A Paul Mescal lookalike contest has taken place in Dublin this lunchtime, with a number of men wearing GAA shorts and gold chains in attendance.
The unofficial event in Smithfield was held hours before the Irish actor walks the red carpet of the Irish premiere of blockbuster movie, Gladiator II.
The event comes a week after fellow movie star Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike event in New York, which drew in 2,000 attendees.
For several days, there have been rumours, posters and even social media accounts promoting the Mescal lookalike contest, with fans speculating that the actor may himself turn up – but he did not.
A handful of Mescal lookalikes were brought up to a microphone to do their best impressions of the actor and there were great cheers when Jack Wall O’Reilly from Ennis, Co Clare was crowned the winner.
He said his friends have been telling him for years that he looks like the actor and that he was sent the post about the lookalike competition “a good few times over the last week”.
“The turnout was crazy, I thought it would just be me and a few women trying to meet Paul Mescal,” he said.
Marcus O’Laoire organised the event to bring a smile to people’s faces.
“There’s enough negativity in the world at the moment so if you can get a couple of hundred people together in Smithfield Square for a lookalike competition, it’s as good a reason as any,” he said.
On his decision to choose Mescal, he praised the actor as “the best thing to come out of Ireland in the last few years.”
“He’s a great actor, a great ambassador for Ireland, he represents who we are very well on a global scale,” he added.
“The turnout was incredible, people really got into it. There were a couple of them that made me do a double-take.”
