Just when you thought the definitive Timothée Chalamet-adjacent story of the year was going to be that Dune popcorn bucket or the Glasgow Wonka experience, the Halloween spirit entered and brought with it the lookalike contest — a trend that has since grown into something far bigger than Timmy C himself, with roots in the Golden Age of Hollywood that make it an undeniable recession indicator.
But, as it turns out, the actor himself offered to cover the $500 USD fine the event's organizer, Anthony Po, incurred from the New York Police Department for gathering thousands of Chalamet doppelgängers and onlookers alike at Washington Square Park without a permit. The host recently told People that $500 was small potatoes, considering it cost about $4,000 to put on the lookalike contest (and the prize was only $50? Please explain). "It's like legit the best case scenario," Po said. "They need to do something stronger to [disincentivize] us."
However, Po's viral post about getting ticketed by the NYPD allowed Chalamet's team to catch wind of the situation. "They offered to pay the ticket, which is truly funny," Po told the publication, although he declined the offer and let digital invite app Partiful put up the cost of the fine. "They basically [said] like, 'We thought it was awesome. Thanks so much,'" he said of the message relayed on behalf of the actor. "It was all good and fun."
Po admitted that, although Chalamet famously crashed his own lookalike contest, he didn't have the opportunity to see or meet him — and unknowingly only put him at around 13th place in his ranking of the ringers. "I think if he would've stayed for the end of it, maybe I would've given him runner-up or something," the organizer added.
Somebody who had no involvement with the event — and falsely predicted that the actor wouldn't show up — was the Club Chalamet fanpage. This might seem irrelevant, but it resulted in something integral to the lore: a long post on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, ending with the hallowed words, "This benefits me in ways you can't imagine."
Since the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest in New York City, various other cities have hosted similar events dedicated to other celebrities, who have likewise also gotten involved; Paul Mescal connected with the winner of his Dublin-based lookalike contest on FaceTime, and Glen Powell's mom judged his in Austin, TX, before the actor offered the winner the opportunity for a family member of their choice to make a cameo in his next film.