Celebrity look-alike competitions have taken over the Internet. But they’re not new

In German folklore, doppelgängers are considered a bad omen whose presence brings misfortune. It seems all the more fitting then that, amid today’s geopolitical conflicts, growing climate disasters and economic uncertainty, we seem to be hooked on celebrity look-alike competitions.

It all started with actor Timothée Chalamet. In October, hundreds of spectators flocked to Washington Square Park to watch more than a dozen chocolate-haired 20-year-olds compete for the title of Chalamet’s unofficial doppelgänger. The event, hosted by YouTuber Anthony Poe, ended with several arrests, a $500 fine and an appearance by the Oscar-nominated actor himself. “It was crazy,” Reed Putman, Chalamet’s look-alike contestant, told CNN after the competition. “People were crowding (around you), recording you, taking photos or asking quick questions.”

After that things went faster. In Ireland, men with mullets compared thighs in 5-inch Gaelic Athletic Association shorts, hoping that their resemblance to Paul Mescal would be confirmed by a huge check for 20 euros ($21) (the second competition was held in a pub in London, which apparently made Mescal the first actor to inspire two competitions).

A few days later, more young people, this time wearing bow blouses and three-strand pearls, gathered in London’s Soho Square in hopes of being crowned the best Harry Styles lookalike. Then there was a search for a double of actor Dev Patel in San Francisco and a double of singer Zayn Malik in New York. And not since the taping of an episode of “Top Chef” have so many men in aprons gathered in one place for the Jeremy Allen White competition in Chicago earlier this month. There were cigarettes, farmers’ market flowers and yards of fake tattoos, all of which referenced paparazzi shots of White as well as his character Carmi Berzatto in “Bear.” Just last week, Zendaya – because who else? — became the first female celebrity to host her own viral look-alike contest in Oakland, California, while a look-alike contest for actor Glen Powell took place over the weekend in Austin, Texas.

Thanks to social media, a new contest poster seems to go viral every week, with many handing out a small cash prize and an item related to the celebrity or celebrity character (White’s lookalike brought home a pack of Marlboro Reds, while Zendaya’s contest organizers threw in a bottle of her shampoo and conditioner brand that the actor reportedly uses). Like a dog whistle for a certain type of online Gen Z or millennial, these competitions are spreading like wildfire. But the idea of ​​a look-alike contest is actually a time-tested form of entertainment.

In his memoirs, Charlie Chaplin Jr. wrote that his famous father not only participated, but also took third place in his own look-alike competition, which was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood sometime between 1915 and 1921. (Dolly Parton said she also entered one of the look-alike competitions). her, in a gay bar in Santa Monica decades later. She lost). There were Shirley Temple competitions in the 1930s, including one in Sydney, Australia in 1934 and one in 1935 at the Cleveland Cooking Show, which attracted more than 900 children. The event was so popular that Cleveland organizers reportedly staged three more—one for femme fatale Myrna Loy, one for singer Alice Fay and one for actress Katharine Hepburn. For the past 40 years, a bar in Key West, Florida has held an annual Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest.

But British sociologist and celebrated cultural critic Ellis Cashmore believes there is a reason we are now seeing a resurgence of such competitions. “I don’t think it’s a relic of the Golden Age of Hollywood,” he told CNN by phone. “I think (the most recent ones) reflect what we believe in the 21st century… That biology is not destiny.” For Cashmore, our current society is defined by the idea that “you can potentially do anything and be whatever you want.”

“What (the audience) is looking at is the transition in progress,” he said. “They know it’s not actually Harry Styles on stage, but if someone who looks like him can even be him, you give someone an idea of ​​how malleable and changeable we are as humans. Humanity is not fixed.”

According to him, there is a chance to build a real community. “These look-alike competitions give us the opportunity to meet and form new relationships with people we may not have met before, would never have crossed paths with or even said hello to at the gym, at the club, at the bar, at the supermarket. or wherever,” Cashmore added. “But the point is that they have a common interest, and that is celebrities.”

Andy Harmer, a professional David Beckham tribute artist and founder of Lookalikes, one of Britain’s leading celebrity impersonation agencies, believes it has more to do with the fact that “people are interested in all kinds of symmetry.” Harmer, who is writing a book about the history of his unique industry, gives examples of doppelgängers in nature: “Stick insects use (similarities) to survive. And some flowers look like bees,” he told CNN in a phone interview, referring to the bee orchid, which mimics the appearance of a female bee to promote pollination. “It’s a natural thing,” he said.

However, his career as Beckham’s double hasn’t always been smooth sailing. “When he (Beckham) was sent off against Argentina (during the 1998 World Cup), everyone knew him but everyone hated him,” Harmer said. “Victoria and I used to get so much abuse and death threats and stuff like that,” he said, referring to his friend who looked like Victoria Beckham. “It was crazy.”

According to the 2020 Channel 4 documentary The World’s Most Alike Strangers. One individual is expected to have at least seven doppelgänger matches. But Dr Manel Esteller, head of the department of genetics at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, ​​points out that “double” is a relative term. “The ideal ones are true twins, monozygotic twins (separated from the same embryo) with greater than 90% similarity,” he said by email. “From now on, you may look 85%, 80%, 75% similar to someone. The cut-off point determines the number of so-called “virtual twins” in the world.” In 2022, a study published in the scientific journal Cell Reports found that twins without family ties share genetic variants.

If you’re genetically blessed with a striking resemblance to celebrities, Harmer says it can be a lucrative career. He maintained himself as a carbon copy of Beckham for 20 years, working with the man himself on commercials and even appearing in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham. His agency’s star is Lancashire-born Denise Onona, a Kate Moss lookalike who walked in the Marine Serre and Vetements shows at Paris Fashion Week. “She’s been very popular this year,” he said. “A lot of brands are realizing that lookalikes are actually great… It’s quite cost-effective. You’re not paying the amount you’d pay for the real thing.”

But is there a psychological effect of having your identity so closely tied to someone else? This shouldn’t happen, says Harmer. “Treat it like a fancy dress,” he advises. “And don’t get too carried away with it.”

And for the latest group of winning doppelgängers, Harmer has more wisdom: “Contact me because I can turn your looks into money.”

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com.