NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike contest in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, an event that drew hundreds of onlookers, a dispersal order from police and at least one arrest.
Flanked by bodyguards, Chalamet briefly posed for photos with his high-cheeked, curly haired doppelgängers, some of whom had dressed as the actor’s characters in “Wonka” and the “Dune” movies.
But just as the wannabe-Chalamats began strutting along a red carpet in Washington Square Park, police ordered the large group to disperse, slapping organizers with a $500 fine for an “unpermitted costume contest.”
At least one contestant was taken away in handcuffs, though police did not immediately say why. A spokesperson for the NYPD said charges were pending.
“It started off as a silly joke and now it’s turned pandemonium,” said Paige Nguyen, a producer for the YouTube personality Anthony Po, who staged the event.
The organizers had posted flyers for the contest — which promised a $50 prize to the winner — around New York in recent days, spurring social media speculation and thousands of RSVPs to an online invite.