During the last months of 2024 and entering into 2025, social media brought light to a new trend: lookalike competitions. These competitions, put together by celebrity fanatics and content creators, create a fun atmosphere for audiences to join together and connect with their idols. Beginning October 27 with the acclaimed Timothée Chalamet competition, these contests rapidly spread across the globe in an attempt to find other celebrity doppelgangers. Out of the dozens of other winners of these competitions, Chalamet’s and actor Glen Powell’s lookalikes became intensely famous and even received invites to the Golden Globes to meet their doppelgangers.
“I think these look-alike competitions have cool concepts but they are a little scary to me because of how similar some people look to the actual celebrity, like in the Glen Powell competition. I have been seeing videos about these contests all over my feed on Instagram and TikTok, and I find the videos very entertaining. I hope to see a Michael B. Jordan look-alike competition in the future on my feed,” junior Maxwell Thuo said.
Sunday, October 27 thousands of individuals flooded Washington Square Park in New York City to view the first-ever lookalike competition. YouTuber Anthony Po decided to create this wholesome trend originally as a bet to see how many fans he could crowd up, beginning with the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest. This plan and an official save-the-date spread around social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. The idea intrigued various individuals who decided to show up to the contest including journalists, contestants, viewers and even Chalamet himself.
The competition brought dozens of contestants who believed that they looked similar to the famous actor. These individuals tried to embody Chalamet by dressing up as the celebrity’s well-known characters such as the titular character in “Willy Wonka” or Paul Atreides in the movie “Dune.” The votes, based on the intensity of the crowd’s cheers for each competitor, led to the crowning of winner Miles Mitchell due to the audience’s belief that Mitchell resembled a spitting image of Chalamet in the film “Willy Wonka.” The competition did not end how Po hoped, however, as the dazzled group drew the attention of police who arrested various individuals from the audience for taking part in an “unpermitted costume contest.” Even with this negative ending, the media decided to continue this trend.
Inspired by the Chalamet competition, American actor Powell decided to hold a lookalike competition in his hometown, Austin, Texas, to find an individual who resembles himself. He decided to record a video to share and invite individuals to take part in this competition. His promise of a personal prize, a cameo for a family member in his next film, intrigued Texans and led the competition to face crowds of competitors. Powell also promoted this competition on social media but showed a local focus to the competition by encouraging Texans’ participation.
Sunday, November 24, audiences gathered to view this competition and to meet special guests Cyndy Powell and Kathleen Fish, who critiqued the competition. Contestants, intrigued by the special prize, tried their hardest to win by dressing up as Powell’s characters in films such as “Twisters” and “Top Gun” and attempting to imitate his red-carpet looks. The judges of this competition, including the audience and the V.I.P judges, declared Max Braunstein the winner, who gained fame and followers as a result.
The Golden Globes, an award ceremony to present awards for excellence in international film and television, occurs annually in the early months of the year. Sunday, January 5, the Beverly Hilton Hotel hosted the 82nd official Golden Globes and invited various celebrities to honor and help celebrate this past year’s films. The celebrities invited included the two winners of the Chalamet and Powell lookalike contest, who also gained the opportunity to walk the red carpet and meet their idols. These surprise features on the red carpet helped show audiences around the world the joys that come out even in events like lookalike competitions. Fans across the internet filled social media with positive responses after lookalikes appeared at the Golden Globes and expressed hope for future competitions for other fan-favorite celebrities.
“I saw all the competitions on TikTok and thought they were really funny. The other day I was super excited to watch the Golden Globes because I love film and I was shocked when I saw the lookalikes walking the red carpet. I think it is so cool that two of the winners were able to attend these awards and it was nice to see them having fun and getting the chance to meet celebrities and make connections,” magnet junior Avery Moore said.