Find Your Daddy: Pedro Pascal Edition

Pedro Pascal Lookalike Contest Crowns NYC Dad on Father’s Day

On Father’s Day, a Pedro Pascal lookalike contest took over the Lower East Side. Dozens showed up with mustaches and quiet confidence, all hoping to pass as Pedro Pascal for the day. It happened at Son Del North, a buzzy Mexican restaurant marking its one-year anniversary by handing out $50, a year of free burritos, and, unofficially, internet glory.

The winner: George Gountas, 42, Brooklyn-based lighting designer, actual dad and accidental doppelgänger. No social media, no campaign. He was pushed into it by his wife and coworkers at The Daily Show. He walked onstage, said a few words, and the crowd immediately got it. The resemblance was close enough to confuse someone after two margaritas, and frankly, that’s all the contest required.

There were around 30 entrants: mustaches of varying commitment levels, at least a few Grogu plushies, and plenty of attempts at trying to nail that sad-but-sexy Pascal energy. It was narrowed down to ten, then three, then George Gountas. The crowd's reaction decided everything. He barely tried and still nailed it, which felt correct.

The event is part of a growing wave of celebrity lookalike contests, kicked off by the viral Timothée Chalamet doppelgänger showdown in New York last fall, which the real Chalamet actually showed up to. Since then, it’s become a full-blown subculture: Jeremy Allen White contests in Chicago bars, Paul Mescal lookalikes in Dublin, even rogue Glen Powell sightings in Austin. The formula is simple: gather
a group of semi-convincing strangers, add a little fan obsession, and let the internet do the rest.

Son Del North’s co-owner Annisha Garcia says their version started as a joke, a lighthearted clapback after Pascal once claimed in a Hot Ones interview that NYC didn’t have good Mexican food.

Her response: prove him wrong, and have fun doing it. The contest wasn’t overhyped or branded to death. Just tacos, music, and a niche cultural fixation made real for one afternoon.

Gountas left with his burrito voucher and a message to Pascal: “Let’s have a beer.”