“Hollywood is a place where dreams are made and dreams are broken.”

            For nearly 25 years, A Christopher Reeve lookalike turned heads on Hollywood Boulevard where he found fame as a Superman impersonator. But lately, Los Angeles resident Christopher Dennis is feeling more like Clark Kent after he said his suit was stolen last August, forcing him to live on the streets.

            Dennis became homeless after high rents prompted him to move onto the grounds of a dog rescue organization, where he worked as a caretaker. And then into an RV, which didn’t run and became unaffordable. He continued to perform as Superman, washing his outfit every day, until he was attacked by a man wielding a golf club, who broke a number of his teeth and stole his outfit.

          “The Superman outfit is kinda like a shield for me. I get to escape my reality and my flaws,” Dennis said.

           Dennis, who claims to have stopped actual crimes while dressed in character, is hoping he’ll be able to go back to work soon.

          “it’s my heart’s desire to be Superman out there, When I put on the outfit for the first time again and get all cleaned up, I’m gonna feel like a new man,” he added.

           Now Dennis, who has set up two GoFundMe pages to help him raise money to buy a new costume, is hoping someone will come to his rescue.

  The struggling impersonator is no stranger to adversity and credits his costumed persona for helping him kick his crack habit in the early 90s.

            Dennis says he finds his strength when he thinks of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who, after a horse riding accident became an inspiration for people living with paralysis. 

          About 47,000 homeless people were counted in Los Angeles County during a tally last year, a number bolstered by climbing rents in the region. Impersonators are not immune to these economic forces and face unique challenges.

            Speaking in a secluded corner by Madame Tussauds one evening in mid-March, Darth Vader said he had made $27 in three hours that afternoon, or less than the California minimum wage. Why, then does the work appeal? This is not just the case of Christopher Dennis; there are much more famous characters who are wandering through the streets.

           Among the characters showboating in front of the Chinese Theater and parading in their regalia along the Walk of Fame, his situation is not unprecedented. There is Darth Vader who has spent nights sleeping on the sidewalk with costume in a backpack, and a Joker whose survival strategy sometimes involved trying to stay awake when it was dark out.

         “I suffer from social anxiety disorder,” said Vader, also known as Mitchell Schonberner, who is 6ft 8in counting his helmet and platform boots.” I realized that when I put on the costume people wouldn’t see me,” and that “it makes me a little bit braver”.

           Schonberner, a gentle man missing a few front teeth, was born in St Louis and has been homeless off and on since the age of 18. His character repertoire extends from Han Solo to Chewbacca, Severus Snape and Jason Voorhees form Friday the 13th. Now 32, he attributes his precarious living situation to bad luck, injuries from road and trampoline accidents that prevent him taking up other occupations, and his willingness to accept help form friends.

            A man who plays the Joker, and goes by the adopted name of Tyler Watts said,  he stays in character while homeless because it deters troublemakers.

          “I would rather be sleeping with all the makeup and everything on,” he said.  “There is something a little bit intimidating about being the Joker.” 

          Watts said he is staying with a friend but has experienced episodes of homelessness since the summer of 2016, amid difficult personal circumstances that included a bout of pneumonia and losing his car, phone and money in a robbery.

         Joe McQueen has been chasing his Hollywood dream since 1992 when he arrived in Los Angeles, age 15, with just a dollar fifty in his pocket and a taste for stardom. The 37-year-old North Carolina native, who starred in the 2007 documentary Confessions of a Superhero, has been a fixture on Hollywood Boulevard since 2001— and his story is even more incredible than the Hulk outfit he dons to ply his trade on the famed street.

         Joe was raised by his  severely disabled  mother, and says his home life made him the target of bullies throughout his early childhood, forcing him to spend his out of school hours at home, alone, in front of the television—which is how he first developed his thirst for Hollywood.

         Joe pulled into downtown LA in April 1992—15 years old, with no friends or family to turn to, nowhere to stay and just $1.50 to his name. Thankfully, a kind Samaritan took pity on the teenager bought him dinner and allowed Joe to spend the night sleeping in his TV repair shop in South Los Angeles.

   "It's only a matter of time. People have never believed in me, but I'm going to prove them all wrong. I'm going to keep working; I'm going to keep fighting the fight." he said.

           Meet Jennifer Wenger, a girl from Tennessee turned Amazonian Princess who has been acting and modeling as ‘Wonder Woman’ in Los Angeles since 2004. She goes out on the street as Wonder Woman, appears in comic book conventions, poses as a reference model for comics, does charity work, bodyguards Stan Lee and has performed in sketches on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!” She is doing this for money, not for any celebrity status.  

            Maxwell Allen aka Batman is a guy with some dark psychological issues and a serious anger management problem. He claims to have worked security for an organized crime family and even insists he killed a man but was never brought up on charges due to lack of evidence. Whether that’s true or mystery, as even his own wife is skeptical of his shady past. Allen comes to symbolize the Hollywood 

heroes, the ones who have repeatedly been arrested for angrily hassling tourists for not properly tipping them after photos. These incidents happened every few months, and even prompted the characters to be banned from the streets of Hollywood for a long time. 

           But Allen’s story has an extra subplot: he too wanted to be a serious actor, but his career came to a grinding halt because the guy looks exactly like a gap toothed George Clooney in the Bat suit, doubly so. There are a million obstacles to overcome in the pursuit of acting success, but they all pale in comparison to being doppelganger for one of the most recognizable and successful actor/directors in the business.

          The history of boulevard impersonators is often said to begin with Dennis, who began performing in 1991 as a young Superman devotee with a remarkable resemblance to Christopher Reeve. Over the years their numbers ballooned, occasionally becoming cause for concern.

          Now-a-days they are earning money by posing for pictures with tourists.

       Hollywood is not a place where everyone lives a star studded life. There are these kinds of people who are struggling for a day’s bread.

           While the stars are earning billions for a film, their impersonators are struggling for survival. Even though, homelessness is a very common issue in US, these guys tell us a different face of Hollywood. Hollywood can eat you up and spit you out—but these stars-in-the-making are not giving up the fight anytime soon. No matter how many times they stumble and fall, they continue to show perseverance in the face of incredible odds. It’s goddamn heroic!!