Two weeks ago, a contest held in New York to find someone who looked like Timothée Chalamet resulted in a man being arrested and fined $500 for an “unauthorized costume contest.” dollars, while the real-life Chalamet popped up, further adding to the confusion.
But a similar event in Dublin on Thursday, this time a search for a doppelgänger for Paul Mescal, star of “Normal People” and the upcoming “Gladiator II,” went rather quietly.
Many contestants only signed up on the day, but the winner went the extra mile, wearing the star’s signature headphone look, hoodie and white gym shorts.
Jack Wall O’Reilly – known as “Earplug Paul” – was the clear favorite of the six contestants. His recitation of a line from “Normal People” (“You look really good”) earned a standing ovation from the audience, which determined the winner.
“I’m very proud, it’s a buzz,” Wall O’Reilly told the Irish Independent, who attributed his victory to winning the Genetic Paul Mescal Lottery .
He received a hefty check worth €20 “or three pints” – although it was unclear how the latter would be cashed. Although the checks bear the Lidl logo, the competition is not officially associated with the supermarket.
“I think there’s a Paul Mescal in every one of us,” Wall O’Reilly said from the podium.
He also attributed the renewed interest in such events to the geopolitical climate, saying: “I think it’s a good thing to have events like this while people are going through a difficult time. If we weren’t all a little miserable, I think. No one is going to give Timothée Chalamet a chance on air.
A similar competition for Harry Styles, also inspired by Chalamet’s event, will take place on November 9 in London’s Soho Square.
Wall O’Reilly is unemployed and said he’ll probably spend his winnings on groceries. He will also receive Gaelic Athletic Association shorts donated by sportswear company O’Neill.
The competition was held in Smithfield Square, close to the Beacon Cinema, where Mezcal’s first blockbuster film, Gladiator II, was due to premiere later that night. The actor himself did not attend the afternoon event.
Wall O’Reilly told the Irish Independent he knew Mezcal might have a busy schedule but was “happy to sit down and have a coffee or a pint with him”.
Contestant Liam Furness (“Casual Paul”), 25, said he saw a flyer for the competition while having a coffee earlier this week and recalled his family’s comments about him and Mike. Skaar’s flattery was compared and he was invited to participate in the competition. He and “Tall Paul” also chose lines from Mescal’s breakthrough TV series to quote on stage.
Meanwhile, another contestant (“Gurriers Paul”) quoted Mescal’s BAFTA acceptance speech for Normal People – “I’m nervous, I’m anxious, I want to thank me ‘s mom, thank you all” – while the sixth (“Tall Man Paul”) chose a line from Mezcal’s ad for Denny’s Sausage.
No one seems to have chosen the dialogue in Days of the Sun (for which Mescal was nominated for an Oscar in 2022) or We Strangers (the pathos-filled ghost story he starred in last year).
Marcus O’Laoire, one of the event’s organizers, said mezcal “represents Ireland very well. It’s not just potatoes and pints, it’s shorts and strength.
Ridley Scott’s follow-up to 2000’s hit film starring Russell Crowe is Mezcal’s most talked-about film to date. The film, which co-stars Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, was released in the UK and Ireland on November 15.
Mescal will also star in Hamnet, an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, in which he stars opposite William Shakespeare, as well as Josh O’Connor in Hamnet. “The History of Sound” is a romance film set against the backdrop of a world war.
