Kevin James Is Still Playing Dumb About That 'Lookalike' TikTok A Week Before His New Movie Comes Out

​​If you spent any time doomscrolling last October, there’s a good chance you stumbled across some strangely wholesome TikTok videos from "art teacher Matt Taylor." The videos themselves are harmless enough, but exploded for one very specific reason: a huge chunk of the internet became convinced the teacher was actually the barely disguised Kevin James. What followed were months of denial, and even now, with his new romantic comedy movie Solo Mio a week away from its 2026 movie schedule release, he is still playing dumb about that ‘lookalike’ account.

Recently, Entertainment Tonight caught up with the King of Queens alum in a video shared to the outlet’s official Instagram, pressing him to finally set the record straight about the nearly 30 TikToks he’s appeared in, allegedly, fully in character. Unsurprisingly, James leaned all the way in on the bit, responding:

According to James, this was somehow the very first time he’d ever heard of TikTok, Matt Taylor, or any of the internet chaos surrounding it. He doubled down moments later, adding:

There’s just one small problem with that story. James’ upcoming romantic comedy Solo Mio hits theaters on February 6, and his character’s name is (you guessed it) Matt Taylor. Still, despite the mounting evidence, the Grown Ups franchise cast member refused to fully break character. When ET pointed out that “people are falling in love with this character,” he almost slipped, responding:

That almost-slip doesn’t last long, though. As you can see in the full video below, the longtime Adam Sandler collaborator quickly snaps back into professional denial mode. When asked whether the TikToks will continue, he shrugs it off with a perfectly straight-faced, “I didn’t know there was a TikTok…” Sure, Kevin.

Solo Mio follows Matt Taylor, a sweet, hopeless romantic whose picture-perfect Italian wedding collapses when he’s left at the altar, pushing him into a honeymoon he suddenly has to take alone. The TikTok account has been quietly laying the groundwork for that heartbreak, chronicling Matt’s day-to-day life, his musings on love, meeting “the one,” and his wide-eyed optimism as the big day approached. The movie then picks up in the emotional fallout, tracking Matt as he works through the wreckage and starts to imagine a different future, one that, judging by the trailer, may involve falling for someone new.

At this point, it’s hard not to see the Matt Taylor TikTok account as exactly what months of speculation hinted at: a clever, genuinely endearing promotional rollout for Solo Mio. The character’s low-key sincerity has clearly resonated, and plenty of fans seem ready to follow him from the 9:16 scroll of TikTok into a full-length romantic comedy on the big screen. It honestly looks pretty sweet and could be a great romantic comedy film for couples looking for Valentine's Day entertainment. Just don’t expect Kevin James to admit any of that out loud.

Solo Mio hits theaters on February 6. Check your local listings for showtimes. And if you’re in the mood for more Kevin James in the meantime, he recently teamed up with Alan Ritchson for the buddy comedy Playdate. It didn’t exactly win over critics, but it’s streaming now for anyone with a Prime Video subscription, so you can decide for yourself.