A lot of movies and TV shows employ body doubles. Sometimes they're used for stunts, or because they have a specific skill, like doing ten perfect cartwheels in a row. Sometimes they're used for shots where the actor's face isn't visible, so that the actor's time can be better conserved. (Taking a nap, spending time with their kids, snorting coke in their trailer, etc.) And of course, body doubles can be used for nude scenes, if the actor doesn't feel comfortable. (Or has a super gross body.)
Recently Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, introduced fans to his stunt double and brought him to tears with an incredibly generous gift. Now America's sweetheart, Reese Witherspoon, has followed suit. On Monday, she introduced the world to her longtime body double in a new Instagram video. Unfortunately, there's no incredibly generous gift - come on, step your game up, Reese! - but it's still pretty cool.
Her name is Marilee Leslee, and she worked with Reese on five movies. Currently she's helping out on Reese's HBO series Big Little Lies, which is where they recorded the video. On Instagram Story, Reese revealed that they've known each other since 2003. Reese wrote, "I met Marilee on Legally Blonde 2 and she looks so much like me and everybody said we look so much alike so she became my double!”
On Marilee's Instagram's account, she shared a throwback post from 2005, when they were filming the movie Just Like Heaven. While they met on the set of Legally Blonde 2, this was the first time they worked together. In the caption, Marilee wrote that she has "So many great memories on that film and met some great people who will always be lifelong friends!"
In another post, Marilee shared a heartwarming story about how Reese helped her through a difficult time in her life. In 2016, the death of a brother coincided with a tough divorce, and severe financial hardships.
"You would have never known that just 1 day prior I was attending my brother’s funeral… and that the 2+ weeks prior was spent sleeping in a hospital waiting room waiting for him to wake up from the coma he was in from his motorcycle accident. You would have never known that me and my 3 kids didn’t even have a home and were in the middle of a hard divorce, and that we lived in a friends living room, with just the clothes on our backs to our name…
"Reese came to me on this shoot as she learned about all the tragedies and trials that had unfolded in my life that month and she asked how she could help. Even told me I could go home paid… I was prideful, and told her everything was going to be okay. I didn’t need a thing. Inside I was scared and felt like giving up. I wanted to shout ‘yes!! Please help!!! I don’t have a place to live!!!’ I was grateful for her listening ear and advice…and touched at her caring heart."
Well, you know what we need to see now? A photo of Reese, Marilee and Ava Phillippe, Reese's 18-year-old daughter. Ava is the spitting image of mother and photos of the pair recently went viral. Forget twins - can you imagine a photo of the triplets? It would break the Internet. Maybe they can all meet up on the set of Legally Blonde 3.
