“ When I was a kid , I was painfully shy .” We catch-up via phone as Kevin drives through Los Angeles . He ’ s having some down time during the filming of ‘ Grey ’ s Anatomy ’ season 17 . As he takes me on a journey through the highs and lows of his career , it ’ s evident he ’ s come a long way from being the shy boy from the Scottish Highlands . In Primary 5 , he took part in a play about a king who couldn ’ t stop sneezing : “ I played the sneezing king , the comedy role . My shyness disappeared when I walked on stage . That ’ s when I got hooked !” At the tender age of 16 , Kevin went to the University of Edinburgh to study engineering . His parents wanted him to study “ something sensible ”, but Kevin confesses : “… in my heart I knew I wanted to be an actor ”. “ So I applied for drama school . I ’ d fallen in love with Edinburgh so I only auditioned for Queen Margaret .” Kevin only made it as far as the car park after his audition before being offered an on the spot place on the course ! “ I went to the phone box to call my mum and dad . I was nervous as hell . “‘ Mum , Dad , you ’ re never going to believe this . I ’ m leaving university , I ’ m not going to be an engineer , I ’ ve just got into drama school ’.” “ I thought they ’ d go off at the deep end , but instead they said : ‘ We always knew that was what was going to happen , Kev . Congratulations , we support you ’.” When we talk about Kevin ’ s time at QMC , incredibly , he reels off every single production he was part of , character he played and class he took part in – from fencing to method acting . “ I always remember Lynn Bains teaching Uta Hagan techniques .” Uta Hagan was a German-American actress who went on to be very well known for her acting techniques based around acting normally in imaginary circumstances . He explained : “ We had to bring every item from our bedrooms into class . We were asked to setup our bedroom on stage , sit on our bed , in front of everyone else , and just act normal . It ’ s much harder than it sounds and f *** ing intimidating . Every class was like going to the dentist , but boy , did we learn ! To this day , I still use these skills .” Fast forward to Kevin ’ s final year . “ I got lucky , as I had my first acting job already lined up before graduating (‘ The Silver Darlings ’ by John McGrath ). Wildcat Theatre Company needed a young , male actor who sounded like he was from the Highlands – I ’ m from Elgin . It was a done deal .” During the Scottish tour with The Silver Darlings , Kevin “ got lucky again ”. ICM , the biggest agency in London , saw the production and signed him . “ I ’ d never even heard of ICM – I thought it was a computer company . I was very much a country bumpkin , never having left Scotland before , but I went down to the ICM Offices in the middle of Oxford Street , … and that was it ! I had a London agent !” That was far from Kevin ’ s “ big break ”. Work dried up for a while but eventually he gets a gig in Glasgow – a film called ‘ Small Faces ’ – and takes his first step away from theatre . “ During the filming of Small Faces , Danny Boyle was in Glasgow for the pre-production of ‘ Trainspotting ’. Danny hears about the upand-coming actors filming Small Faces and wants to see footage . He asked me to audition for the part of Tommy and the rest is history .” We chat about filming Trainspotting and the reality of filming a low budget film . He laughs about the one little campervan where all the male cast members would cram in together and get changed into costumes . They would then get out , smoke some cigarettes on the freezing cold street corner , whilst the female cast members got changed . I can ’ t help but imagine the scene : Kevin McKidd , Ewan McGregor , Robert Carlyle , Jonny Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner all crammed into one campervan ! “ Whilst we were still filming , the producer showed us the five minute film trailer with that Iggy Pop song . We all thought we had been filming this hard-hitting piece , but what Danny did was mix up real gritty action with pop culture . After seeing the trailer , we realised this could really be something special for Scottish cinema .
“ It wasn ’ t until walking into the premier , and seeing the likes of Liam Gallagher , did I realise this was much more than a film – it was a cultural movement ! “ After filming Trainspotting , I was living in Partick and work dried up . By the time the premier came around , I had no money and I had to borrow a suit . We got picked up in a limousine to go to the premier , and I remember thinking ‘ I hope we ’ ve got a lift back ’! We didn ’ t , so after the premier , and the big fancy do , me and my girlfriend walked home in the pouring rain !” Everyone told Kevin to move to America after Trainspotting . He said : “ The Trainspotting cast were all doing really well ; Ewan ( McGregor ) had just got the ‘ Star Wars ’ gig . However , this is one of the only times I listened to my gut – and got it right . I was a reasonably innocent boy from Elgin and didn ’ t have much street smart about me . Los Angeles would have just chewed me up and spat me out .” During his mid 20 ’ s he was forced to take jobs on building sites and pubs to support his young family . He thought he ’ d made the wrong decision staying in the UK , however , his acting work grows momentum again with work at the Royal Court , and then with the 2002 action horror film ‘ Dog Soldiers ’. In 2003 , Kevin finds himself in Bucharest filming ‘ Gunpowder Treason and Plot ’. Bruno Heller ( executive producer of the soon to be HBO hit ‘ Rome ’) is also there scoping out the studio next door as a potential filming location . Kevin hears the American voices and introduces himself – it was his first step towards securing the role of ‘ Lucius ’. Throughout our interview , Kevin often talks about “ being lucky ” or in the right place at the right time . There is clearly an element of luck here , but a lot of hard work , determination and resilience surrounds it . “ I get annoyed when people refer to my ‘ overnight success ’!” There ’ s a real passion in Kevin ’ s voice now . “ I had 15 years of really hard work before I got the Rome gig . But QMC prepared me for this . The course demanded everything from us , but also prepared us to deal with rejection , failure , and uncertainty .” Rome paves the way to the lead role of Dan Vasser in ‘ Journeyman ’. As the romantic , time-travelling TV show takes off , Kevin makes the big move to LA ! However , the 2007 / 08 writers ’ strike begins , and Journeyman is cancelled , LA becomes a ghost town for eightmonths and Kevin is running out of money ... again . “ I picked the worst time to move to LA .” Kevin ’ s kids are at school in LA and that is the only thing that keeps him there during this really tough period . However , the writers ’ strike ends and one week later Kevin gets a call from his agent to say that Shonda Rhimes ( Producer for ‘ Grey ’ s Anatomy ’) wants to talk to him about a new character in the show . “ My agent tells me the role of Owen Hunt was between me and James Van Der Beek ( known for playing Dawson in ‘ Dawson ’ s Creek ’) but Shonda is going on holiday for two weeks and she ’ ll decided when she ’ s back … Two weeks later I get a call saying ‘ She chose you ’. And that was it … I ’ ve been here ever since .” Kevin has been Owen Hunt in Grey ’ s Anatomy for eleven years now , and he loves it as much today as he did when he started . “ The life of an actor is like a travelling salesman - you ’ re living out of a suitcase and you don ’ t know where you ’ ll be next week . With Grey ’ s Anatomy , I ’ ve signed long contracts and I ’ ve used this as a chance to plant my feet in one place for a while . “ I ’ ve played this brilliant character , whilst being at home and getting to watch my kids grow up .” The show ’ s also given Kevin the chance to direct – over 30 episodes so far ! We finish up by talking about Kevin ’ s bucket list , which involves directing his first film , writing ( which is the one aspect that scares him most ) and joining the Royal Shakespeare Company – something that Kevin has had to turn down in the past . “ I feel like the past 11 / 12 years has been a detour on this mad journey that I ’ ve been on . As they say in America ‘ it ’ s all been gravy ’.”
Kevin studied Diploma in Drama and graduated from Queen Margaret College in 1994 . ❒
Photo : Mitchell McCormack / Trunk Archive QMYOU / Celebrating 50 Years of Drama 29