A Donald Trump impersonator who appeared in the most-watched South Park season premiere says his uncredited performance is a double-edged sword.
The season 27 premiere, broadcast on July 23, caused major controversy as it depicted the US president naked in bed with the devil, as well as a less than flattering image of his genitals.
In a departure from its usual animated style the episode features a live-action Trump walking through the desert in his underwear, before he falls over and his penis springs free.
Five years on from filming the now infamous segment, Trump impersonator Dennis Alan has come out as the man in the footage.
Dennis, who’s 74 and from Chicago, had previously posed naked as Trump when he launched his impersonation career with a feature in Vanity Fair.
He told Metro his appearance in South Park ranks equally to his three-page magazine spread – but that he’s not sure whether he wants everyone to know about his involvement.
Dennis said: ‘I asked South Park about crediting me and they said I should use the emails between us where I arranged for the re-use of the footage.
‘Accreditation would be a double-edged sword for me because I try to ride the line where I’m enjoyed by Trump supporters and people who are anti-Trump.
‘I don’t do political rallies, I usually make myself available for things that are funny.
‘Trump himself has come out and made comments about that episode which are not supportive.
‘On one hand I’m OK with Trump supporters not necessarily knowing that it’s me. With anti-Trump people I’m able to show them I’m willing to participate in this type of media.’
Following the episode premiere, critics suggested that section of the show had been AI generated, prompting showrunners to post behind-the-scenes pictures.
‘Without those photos, people would still be arguing it was AI,’ Dennis said.
‘This performance went viral worldwide, yet I’m invisible in the credits.
‘It’s not the first time. My image has been used prominently before without credit. If it weren’t for my agent pushing my name out there, I’d still be a ghost in my own career.’
Dennis’s agent is none other than Howard X, a Kim Jong Un impersonator who decided to start impersonating the North Korean supreme leader after realising he looked a lot like him.
The Trump impersonator said much the same, explaining: ‘While I’m flattered my resemblance to Trump is so uncanny people thought it was AI, I can definitively say it was 100% human.
‘Trust me, no algorithm can recreate this level of bad genetics.
‘My face is already 90% there naturally, the South Park team only added about 10% digitally. The rest – the body, the acting the comedic timing – was all me.’
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Despite the clips only surfacing for the first time this year, the project was actually filmed in the California desert in 2020, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic reached America.
Dennis says the clips were initially created to be part of an independent film project by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which came to a halt due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
He told Metro how the landscape has changed for him since the segment was filmed: ‘That footage was filmed during Trump’s first administration, so when he was re-elected I was wondering if Trey Parker remembered putting his hand next to my testicles and remembered me.
‘Out of the blue I got an email from them saying they would like to use a minute of the footage in a South Park episode, four days before they were going to release the episode.
‘I was so glad to hear from them, I said “sure, no problem”, and the impact of it didn’t really register with me until after the episode.’
While he proudly admits that most of what you see on screen is really him, Dennis has clarified that his own penis is larger than that depicted by Trey Parker’s finger.
He explained: ‘I was actually all for going completely naked if the compensation reflected that artistic commitment.
‘However, the production opted for a flesh-coloured G-string, likely because, frankly, the “teeny tiny” depiction they chose to animate wouldn’t have been ‘artistically accurate’ if it were truly me.
‘So, to be abundantly clear: while it was my body, that was not my manhood on screen. If it were, they’d have had to widen the frame.
‘I suppose seeing my man boobs and fat ass on national television will be etched into the collective memory worldwide – you’re welcome.’
Metro has contacted Paramount for comment
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