Looking for the Oliver to your Elio, a shot at fame or a quick 50 bucks? Those bearing a resemblance to the actor Timothée Chalamet could win love, renown or cash in lower Manhattan this fall.
Fliers for a “Timothee Chalamet Look alike Competition” went up around the city circa Sept. 20, featuring a QR code to an open event on the platform Partiful. The information is bare-bones and direct: There will be a Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27 by the arch in Washington Square Park. The winner will receive a $50 cash prize.
After a tweet went viral for spotlighting one such flier posted on Howard Street in Manhattan, RSVPs exploded. As of this writing, 757 people have said they will attend the competition, while 271 have offered noncommittal “maybes.” One attendee even hopes to tempt Chalamet into competing by crowdfunding $5,000 for him to donate to the charity of his choice.
Gothamist got in touch with one of the event’s organizers via Instagram, and she shared a screenshot of the event’s editable page in Partiful’s system to prove her bona fides. Both she and her co-host declined to be interviewed for this article, saying they didn’t want to “ruin the illusion” of the event. (They did not respond to requests for further comment or clarification.) She did confirm that this is a real event, not the work of internet-savvy trolls.
That’s good news for Reed Putman, 21, from Ogdensburg, New York, by the Canadian border. He plans to fly into the city specifically to compete. The student and substitute teacher said he’s often told he looks like Chalamet and decided to attend after he saw the viral tweet.
The event’s RSVPs are sprinkled with thirsty comments — after all, scores of videos online prove that Chalamet admirers are more than happy to settle for anyone bearing even a vague resemblance to the actor — so Putman is aware that he’s signing up for a meat market. He will attend with his girlfriend, who he joked will be “working her butt off” as his bouncer.
Aliviah McKenzie, a 24-year-old publicist, thought the whole thing was a joke when she spotted a flier near SoHo. But when the Partiful event showed hundreds of prospective attendees, she marked her calendar. She’s single, and said she will attend with friends to “check out the competition.”
“Whoever wins, I’m sure they’re going to go home with a lot of numbers,” she said.
More than anything, McKenzie, who recently started her own social club in the city, seemed to be delighted that the event exists.
“Everyone gets really creative with the way that they want to hang out and meet people,” she said. “I love New York City.”
When asked what he would do if he won, Putman told Gothamist: “I don’t think I would ever spend the $50.” He said he’d rather frame it and put it on his wall.