Unlike the series of plagues Yahweh unleashed on the Egyptians in the Book of Exodus, our world has become infested with something far more annoying: celebrity look-alike contests. Okay, sure, October’s Timothée Chalamet long-lost twin competition was the sort of grassroots and gleefully stupid affair that briefly makes having an internet-addled brain worth it. But like most viral moments, these things tend to linger well past their expiration date. A scourge of look-alike contests has since popped up across the globe with no signs of stopping.
More America’s Next Top Hunk competitions have already been slated for Sunday, November 17 in NYC for Zayn Malik, Jack Schlossberg, and Jeremy Allen White (Chicago is hosting their own for The Bear beefcake on Saturday as well). Since these stunts aren’t going anywhere, we might as well make some outrageous predictions. Will Isla Fisher win the inevitable Amy Adams look-alike contest in Los Angeles? Will Rita Ora tweet that she’ll give her look-alike contest winner a sneak peek at her new music, then claim she was hacked when no one shows up? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, a rundown of this year’s celeb doppelgänger contests and the long-lost-twins who won.
Twelve Silver Sovereigns and a Hatful of Timmies
When: October 27
Where: Washington Square Park, NYC
Vibe: Announced with fliers taped around the city by YouTuber Anthony Po that immediately went viral, anticipation was higher than Chalamet’s cheekbones. The day of, NYU’s unofficial campus was flooded with more brooding brown-haired twinks than finals week as the Timothées descended on the park to hundreds of onlookers and dozens of journalists. The event got out of hand quickly: Police ordered the crowd of thousands of Chalamet zealots and content creators to disperse, even arresting one unlucky contestant. The contest was moved to a nearby park, where Chalamet himself stopped by to crash the party and prove X user @ClubChalamet’s theory about his whereabouts wrong. The lesson here: if you build it, Timmy will come (no peach-related pun intended).
Who won: 21-year-old Miles Mitchell-as-Wonka-Timmy took home the $50 prize.
Dublin Sees Double with Paul Mescal Look-alike Contest
When: November 7
Where: Smithfield Square
Vibe: Even though the New York–Dublin portal shut down in September, Ireland glimpsed America’s fun (and online fervor) on behalf of our national heartthrob and decided to mimic it in honor of their own big brave strong boy. After @paulmescallookalike posted a TikTok on November 1 promoting the contest, young Irish men far and wide donned their short shorts, laced up their running shoes, and took over the plaza – or, at least, a small portion of it. Mescal himself was a no-show, busy promoting Gladiator II across town at Trinity College at the time. Guess the Normal People star left this one for the normal people.
Who won: 25-year-old Jack Wall O’Reilly bested the other six competitors (one of whom had not planned on competing but stopped by en route to work) and nabbed the reward of €20, the equivalent of three pints, Metro UK reported. Mescal did congratulate O’Reilly on a much-deserved victory after the fact – it was the wired headphones that clinched it.
Not the Paul Mescal lookalike competition in Dublin, Ireland ahead of the #Gladiator premiere 🤣👏 pic.twitter.com/FlVi5W9OGy
— Today FM 💛 (@TodayFM) November 7, 2024
Harry Styles Is No Good Alone
When: November 9
Where: Soho Square, London
Vibe: The UK hopped on the look-alike bandwagon with a contest for former boyband breakout Harry Styles. Journalist Katrina Mirpuri organized the event, which saw a dozen shaggy-haired hopefuls vie for the title of Mr. Styles 2.0, according to Variety. The Grammy winner was nowhere to be found, but maybe it was for the best. The online sentiment started to turn sour here, when fans agreed that “NOBODY’s touching [Styles’s] face card.”
Who won: 22-year-old musician Oscar Journeaux was bestowed the 50-quid grand prize by Love Island’s Eyal Booker.
Harry Styles lookalike contenders in London today. pic.twitter.com/BLRtef6Ont
— Variety (@Variety) November 9, 2024
Dev Patel Clones, Your Chance to Win Big
When: November 10
Where: Dolores Park, SF
Vibe: Hundreds showed up to watch the best Monkey Man-director look-alikes in the Bay Area duke it out. After friends Sitara Bellam, Tasnim Khandakar, and Sahana Rangarajan realized the contests so far had centered only around white celebrities, they promoted the Patel competition on social media, hoping to better represent a leading pop culture figure for the South Asian community, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. But, again, the man of the hour himself didn’t show. Those in attendance seemed to have fun, even if the internet buzz was pretty sparse. But hey, at least the look-alikes got to queen out to Patel’s Slumdog Millionaire dance.
Who won: 25-year-old Jaipreet Hundal’s on-point facial hair and smoldering brown eyes wound up scoring him the top prize.
contestant at the dev patel look-alike contest doing the slumdog millionaire dance
— best of dev patel (@bestofpatel) November 11, 2024
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