Seeing Double

The Recent Popularity of Celebrity Look-Alike Contests

Photo by Elena Ringo / CC BY 4.0

On Oct. 27, a look-alike contest of actor Timothee Chalamet was held in New York City’s Washington Square Park. This contest was hosted by YouTuber Anthony Po and was even attended by Chalamet himself, who showed up to meet with fans and competitors in the contest. Many of these contests have been organized by fans through platforms like TikTok and Instagram and have been an ongoing trend ever since.

Since the Chalamet contest sparked this trend, many look-alike contests have taken place, organized by various people, typically through social media, in a range of different places across the globe. Some of the other look-alike contests include: a Paul Mescal contest in Dublin, a Harry Styles contest in London, a Jeremy Allen White contest in Chicago, a Glenn Powell contest in Texas. There have even been look-alike contests for specific characters, such as Ethan Slater’s portrayal of the character Boq in the new “Wicked” movie.