Run Forrest: Gump impersonator popping up around Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Riverside residents have been playing Where's Waldo for the past couple weeks, but instead of a guy in a red-striped shirt they're looking for a guy in red short-shorts. And he's got one mangy looking beard.

A Forrest Gump impersonator has been plying the streets of Riverside, posing for pictures and spreading goodwill.

Eyewitness News caught up with the man Monday afternoon. He wouldn't reveal his name, but said he's been doing it to make people laugh.

"It doesn't really matter who I am," said the mysterious Gump. "I'm not doing it for me. It's just something that took off and made the community happy, made people smile. There's a lot of bad things going on in the world and it's nice to take a break from it."

Forrest Gump is the titular character played by Tom Hanks in the 1994 Oscar-winning film. In the movie, Gump runs across the country with a shaggy beard and a Bubba Gump baseball cap. The man popping up in Riverside wears a similar outfit and people stop him to pose for photos.

"There's so much going on right now that something like this is a nice change," said Jessica Lopez who stopped the man to take a selfie. "I really like it."

Rick Siordia snapped a photo of Gump with his son. He had been hoping to run into him after hearing of the celebrity lookalike.

"It's like an Easter egg hunt when you see this guy walking around," he joked.