If you happened to walk down a street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side yesterday, you might’ve been surprised to find a lively crowd gathered in front of a restaurant. No, it wasn’t a protest or another heated political demonstration. This is New York City, where something unexpected is always around the corner. This time, it was a full-blown Pedro Pascal lookalike competition, turning the block into a star-studded spectacle without the actual star.
One TikToker named @kyleinwunderland caught the moment on camera in NYC. The video showed a line of contestants, each one bearing a surprising resemblance to Pedro Pascal. One participant even wore a sharp black suit and brought a ginger cat, which he raised to the crowd like Simba.
In the end, it was contestant number five who walked away with the win. He wore a short-sleeve black shirt and glasses and definitely gave off strong Pedro Pascal vibes. Unfortunately, he’s not the real deal. His name is George Gountas. He works as a lighting designer for The Daily Show. He heard about the competition from a coworker, and after some friendly nudging from his team, he decided to give it a shot. Good thing he did. He scored $50 and a whole year of burritos.
As for why the competition was held in the first place, it all goes back to a comment Pedro Pascal once made about how there’s no good Mexican food in NYC. Annisha Garcia, co-owner of Son del North, saw that as a challenge. He believes his restaurant could change his mind, and decided to celebrate their one-year anniversary by holding the contest.
Many internet users found the competition both hilarious and surprisingly intriguing. Some were shocked at just how many people out there actually resemble Pedro Pascal. One user said, “The second to last dude with the text on his shirt HAS to be the real Pedro like wtf.” Another joked, “Imagine if Pedro Pascal actually entered and still lost 🤣.”
Plenty of people were left wondering how the winner was even chosen, considering how much all the contestants looked like him. “I love these lookalike competitions. I wish they happened more often lol,” one Redditor wrote.
Others chimed in with jokes, like not wanting to tell their girlfriends that this many Pedro Pascals are walking around out there. One user even said they’d be hosting their own private lookalike competition in their bedroom later, just to gather their own crowd of Pedro clones.
