

He’d be taken in by hospitals, foster homes, orphanages, families, it didn’t matter.
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His bad behavior got him locked up as a child, and he moved from group home to group home.Įventually, he ran away and perfected how to become a “child in need” and get taken in by complete strangers. There were claims of him being sexually molested by a neighbor, and he started acting up, drawing disturbing cartoons, lying to people, and stealing from neighbors. High student while he was 31 years old!īorn to a single mother who wanted nothing to do with him, he was raised by his grandparents.
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This story gets crazy and involves a TV crew, a private investigator who is on to him, and a possible case of murder! Even after this one gets cleared up, Bourdin takes on more personas, even passing himself as a 15 years old Jr. Though he was much older, he took on the persona and moved in with the boy’s family.

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When this professional imposter was on the run from INTERPOL in Spain, he learned of a missing boy in Texas named Nicholas Barclay. On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at a strange case of a missing child from Texas and the Frenchman who assumed his identity. Here, Every Frame a Painting breaks down his presence and how the director plays with your sense of unease.Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS The way The Imposter presents this is clever, as Bourdin actively participates in the film and presents his story. There are examples of blood transfusions leading to a change in accent, for example.Īnd perhaps in their desperation to see Nicholas again, many of the Barclay family want along with Bourdin’s performance. It’s rare, but this can also happen with your voice. He created a lavish and harrowing story of kidnap and abuse in Spain to cover some of his issues, with doctors confirming extreme stress could be enough to change hair and/or pupil colour. Bourdin didn’t look like the boy, not even after considering ageing.ĭespite these obvious red flags, Bourdin was convincing enough to fool American authorities on the matter.Rushing off to meet Nicholas, they were instead confronted with a very bizarre reality. The Barclay family was contacted and the members were, naturally, elated. This was Nicholas Barclay, who disappeared at age 13 in 1994.īourdin was found by a police officer collapsed in a phone booth and, after taking him in for questioning, the man claimed to be Nicholas Barclay.

The Imposter displays this in disturbing detail.ĭirected by Bart Layton, the documentary centres on a 1997 impersonation by Frédéric Bourdin of American boy. And we’d all like to think we’re smart enough to avoid people like this.īut the reality is confidence tricksters are clever enough to play on trigger points, almost like a Pavlov’s dog kind of reaction. He plays up to Basil’s pomposity and lofty class delusions and completely fools the hotel owner. If you’ve seen Fawlty Towers, there’s an early episode where a confidence trickster does over Basil Fawlty.Įnglish actor Michael Gwynn (who sadly died shortly after the episode aired in 1976) starred as Lord Melbury.
