A doppelganger for Dune actor Timothée Chalamet looks so much like the Hollywood star that he claims he’s been removed from a dating site for ‘impersonating’ the heart-throb.

Model Nicolas Hal Nercolini, 26, from Curitiba in Brazil, bears a striking resemblance to the Call Me By Your Name actor, who is the same age.

And with Timothee becoming increasingly famous in recent years, Nicolas said more people have picked up on how similar he looks to the Hollywood A-lister.

Even Nicolas’ own grandmother, Edyr, who passed away in 2019, often liked pictures of the actor on Instagram thinking it was her grandson.

But being a celebrity lookalike has its downfalls. Nicolas claims a past girlfriend refused to break up with him because she wanted a boyfriend that looked like Chalamet.

Model Nicolas Hal Nercolini, 26, from Curitiba in Brazil, left, bears a striking resemblance to the Call Me By Your Name actor, who is the same age as him, right. Nicolas even curated the outfit Timothee wore on his Ellen appearance in 2021

Nicolas dressed as Elio Perlman, Timothee Chalamet’s character in the 2017 movie Call Me By Your Name

The model first realised how alike him and Chalamet looked while watching Call Me By Your Names in 2017.

The more famous the actor became, the more Nicolas has been mistaken for him, especially online.

Nicolas said: ‘A Japanese account on Twitter used one of my pictures as their avatar thinking it was Timothée!

‘I had to let them know it was me.

The 26-year-old said one of his ex-girlfriends only cared about his looks and loved to tell people she was dating someone who is a dead-ringer for the Dune actor

‘I was also reported on a dating site for impersonating someone else to get more views, because I look like Timothée. But it was all my information and pictures!’

Even Nicolas’ grandmother, Edyr, could not tell the difference between him and the star and started liking Chalamet’s pictures before she passed away in 2019, aged 87.

Nicolas said:’My grandma was always liking Timothée’s photos and saying, “Oh, you look so handsome”. I had to tell her that it wasn’t me.’

His uncanny resemblance to the star even muddled Nicolas’ social worker mum, Denise, 59.

Nicolas, pictured as Nic Sheff, Timothee Charamet’s character in Beautiful Boy, said he hopes to one day meet the actor so he can see how similar they look. He’s been styling himself like the actor for his pictures to share online

Nicolas has the same curly hair and delicate features as the star of Dune and Call Me By Your Name

He said: ‘She usually confuses our pictures and said I should set up an Instagram to let other people see me and how alike we are.

‘So, I did in Jan 2022 and it escalated really quickly. I now have 829 followers and it is growing”.’

Looking like someone famous has not always been an advantage for Nicolas, who says one girlfriend did not want them to split up simply because of his likeness to Chalamet.

He said: ‘She would brag to her co-workers that she dated someone who looked really like Timothée, but we weren’t working well as a couple at all.

Nicolas first realised how similar he looked to Chalamet in 2017. Right: The Call Me By Your Name actor in London in 2021

‘She did not seem to see me for who I was – Nic. I was just a lookalike.’

Yet, the advantage of his similarity to the star is not lost on Nicolas, who sometimes uses make-up to enhance his features, which has lead to him gaining more Instagram followers.

‘I followed a lot of Timothée Chalamet fans on Instagram and made a lot of connections and friendships. They engage with me a lot, which helped my following to increase.

‘I am not completely sure how big a role looking like Timothée played in me becoming a model in January 2022, but some agents have said that if I went to any castings I should say that I look like him.

Nicolas revealed several agences that specialises in lookalikes reached out to him in recent months. A bout of Covid-19 caused him to lose weight, which means he looks even more like the actor now

‘I also had a lookalike agency from the UK reach out to me. this month. We were talking and reached out to an agency from the US as well.

‘The second agency asked me if I could join them for their next casting in New York, which does not have a date yet, to meet some more lookalikes.’

A serious attack of Covid in May 2021, which, being asthmatic, saw Nicolas lose 22 kilos, had an unlikely positive as it accentuated his chiselled looks and made him look even more like Chalamet.

He said: ‘I was very ill and felt like I was suffocating if I ate, which was horrible.

‘But another shock came when I realised I looked even more like Timothée.’

Nicolas’ chiselled face, left, has led to many comparison with the Little Women actor, right, but he does not mind the resemblance

He also uses cleverly applied make-up to accentuate certain features to enhance his likeness to the star.

He said: ‘Timothée has really sharp features, so I contour and highlight certain parts of my face.

‘I use an eyebrow pencil to extend the eyebrow tail.

‘Also, while my hair is already wavy, I started curling it to make the my curls more defined like his.’

And their similarities are not restricted to their appearance, according to Nicolas.

He said: ‘We were born in the same year. I was born on July 29 and he was born on December 27.

Even Nicolas’ grandmother Edyr, who passed away in 2019, used to mistake the actor for her grandson

‘I’m a Capricorn rising and he’s a Capricorn sun.

‘We have the same music tastes. A lot of his favourite artists are mine as well like Cardi B and The Weeknd.

‘My family on both sides are Italian immigrants and my mum’s side has a bit of Austrian descent as well. Timothée’s mum is also of Austrian descent.

‘I was even nearly born in New York like Chalamet, as my mum was on vacation there around the time she was expecting me, but gave birth in Brazil instead as she was more familiar with the healthcare system.’

Nicolas also tracks the star’s fashion choices using Instagram account @readytimmywear so he can dress in the same sort of style.

He said: ‘I have a few jewellery pieces like those he has worn at premieres.

‘They are fakes, not real Cartiers or the suchlike, but they are statement pieces that I usually wear when I leave the house.

‘I got some sneakers like some he wore, too, because they were so cool.

‘I had a coat from Zara that my grandma bought me a long time ago which was really similar to one he wore for the ceremonial part of Dune, too – the really long coat with that kind of military style.’

And when he teamed the coat with ankle high boots like those the star wore as Paul Atreides to watch the movie in Brazil, he caught the attention of a group of American fans.

He said: ‘There was a small group of American guys who were there for the movie. I think they were visiting Brazil.

Left: Chalamet in character for Netflix’s dark comedy Don’t Look Up. Right, Nicolas recreating the look

‘When the film finished, they kept staring at me, clearly wondering if I was Timothée or not?’

While his striking features now work in his favour, Nicolas says that has not always been the case.

He said: ‘Growing up, people picked on my appearance a lot, as I didn’t look like anyone from here.

‘I didn’t really look like my parents. I looked more like my grandfather from my dad’s side who passed away before I was born.

‘I was picked on because I was too pale, as Brazil is known for people with a sunkissed complexion.

‘People were really mean about me having freckles, too.

‘I always thought that I was weird and everyone else was better looking than me, so that really pushed my self-esteem down a lot.’

Nicolas admits it came as a shock when he realised he looked like someone who is seen as a heart-throb.

He said: ‘When I came across Timothée Chalamet, I thought, ‘I’m not that odd looking if people like him.’

‘Before he starred in Call Me by Your Name, Timothée was worried that he would never be cast in anything because he was too skinny, clumsy and not the ideal Hollywood star, too, which really helped me.

Nicolas has been cultivating his resemblance with Chalamet online and created an Instagram profile as a lookalike

Nicolas dressed as Paul Atreides, Timothee Chalamet’s character in Dune, which was nominated for ten Academy Awards this year

‘Timothée really saved my life in many ways, especially in terms o, f how I looked.

‘And seeing him in so many incredible movies like Dune has given me the confidence to go after my dreams.’

Now attending acting classes, as well as trying to make his mark in the modelling world, Nicolas is aiming for a bright future and hopes that if his famous lookalike ever hears about him, he will not be ‘freaked out’ by their similarity.

He said: ‘I want him to have the same reaction as me and to think, “Wow! There’s someone out there that looks like me!’

‘It’s kind of weird, but fun as well.

‘There’s a theory that there’s always someone who looks like you in the world.

‘Most of the time you don’t get to meet them, but at least I get to see the man who looks like me!’