The most ingenious impostors in popculture

A person’s identity is a funny thing. Because if you don't know their true identity, you immediately believe the fabricated one, as long as it is presented with the right conviction. The frequently remade Talented Mr. Ripley from Patricia Highsmith is just one example of how cinema and literature are fascinated by so-called impostors who lose themselves in a life of lies- and the audience too, of course. If we’re really being honest with ourselves - who wouldn't like to be someone else for a change?

1
Why not just “fake it ‘til you make it” as a pilot, despite not having any real training? Oh Leo …
2
One of the 20th century’s most spectacular coups, just as captivating in film.
3
Among the most sinister aspects of criminal imposture is the art of imitating real people …
4
Thomas Mann's seductive impostor climbs the social ladder all the way to the royal court of Lisbon.
5
Insurance fraud is still considered a fairly easy way to get money, even if it does all too often lead to jail time …
6
The virtuoso mastery of combining film and forgery in cinema under the guise of a mockumentary.
7
Ripley's talents: "forging signatures, telling tall tales, imitating people …"
8
Inventing Anna