Autumn in New York City is full of many traditions – decorating the West Village Townhome steps for Halloween, taking walks in Central Park to admire the fall leaves, an even an annual New York City Marathon race that leads through the city. But one new activity gained attention on October 27th. In the infamous Washington Square Park, New York City locals gathered around for the first-annual Timothée Chalamet Look-Alike contest started by content creator Anthony “Gilbert” Po. 
If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t follow along with film and popular culture, then it’s important to know that Timothée Chalamet has emerged in Hollywood as an iconic male actor in the past five years, most known for his role in the popular book-to-film adaptation Dune and his part as Theodore Laurence in Greta Gerwig’s version of Little Women (2019). It’s also notable that Chalamet is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and attending LaGuardia High School.
Many students and residents found out about the contest through posters in the West Village posted by Po, which resulted in an energetic crowd gathering in the center of the park. Timothée doppelgangers of all kinds showed up, some even dressed in costumes from the actor’s previous roles or recreating his well-known paparazzi photo outfits. To Po’s surprise, he believed there to be around 10,000 people attempting to enter the park durin
g the time of the contest. “All we do is hang up posters, but you never know how it’s going to go,” he reported to The New York Times. Po, a YouTube star with 1.8 followers, said that he intentionally left his name off the posters he hung up so that his involvement would be a surprise to people, according to the NYT.
Chalamet look-alikes presented themselves to the park for judgment. There was some debate about which contestant deserved to win until the victor was finally announced as Miles Mitchell, a 21-year-old from Staten Island who dressed in a Willy Wonka outfit. According to BBC, Mitchell threw candy from his briefcase to the crowd. Press wasted no time approaching Mitchell after his victory by taking photos of him. Po believed that Mitchell was declared the winner due to his “charisma.”
The commotion caused by the contest led to police showing up in the park, even resulting in some participants being led away in handcuffs. In a statement, the New York Police Department said that a few people were taken into custody for an “unscheduled demonstration.” The large stampede of locals prompted the police to take some of the participants away!
But the real surprise of the day was when an unexpected visitor appeared in the park. An array of cheers and celebration greeted Timothée Chalamet himself as the well-liked actor found himself in the middle of the crowd, swarmed by fans and participants. The crowd went wild as Timothée took pictures with the contestants, dressed in a backward baseball cap and black sweater. It was a total shock to the people!
If this contest has proved anything, it’s that New York City is filled with all kinds of adventure and traditions in the fall. This competition has inspired other cities to do the same, such as the Jeremy Allen White Look-Alike contest that recently took place in Chicago. Chalamet’s appearance at the contest also demonstrates why his fans love him. The actor showed the public that he’s one of them: a true New Yorker.
