Lind L. Tailor is a convicted criminal sentenced to die; this information was kept secret from the public. L places Tailor as a dummy on television. The television states that the broadcast is worldwide and that Tailor's statements are being translated into Japanese by Yoshio Anderson. After Tailor states that he is "L," he reads a declaration stating that Kira is evil. Light, in a rage, kills Tailor with a heart attack. The real L announces that Tailor was a decoy, a criminal on death row, and tells Kira to try to kill him. When L finds that Kira did not kill him, L learns that Kira needs the person's real name and face to kill the victim. L announces that the video was aired only in the Kanto area of Japan as a ploy to determine the location of Kira. L, originally planning to air the video in other areas in Japan at different times, stated that it would not be necessary to continue broadcasting Tailor's footage.
In the anime and manga, Tailor has long hair. In the film, Tailor has a short haircut. As in the film, a Japanese speaker dubs Tailor's English into Japanese as the Tailor recording is broadcast.
Matt Lagan portrays Tailor in the film.
(Source: Death Note Wikia)
