In celebration of the opening weekend of the highly anticipated sequel “Happy Gilmore 2,” a competition was held on Friday to find New York City’s best Adam Sandler look-alike.
Jason Nagin, a lawyer from the Flatiron District who calls the original 1996 “Happy Gilmore” his favorite Sandler flick, emerged as the winner. He took home $50 and a bag of pickles.
“I get told weekly that I look like Adam Sandler,” Nagin told reporters at the contest held at Vesuvio Playground in SoHo. “My whole life really, but definitely in the last 20 years or so.”
According to Nagin, he was supposed to be at work when the competition took place, but was convinced to throw his hat in the ring by his wife, who bought him an oversized T-shirt from Marshall’s so he’d look the part.
Nagin said he’s not an actor and doesn’t do an Adam Sandler impersonation — at least not deliberately.
“People do say not only do I look like him, but I sound like him,” Nagin told reporters. He added that when he arrived at the playground for the contest, he announced “Adam Sandler is here” and may have fooled some attendees.
“I followed him my whole life and his whole career. I’m a fan,” Nagin said. “Definitely a fan.”
Sandler and Nagin haven’t met, though by the sounds of it, a Knicks game might be the right place to make that happen.
“I know he’s a big NBA fan and I’m a big NBA fan as well,” Nagin said.
As for the event itself, Nagin — who belongs to a Facebook group of Sandler look-alikes — said he expected to see more people competing for the cash-and-pickle prize. About a dozen contestants participated in the 3 p.m. competition, when temperatures hovered in the mid-90s and threatened to bring severe thunderstorms to New York City.
“Happy Gilmore 2” continues the story of the combative golfer Sandler brought to life nearly 30 years ago with help from Bob Barker and Carl Weathers, who died in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The film is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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