia began its operation in Ukraine, Burtzev decided it was a good idea to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense to join his country’s troops.
The Russian programmer said this wasn’t an easy decision but rather one he had to think about for several months.
Burtzev became a member of the military
His contract with the ministry gives Burtzev $2,106 a month on top of $20,000 and training. It also qualifies his family for up to $28,000 if he loses his life on the frontlines.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine started in the first quarter of 2022 and has been ongoing since.
Impersonators come and go
The internet and media industries have always found lookalikes amusing as they participate in entertaining forms of media.
But when you’re from a place that could require your military duty, your life could end up stirring in directions away from all the fame.
