Actor Timothée Chalamet has made a surprise appearance at his own lookalike contest in Lower Manhattan, an event that drew hundreds of onlookers.

Flanked by bodyguards, Chalamet briefly posed for photos with his high-cheeked, curly haired doppelgängers, on Sunday (local time), some of whom had dressed as the actor’s characters in Wonka and the Dune movies.

But just as the wannabe-Chalamets began strutting along a red carpet in Washington Square Park, police ordered the large group to disperse, slapping organisers with a $US500 ($756) 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.

I was behind the Timothee Chalamet lookalike competition. Thanks my #1 fan (timothee) for showing up. pic.twitter.com/ZfYkOBuTNB

— Anthony Po (@anthpo) October 27, 2024

The organisers had posted flyers for the contest – which promised a $US50 ($75) prize to the winner – across 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 back-up 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 briefcase.

-AAP