Best performance by an actor in an Oscar campaign goes to Timothee Chalamet, hands down. He’sbeen a pure delight while promoting the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Although it wasn’t an event related to the film, I think Timmy’s campaign really began with his lookalike contest in late October. You remember, the contest that started them all, where the organizer didn’t get a permit for NYC’s Washington Square Park, so police shut down the proceedings, then 1,001 Chalamets traversed to a backup park, and Timmy himself crashed the party just long enough to come in 13th place? Good times. Well, fast forward to this week, where Timothee secured his second Best Actor Oscar nomination just days before he’s hosting SNL. Only, he’s not just hosting, he’s also the musical guest. So in an inspired move, the angle for Timmy’s new SNL teaser is how he’s deploying his lookalikes to aid him in preparing for Saturday’s show:

Timothee Chalamet is enlisting his lookalikes for help pulling off double duty on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

In a promo skit for the episode, for which he’ll be both host and musical guest (playing songs from Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown”), Chalamet confesses: “I’ve never done this before. I’m having to be ‘SNL’ host and musical guest in the same week, so it’s a lot of work. And I want to focus on the songs, so I brought in some help to cover all the hosting duties.”

Four Chalamet doubles then appear, seemingly from the New York City lookalike contest that Chalamet himself crashed back in October. Each is dressed in a different Timmy era — there’s “Wonka” Timmy, Timmy at the Paris premiere of “A Complete Unknown” (where he rocked a pink skinny scarf), everyday Timmy and, of course, Bob Dylan Timmy.

The lookalikes are shown taking on some of Chalamet’s “SNL” workload, including meeting with the writers, working on his monologue and listening to Mikey Day bragging about hosting “Is It Cake.” And, when he forgets to show up for a “Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” interview, the Paris lookalike goes in his place — much to Fallon’s dismay.

“He’s good. He’s really good,” Chalamet says to the other lookalikes backstage. “You guys should learn from him.”

Twenty-one-year-old Miles Mitchell won the lookalike contest in October — which took a turn when, not only did Chalamet arrive, but so did the NYPD, leaving one of the doppelgangers in handcuffs.

[From Variety]

Excellent. Brilliant. No notes! Timmy just gets the assignment, as the kids say. Yeah, he’s promoting a high profile awards-baity movie, where he plays arguably the most consequential singer songwriter of the 20th century, no less. But Timmy isn’t taking himself so seriously that he can’t embrace a fun, somewhat silly fan-driven event, and end up making it a prominent feature in his repping of the film. While contest winner Miles Mitchell already experienced the perk of attending the Golden Globes, it’s very generous of Timothee to include even more of his clones for this SNL bit. And yes, at this point I am absolutely expecting that the extra Timmies will have cameos in the live show. A great nod to Hollywood history would be if they riffed on the classic Lucille Ball–Harpo Marx mirror routine (are you listening, SNL writers?!). But whatever they do, Timmy has given these kids such great exposure! Mensch, thy name is Chalamet.

PS — Mikey Day and the cake gag killed both me and CB!

Photos credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages, Anna Maria Tinghino/Future Image/Cover Images, Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF Foto/Avalon, Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF Foto/Avalon, IMAGO/Steve Vas/Avalon