Photo: Randy Holmes | ABC
Jelly Roll reunited with actor and comedian Kevin James on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night (July 17).
The Beautifully Broken star stepped in for Jimmy Kimmel to serve as a guest host on the late-night talk show. James appeared in the studio with a guitar, and caught up with Jelly Roll after the pair shared the stage last month at the Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, Ohio. Jelly Roll, 40, and James, 60, admitted they didn’t realize they were “twinning” when they donned a similar wardrobe on stage.
“Everything was going through my head at that moment,” James recalled of his moment on stage with Jelly Roll. “I just wanted to play guitar in the back and pretend, and you brought me out there. and then I realized afterwards how much I dressed just like you. I was like ‘oh no, I look like I’m trying to be Jelly.’ You were the greatest though.”
The reigning iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Artist of the Year echoed that he “didn’t recognize how much alike we looked until that moment either, and when I woke up the next morning, every headline in America says ‘Kevin James and Jelly Roll could be twins.’ And the kid in me was like ‘yes!’ And then I was like ‘hold on now. Are they saying I look old, or he looks young? Are they saying he looks fat, or I look skinny?’ I wasn’t sure if we were being complimented or insulted.”
“First of all, I could be your father,” James replied. Second…you look so great. You dropped like an insane amount of weight, and you’ve been coming down, and I’m going up. That’s what I’m saying. I’m doing this movie. I gotta get in shape. I feel like we’re like ships passing in the night and I’m gonna occupy the fat guy space that you left. You’re gone, and I’m gonna fill it.”
James is preparing for a country music movie that’s “gonna be a crazy one,” he said (Jelly Roll told the studio audience, “there’s no way I would let Kevin James do a country music movie and not be a part of his country music movie”). He teased the film as he reminisced on his surprise appearance during Jelly Roll’s performance last month. James has also recently starred in a music video for Nate Smith’s collaboration with HARDY, “Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend,” and teamed up with Thomas Rhett. James’ latest film is titled Guns Up, an action-comedy also starring Christina Ricci and Luis Guzmán. The movie premieres Friday (July 18).
Jelly Roll served as guest host on Wednesday (July 16) and Thursday. Guests included Jeremy Renner, Randy Orton and musical guest Joey Bada$$, plus James, Joey Logano, and musical guest The All-American Rejects. Watch Jelly Roll’s chat with James here: