Actor Brian Cox and Professor Brian Cox have revealed their shared moniker caused complete chaos ahead of their BBC Breakfast interview.
The national treasures spoke to host Charlie Stayt on Friday about the confusion that their identical names have caused throughout the years, including a mix-up at the hotel they were staying at the night before their appearances.
Finding hilarity in the situation, the 76-year-old Succession star revealed that the other Cox almost ended up bunking in with him after the hotel declared they couldn’t check them both in.
The acclaimed actor recalled: “Last night was very confusing when he arrived at the hotel and said there were two Brian Coxes, so they said, ‘You’ve got two rooms’.
“He said, ‘No I think there’s two Brian Coxs and the hotel said to Brian, ‘We can’t have two Brian Coxes’.
“They wouldn’t check him in, so he had to use his assistant’s name!”
To which Professor Brian added: “I had to change my name, they couldn’t do it on the computer system.”
The 54-year-old even showed staff pictures of him and the actor, to prove that there were two celebs with the same name.
He continued: “They didn’t believe me! I got a picture out on my phone and said, ‘Look, this Brian Cox, he’ll be coming later and then there is this one.’
"And he said, ‘I know neither of you, I don’t watch television’.”
The scientist joked that there was a strong possibility he could have ended up in the Hollywood star’s room due to the confusion.
He shared: “It might have happened because he was going to cancel – I had that in my mind!”
Viewers were tickled by the whole exchange and took to social media to comment about the hilarious calamity.
“Absolutely brilliant!” one person tweeted.
A second commented: “I wish they’d have shared a room and then became best friends and this was a sitcom.”
“So now we know the official definition of ‘computer says no. When two people with the same name but [sic] into a hotel at the same time...” another penned.
Even when they’re not checking into the same hotel, the pair is causing mayhem, with the physicist revealing: “Sometimes, I’ll get in a car and the driver will say, ‘Ah, I love Succession, I don’t like this astronomy stuff’.”
While the other Brian said people often expect to meet the professor instead of him – such is the struggle of sharing the same name.
