George Gountas, a 42-year-old dad from Brooklyn, won a Pedro Pascal look-alike contest on Sunday. The competition was held at Son Del North Mexican restaurant on the Lower East Side. Gountas, who works as a lighting designer for “The Daily Show,” beat out dozens of other contestants.
He won a year’s supply of burritos and $50 for his striking resemblance to Pascal, the star of “The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us.”
“It started back when Pedro was on ‘Game of Thrones,'” Gountas said. “My wife was so freaked out when he was on screen. She’s like, ‘I can’t watch this.
I feel like the guy is crushing heads.'”
Gountas’ wife, Jenny Gania, encouraged him to enter the contest. “When we saw this contest on Father’s Day, I said, ‘You have to go. It’s going to be your Father’s Day treat,'” she said.
The contest drew a huge crowd, with around 1,000 people gathering on the street. Cars were honking as they tried to get by. Gountas sized up his competition but felt confident he would win.
“Honestly, I sized them all up, I’m not going to lie,” he said.
George wins lookalike contest
“No.
18 had a great head of hair and looked good from far away. But once the crowd saw me, it was clear I was the favorite.”
The contest was inspired by a comment Pascal made in 2023, stating that there was no decent Mexican food in New York City. Son Del North’s chef and co-owner, Annisha Garcia, wanted to prove him wrong.
“We wanted to showcase that good Mexican food does exist here,” Garcia said. Co-owner Wim Shih emphasized the positive intent behind the contest. “There’s just so much sadness in the world right now, and we wanted to bring a bit of sunshine,” Shih stated.
Gountas’ colleagues at “The Daily Show” have been supportive of his win. “Everyone’s super supportive. It’s been pretty insane,” he said.
“There’s a full-page spread in ‘The New York Post,’ and people are just screenshotting everything and sending it to me.”
Pascal himself has given his blessing, responding to a side-by-side photo of him and Gountas with a teary-eyed smiley face emoji and a heart. Gountas is now enjoying his prize of free burritos for a year. “I’ve already started trying my first burritos, and they’re excellent,” he said.
