Lookalike competitions have been all the rage lately, dedicated to stars like Glen Powell, Paul Mescal, and Harry Styles.
One of the most iconic moments so far? Timothée Chalamet himself crashing a competition in his honor.
So of course, we had to jump on the bandwagon and host Aotearoa's first lookalike competition.
We had to choose someone who was well-known in New Zealand but still a mega star, so naturally, we picked an absolute icon: Jason Momoa. From the moment the competition was announced, our inboxes were flooded with potential lookalikes.
With a couple of weeks buildup, the comp took place at Mission Bay Fountain, Auckland, on December 2nd. There were no pre-registrations - just a “show up on the day” kind of event. The prize? A hefty $1,000 for whoever looked the most like 'Aquaman'.
18 contestants entered, surrounded by a massive crowd of supportive friends, family, and some stragglers keen to see the competition unfold.
Meg from The Edge Breakfast show was so stoked with the turnout:
“We were genuinely blown away by the caliber and number of entries. Judging was tough - they were all great sports. But the winner absolutely nailed it.
"For a moment, we actually thought Jason Momoa himself had arrived to surprise us!”
James Haronga from Hawke’s Bay took it out in the end, crowned Aotearoa’s own Jason Momoa.
We asked how he discovered the competition, and James explained “a mate of mine at work told me about it and tagged me in".
"For the last week or so, I had heaps of people saying I had to enter. I get told I look like him all the time," he added.
"So, I drove up this morning and thought, why not? It’d be a bit of fun.”
Safe to say It turned out to be one of the best "why nots?" of his life. James walked away $1,000 richer, and with more than a few double takes from people asking: "Are you Jason Momoa?”
Congrats James!
