Any phrase or idiom for a person who tries to copy a professional's act without any of the skills needed

Solution 1:

He is a rank amateur. According to The Word Detective:

a “rank amateur” is a person with absolutely no, zero, nada, zippo experience or expertise in a particular task or activity.

The word amateur has undergone a remarkable change in emphasis. The current meanings, given by Merriam Webster are:

  1. one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession.

  2. one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science.

In an earlier era, definition 1 predominated, and amateurs were often more skilled than professionals. For example, in competitive figure skating, one had to maintain one's amateur standing to compete in official competitions, including the Olympics. When a skater "turned professional" it was often to join an ice show, where the skating was showier, but easier. The restrictions on what one could not do and still remain an amateur eased about the 1960s or so. (Not sure of exactly when.)

According to Etymonline, amateur originally meant

1784, "one who has a taste for some art, study, or pursuit, but does not practice it," from French amateur "one who loves, lover" (16c., restored from Old French ameour), from Latin amatorem

The same link gives the later, pejorative, meaning, citing amateurish (1863) as:

having the faults and deficiencies of a non-professional, 1863; from amateur + -ish.

I can't speak with any authority on why professionals came to be regarded as, and even actually to often be, more expert than amateurs. It is beyond the scope of this question, and an explanation involves social, economic and technological factors.

Rank in rank amateur intensifies the amateurishness and removes any possible ambiguity as to the meaning. For example, Edmund Hillary was an amateur climber when he climbed Everest, whereas many of the people who now pay tens of thousands of dollars to join an "expedition" with guides and Sherpas are rank amateurs as climbers.