College student punks Times Square tourists - New York News | NYC Breaking News

College student punks Times Square tourists

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A New York college student pulled a stunt in Times Square that fooled hundreds of people into thinking he was a celebrity.  The entire event was filmed and has become a viral sensation.

Brett Cohen is a media studies student at SUNY New Paltz.  The 21-year-old from Long Island wondered what it would be like to be a celebrity and decided to do something about it.

He came up with the idea to make an "appearance" in Times Square during a conversation with his friend Ed Sturm.

Cohen used Craig's List to find security guards, a fake entourage and a cameraman.  Everyone volunteered their services.

On a July evening, they went to Times Square and created a commotion as people tried to pose for photos with him, and agreed to interviews about why they were excited to see him.

Some of the people said he was a great singer and others said they thought he was a great actor.  One person said that he was in the latest Spiderman movie.

Cohen says he didn't make money off of the stunt and simply did it out of curiosity.  Cohen admits that he does want to get a job as a TV personality after he graduates.

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