James asks Simon to take an aptitude test in his place and seduces their boss's surly, rebellious daughter, Melanie ( Yasmin Paige), whom Simon was instructed to tutor, something he is reluctant to do. When Simon becomes nervous, the two swap places and James kisses Hannah, angering Simon. On the date, Simon pretends to be James, with the real James giving him instructions via earpiece. Hannah then asks James on a date through Simon.
Out of pity, he decides to buddy-up with Simon and give him advice about how to seduce Hannah. James, on the other hand, does notice this and sees Simon's pain. Much to Simon's annoyance, James not only gets respect from their co-workers but no one seems to notice that they are identical in appearance. Assertive and charming, James is Simon's polar opposite. Simon's boss ( Wallace Shawn) announces the arrival of a new employee, James Simon (also played by Eisenberg), who looks identical to Simon, which causes Simon to faint upon first glance. He talks to detectives, who explain that if the man had jumped a few feet to the right, he would have been badly hurt but would have survived. One night, Simon sees a man jump to his death from the floor above Hannah's apartment. He sees her throwing away art and secretly retrieves and admires it. From his apartment he spies on a beautiful co-worker he admires, Hannah ( Mia Wasikowska), who lives in the apartment opposite him. Downtrodden Simon James ( Jesse Eisenberg) has worked at his office for seven years, but he is ignored by his boss, named The Colonel, and colleagues.