What better way to celebrate the first of the two Halloweekends the calendar year has graced us with in 2024 than dressing up as a beloved actor — with an onscreen range that allows him to seamlessly transition from Willy Wonka to Bob Dylan — and gathering in the park? That happened in New York City yesterday (October 27) with a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest that drew a few surprise visitors, including the actor himself and the New York Police Department.
Allegedly organized by someone named Anthony Po, the event was advertised for the past few weeks in flyers across the city. There was also a public Partiful invitation boasting a $50 USD cash prize for the winner, which resulted in over 2,500 people RSVPing by the morning of the competition, as per Variety.
So naturally, Chalamet himself caught wind and realized he had the opportunity to do the funniest thing possible — and he did. About 30 minutes into the contest, the actor rolled up as inconspicuously as he'll probably ever be able to in a sea of curly-headed 20-somethings wearing a black mask and baseball cap. He snuck up on two doppelgängers posing for photos in the middle of the crowd and revealed himself, prompting shrieks of recognition from the particularly eagle-eyed.
But before that, the NYPD showed up a few minutes after the event's 1 p.m. start time, attempting to do crowd control and keep the army of Timmys contained in the north side of Washington Square Park. One of the lookalikes was put in handcuffs and escorted away, although the reason for the arrest remains, well, a complete unknown. (And no, the cops unfortunately did not participate in dressing up as Chalamet.)