I entered the viral Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest. Here’s what happened

New York
CNN
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We had been on the road at 2am and after a missed flight and a seven hour drive from upstate New York I was finally in town. I was with my boyfriend, one of the few people – along with my parents and a handful of friends – who knew what I was doing. I wasn’t scheduled to work at my job at a fish shop (where I sell bait and tackle and keep moored boats filled with gas) this weekend. I’m grateful for that because I’m not sure how else I would have explained the situation to my boss.

How do I request time off to enter a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest?

I saw the competition flyer on the internet a few weeks ago and thought it might be fun. My boyfriend is a huge Chalamet fan and was thrilled with the whole idea. So I signed up as a participant and posted a selfie to the organizers – all that was required to participate – just as a joke. I wasn’t sure if the event in Manhattan was even real or not. But when it became clear that it was legal, I bought a plane ticket. It didn’t cost much, with transportation and a few nights’ stay around $400. After all, this can be a unique opportunity.

I wasn’t nervous. If anything, I was pumped. I’ve been thinking about moving to New York City for a while—hopefully after I finish studying graphics and multimedia marketing at the State University of New York Canton (SUNY)—so this felt like a good opportunity. I want to do something creative like making clothes, shooting videos or modeling so I thought the event could be a good networking opportunity. That’s how people get jobs, right? Through connections?

The Chalamet comparisons began earlier this year when I grew out my dark, curly hair. People have joked during Instagram posts that they liked me in “Dune 2.” I get stares from passers-by on the street, and a work colleague calls me Willy Wonka.

Friends also make jokes about the resemblance. But the strangest moment happened last winter when I went to Toronto with my boyfriend for the holidays. We were in a mall and saw a “Wonka” pop-up with giant posters and a giant pink “chocolate” tree, just like the one from the movie.

I wasn’t standing there long when a guy working at the pop-up ran up to me. “I’ve seen so many people come through here, and you’re the only one who looks like Timothée. You should write your name next to his!” he said, pointing to Chalamet’s signature on one of the posters. I immediately felt like an impostor. “I can’t sign that,” I told him. Disappointed, he insisted I take a photo in the photo session area.Before I could say no, he and his colleagues rushed over with a Wonka style coat.I still have that photo.

It’s funny to think that I felt awkward posing for that photo, and yet I went to an event where people take hundreds or even thousands more like it.

When I arrived at Washington Square Park in Manhattan on Sunday, half an hour before the competition was to begin, there were already at least 1,000 people in the crowd.

For a while I could only see phone screens – people were recording me, taking my picture and asking to talk to me. At first it was overwhelming. I felt chased by TV cameras and reporters as if I were an animal in a zoo or a circus. I was afraid that participants would be asked to perform or walk in front of all these people. I heard some boos and cheers at the other end of the park (I later saw online that it was the crowd judging other contestants), but I stayed under the Washington Square Arch.

I met a few other lookalikes and we stuck together amidst the pandemonium. The NYPD issued a dispersal order and at one point an officer approached me and screamed that I needed to leave the park. I ignored him and moved away, but I saw another participant being handcuffed and dragged out of the area. (The NYPD has since confirmed that it fined organizers $500 for an “unauthorized costume contest,” and at least one participant was led away in handcuffs, though a police spokesman told The Associated Press that charges are pending.)

When the real Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance, the energy intensified. He disappeared in a flash, but disappeared through the crowd and on his way back to a car at the edge of the park. I think he knew things would have escalated if he had stayed too long.

I had planned my outfit earlier this week: A gray T-shirt, black leather jacket, ankle boots and straight leg jeans to make me look thinner. I tried to recreate Chalamet’s look from the Chanel perfume campaign he starred in this summer. Some of the other Timothées, including the winner, dressed up as Willy Wonka. I didn’t get a good look at him, but I think they gave him the $50 prize (and a trophy) because he committed to giving out chocolate. I didn’t care about winning, but it was flattering when people later told me I should have taken first place.

This will be my only lookalike contest. While I loved my three hours of fame (I have to admit, I felt a buzz from being “recognized”), it had its downsides. The stares, people pulling and touching you, photographing you. Luckily for me, as soon as it was over, I was able to go eat tacos with my boyfriend — no fans crowding the table, no disguises, no sneaky photos snapped from across the restaurant. Next week I’m going back to school and my job at the fish shop as if nothing had happened.

And as fun as it was to be Timothée Chalamet for an afternoon, I’m really glad I’m Reed Putman.