Movie star Kevin James has been undercover as a 4th grade art teacher for the past few months, posting TikToks painting and sharing life advice.
He's even shooting his videos in hyper-realistic elementary school sets, equipped with lockers, desks, and art projects.
How It Started
Since mid-October, the Matt Taylor account has posted 15 wholesome videos and racked up 6.7M likes and 750K followers.
At first, people thought it was a Kevin James look-alike.
Now it looks more like a marketing masterclass.
The clues add up:
- James is starring in a 2026 romantic comedy called Solo Mio, playing a character named Matt
- His bio — “Life’s messy” — matches the movie’s plot about a man left at the altar in Rome
Why It’s Genius
Most actors promote movies the traditional way: red carpets, press tours, maybe a podcast appearance.
Kevin James? He’s living as the character months before the premiere, building lore for it.
And TikTok is eating it up. Leaving comments like, "I genuinely cannot tell if this is Kevin James or a teacher."
Our Take
James is doing what creators do best: world-building in real time. No press tour, no billboard — just a character people like spending time with.
Timothée Chalamet did something similar, posting an uncut Zoom call this week that parodied a corporate America marketing meeting...to literally market his upcoming movie Marty Supreme.
It’s a reminder that in 2025, the smartest promo doesn’t announce a movie…it builds a relationship.