Obama lookalike in demand ahead of inauguration season

They have something else in common, too: a frantic schedule leading up to the inauguration.

“It's definitely a busy time,” Graves said in an interview. “Between the campaign season and the inauguration, it's been prime time. Barack Obama is a respectable guy. People want to have him at their parties.”

Recent weeks have seen a flurry of events for Graves, from corporate gatherings to special appearances and photo-ops.

In a Marriot hotel in Chantilly, Virginia, a security detail with earpieces worked the crowded rotunda, hotel guards whispering into their sleeves. Necks craned, and there were gasps as Graves emerged through the door.

“Whoa. That's not ... is it? Obama?” someone asked. A smattering of cheers, a few boos, and a fusillade of camera flashes greeted him.

“Are you fired up?” Graves shouted in mock-Obama voice. He worked the crowd, flanked by two other actors dressed as Secret Service members, shaking hands and posing for cellphone pictures.

It's been a busy four years for the Montgomery Village, Maryland resident, who realized during the 2008 primary campaign he had a peculiar resemblance to the Illinois senator. He submitted a photo to a management company called Cast of Thousands and has since been augmenting his income as a substitute art teacher by appearing as Obama.

Graves' preparation goes beyond a physical resemblance and a nice suit decorated with the flag pin. He adds makeup, darkens his eyebrows and lips, adds a prosthetic mole to the side of his nose and even dusts a little white paint into his hair.

“I find people want to believe, and so they go along with it. And there are other people who want to judge and say, 'Oh, he's not Barack.'”

Graves stresses he's not an Obama impersonator but strictly a lookalike, though he tries his best to mimic the president's manner and speech.

“That voice, that voice — Barack has a very distinctive voice. He has a very loud voice, a very distinctive vocal pattern, and I have to really think about conserving and using (it).”

Not all events go smoothly for the faux-Obama.

Graves once traveled to Hong Kong to film a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken. In the ad, “Obama” delivered a speech when an enormous sandwich landed on his head. It was later deemed controversial and pulled off the air, according to Graves' manager, Jan Kearney.

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