I had a chance to learn about this job first hand as a stand-in for Tom Courtney during the filming of the feature "Leonard Part 6". Yes, I know the film tanked at the box office but what the hey, it was a paycheck.
Basically a stand-in is an actor whose height, weight, skin tone, hair color, and looks are similar to one of the leads in the film. His or her job is to temporarily replace (stand-in for) the stars while the shot is blocked out and camera, lights, etc. are set-up. They walk through the actions of the shot and maybe even say the lines, giving the crew a chance to rehearse.
Leads in a film, with enough budget to do so, will have stand-ins as a way of keeping them fresh for the actual shot. While the stand-in hangs around on the set, the stars are off learning lines, sleeping, and sometimes doing all those other things you've heard about in the news.
In movie making, there's a definate pecking order. As a rule, stand-ins are considered one notch above an extra, who is at the very bottom (anyone on a set can boss them around) of the food chain. While on location, stand-ins are often referred to as the "Second Team". The actual stars of the film are addressed as the "First Team". In between shots, the assistant director (AD) will generally yell "First Team out, Second Team in." and when they are ready to resume shooting again, they'll call out the reverse.
There seems to be some confusion as to the differences between a stand-in, a double, a body double, and a stunt double. You now know what a stand-in does. Here are simple descriptions of what each of the others do.
Doubles are generally used for long-shots (far away from the camera). They are shot by a second unit (different director and small crew) without any of the actual stars present.
Body doubles are used to show features of the human anatomy that for whatever reason, an actor has chosen not to or if they weren't available on that day. After all, not everyone wants to see their big (or little) butt on the big (or little) screen.
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