Celebrity look-alike contests seem to be the sleeper hit of 2024.
Popping up in cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London and Dublin, self-proclaimed look-alikes of some of Hollywood’s newest crop of leading men have gathered in organized settings to find out if they bear the most uncanny resemblance to, let’s say , Timothée Chalamet or Gladiator II star Paul Mescal. Since the end of October, seven known look-alike competitions have been held. Men who look like Chalamet, Mescal, Harry Styles, Dev Patel, Zayn Malik, Jack Schlossberg and Jeremy Allen White have all entered the fray in hopes of winning top honors.
The result is a unifying event that brings fans together for an afternoon of unbridled fun.
The trend started when a YouTuber, Anthony Po, and a social media influencer, Tamir Omari, held a Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest in New York’s Washington Square Park on October 27. Crowds of spectators, as well as look-alikes dressed in Wonka And Dune costumes, were estimated in the thousands, NBC News reported, and four people were arrested during the event.
“It was the craziest environment I’ve been in,” Miles Mitchell, 21, who won the $50 grand prize, told Yahoo Entertainment. “It was the most unserious event ever. The thought of just saying it out loud [that] people were arrested at the [Chalamet] lookalike contest is hilarious.”
The real Chalamet even made a cameo appearance.
Cramer Ekholm, 18, was flown from Wisconsin to New York by the MCoBeauty brand to participate.
“I wasn’t in the crowd at the time [Chalamet] arrived, but I did hear reactions,” he told Yahoo. “People became very rowdy and the crowd started gathering closer to him.”
After seeing a large turnout for look-alike contests for Chalamet, Mescal and Styles, three childhood friends wanted to create a contest that was representative of their own community. Sitara Bellam, Tasnim Khandakar and Sahana Rangarajan planned their own Patel doppelgänger match at San Francisco’s Dolores Park on November 10.
‘We are picking [Patel] was the result of what felt authentic to the community around us, and the three of us were largely influenced by the South Asian community we grew up in in San Jose, California, and spent time with in college in the Bay Area ,” Bellam told Yahoo.
Ahead of the competition, Sudev Namboodiri, 25, got a haircut that better matched Patel’s to boost his chances of winning.
Namboodiri “went to the salon and cut my shoulder length hair [to a layered, medium length],” he told Yahoo. “I told them about the competition and they thought it was hilarious, so we looked up pictures of it [Patel] and used that as inspiration.”
Sudev Namboodiri at the Dev Patel look-alike contest in San Francisco. (Courtesy of Sudev Namboodiri)
Of the 22 participants, the judges liked Jaipreet Hundal, 25, the most Monkey man actor. He took home $50, flowers and a small monkey statue.
Hundal, who told Yahoo that his girlfriend thinks he looks like Patel, joined in hopes of meeting other people in the city.
“So many people showed up. It must have been at least 500 people, and everyone brought positive energy,” he said. “It was fun to experience what it’s like to be a celebrity after winning the competition. I have made new friends because of it.”
Bellam believes these competitions provide an opportunity for people to get involved in their community.
“I think people are really drawn to the events because they’re low-key, silly outdoor gatherings, and I really think people have been longing for places to come together and be in community with each other,” Bellam explained out.
On November 16, Jeremy Allen White look-alikes gathered in Chicago’s Humboldt Park in hopes of winning a look-alike contest for The Bear star hosted by housemates Kelsey Cassaro and Taylor Vaske. Three days earlier, Cassaro created a flyer for the match that was initially intended as a joke. Copies were then printed and pasted around town.
“We expected maybe five people and some of our friends to come,” Cassaro told Yahoo about the event. “It was definitely chaotic having hundreds of people show up, but everyone there was cooperative and just excited to make room for the Jeremys!”
Kelsey Cassaro and her roommate, Taylor Vaske, hosted the Jeremy Allen White look-alike contest in Chicago. (Courtesy of Kelsey Cassaro)
Of about 60 white look-alikes in dark blue aprons, 37-year-old Ben Shabad, a therapist, was awarded $50 and a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes. The cigarettes were likely a nod to White’s character Carmy’s smoking habit, which he kicked in season 3.
White’s ties to the Windy City extend further The Bearin which he plays Carmine “Carmy” Berzatto, a successful young chef who returns home to run his late brother’s sandwich shop. He also played the role of Philip “Lip” Gallagher on Showtime’s Shamelessanother series filmed in Chicago, from 2011 to 2021. Although White himself is not a native Chicagoan, Cassaro and Vaske wanted to celebrate his legacy in the city and draw attention to the fact that he “has a lot of look-alikes here. .”
“I enjoyed seeing the participants from each city in person, and I think the whole concept is just silly enough to provide some laughs online during a stressful time,” Cassaro said. “I think my favorite part of the day was how many people came to thank us for all the joy it brought them that day.”
These competitions won’t be all-male for much longer either. A Zendaya doppelganger competition is scheduled for November 20 in the actress’ hometown of Oakland, California.
