New York City is such a unique place with so many different opportunities and events constantly going on. For example, the fan-made Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition in Washington Square Park on Oct. 27, 2024. I had seen flyers around the city, but mostly Gen-Z people talking about it on TikTok. My friend and I thought it was such a funny and random concept, and had already planned to attend about a month in advance. It didn’t get serious until there was a picture of Chalamet, filming for his new A24 film, Marty Supreme, walking next to a flyer, advertising his own lookalike competition. The picture went viral across social media, and people began to debate if this was an actual event or a silly joke made by a fan. Regardless of why, and as a fan of both Chalamet and his career, we decided to attend just because we could. What’s the worst that could happen?
The competition was set to begin at 1 p.m, so my friend and I decided to leave at 12:30 p.m, just in case the event wasn’t really going to happen. We were contemplating what to do if the entire thing was just a TikTok joke, and the embarrassing scenario of us being the only people that showed up. However, when we arrived and went through the park, we followed the large crowd under the arch and found our way to the competition being set up. At about 12:50 p.m, we saw a group of TikTokers and other social media stars, such as Ben of the Week, Anthony Po, Amber Alexander, and Chloe Forero, who were asked to be the judges of the competition. They began setting up a table with a large trophy on it, and rolled out a makeshift red carpet for the contestants. It all seemed like a joke as some of the lookalikes came in, some in Willy Wonka costumes, some in their normal outfits, and some dressed as Chalamet’s character Paul Atreides from the Dune series. My friend and I were laughing at some of the Chalamet lookalikes’ attire and attitudes, as some looked nothing like the actor, but tried to make themselves look the part with makeup and accessories. Seeing this, we realized how unserious this event was, and how much fun people were having with it. There was even a lady who brought her corgi dog, put him in a wig, and entered the competition.
Social media star Anthony Po was the host of the event. He entered the space, meant to be a stage, on a High Wheel Penny Farthing bicycle, wearing a tux, and introduced the competition with a microphone. The most he got to say was an introduction of the event itself and asked some of us in the first three rows to sit down so that people could see, before an NYPD officer tried to shut the event down. The officer asked them to relocate, as the event was said to be a “hazard” or “dangerous,” due to how large the turnout was. After Po and other social media star judges talked to the officer, the event was still set to commence. However, as we were all politely sitting or standing, waiting for the contestants, press and paparazzi stormed the fake red carpet. At first, my friend and I thought it was a bit, but I realized these were professional photographers, some from reputable news stations and platforms, who were capturing content for the event. I thought this was kind of odd for a fan-made event at Washington Square Park, and it crossed my mind that maybe the real Chalamet might be there. This began to spread through the crowd, where fangirls and press sort of panicked over the star appearing, causing some people to even think some of the contestants in the competition were Chalamet himself. The event ended up getting shut down by police, and was supposedly moved to a different location close by. However, my friend and I didn’t feel like walking to another location, so we stayed under the arch. Most of the news stations, photographers, and press still stayed in this area, along with a couple of the original contestants.
At that point, the event felt random and unorganized. There were officers everywhere trying to get people to move along, but people just wouldn’t budge. There was even a contestant who was arrested, carried away in handcuffs as people began to chant for his freedom. My friend and I felt that the event sort of lost its plot, and we just hung around talking to people and seeing some of the other contestants for fun. It wasn’t until one of the contestants came closer to us and started talking to people, that I was really engaged in my surroundings. So much was going on, and the amount of people and noise was almost completely overstimulating. I’m so grateful that this particular contestant caught my attention, because the real Timothée Chalamet ended up surprising him, and the crowd, right in front of me. I truly could not believe my eyes when I saw him, dressed in a casual navy blue sweater with a white undershirt and a matching blue cap. I fully freaked out. Everyone around me was screaming and pushing with excitement as the real Chalamet posed for pictures with two of the contestants. Having been a fan of Chalamet and his work for many years, I wasn’t that surprised that he showed up. It genuinely seems like something in his nature to surprise his fans and participate in a bit like this. I thought it was really cool how he showed up when he didn’t have to; I think it made it all the more fun that he was rocking a mustache and had a shorter hair cut for his most recent film, making him look unlike his usual self. People joked on social media that he showed up to his own lookalike competition looking the least like himself, and lost, which I think is hilariously ironic. Meanwhile, as the real Chalamet was greeting his supporters under the arch, the actual competition was happening and a winner was being crowned in a different location. The large trophy and $50 prize were awarded to a look-alike named Miles Mitchell, who dressed as Chalamet’s character Willy Wonka from the 2023 film Wonka. One of the Chalamet lookalikes named Spencer, who was photographed with the real actor said, “I may not have won the $50 , but I think I won by meeting the real Timothée Chalamet,” and I can’t help but agree with him. It was really cool of Chalamet to show up and surprise his fans during the competition, especially with how excited fans were leading up to the event. All in all, I think I learned to trust my gut and attend those fun and extremely random events in New York City with my friends. This truly felt like something that would only happen in the city; an unplanned and completely spontaneous event turned into an iconic moment posted to publications like Vogue, Complex, and GQ. So many of my friends and family were sending videos of me at the competition, creating a core memory that I’ll never forget. Next time you’re thinking about going to a random event you saw on social media in New York City, remember, the worst that could happen is Timothée Chalamet showing up.