Life
Meet The Real Life Prince Eric
It seems Disney dreams do come true — pictures of a Prince Eric cosplayer have been going viral this week, and the resemblance is seriously legit. It's as if Eric stepped out of the screen of the 1989 animated classic and into real life. I had given up hope around the age of 12 that something so miraculous would ever happen, but clearly I should never have doubted.
The man behind this uncanny likeness is Leo Camacho. Leo, who is of Cuban descent, is a cosplayer living in Los Angeles, California. A self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for Disney, Leo explained in an interview with BuzzFeed that he believes in "genetic cosplay." Where in order to pick which characters to role-play he looks for those he naturally resembles most, and then starts to build his costume.
Of all his cosplay ventures, his Prince Eric resemblance definitely draws the most attention, says Leo. "People genuinely double-take when they see me and love to spark up conversation about how much I look like him," Leo told BuzzFeed. "People love that character and ladies in particular LOVE to be honest about how they feel about him. It’s pretty hilarious."
Leo also dresses up as other famous characters from the Disney canon such as Aladdin, Jack Sparrow, Poe Dameron, and a very sexy Hook from Once Upon A Time. If (for some crazy reason) you doubt that Leo's a true fan, he even hosts a a YouTube show called "Up to No Goof," where he dives deep into the Disney-verse.
Here Leo is as a perfectly dreamy Prince Eric — and he's even got the half smile and head tilt down.
Creating a spot-on costume is incredibly important to cosplay, but Leo admits his skills when it comes to a needle and thread may be lacking. "I’m not a very talented seamstress… I see how much of it I can build from already existing elements that I can buy on Amazon or find at a thrift store," Leo told BuzzFeed. "If I still need to go deeper, I’ll find a way to make it maybe with EVA foam, or tap into the extensive network of extremely talented prop/costume designers out there. I’m all about supporting the artistry of this community."
Those brows though...
His other characters are on point as well—
We'd definitely ride this Aladdin's carpet:
His Poe Dameron awakens your force:
Hook is an excellent excuse to put this man in eyeliner:
His swarthy Jack Sparrow will steal hearts:
When confronted with the ultimate question, "Which sailor do you prefer?" I just can't choose.
What we need to know now is if he is on the Disney dating app? Cuz Leo, we definitely want to be "part of your world."
You can see more pictures of Leo's flawless cosplay by checking out his Instagram here.
I'm sorry, is that drool? Let me wipe that up real quick.
Images: mrleozombie/Instagram, BuzzFeed/Twitter