They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. If that’s true, the antics of one Hong Kong resident should be making North Korea’s babyfaced Supreme Leader’s head swell even wider than its default bulbous size. Since landing a deal to star as Kim Jong-un in an advert for Israeli hamburger chain Burger Ranch earlier this year, a Hong Kong-born Australian named Howard has been carving out a side career as a professional Kim lookalike.
Howard – who, by day, is a jobbing music producer and band booker – doesn’t give his surname publicly. Which is probably wise, considering North Korea historically has a bit of a penchant for abducting foreign nationals who’ve wronged them in some way, before trapping them there indefinitely. But after getting his break in the burger advert – in which he launches a nuke at Washington DC to show his disdain for McDonald’s, before eating an Israeli Burger Ranch patty and declaring: “How can I send the Israelis to hell with such a taste from heaven?” – global interview requests have been pouring in.
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Howard agreed to give me his first proper interview to discuss how all this came about.
VICE: Hi Howard. When did you first realise you strongly resembled one of the world’s most famous tyrants?
Howard: When he first came on the scene, just before his dad Kim Jong-il introduced him and promoted him to the head of the army or something. I thought, ‘Man, that’s my face.’ Apart from that, I didn’t think too much about it. Then a few people pointed it out and I thought about impersonators elsewhere making cash, and realised I could do that, too.
How did you make the world aware of your uncanny similarity?
I got that stupid haircut – it’s fucking horrible – and I already owned one of those Mao suits. Back in 1997, I wore it for the Hong Kong handover parties. Also, I’ve got his body shape and I eat a lot so I’ve got a double chin – no need for props. I took some photos, uploaded them to Facebook and an Israeli production house found me. They were producing a commercial for the competitor of McDonald’s, Burger Ranch.
I’ve seen the advert on YouTube – it’s a fine debut performance. Can you explain your part for people who aren’t familiar with it?
They specialise in kosher burgers for Orthodox Jews who don’t eat meat with cheese. The night before my shoot, they hired the best Barack Obama impersonator, called Reggie Brown, [who made another video in the series about] how the president has one of McDonald’s “Big America” burgers, which is a one-inch-thick meat patty. My role was to say, “Fuck you, Obama, we’ve got the better burgers at Burger Ranch.” And I blow him up.
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jamiefullerton1
More stories about the Hermit Kingdom:
North Korea Smokes Weed Every Day, Explaining a Lot
Meet the Only Westerner to Work for the North Korean Regime
WATCH – North Korean Labour Camps
WATCH – The VICE Guide to North Korea
