Mark David Christenson the Fake Celebrity Who Pretended to Be Oscar Winner
Mark David Christenson was stopped for photos and allowed into parties.
— -- Winning an Oscar feels fantastic, and it certainly did for Mark David Christenson the night of the 2015 Academy Awards. The only catch is that Christenson did not win anything.
In fact, he was not even nominated for an Oscar. Christenson fooled hundreds of people across Los Angeles by making them believe the gold statue he was carrying with him around town on Oscar night was real.
"Look at this, it doesn't look anything like an Oscar," Christenson told ABC News' Brandi Hitt, pointing to the statue that earned him access to Oscar after-parties and more. "He has hair. Oscar does not have hair. He's holding a wreath."
Dressed in a tuxedo and walking with an entourage while carrying his faux Oscar, Christenson saw first-hand the A-list treatment real Oscar winners receive.
Christenson, who filmed his experience for a YouTube video, was given free food and drink and even picked up a car at a valet stand without a ticket.
Christenson returned the car to the valet stand but his A-list access did not end there.
The fake Oscar winner also made it past two levels of Academy Awards security before being stopped at the entrance to the Oscar ceremony's home, the Dolby Theatre.
"Just by flashing a statue and a tux," Christenson said of how he accessed it all.
Christenson's video now has over 1.5 million views on YouTube. He says he learned one real lesson on his fake Oscar adventure.
"I think the gratitude people show to those who succeed is just unbelievable," Christenson said.