Meet Eric Finch, Snoop Dogg's Professional Look-Alike [Interview]

Eric Finch shares how he became Snoop Dogg's professional look-alike, his favorite jobs where he was portraying the legendary rapper, and why his dream acting gig is to dress up as Mickey Mouse at Disneyland one day.

On Sunday (July 11), Mat George, co-host of the She Rates Dogs podcast, tweeted out a photo of his mom with the one and only Snoop Dogg. "I’ve been in LA for a year and haven’t seen a single celebrity. My mom comes for a weekend and meets Snoop Dogg," he wrote as the caption for the picture, which ended up going viral. Well, turns out that the man in the photo wasb actually Snoop Dogg's professional look-alike — Eric Finch.

Having started his professional career as Snoop's look-alike with an appearance on the NBC series Great News in 2017, Finch is grateful and humble that his job is getting to be one of hip-hop's most beloved rappers.

"I'm thankful to Snoop for allowing me to be a part of him and taking up this job," Finch said. "I definitely have to give a mad shout out to Snoop and all his crew for that."

Finch hasn't always been Snoop's look-alike. Growing up in Louisiana, he served around 20 years in the U.S. Navy before becoming an impersonator for the legendary West Coast rapper. Funny enough, despite being a little bit older than Snoop (Finch is in his 50s), the SAG-AFTRA actor didn't know of the artist until he kept getting compared to him. With help from his manager Dot Findlater — who runs the agency that represents Finch, Mirror Images — Finch has found success as a Snoop impersonator, whether that be taking pictures with people while out or making a surprise appearance on The Masked Singer.

One of Finch's favorite gigs he's done was when he attended a four-day convention in Las Vegas, primarily because he was able to interact with people.

"I took pictures with everyone for those four days and interacted with each person that came up to take a picture with me," he said. "That stood out a lot more because I had the opportunity to talk to people without them having to be nervous, so to speak."

And, of course, he's done some work alongside Snoop himself, the two first meeting for a Corona commercial they filmed last year.

"We kind of looked at each other and stared for a minute, and then we chopped it up. Like we knew each other for a while," Finch recalled. "I was like, 'How do I handle this? I'm in awe.' I'm standing next to an icon of hip-hop and rap and I think I look like this dude. I'm like, 'I'm OK.'"

Prior to his viral photo with George's mom, Finch had also gone viral in 2018 when it was reported that Snoop Dogg had helped a woman whose car broke down on a Los Angeles freeway. The woman, Katrina Graham, had shared that not only had Snoop helped her but had taken a picture with her, too. Well, turns out that was Finch.

When asked about the incident and how it was reported that Snoop helped Graham, Finch said: "I really didn't give it any thought. For me, that's just the kind of person I am. I didn't need any recognition for what I did."

Finch also shared that he's honest with people about not being Snoop before they choose to take picture of or with him, which some people respond to differently.

"It just goes with the territory when you look like somebody," he said. "It's whatever they see and whatever they put down or whatever they say."

Although Finch enjoys being able to portray Snoop, the actor also has dreams of being able to play someone else — the iconic Mickey Mouse.

"If Disneyland would hire me for one day to be Mickey that would be it," he said. "I love Disneyland, bro. I would love to be Mickey for a day."

Hopefully, Finch's dream will one day come true. But until, he's happy to make other people happy as Snoop's look-alike.