Why celebrity lookalike contests are everywhere now : NPR

What’s hotter than celebrities? Celebrity lookalike contests, apparently.

In recent weeks, pop culture doppelgangers have descended on parks and public squares from New York to San Francisco to London to battle it out for the coveted title, $50 prize and bragging rights.

This weekend, dozens of apron-wearing, cigarette-wielding competitors gathered in Chicago to vie for the title of Jeremy Allen White lookalike, while in New York, a Zayn Malik contest yielded several winners and a whole lot of internet admirers.

Pop culture social media accounts are teasing even more such contests in the coming days, including one for Zendaya in Oakland and another for Art and Patrick from the movie “Challengers” in Los Angeles. Many users are also jokingly advertising lookalike contests for their celebrity crushes “in my room.”

Perhaps they’re hoping the celebrity in question will ultimately show up — after all, it happened at the very first lookalike contest in late October, when Timothée Chalamet arrived at a sea of his own doppelgangers in a Manhattan park.

Other competitions — for the likes of Harry Styles, Dev Patel and Paul Mescal — haven’t drawn their namesakes. But the events, which are usually advertised through flyers and social media posts, have achieved sizable in-person crowds and considerable online fanfare.

Erin Meyers, a communications professor at Oakland University specializing in celebrity and audience culture, has some ideas about why these contests are taking off.

For one, she tells NPR, people are craving moments of fun and lightness, and searching for connection and real-life experiences — especially these days.

“They’re not a protest. They’re not an election rally,” she explains. “They’re not things that have been kind of contentious lately. They’re around something that’s a little more fun and they’re very grassroots.”

Meyers notes that the viral Chalamet contest happened organically: It wasn’t organized by a company or movie studio trying to promote anything, and it was attended by people genuinely curious about the posters.

That said, the people coming to these contests aren’t necessarily motivated by their die-hard love of the celebrities.

“I think that it’s not just a gathering of people that think Chalamet is the greatest actor or the hottest guy, but because he’s an icon of attractiveness right now … and that if your friends say you look like him, or if you can prove that you look like him, then you’ve proven that you’re attractive,” Meyers says.

Lookalike contests, drag performances and impersonators of icons — from Marilyn Monroe to Elvis Presley — have been around for decades.

But Meyers says today’s contests are different: It’s relatively new for men to make such a public display of wanting to look a certain way and get validation for it. She attributes the change to a number of factors including social media, loneliness and consumer culture.

Participants of all genders have competed in some of the contests, though most contestants — and all celebrity subjects — have been men. That’s no surprise to Meyer, who says societal pressure to look like beautiful celebrities has long been “the norm for women.”

“The history of media representation is all about giving these standards for women, in particular, to live up to,” Meyers says. “You’re already trying to look like Kim Kardashian or look like whoever and emulate them in your social media posts. It doesn’t feel as novel, I guess.”

Because of that, Meyers suspects that if the Zendaya competition does go forward, it’s likely to see more “campy” outfits and makeup.

So where could they go from here? Meyers thinks the contest fad is likely to peter out, whether because of winter weather making gatherings harder, the trend being co-opted by corporate interests, or whatever other reason.

“The internet is a fickle place and what’s fun and exciting for people today will be forgotten in a few months. And maybe they’ll run out of celebrities, I don’t know,” Meyers says, then pauses and corrects herself. “Well, we’ll never run out of celebrities.”

Here’s a look at the contests we’ve seen so far:

Oct. 27: Timothée Chalamet in New York

Posters advertising the Chalamet lookalike contest appeared across Manhattan and social media in the weeks leading up to the event. On that fateful Sunday, thousands of Chalamet wannabes, curious journalists and eager spectators gathered in New York’s Washington Square Park.

Chalamet himself made a surprise appearance, using a black face mask and baseball cap to sneak into the center of the crowd — unnoticed by the hordes of people who claimed to bear a resemblance — before revealing his identity to excited screams. He briefly posed for photos with fans, the AP reported, many of whom were dressed as his characters in Wonka and Dune.

That wasn’t the only excitement of the day.

New York police and Parks Department officials shut the event down before it even began, Gothamist reported, ordering the crowd to disperse and even arresting one of the participants. YouTuber Anthony Po, who organized the event, was fined $500 for not having a permit — but, undeterred, led the crowd to another nearby park to get back to business.

The AP reports that the final four were asked about “their French proficiency, their plans to make the world a better place and their romantic intentions with Kylie Jenner,” with whom the actor has been linked since 2023.

After a round of judging based on audience applause, Miles Mitchell of Staten Island, who wore a purple Willy Wonka outfit and tossed candy to the crowd from a briefcase.

Mitchell, a senior at Seton Hall University, later told its student newspaper The Setonian that he only decided to participate after friends sent him flyers for the event, and he found his costume at Goodwill the day before.

“I was like, okay, why not?” Mitchell said. “I’m not doing anything today.”

Po, the organizer, told Gothamist earlier this month that he had nothing to do with the various lookalike competitions that have unfolded since.

“I’m not trying to beat a dead horse,” Po said. “If other people wanna do it for fun I encourage that, I think it’s super cute. But I got other things to do.”

Nov. 7: Paul Mescal in Dublin

Inspired by the Chalamet contest, Irish fans quickly followed suit by putting out a call for clones of one of their own: actor Paul Mescal, who rose to fame in the series Normal People and stars in the upcoming film Gladiator II.

The event, advertised on TikTok and local flyers, brought around 200 people — and just about a half dozen competitors — to Dublin’s Smithfield Square on a Thursday, according to USA Today and Vulture. Many donned short athletic shorts and wired headphones, which Mescal is often photographed wearing out and about.

Contestants were tested in part on their delivery of one of Mescal’s lines from Normal People: “You look really well.”

Jack Wall O’Reilly, 24, won the ultimate prize: a check for “twenty euro or three pints.” He was given the megaphone after his win to address the crowd and offered a word of encouragement.

“I think there’s a Paul Mescal in all of us,” he said.

Mescal himself was in Dublin but didn’t make it to the event, as he was busy promoting Gladiator II. But he later told British radio station Absolute Radio that he had heard about it while he was in town. During the interview, Mescal was shown pictures of various contestants and asked to guess who won — he picked correctly, citing the headphones.

Nov. 9: Harry Styles in London

That weekend, scores of Harry Styles admirers and lookalikes flooded London’s Soho Square, hoping for a glimpse of the pop star or at least the 50-quid award.

Journalist Katrina Mirpuri, who organized the contest, told the BBC she had done so because “people need to have some fun after all the dreary news we’re having.” And the sea of cardigans, pearl necklaces, trendy sunglasses and floppy curls did not disappoint.

The winner was a 22-year-old musician named Oscar Journeaux, who shed his brown jacket, prompting huge cheers from the crowd. He later said he had entered the contest to promote his rock band — something he had in common with the boy band breakout star.

“It was just quite an intense environment from having a morning coffee to having, like, 100 people screaming,” Journeaux said, per USA Today. “I suppose it’s a little bit of a taste of what he goes through.”

Nov. 10: Dev Patel in San Francisco

Friends Sitara Bellam, Tasnim Khandakar and Sahana Rangarajan told the San Francisco Chronicle that they originally planned to organize a Robert Pattison lookalike contest, but after seeing the others play out decided to switch to a non-white actor.

They chose British Indian actor Patel, citing the lack of South Asian actors in entertainment and mainstream media.

Some 50 people showed up to their event in San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Park — some as contestants and some as admirers, including several who told the Chronicle they were “husband-hunting.”

Twenty-five-year-old Jaipreet Hundal was the victor, winning not only the title and $50 prize but also a small monkey statue, a reference to Patel’s 2024 directorial debut, Monkey Man. He said his girlfriend had encouraged him to participate, saying “she always says I look like Dev Patel … I didn’t realize I’d actually win.”

“Shoutout to all the Dev Patel lookalikes,” Hundal said in his victory speech, per NBC News. “If the real Dev Patel shows up, I don’t know who would win, me or him.”

Nov. 16: Jeremy Allen White in Chicago

The Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest drew over 50 competitors to Humboldt Park in Chicago, the home of the gritty TV series that propelled him to fame.

Many contestants were decked out in the white T-shirt and blue apron combo popularized by his The Bear character Chef Carmy Berzatto. Some even brought their cigarettes — classic Carmy — according to member station WBEZ.

The winner, 37-year-old mental health therapist Ben Shabad, took home a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes in addition to the $50 prize. He earned the most applause from the audience, who celebrated his win by giving him a crown and hoisting him in the air.

“I’m so happy,” he said. “This is the coolest thing I’ve done all week.”