Timothée Chalamet crashes his own look-alike contest

Actor Timothée Chalamet has made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike contest in Lower Manhattan, an event that drew hundreds of onlookers in New York's Lower Manhattan.

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Flanked by bodyguards, Chalamet briefly posed for photos with his high-cheeked, curly haired doppelgängers, on Sunday, 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 organisers with a $US500 ($A756) 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 organisers had posted flyers for the contest — which promised a $US50 ($A75) prize to the winner — around New York in recent days, spurring social media speculation and thousands of RSVPs to an online invite.

After leaving the park, the group soon found a backup location in a nearby playground, where more than a dozen contestants competed for audience approval from a makeshift stage.

After winnowing down the group down to four, the remaining contestants were asked about their French proficiency, their plans to make the world a better place and their romantic intentions with Kylie Jenner. Chalamet and Jenner are said to be a couple.

Eventually, a winner was chosen: Miles Mitchell, a 21-year-old Staten Island resident, who dressed in a purple Willy Wonka outfit and tossed candy to the crowd from a brief case.

Australian Associated Press

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