We’ve all done it at one point or another - a little white lie here and there to get ahead. But there’s a difference between a little lie and a full-on blag.
'We’re The Millers', starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, tells the story of a dysfunctional family who have to blag their way across the Mexico/America border with a smidge and a half of weed.
To celebrate this week's release of 'We're The Millers', we thought we’d take a look at certain people in real life, as well as some on-screen counterparts, who have lied to get ahead.
15 Big Blaggers
Yahoo! Scott Thompson(01 of15)
Scott Thompson, the ex-CEO of Yahoo! whose reign was cut short last year, on the discovery he'd padded out his CV with a fake computer science degree.
Catch Me If You Can(02 of15)
Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young con artist who is impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor and an attorney. Not only is he successful in impersonating these people, but he is also cashing more than $2.5million in fraudulent cheques.
Chef Robert Irvine(03 of15)
British Chef Robert Irvine is better known in the US than here in the UK after working on the show ‘Dinner Impossible’ on America’s Food Network. Irvine claimed he had created Princess Diana’s wedding cake, made White House Dinners and was knighted by the queen, all of which are false.
Claire Verity(04 of15)
Known for her Channel 4 TV show Bringing Up Baby, Verity claimed to hold many childcare diplomas, but weirdly no training bodies had heard of her. The NSPCC said her methods are “outdated and potentially harmful”.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind(05 of15)
Television had thrust Chuck Barris into the lime light, but it was what happened off screen that was his biggest hit. Television producer Barris was recruited by the CIA and trained to be an assassin, so Barris claims.
Football coach George O'Leary(06 of15)
George O’Leary embellished his achievements on his CV slightly. Claiming to have a Masters Degree and played football in college. Neither of which are true, but he managed to blag his way quite far – from America all the way to France!
Health Guru Gillian McKeith(07 of15)
Famous for her Channel 4 programme You Are What You Eat, she had to drop the Dr. title after a complaint to the industry watchdog was filed. McKeith isn’t actually a qualified, accredited doctor – although it’s said she didn’t mislead the public, she is no longer allowed to use the title.
Marilee Jones(08 of15)
Marilee Jones started with MIT in 1979 as an entry-level admissions officer. Moving up she became the head of the admissions process, but in 2007 it became known that she had lied on her CV with fake qualifications. Sometimes it can take a while to catch up with you, in this case – almost 30 years!
Matchstick Men(09 of15)
Roy and Frank are professional small-time con artists, selling bargain-basement “water filtration systems” to unsuspecting people at ten times their value. But when Roy’s suspicions of having a 14 year old daughter are confirmed, he starts his own route down parenthood. Meanwhile his daughter Angela is developing a fascination with his questionable career.
Oceans Eleven(10 of15)
Danny Ocean is planning the biggest heist in history. He creates an eleven member team to help him pull it off. The Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand won’t know what’s hit it when the team walk away with $150 million.
Paul McKenna(11 of15)
Paul McKenna has a self-help empire built around a qualification he was unaware was fake. McKenna however has since earned an official doctorate which will pass any qualification checks.
Shattered Glass(12 of15)
Stephen Glass is a journalist in Washington DC who rose to fame in his 20s when writing for “The New Republic”. However, over half of the stories Glass has had published are either partially or completely fictional. Concocting sources, quotes and in some cases entire stories. It’s not long before Glass’ life starts shattering around him
Slackers(13 of15)
Dave, Sam and Jeff are very confident to be graduating college without having done a single day of studying. Having cheated their way through the past four years, these big-men-on-campus are about to be called out by the most unlikely person.
The Talented Mr Ripley(14 of15)
Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is a Manhattan lavatory attendant who borrows a Princeton jacket in order to play piano at a garden party. In a convincing tale Tom gets offered to be sent to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf to return home. Tom’s skill range goes from lying to impressions and forgery when he decides he wants to make Dickie’s privileges his own.
The Informant!(15 of15)
Mark (Matt Damon AGAIN) works for a lysine developing company when he gets pressured into working as an informant. As an informant he is being the eyes and ears of the FBI into the illegal price-fixing of his company. As all his incessant lies pile up, his world starts falling down around him.
'We're The Millers' is in UK cinemas from this Friday 23 August. Watch the trailer below...