Magnanimous Timothée Chalamet attends but doesn't win his own lookalike contest

In one of the modern era’s saddest instances of celebrity indignity, Timothée Chalamet appeared at a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest in New York City earlier today but failed to take home the grand prize. Per The Associated Press, the Dune and Wonka star was “flanked by bodyguards” as he wandered the event, lost in a sea of “curly haired doppelgangers,” unable to get his hands on the trophy that should easily be his. Rest assured, this was his choice. Chalamet could’ve won; he just didn’t want to.

The Oscar-nominated actor has looked like Timothée Chalamet for nearly 29 years, and yet, that wasn’t enough to make him a lock for the contest. Despite the apparent resemblance to himself, Chalamet did not compete and was left to watch from the sidelines as inferior Timmys walked the red carpet in Washington Square Park. The large crowd attracted police attention, which, much to Chalamet’s chagrin, did not result in a string of falsified identity charges. Instead, organizers were fined $500 for an “unpermitted costume contest.” Had Chalamet chosen to compete, he would’ve won handily and could’ve paid the fine with a fraction of one of his Hollywood paychecks.

While he was likely muttering to himself about how much more he resembled the star of Beautiful Boy than these other clowns, a magnanimous Chalamet posed for pictures with more qualifying Chalamet lookalikes. Staten Island 21-year-old Mile Mitchell took home the oversized novelty check for $50 as if to rub it in Chalamet’s perfect nose, mocking the movie star for not looking enough like Muad’Dib.

“I’m excited and I’m also overwhelmed,” Mitchell said. “There were so many good lookalikes. It was really a toss-up.” Yeah, there was one who looked just like him.