Both the actor Brian Cox and Professor Brian Cox found themselves struggling to check into a hotel due to their shared name.
Scottish actor Brian Cox is known as the star of Succession playing Logan Roy, while Professor Brian Cox is a former musician turned physics professor who found fame presenting the BBC’s Wonders Of The Solar System.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday, the two Brians explained a hilarious mishap they had been involved in the previous day while attempting to check into a hotel ahead of appearing on the show.
After presenter Charlie Stayt said: “Sometimes sharing a name can be a bit confusing,” actor Brian Cox, 76, began to explain the incident, which occurred on Thursday night.
“Well, last night was very confusing,” he said.
“Because (Prof) Brian arrived at the hotel and (they) said there are two Brian Cox’s, so you’ve got two rooms.
“And he said, ‘no no, there’s only one, but I think there might be another Brian Cox’ and the hotel said to Brian, ‘we can’t have two Brian Cox’s’.”
To which Professor Brian Cox, 54, added: “They wouldn’t check me in!”
With the Succession star continuing: “They wouldn’t check him in, so he had to use his assistant’s name.”
Professor Brian Cox said: “I had to change my name. They couldn’t do it on their computer system. They didn’t believe me!
“And I got a picture up on my phone and said ‘Look, this is Brian Cox, he’ll be coming later, and then this one…’ and he said, ‘I know neither of you, I don’t watch television’.”
The actor Brian Cox, who first gained recognition for his extensive work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, previously revealed he was initially “irked” by his namesake after the pair were almost mixed up on a restaurant reservation.
In an interview with both Brians for The Guardian earlier this year, the actor said: “It annoyed me initially – but has been such a great lesson – to find someone who is extraordinarily successful with the same name as me.
“It irked me at first, then I thought, it’s not important.”
Presenter Stayt, 60, spoke to the two Brians alone as his co-host Naga Munchetty “stepped away” from the sofa after she was unable to continue due to losing her voice.
