Either he’s got a doppelgänger or comedian and actor Kevin James is at the center of an elaborate art (teacher) heist. TikTok account @thisismatttaylor has been making waves online since its first post on Oct. 15, in which a man claiming to be an elementary school art teacher named Matt Taylor, who bears a striking resemblance to James, talks about his life and work. His students, he says, are helping him post the videos, which have gotten millions of views.
But has anyone seen “Mr. Taylor” and Kevin James in the same room together? Commenters on the videos are convinced James is either pulling a fast one or preparing for a new role as a schoolteacher. If true, this wouldn’t be the first educator James has played. He’s known for his everyman characters — including his breakout, Emmy-nominated turn in The King of Queens. He’s played a good-natured rent-a-cop in Paul Blart: Mall Cop, voiced Frankenstein in the Hotel Transylvania series, and collaborated with fellow comedian Adam Sandler on many films, including I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Hubie Halloween (more on that below).
While we might not yet have definitive answers to all our questions about Mr. Taylor — for example, why does he only follow Ed Sheeran? — you can still watch James in these comedies on Netflix.
This action comedy directed by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2) is a classic case of mistaken identity. In it, aspiring author Sam Larson (James) finally sells his debut novel, a fictional tale about an elite assassin, only for his publisher to market it as a true story. When his book becomes a bestseller, Sam is kidnapped by a Venezuelan revolutionary, El Toro (Andy García), who’s convinced the author can help him overthrow his country’s corrupt president (Kim Coates).
James stars as a biology teacher who steps into the ring in Here Comes the Boom, directed by Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) and written by Allan Loeb (Rock of Ages) and James. When Scott Voss (James), a former Division I collegiate wrestler and current high school teacher, learns that his school’s music program will be cut and its director, Marty Streb (Henry Winkler), laid off, he becomes an MMA fighter to raise money and save the arts.
Home Team is based on a true story about NFL coach Sean Payton, who headed up the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021. When Payton (James) is suspended from the NFL for one year, he returns home to Argyle, Texas, to coach his 12-year-old son’s (Tait Blum) middle school football team and hopefully reconnect with his estranged family. Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Jackie Sandler (Happy Gilmore 2), Rob Schneider (The Wrong Missy), and Chloe Fineman (Saturday Night Live) co-star.
This workplace sitcom stars James as Kevin Gibson, the crew chief for a fictional NASCAR team. The series primarily takes place in the team’s garage, where Kevin is struggling with his boss Bobby Spencer’s (Bruce McGill) retirement. Bobby’s daughter, Catherine (Jillian Mueller), steps into her father’s shoes and replaces much of Kevin’s staff with tech-obsessed youngins. Freddie Stroma (Bridgerton, Peacemaker) co-stars as the team’s driver, Jake Martin, and is joined by real-life NASCAR drivers, including Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon.
Adam Sandler, Dan Bulla, and Paul Sado co-wrote this show-biz comedy in which Sandler plays eccentric fictional ’90s Hollywood talent manager Sandy Wexler. James portrays one of Sandy’s clients, a ventriloquist named Ted Rafferty, whose career is suffering due to Sandy’s penchant for lying to seem more successful than he is. They’re joined by Jennifer Hudson (Monster), Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Lamorne Morris (Saturday Night), Rob Reiner (This Is Spinal Tap), and more.
Another Sandler and James collab, Hubie Halloween stars Sandler as Hubie Dubois, a kind but hapless, cowardly man who’s regularly bullied and pranked by the locals in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. James plays Steve Downey, a police sergeant who’s irritated by Hubie’s paranoia. As his town’s official “Halloween Helper,” Hubie takes it upon himself to monitor what he deems suspicious activity on Halloween night, only to discover a real crime in the making. The rest of the stacked cast includes Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Ray Liotta (Identity), Rob Schneider (Grown Ups), June Squibb (Thelma), Kenan Thompson (Kenan & Kel), Shaquille O'Neal, Maya Rudolph (Wine Country), and Tim Meadows (Mean Girls).
James returned to the stage with his first comedy special in 17 years with Never Don’t Give Up, which premiered in 2018. In it, he finds humor in everyday situations: the strangeness of modern conveniences, ice cream flavors, and his fear of getting a tattoo. But mostly, he focuses on his family, including his experiences with fatherhood and what it’s like to try to get a kid to go to bed at a reasonable hour. (Spoiler alert: It’s not easy.)
