In the case of Kevin James, life really does seem to imitate art.
The Emmy-nominated actor and comedian, 60, has become the subject of social media speculation after a TikTok personality, an art teacher named Matt Taylor, has gone viral for his striking resemblance to James.
“Hey guys, Mr. Taylor here today. I wanted to take you outside of my classroom,” Taylor said in a Nov. 13 video, as he stood in front of a colorful banner that read, “Just make a mark, and see where it takes you.”
“Now, this is so important for all students to see,” Taylor continued. “Because I want them to not be afraid to take that first step. And that first step could be putting a pen to a [paper] … a paintbrush to a canvas. Whatever it is, I just want you to go out there and create and light up the world.”
The Matt Taylor account began posting videos on Oct. 15, offering a mix of mini teacher vlogs about his daily life and inspirational art videos. Over the course of 16 videos, Taylor has racked up 6.7 million likes and over 754,000 followers.
It’s rumored that the TikTok profile is part of a promotional campaign for James’ upcoming film “Solo Mio.” James’ character in the 2026 romantic comedy, distributed by Angel Studios, is named Matt, according to the film’s IMDb page.
Matt Taylor account shows affiliation with new Kevin James movie
The Instagram page for Matt Taylor, which boasts nearly 300,000 followers, is followed by James’ “Solo Mio” costar Julee Cerda and the filmmaking collective Kinnane Brothers (Charles and Daniel Kinnane serve as directors on “Solo Mio”).
James and the Kinnane Brothers share a creative history. According to the filmmakers’ official website, the Kinnane Brothers produced a series of short films for James’ YouTube channel in 2020. Additionally, the Kinnanes’ first feature film, the 2022 football comedy “Home Team,” starred James.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for James and Angel Studios for comment.
Matt Taylor videos baffle Kevin James fans
Taylor’s resemblance to James has stumped fans on social media, who took to the comments section of Taylor’s TikTok videos to share their amusement over the art teacher lookalike.
“Am I being gaslighted by Kevin James?” @hotdogf1avoredwater wrote.
“I genuinely cannot tell if this is Kevin James or a teacher,” @jacqueyoung3 commented.
“Surely if he truly wasn’t Kevin James, he would’ve addressed it by now,” @tennesseebubba wrote.
“Should call you the master of disguise,” @the_worst_rapper commented.
“I know this [is] Kevin James. You ain’t fooling me,” @natval0000 wrote.
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