Kate Beckinsale refuses to be in the same room as Ryan Reynolds.

And there’s good reason for it. According to the actress, known for her whip-smart one-liners and endearingly self-deprecating humour, the two look freakishly alike. As in, she occasionally sees his face going by on a bus and, for a split-second, thinks it’s hers. So much so that she fears if they were in the same room together, they would both “explode”.

She’s right. Indeed, if you place the two stars faces side-by-side, the resemblance is uncanny. Who knew? Not us. And not Jimmy Fallon, who was as blindsided by the comparison as the rest of us, when Beckinsale revealed her celebrity doppelgänger during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Sunday night.

“I look exactly like Ryan Reynolds,” Beckinsale said when they began talking about look-alikes. “Like in a shocking way. Like, when sometimes, I see a bus going by with a poster on it, I think, ‘Damn, I look hot. Oh, wait, that’s not me. Also, I’ve never done that movie.”

When Fallon asked they had ever met in-person, Beckinsale replied: “No. I can’t be in the same room as him. One of us would I think explode or something would happen.”

Fallon remained unconvinced. Yet, Beckinsale insisted it was something she had been forced to learn to live with: “I’ve wrestled with how, obviously, he’s not even like a sort of slightly-girly-boy-bander type. He’s a big Canadian man and I really see myself in him.”

While on the show, Beckinsale also had the chance to put out those farfetched “fake leg” rumours. For background, the actor posted a video of her stretching which, frankly, was impressive. So impressive, in fact, that it sparked wild speculation she was hiding a “pretend leg” under her gym leggings.

When asked about this by Fallon, Beckinsale confirmed that she had been aware of the rumours: “My mum texted me and said that in England, people think I’ve got a fake leg.”

Rolling her eyes, Beckinsale added: “I have always been like that. I did a lot of ballet when I was a kid and now I can cause worry about a fake leg, [flexibility] is all I’ve got.”

Well that, and looking like Ryan Reynolds.

Image: Getty