MISCELLANEOUS KEVIN NEWS
video source: Songs for Soldiers
By Toby Mcdonald
February 14, 2010
source: Daily Record.co.uk
TRAINSPOTTING stars Ewan McGregor and Kevin McKidd are to be reunited in a film about Mount Everest.
It will see them work together for the first time since the classic 1996 Danny Boyle drugs movie that made them stars.
The Scots will travel to Nepal to shoot on location at the world's highest mountain's Base Camp - 17,700 ft above sea level.
Elgin-born McKidd, 36, said: "I'm going to need to get into shape for that."
A source close to the project said: "It doesn't have a name yet and a lot of the details are being kept quiet but it is expected to be a really gruelling schedule for both of them.
"It requires a big commitment as there are weeks of preparation and acclimatisation before they can properly start."
McGregor, 38, and McKidd have become hugely successful Hollywood actors in the 14 years since Trainspotting.
It was slower for McKidd but he is now one of the industry's most in-demand leading men.
The star, who lives with wife Jane and children Joseph, eight, and Iona, six, stars in TV hit Grey's Anatomy as Dr Owen Hunt.
He has also starred in TV blockbuster Rome as well as hit movies The Last Legion and Kingdom of Heaven.
In his latest movie, Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, he takes the role of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea.
McGregor was first of the Trainspotting cast to make it big with his leading role in the 2001 hit Moulin Rouge.
He was also in the 2005 Star Wars trilogy but has since taken on smaller roles.
McKidd also revealed he turned down a major part in the last two Harry Potter films.
He said: "There was this mean, alpha-male werewolf character, who's like the big villain in the final film. My kids were like, 'Why did you have to turn that down?'
"But when Percy Jackson came through, it was like, 'I've got to do this. I've never done this kind of movie before'."
Shades of 'Grey'
Kevin McKidd brings verve and vitality to gods, surgeons, and time travelers
February 10, 2010
source: Backstage The Actor's Resource
Thanks to Cass for the heads up.
Kevin McKidd has played a time-traveling journalist, a tortured Roman soldier, and a star athlete–turned–heroin addict. But nothing quite compares to his most recent role: In "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," McKidd moves earth and sea as the Greek god Poseidon. "You do some research into the traits of the gods, I guess," muses the actor, sounding remarkably laid-back as he reflects on how, exactly, one prepares to play a towering mythological figure. "You look at images. But in this movie, I had to take the lead from [director] Chris Columbus, pick his brains a little and see what realm he wanted us, the actors, to live in."
Much of this fine-tuning came down to making sure the international cast—which also includes Uma Thurman as Medusa and Steve Coogan as Hades—sounded like they could inhabit the same world. "[Chris] really loved the show 'Rome' that I did, and he said he wanted that, dialectically," explains McKidd. "In 'Rome,' we kind of used our own dialect but in that slightly more classical tone of voice."
Nailing Poseidon's godly cadences was a challenge different from the more down-to-earth acting obstacles McKidd faces every week on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," wherein he plays former Army trauma surgeon Owen Hunt. The role represents a transition for McKidd: After anchoring his own show, "Journeyman," the actor has now been incorporated into the massive "Grey's" ensemble. "Suddenly, the workload has gone from being every single minute of every single day to—like, this week, I'm not actually working," he says. "It's fantastic for my family life, but the problem I find, as an actor, is that I have time to over-think stuff and question my choices and how I'm going to play a scene. If I'm not working this week and I've got a big scene next Monday, I'll have all these days to churn myself up about how it's gonna go. I become self-conscious."
Not that he doesn't enjoy all the meaty material the show has given him thus far: From Owen's struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder to his tumultuous relationship with fellow surgeon Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), McKidd is pleased that he's had the opportunity to play such a full gamut of emotions. Now he's looking to take advantage of some of that aforementioned time off to get more involved in Los Angeles' rich indie film scene. "I've always been attracted to directors who are just about to break," he says. "I'm keen to find those kinds of projects; that was kind of the grass roots of my career, working with first-time directors. I miss that experimentation."
Career Engineer
As a kid growing up in "a very small, quite old-fashioned town" in the highlands of Scotland, McKidd used acting to escape his crippling shyness. "I found it very hard to talk to adults," he recalls. "Suddenly I did a school play, and I was given this dialogue somebody else wrote, and I could just pour myself into that. I think that was the initial spark for me; I could really express myself through somebody else's words."
He ventured to Edinburgh for a university education, intent on studying engineering. But he says he knew, deep down, that acting was his true calling. "I knew my folks would be scared if I left home at 16 to go be an actor," he says, chuckling. "I thought, 'I'll get out of town in a legitimate way and be at a good university.' I joined a student theater company in Edinburgh and spent way more time there than I ever spent at lectures."
McKidd ultimately dropped out of university and enrolled in Queen Margaret College to study drama. One of his first breaks came in the form of Danny Boyle's 1996 smash "Trainspotting": McKidd played clean-cut Tommy, a good-natured soccer player who descends into heroin addiction. The film came out around the same time as modest indie "Small Faces," which cast the actor as a villainous psychopath—pretty much the exact opposite of his "Trainspotting" persona. Though McKidd appreciated being able to show multiple sides of his talent, he also notes that the acting jobs dried up a bit after that initial break. "I was very lucky that those two jobs came out of the gate, so nobody could kind of pigeonhole me at that point, which was great," he says. "But I think in a way, that kind of meant things were slower, because people were scratching their heads, going, 'Well, what are we going to do with this guy?' "
A Long 'Journey'
Luckily, the casting community eventually figured him out, and McKidd began to build a solid, diverse career, acting in projects like the award-winning TV show "North Square" and films "Topsy-Turvy" and "Kingdom of Heaven." But it was the brutal, blood-soaked HBO series "Rome" that got him noticed by American audiences; McKidd's portrayal of brooding Lucius Vorenus won him raves from critics and passionate fans around the globe. Oddly enough, the folks behind the series had him in mind for pretty much every role except the one he ended up playing. McKidd recalls that casting director Nina Gold, who had hired him before, got him in the door for an initial read.
"Everybody there could only see me as Mark Antony," he says. "I said, 'Okay, fine, but I really think I should read for Lucius Vorenus.' They came back to me and said, 'We want you to read for Titus Pullo.' I said, 'Okay, but I still think I should read for this Lucius Vorenus part.' 'No, no, we don't see you as him.' I read for Pullo, and they went, 'Eh.' "
Finally the producers allowed McKidd to read for the part he had wanted all along. Their response? " 'Yeah, that really works,' " says McKidd with a laugh. "I think as an actor, you know what your strengths are going to be. And sometimes you have to lead the horse to water. I was lucky enough that I had a relationship with Nina Gold, so she kind of went to bat for me."
McKidd's next move was a lead role as an oft-perplexed time traveler in the 2007 series "Journeyman." The show attracted a modest yet fervent fan base, but it never quite got off the ground and was canceled after a single season. "I was with my wife, and we'd moved into a rented house, and we sat there—not only in the midst of a canceled show but the writers strike," recalls McKidd. "Nobody could get work. We were a long way from home, not knowing what was going to happen. I think no matter how much you are a professional and say, 'Just to get a network show on the air as the lead is a huge success,' part of you goes, 'Wow, people just hate me and don't want to watch me on TV.' You have those dark moments."
So what pulled McKidd out of his funk? Well, a call from "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes may have helped just a little. "You think you're dead in town; you think, 'That's it'—but then the phone rings and you get another job," marvels the actor. "Somebody like Shonda Rhimes calls, and you realize maybe things aren't over, you know?"
The Betty Interview: Kevin McKidd
February 10, 2010
source: Betty Confidential
On Grey’s Anatomy, Kevin McKidd plays the tough, war-torn Army surgeon, Dr. Owen Hunt, who has taken a liking to the uber-competitive and emotionally distant Cristina (Sandra Oh). But after 36 episodes and counting, the Scotland-born actor’s Dr. Hunt is starting to melt her cold heart with his declarations of love — and steamy hospital sex. Kevin, 36, who stars as Poseidon in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (which opens tomorrow), is equally passionate off-screen. It was love at first sight for the former Rome star and his wife, Jane. Two-and-a-half weeks after meeting, they got engaged, and five months later they were married. “You could say I’m intense, loyal and passionate, like Owen,” says Kevin. Just what we needed to hear! As if we didn’t have a big enough crush on him already.
Actors are sometimes seen as gods, but you actually got to play one in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. What was it like starring as Poseidon?
It’s unusual to be asked to play a god — that’s for sure. And it’s been a blast working with director Chris Columbus from beginning to end. I tried to make Poseidon a little more human. As a god, he’s not allowed to see his son, Percy, so I saw him as a divorced dad. I think that made the character a little more believable. I only have a small part in this one, but you’ll see much more of me in the next movie.
Did your kids, Joseph and Iona, influence you in wanting to do more family-friendly fare?
Yes, but it’s not like I’m only going to do family films from here on out. I just wanted my kids to be able to see at least one thing that Daddy’s been in. I’m usually in much more mature-themed movies.
What, they haven’t seen Trainspotting?
No, not yet! We went to the premiere of Percy last night and my son is a huge Percy Jackson fan — he’s read all five books — and he had an absolute ball. My daughter even said it was the best movie she had seen in her whole life. So that made me feel good.
Do they realize that their dad’s a big deal?
They enjoy the fact that I’m an actor and I get to wear silly costumes. For them, though, they really like to take trips to craft service and get free candy. They think it’s strange to go to weird places like North Africa to watch Daddy sit around in a dusty trailer.
Has your cool factor gone up with them after being in Percy?
Oh, yeah, especially with their pals at school. Suddenly, they’ve given much more street cred to dad, because he’s Percy Jackson’s dad too.
The books — and now the movie — are being called the next Harry Potter. How does that feel?
It was like Beatlemania after the New York premiere, so if the kids’ reactions are any indication, I think the movie’s going to be huge. And who doesn’t want to be in a hit?
Things are really heating up on your day job at Grey’s Anatomy. How’s it feel for your character Dr. Hunt to be in the middle of a Cristina-Teddy love triangle?
It’s a complicated situation. Owen has declared his undying love for Cristina, and that he’s very sure about. But as we know on TV shows those feelings, promises and truths get tested sometimes. It’s difficult when a friend like Teddy [Kim Raver] wants to be more than just friends and she’s there with your lover and colleagues in an environment where you have to work very closely together. It’s going to lead to a pretty exciting, unexpected spot.
Do you think it’s Owen’s own fault for bringing Teddy to Seattle Grace?
Of course. I wouldn’t have brought someone I knew had feelings for me to come work with my new girlfriend. That’s just asking for trouble!
You’re lucky to be playing opposite such talented actresses.
I know. When I joined the show, I felt so blessed to get Sandra as my acting partner. Not only is she talented but she’s always happy and a very positive person to be around. Then Kim comes along and she is a consummate actress. She can really hold her own with Sandra. I’m in a really happy spot right now.
What has been your favorite storyline on the show so far?
I’ve really responded to the bits where Owen explores what happened to him while he was serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will be revisited this season. There’s a very interesting story to tell. And it’s really relevant right now with the war going on, and people coming back having served for their country. Vets and especially their families have really responded to that storyline, because they’re often dealing with someone who doesn’t really resemble the person they knew before he or she went away. They seem very grateful and thankful their story is on TV, because post-traumatic stress has always been a taboo subject.
You already have “Mc” built into your real name, but what about a Mc-nickname for your character?
I don’t want one! On the show they’ve been joking about him being a Ginger. Maybe it’ll be McGinger. But I’d rather it be McBadAss.
You’ve been in a lot of movies and TV shows over the years. What do fans usually recognize you for most?
It’s a split demographic. If it’s a guy who comes up to me, it usually has something to do with Rome (above), and if it’s a lady it definitely has to do with Grey’s Anatomy.
How would you describe yourself when you’re not playing a role?
Passionate, private, motivated, loving and sometimes stubborn.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I’m taking ice skating lessons at the moment. My son plays ice hockey and I enjoy taking him to the games, so I’m hoping I can coach ice hockey 101 with him and poke around the ice rink. I can almost skate backwards, but I’m not quite there yet. Joseph makes fun of me, but that’s OK. He’s a much better skater than I am.
What do you do to relax?
I play guitar — everything from folk music to jazz and blues.
If you had to be on a reality show, which would it be?
I hate reality TV, but if I had to choose I’d say Amazing Race or Survivor — something that’s outdoorsy and requires skill. I’m attached to a movie at the moment (with Trainspotting alum Ewan McGregor) about guys who climb Mount Everest, and they want to shoot a lot of it at the base camp on Mount Everest, so I’m going to need to get into shape for that.
What’s your idea of the perfect day?
The perfect day would be me, my wife Jane, and the kids in our pajamas all day. We’d cook pancakes together, then Joseph would get on his drum kit and I’d play guitar. We’d jam all day, and I’d read to them before bedtime.
by Eric Ditzian
February 9, 2010
source: MTV Movies Blog
Kevin McKidd plays a god in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," He almost played a monster in "Harry Potter"
While chatting with MTV News about "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," in which he plays Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, McKidd revealed that he was recruited for a meaty, villainous role in the "Harry Potter" franchise. A scheduling conflict prevented him from coming aboard.
(Kevin) "I was asked to be in the last two 'Harry Potter' films and I couldn't do it because I was busy filming 'Grey's Anatomy,' " McKidd said. "There was this mean, alpha-male werewolf character, who's like the big villain in the final film."
Our guess is the role McKidd was offered was that of Death Eater Fenrir Greyback. Only problem with that theory is Greyback was played by Dave Legeno starting in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," not just in the final two parts of "Deathly Hallows." Perhaps McKidd was offered a role in the last three films, and he simply misspoke during the junket. His turn in "Grey's" began airing in the Fall of 2008, while "Half-Blood Prince" wrapped filming in the spring of that year, so it's possible there was scheduling conflict back in '08. Let us know your thoughts on McKidd's role in the comments below.
In any event, the Scottish actor's work as a trauma surgeon alongside Ellen Pompeo on "Grey's" prevented him from joining up with "Potter." His kids were not pleased.
"My kids were so pissed," he said. "They were like, 'Why did you have turn that down? I was like, 'I didn't turn it down. I couldn't do it.' But when ["Percy Jackson"] came through, it was like, 'I've got to do this because I've never done this kind of movie before.'"
Kevin McKidd: New role in Percy Jackson and the Olympians means my kids can see me on big screen at last
February 9, 2010
source: Daily Record.uk
SCOTS star Kevin McKidd is now a giant in Hollywood - playing a 40ft Greek god in his new action movie.
But he says the best part of his new role is the fact that his two young children can watch him on the big screen for the first time.
Kevin plays sea god Poseidon in the £100million family blockbuster Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, alongside Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Steve Coogan and Sean Bean.
And the 36-year-old admits it's the first time his children won't be barred from watching their dad act.
He said: "My kids are really excited about Percy Jackson. They think it's going to be cool that they'll be able to see me in the cinema."
It's been 14 years since the Elgin-born actor shot to fame with Trainspotting but his kids haven't seen his films because he reckoned they were too violent.
Kevin's first big film was the Scottish movie Small Faces, where he played a razor-slashing Glasgow gang leader.
More recently he appeared in Hannibal Rising, about the origins of serial killer Hannibal Lecter.
Now his kids have started looking for projects that their dad could star in - and they can watch.
His son Joseph begged him to appear in Percy Jackson as the hero's long-lost dad, Poseidon.
Kevin said: "Joseph read the first book and he'd never seen anything I'd been in. He was right down my throat, telling me I had to do it."
Joseph and his sister Iona have also seen their dad become a star in Channel 5's Grey's Anatomy.
And they were delighted when Kevin got called up by Disney and asked to provide a voice in Pixar's Scottish animated movie, The Bear And The Bow, featuring Reece Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson.
Kevin said: "Joseph just knows I'm doing a voice in a Pixar film. I haven't done the recordings yet so I'll know more in March when I start.
"I'm dead excited about it - and that I'm working with Billy Connolly."
Kevin's Poseidon appears in Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief with the mighty Zeus (Bean), the wicked Hades (Coogan) and the other gods of ancient Olympus.
But the film has a thoroughly modern setting - and a dramatic entrance for Kevin. He appears in the first scene marching out of the Hudson River and into present-day Manhattan.
He said: "The thing I found hardest was walking out of the water. You can't just look like you're going down the paper shop.
"I was supposed to be 40ft tall so I had to look as if my bones were much bigger and give a sense of momentum.
"I thought I'd be done by lunch but it took two days."
Kevin, who was in three series of TV hit Rome as Lucius Vorenus, joked: "It was nice to get back in a skirt - it was like coming home."
Poseidon watches over his son Percy but has been forbidden from meeting or trying to make contact with him - while his kid is unaware of his dad and his special powers.
It's been a rollercoaster career for Kevin who, as a jobbing actor, dressed up as a spook to work on the Edinburgh ghost tours. After his Trainspotting role, he was unemployed and had money worries.
He admits he failed to take advantage of his big break in the hit film - and even missed appearing on the iconic poster because he was on holiday.
Kevin said: "I didn't have the confidence to come out to LA. Everybody said I should but I knew it wasn't my time.
"I had a tough few years working in bars and on building sites to make ends meet."
At another point, with no work, a baby on the way and a demand for a massive tax bill, he worked as a motorbike courier instead of taking easy acting jobs - because they failed to meet his standards.
Kevin added: "People said I should do ads or daytime soaps but I felt I'd rather work on building sites.
"I'd started so well that I didn't mind doing menial jobs. I wasn't going to let my standards go as far as my dreams to be an actor were concerned."
Despite his success in other films and Rome, two years ago Kevin was facing another period of unemployment.
After the hit TV show, Kevin and Jane, his wife of 10 years, uprooted their family from Britain to LA so he could appear in a science fiction series called Journeyman.
But the show, about a time-travelling journalist, never caught on with viewers.
His family were packing their bags when Kevin was offered a small role in the TV hospital drama Grey's Anatomy.
The part of Iraq war veteran Dr Owen Hunt was only supposed to feature in six episodes. But Kevin was such a hit he's now a permanent member of the team.
He said: "It's weird joining a show like this. But I thought if I am good with a sword, I'll be good with a scalpel."
Now his supporters include his Percy Jackson co-star Coogan, who said: "I'm a big admirer of Kevin's work."
His female fans, such as Sharon Stone, are said to love Kevin's blond good looks on the hit show.
The hunk has come a long way from his childhood in Elgin, Moray, when Kevin says he was a non-sporty "fat little kid".
Since then, he's learned to love the gym and has developed a broad-shouldered, buff physique.
He said: "My job requires me to look a certain way so it's important I eat well.
"I never diet but I control portions and stick with lean protein. I'm always up for a whisky on ice or beer though".
Kevin still returns to Scotland several times a year, most recently to shoot One Night In Emergency for BBC Scotland.
But for now he seems set to stay in LA - and try to keep his kids from developing strong American accents.
Besides being busy with Grey's Anatomy, it seems likely Kevin will appear in a movie version of Rome planned for later this year - despite Lucius dying in the final scenes of the TV show.
His way with a sword, an impressive set of abs and a swagger even when kitted out in an ancient costume has led to comparisons with Gerard Butler, another Scot who got a career boost from a toga.
He said: "Rome were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood. They probably couldn't get Gerard Butler so they got the No 2 Gerard Butler - me!"
Kevin says he is very excited about starring in Rome The Movie and will do it "providing the script is good - and Gerard isn't available".
Kevin McKidd "Making Waves in Hollywood"
source: Buzzine
When it comes to a seeming wave of Scottish actors who are invading America with their roguish charm and sword-swinging biceps, there’s no foot soldier whose landing might be more deserved, or long-in-the-coming than Kevin McKidd’s. Hailing from Elgin, Moray, McKidd got his start in youth theater before making a detour into studying engineering at Edinborough. But like all charismatic actors who seemed destined for a seemingly incongruous career path, it wasn’t long before acting pulled McKidd back in. His early theater work with Robert Carlyle’s Rain Dog Theater Company portended McKidd’s iconic film debut, standing alongside Carlyle as Tommy, one of the endearing drug-addled miscreants of that paean to Scottish bad behavior known as Trainspotting.
McKidd’s imposing frame may have gotten him started out as a “gentle giant,” but he was capable enough of emotionally varying it through any number of accents and diverse characters for Hideous Kinky, Topsy-Turvy, Anna Karenina, De-Lovely and Kingdom of Heaven before his Anglo-phile appeal truly became internationally historic with HBO’s Rome. For a series that put believably immoral grit in the sword-and-sandal genre, McKidd’s Roman officer Lucius Vorenus stood for what might be called a voice of reason, honoring duty, country and unknowingly playing witness to history while also playing straight-man to Ray Stevenson’s berserker gladiator Titus Pullo. Rome’s critical success would quickly make McKidd a leading man in American television, first as a reporter unstuck in time for NBC’s one-season cult wonder Journeyman, and presently as the shell-shocked Dr. Owen Hunt on Grey’s Anatomy. All the while, McKidd has continued to do his country proud amidst his new LA environs as the Scot to beat for a lady’s hand in Made of Honor, then as the bad-ass voice of the Scottish super-soldier “Soap” MacTavish in the gloriously violent video game “Modern Warfare 2.”
Now, after more than showing he knows how to handle a broadsword as god-worshiping characters in Rome and The Last Legion, McKidd finally ascends to the all-powerful heavens with Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, essaying the role of Poseidon alongside an acting pantheon that includes Sean Benn’s Zeus, Rosario Dawson’s Chiron and Uma Thurman’s Medusa. It’s McKidd’s charisma that unleashes the thunder like never before (not to mention the ocean) in his relationship to a half-god son whom he seeks to protect from the various demons and deities that want his birthright. But perhaps even cooler for McKidd than going to Mount Olympus is being on the ground floor of what might be the next big Hollywood teen-fantasy franchise, one directed by no less than Harry Potter’s Chris Columbus. For fans of Kevin McKidd’s work, not to mention the acting aspirations of his countrymen, Percy Jackson is a literal godsend.
Daniel Schweiger: In the cinematic Mount Olympus of the gods, I don’t think Poseidon has really gotten his live action due before this movie. He barely merited a cameo in the original Clash of the Titans.
Kevin McKidd: Poseidon definitely gets prominence in this movie because he’s Percy Jackson’s father. That gives him a good head-start! Percy finds out he’s a half-blood son of a god and is a demi-god himself. He’s an unhappy teenager with a stepfather he hates, and then finds out that he’s got these powers from his dad. So what’s beyond the big fantasy-action of the movie is the story of an estranged father and son, almost as if Poseidon had been a divorced dad who didn’t get custody. That’s because Zeus passed an edict forbidding all gods from meeting and talking with their half-god children. So Percy Jackson is kind of like Kramer Vs. Kramer in a way! And Zeus is the judge of this court.
DS: Movies always seem to cast actors from the British Isles as the gods, from Laurence Olivier as Zeus in the original Clash of the Titans to Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes in the remake. Why do you think Hollywood likes those all-powerful English accents?
KM: I think it’s a cinematic shorthand, probably stemming back to the days of the theater because, when you think of the perceived knowledge of the gods, an English accent conveys it in a classical environment. That’s the only hunch I can go on.
DS: When you’re doing a major effects franchise movie like this, how difficult is it to get to the emotional truth of a character like Poseidon?
KM: I think the job, in movies like this, is to let all those effects happen and try to hold onto the job you always do as an actor, which is to delineate the small, human moments. Our director, Chris Columbus, is great with actors and characters. He wants to keep us all human and connected. And being in a background like this before with Rome certainly helped.
DS: How did you become part of The Olympians?
KM: As an actor, it’s always flattering when a director asks for you to be in a film because they’ve seen your work, and that’s what happened in this case, with Chris liking my work in Rome and Journeyman. So whether it’s a franchise movie or a small independent picture, you’re just honored to be in the project because they want you there. The fact that this is the start of a big franchise is definitely something new to me, and I’m excited about that because I’ve never done anything like this before. Yet, at the end of the day, I became an actor to do different stuff with my life. It’s been a happy, fun experience so far, especially on Percy Jackson.
DS: For me, Rome was one of the best television series of the last decade. You keep hearing rumblings that they’re going to do a movie version of it. Do you think that could really happen?
KM: It definitely could. The show’s creator, Bruno Heller, and its producer, Anne Thomopoulos, loved the idea of how these lowly Roman soldiers mess with history, so they’re very much gung-ho to make it happen this summer. So keep your fingers crossed because things are very hard in the movie business. It’s all about finding the right backing, but there’s definitely an intention and a script. They key thing is the desire of the cast — those whose characters aren’t dead yet — to go back to it. We’re all very excited about the idea because these characters are so vibrant that they deserve another outing.
DS: Next to Maximus at the end of Gladiator, your Lucius Vorenus probably will have the most difficult time reasoning how he could have survived for a sequel.
KM: I remember how we shot the scene where I’m on my deathbed and reconciling things with my daughter. We played the scene and I closed my eyes with the idea that we fade to black. But there was a lot of talking on the set, and I’m lying there with white makeup on my face. Then our producer, John Melfi, comes up to me and says, “Okay, let’s do one more take, but this time, don’t close your eyes,” and that’s what ended up on the show, with the scene fading to white. So when Lucious’s friend Titus says that he didn’t make it, he’s, in fact, covering for him because the idea is he and Vorenus have disappeared into the Rhineland in Germany, where they’re living in a mud hut until things cool off. And that’s where the movie picks up.
DS: Your film debut was in Trainspotting, where you played the “gentle giant” Tommy. With a film so full of manic, drugged-up energy, was it the same way on the set?
KM: It’s so long ago now that the one distinct memory of Trainspotting that I have is of this stunningly beautiful woman hanging around the set. This was an ultra low-budget movie. We had no trailers and no facilities. Nothing. Just a fold-away table! I remember us standing in the Scottish highlands of Edenborough, shooting that opening sequence and I’m thinking, “Who is this amazingly beautiful woman? She looks like a movie star!” And it was Johnny Lee Miller’s then-girlfriend Angelina Jolie! That was kind of weird. It’s an interesting moment to look back on when you think of how Angelina started to become the movie star she’d be a few years later.
DS: Right after Trainspotting, you appeared as a gang member in an excellent Scottish ’60s period crime film called Small Faces.
KM: I was Malky Johnson, the leader of The Tongs. Everyone thinks Trainspotting was my first movie, but actually Small Faces was. In the middle of shooting, Danny Boyle showed up in Glasgow trying to cast the part of Tommy. That was the only vacancy among the male leads, and every actor in Scotland was trying to get the part. So Danny asked our director, Gilles MacKinnon, if he could watch the dailies to see some of the up-and-coming actors on the film. Danny asked to meet me, and I went in and read for it. It was as simple as that. It was one of those lucky moments. Small Faces ended up being a very underrated film. It came out a month after Trainspotting and was overshadowed by it. That’s a shame because I think it was a great period piece.
DS: You’d later return to the land of Trainspotting with the Irvin Welsh-scripted The Acid House, which was almost as much twisted fun.
KM: I was in the middle of its trilogy with a story called The Soft Touch, playing a guy who worked at a supermarket who ends up in a bad marriage. It was pretty harrowing stuff. I was very conscious of how similar The Acid House was to Trainspotting, which made it good I was in a sequence that wasn’t fantasy-based like the rest of the segments. The Soft Touch was very grim, almost Ken Loach in style — dark, foreboding and urban — and that made me feel that I wasn’t repeating itself.
DS: You really got put on the genre map with Dog Soldiers as the private who ends up surviving the werewolf onslaught.
KM: I’m Cooper, who’s the underdog who does well. It was Neil Marshall’s first film as a writer and director, and at first, I didn’t get it. But after speaking with Neil, I realized how much he wanted me to do it, and I knew this would be something special. We shot the film in Luxembourg and played it absolutely straight, which was what made Dog Soldiers so funny. Now people come up to me and say that not only is Dog Soldiers one of their favorite werewolf movies but one of their favorite genre films. In fact, it was always going to be a trilogy, with Cooper fighting zombies in the second movie and then fighting himself (his doppelganger) in the third, yet we never quite got around to that. As it happens, I spoke to Neil today, and now that we have more leverage in the industry, we want to do another genre film together.
DS: You could be the British version of Ash from the Evil Dead films!
KM: Right! [Laughs]
DS: A particularly underrated film you were in was Hannibal Rising, where you played a sympathetic bad guy…
KM: Who happened to be a sympathetic cannibal! Usually, characters like Kolnas build toward their horrific instance, which, in this case, is killing Hannibal’s young sister. You find Kolnas at the beginning of the second World War doing terrible, dehumanized, desensitized things, which kind of foreshadowed what’s happened recently in war situations. Years later, Kolnas has a family, runs a restaurant, and is trying to put it all behind him. He’s very suburban in his life, and then his past comes back to haunt him in the form of Hannibal, who’s seeking revenge. But Kolnas has been trying to be a better person since that time, and that was quite an interesting and dark situation to play.
DS: Though Rome was a cable success, you really got your first major network exposure as the star of NBC’s Journeyman. Why do you think the show got such a following, even with only one season?
KM: Rome got such good critical notices that, once it was finished, all the networks started looking at the actors who were now free. So I met a lot of neat and talented people all of a sudden, which had never happen to me before like this, and two of those people were Kevin Falls and Alex Graves. I was already a big fan of their work on The West Wing, and I loved their pilot script for Journeyman. It just seemed to be a right fit for me because there were brains behind this operation and a sensibility that I liked. Sure, the pressure was great on me as the lead on it, but I’d also come through the same thing on Rome, and when you’re part of the creation of a show, it’s a very stressful period because you’re giving birth to this baby with loads of arms and legs. That sounds horrific! But then it is horrific! I think Journeyman ended up doing well creatively because it was intelligent TV. Some people may have said it was too clever, but I’m proud of making a show that, within the confines of a one-hour network drama, tried to do something that made viewers exercise their brains. It was well-executed and the cast was terrific.
DS: What do you think would have happened to Dan on Journeyman?
KM: I really don’t know, but the writing-room was really starting to kick it up a notch when we were told it was over, so I think Dan would have gone to some very cool places.
DS: I recently died in your company several times while playing “Modern Warfare 2.”
KM: I apologize.
DS: What was it like to create a convincing character as “Soap” MacTavish for one of the biggest video games yet created?
KM: Doing “Modern Warfare 2″ was like restoring the great tradition of radio plays, which I think have died here in America. I’d done radio plays with actors like Derek Jacobi, who’d pop into the BBC studios in London to do “Hedda Gabler” for the radio. Shows like that are still very much a part of British culture. “Modern Warfare 2″ was like a radio play, in a way. It’s ten hours worth of recording to do every line of that character, which is quite tough on you physically because a lot of it is screaming at the top of your voice. It’s also an acting exercise when you get a line of text and you have to commit to it without having any idea of what’s happening around your character. I actually just got the game, so I think I’ll sneak into my kid’s room when he’s asleep and play it on his Xbox!
DS: You’ll be “Killer #2” in Bunraku. What’s a movie with a title like that about?
KM: It’ll be a very interesting film. Guy Moshe, who also directed, wrote what I thought was one of the strangest scripts I’d ever read, especially because the story takes place in an in-depth CGI universe. It’s very allegorical — a mixture of a samurai film and a western in a virtual origami universe where everything is made of folding paper, and there’s a lot of martial arts in it. My first reaction was like when I read Dog Soldiers. Once again, everyone told me I was crazy if I made this film, yet I thought Bunraku was interesting enough to be in. I play the main killer of the movie who’s hunting down Josh Hartnett’s character under the instruction of Ron Perlman’s character, Nicola. They’ve been doing the effects for the last 19 months. But then this is an independent film, not Avatar. I’m really excited to see Bunraku.
DS: What’s ahead for Doctor Owen Hunt on the new season of Grey’s Anatomy that you’re shooting right now?
KM: What’s great about a long-running television show like that is getting to really explore the different areas of your character. I think Owen is going to keep developing. He had a bad time when he first came to the hospital because he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Hopefully we’ll see a lighter side to his character. Now I’m hoping to see more of his lighter side.
DS: You’re as capable of showing your romantic side in Grey’s Anatomy and Made of Honor as displaying a tough physicality in Rome and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. In the end, what image do you want to project in Hollywood?
KM: Maybe it’s a mistake, but I’ve never liked painting myself into a corner and saying, “This is what I play.” I like changing things up. I always have. And maybe that means you’re not as sell-able as you might be if you just decide on one track, but for better or worse, I’ve always wanted to be perceived as an actor who does diverse roles. In any case, I’d certainly love to play more Scottish characters.
DS: When you play a real historical character, there’s certainly the need to do his legacy justice. But when you play a mythological god like Poseidon in Percy Jackson, do you feel you have to live up to a character, in a way, that’s bigger than life?
KM: I’m 40 feet tall in my first shot for the movie, so you literally have to live up to a larger-than-life character like that. You have to elevate yourself to God status!
DS: It’s only too bad that this Poseidon doesn’t get to say, “Unleash the Kraken!”
KM: Maybe for Percy Jackson 2!
Kevin McKidd: ‘For my role in Rome I had to wear a little skirt – my wife liked that...’
February 7, 2010
source: mirror.co.uk
The Scottish actor, 37, on kinky dressing up for his wife, getting naked in period dramas, nicking his Grey’s Anatomy costume and getting a leeetle bit drunk at work...
You play the god Poseidon in Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief. But what would your wife, Jane, say you were a real life god of?
Kevin McKidd: That I am the god of being messy – I’m trying to get better. I was terrible in my 20s. My kids [Iona, seven, and Joseph, 10] are much tidier than I am, I don’t know where they get it from, maybe their mother.
What role do people recognise you most from?
KM: For a long time it was Tommy from Trainspotting. But if a man comes up to me, I’m almost sure he’s going to mention Rome, if it’s a woman, it’ll be Grey’s Anatomy.
Have you ever stolen any of your characters’ props for personal use?
KM: From Rome, I kept a bronze ring and from Grey’s, I swiped a hammer that tests your reflexes. I haven’t been able to get one of those white jackets from Grey’s yet. Each one has the name of that doctor embroidered on it, so there definitely will be one to walk off with at some point.
Has your wife ever wanted you to wear the doctor’s uniform – to get kinky?
KM: I don’t know actually, she hasn’t said. But in Rome I had to wear this little skirt and I think she liked that. I must say those scrubs are very comfortable, it’s like walking around in pyjamas all the time. I prefer the scrubs to the Roman tunics.
You’re no stranger to getting your kit off for the camera. Do you get embarrassed?
KM: A bit, because there are certain things you want to keep private, but you just have to get on with it. Eventually, it becomes a laugh because all the crew are your friends and you’re there with your shirt off and it just gets silly.
Do they heckle you?
KM: Yeah, but it puts you at ease. I had to do a nude scene my first week on Rome – actually there was a nudie scene almost every week on Rome. But, in the beginning, when you don’t know anyone it can be embarrassing. Once you get to know the crew it’s like having your family taking the mickey out of you.
What keeps you awake at night?
KM: I live in LA so I worry my kids aren’t that connected to Britain, I suppose I don’t want them to become American kids. We try to get back three or four times a year. When they go to school they speak with a British-American accent but when they come home to us they go back to their British accent, so I can deal with that.
Do you get told off for softening your own accent?
KM: I’ve been getting stick about that for years, it’s nothing new. I got it even when I was living in Britain. Where I’m from in Elgin, Scotland, it’s a thick dialect but I’d have found it hard to get work as an actor if I’d kept that way – no one can understand you.
Have you ever cheated death?
KM: Before I came to America I was at a bonfire in Bedfordshire and I poured a can of unleaded petrol onto it before we lit it, but it didn’t light so I put a bit more petrol on and the canister went up in flames in my hand. Luckily I was in an open field so I flung this thing like I was tossing a hammer and it landed miles away. It singed some of my hair, but that was it.
What sort of jobs did you have before becoming an actor?
KM: All kinds. I worked in a bingo hall giving out 10p coins to old ladies, I worked in a distillery in Scotland and I worked on building sites and in pubs. But being a tour guide for the Witchery Tours in Edinburgh was my most memorable.
Did you make up your own stories?
KM: Occasionally I’d make something up just for fun – there were a lot of American tourists, so you could tell the Americans anything and they’d believe it. But you watch – I’ll be back in the bingo hall if it all goes wrong in Los Angeles.
What’s your biggest indulgence?
KM: I’m not a cars man... we don’t take holidays and as far as monetary things go, I don’t have any spare cash. When you’ve got kids, it’s not cheap!
OK, so what’s your guilty pleasure?
KM: I suppose I am a frustrated musician so I annoy my family by playing guitar in the house. I used to be into acoustic stuff but my son Joseph is learning drums, so now I have an electric guitar and we play Metallica. We have an amp and a PA in the garage with his drum kit and we know about eight or nine songs. My wife got jealous so she started learning the bass guitar and she’s pretty good. One of these days we’ll play a gig.
When was the last time you were hungover?
KM: I have a pal called Dan who lives in America, but he’s of Irish decent and every first Wednesday of the month he opens the doors to his basement, which he’s converted into an Irish pub. It’s all sawdust and candle wax with a full bar, but nobody pays any money, you just bring a guitar. All the Irish musicians gravitate to this place. Being away from Britain makes you homesick so this is like home from home. It’s my one indulgence.
Ever been drunk on the job?
KM: No, but when I did Father Ted, we drank so much Guinness my experience is clouded. I was told they never cast anyone who wasn’t Irish, but I was the exception because the people that made it really liked Trainspotting. It was brilliant, I went to Ireland and shot there for two weeks but I don’t have many memories. I was the only non-comedian in the group so they tested out their material on me – I laughed my head off all the time.
Have you met anyone who’s left you starstruck?
KM: I was at a party where Steven Spielberg was stood behind me, and his films are what made me want to be an actor, so it was pretty mind-blowing being in the same air space as him. I met the director Ridley Scott when I worked on Kingdom Of Heaven and that was pressure. You really want these people to think you’re decent at what you do, as it would be gut-wrenching if someone you had looked up to all these years turned around and said, ‘You’re rubbish’, but he didn’t say that.
Have you ever broken the law?
KM: I got caught shoplifting when I was little. I got caught stealing a pack of mini cookies and was dragged up in front of the whole school. They called a special assembly and it was announced that ‘there was a thief in our midst’. I cried all the way to the stage.
THERE’S MORE…
• We spoke to Kevin the morning after the night he’d been to a party promoting the Inglourious Basterds DVD. But he assured us he didn’t have a hangover.
• Before speaking to us he had been packing to come back to the UK to visit his family.
• The only time he’s been in hospital for real was at the birth of his kids and to film a documentary called One Night In Emergency last summer.
Kevin McKidd in bizarre YouTube promo for Scots rockers
source: Daily Record
Hollywood hunk Kevin McKidd stars in a wacky video for a rising Scots rock act - alongside a cast of stuffed animals.
The Grey's Anatomy star agreed to appear in the madcap promo for Cuddly Shark during a boozy Boxing Day party.
The hilarious clip shows him declaring: "You may have seen me killing people in the TV series Rome or saving people in Grey's Anatomy.
"When I'm not doing that, I like to listen to Cuddly Shark."
Kev, 36, battles to keep a straight face as he is pecked on the head by a stu ed seagull then "mobbed" by an otter.
The Elgin-born star agreed to make the promo after being approached by Cuddly Shark guitarist Colin Reid and drummer Jason Sinclair at his party in Fochabers.
Colin, 31, said: "I've known Kevin since I was little. He is mates with my brothers.
"We had both enjoyed a few whiskies and just decided to ask Kevin if he would do a wee spot for us.
"He was right up for it. We just grabbed the animals and put together this completely unscripted video."
The boys uploaded the clip - dubbed Kevin McShark - to YouTube where it has already been viewed by hundreds from around the globe.
Colin added: "Some of the comments people have left are hilarious. ey are gobsmacked that it's actually Kevin.
"But he's a pretty down to earth loon and always up for a jam. Even though he lives in Los Angeles, his heart still belongs to Elgin."
video courtesy of youtube user shejkweeeds. Text describing the video:
There we were, minding our own business at a christmas party when our favourite actor from Dad Savage came running through the door shouting "is Cuddly Shark here!? Is Cuddly Shark here!?"...
So we tossed him a dog chew.
Kevin McShark!
We Need to Talk about Kevin
The highs and lows of being Mr. McKidd
Yet here we are, in the infinitely less exotic location of a dilapidated ward in Glasgow's Western Infirmary where McKidd is filming BBC Scotland drama One Night in Emergency. Although bright sunshine streams through the window, there is something hugely unsettling about the disused space. The paint is chipped and peeling from the walls, the curtains grimy and black with mold while the unmistakable smell of hospital disinfectant lingers in the air. Sitting on a pair of rickety plastic chairs, our voices echo disconcertingly across the empty ward.
Despite a series of grueling night shoots McKidd is in sprightly form. His blue eyes remain impressively bloodshot free although, that said, he is holding onto a coffee like grim death. Casually dressed, a leather jacket slung over his shoulder, he has nailed the off duty actor look to perfection. Thick stubble studs his jawline, his skin defiantly pale despite months in the Los Angeles sunshine. His strawberry blonde hair, still damp from a post-gym shower, is starting to go fluffy, but McKidd , producing a tub of hair gel from his pocket, tames it in five seconds flat. Thanks to his role on Grey’s Anatomy, coupled with parts of Lucius Vorenus in BBC/HBO drama Rome and the lead in the US television series Journeyman (shown on Sky One), McKidd is en route to becoming a household name in America – although Hollywood hasn’t managed to get its claws into him just yet.
While based in Los Angeles, Scotland is his home, he says, adding he’s been desperate to do something on his native soil for ages. On a post- series break from filming Grey’s Anatomy, McKidd,36, could easily have plumped for a big bucks role in a movie, yet, perhaps testament to his unstarry nature, he has chosen to buck convention with the dark and compelling One Night in Emergency. The one-off drama, which marks the TV writing debut of award- winning Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke, sees McKidd lead an all-star cast including Michelle Ryan, Igal Naor, James Cosmo, David Hayman , Gary Lewis and Ewen Bremner.
The actor plays Peter Forbes, a self-absorbed man who becomes caught up in a bizarre existential journey through an innercity hospital as he frantically searches for his sick wife, Penny. As he ventures deeper into the labyrinthine-like building, he is drawn into a surreal, parallel world, encountering peculiar characters including a seductively beautiful nurse, a distraught widower, a gregarious mortician, a life-scarred laundry worker and a one-eyed security guard.
The juxtaposition between the stark settling of One Night in Emergency and the glitz of Grey’s Anatomy is not lost on McKidd. “When I read the script, I liked the fun of that” he says, smiling softly. “Seattle Grace Hospital is like a version of what a hospital should be , while One Night in Emergency is what a hospital in Britain is actually like”. Then, he hurriedly adds “although One Night in Emergency isn’t really about the state of the NHS today, it’s an allegorical tale about one man’s journey which just so happens to be set in a hospital”. Good catch.
Another lure was the opportunity to work with a host of familiar faces from the Scottish acting fraternity. Not only is One Night in Emergency the third time McKidd has worked with Bremner since their Trainspotting days, but he also worked with Lewis, Cosmo and Hayman in the past too. “I did the Acid House with Ewen and then 16 years of Alcohol. That was about five years ago and it’s the third time I’ve seen him since then. It’s been great seen Ewen and Gary. The last time I worked with Gary was on the Rocket Post [in 2004].
“I’ve done a lot with David, he is amazing. I have always loved his work. Jimmy Cosmo I have worked with a couple of times before, too. When I was doing Journeyman and Michelle was doing Bionic Woman, we were with the same network, NBC. While we never worked togethter, because we were both doing new shows that year [2007] , we were at all the same press junkets, so I felt like I knew her already”.
With McKidd there is no cat and mouse chase. He has an easy openness with belies his star status (after the interview he asks, with endearing tentativeness, if the interview will be a double page spread. “It’s just I usually do these little things” – he uses his forefinger and thumb to indicate a slender number of columns inches- and the “American press just wants soundbites …. “)
Born in Elgin, McKidd comes from a working class background; his father, Neil, is a plumber and mother, Kathleen , a secretary. He fell in love with acting as a child, but went down in the parent-pleasing path of studying engineering at Edinburgh University, only to quit and switch to the drama course at the city’s Queen Margaret College. Among his early professional acting roles was the 1996 Father Ted Christmas special where the plot centred on the hapless priests getting lost in “Irelands’s largest lingerie section”. The part of Glasgow hardman and gang leader Malky Johnson in Small Faces followed and then came the infamous role in Trainspotting, McKidd character Tommy, a heroin addict diagnosed with HIV, dying alone in his flat from toxoplasmosis. While Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle saw their careers take flight, McKidd found himself working as a cycle courier to pay the bills. Over the years much has been made of the fact he missed out on doing the iconic Trainspotting poster, option to go on holiday with his girlfriend rather than attend the photo shoot. Does he harbor any regrets?
McKidd sighs gently. “It wasn’t a conscious decision but I felt very green , young and out of place doing Trainspotting. I felt ill prepared. Everyone was saying” ‘ you have got to squeeze as much out of this as you can, this is your opportunity’ but for some reason I just knew – I was 21 and basically a teacher from Elgin – that Trainspotting wasn’t my moment. I knew that, as an actor and as a person , I wasn’t ready to jump into that”.
In the years since Trainspotting, McKidd’s career is best described as slow burner rather than meteoric rise, with roles in Hideous Kinky, the Acid House, Looking After Jo Jo, Dog Soldiers and 16 years of Alcohol. Then came a high-profile stint in Rome, for which he received widespread critical acclaim.
In 2007, he won the lead in NBC sci-fi drama series Journeyman, relocating with his family to Los Angeles. Despite Industry plaudits the show, about a time-travelling newspaper reporter, was cancelled after just 13 episodes, a victim of falling viewer numbers following an unplanned hiatus during the Writers Guild of America strike.
After the demise of Journeyman, McKidd says he seriously considered heading for home. “It was tough” he admits. “Moving to LA wasn’t easy for my wife and kids, my son especially had close friends from home he was missing. He had just got over that and was starting to lay down roots when it all happened. It was like “What do we do now? Do we just pack up and go home? ‘ I sat down with my wife, who is an amazing woman, and she said: ‘ I feel like we shouldn’t turn tail, I think we should sit it out and see how the new few months play out’”.
While his family stayed in Los Angeles, McKidd flew to Bucharest to film action movie Bunraku alongside Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore. “I was in Bucharest and Jane was in LA, which is weird” he says “I knew then that if we were going to be in LA I couldn’t be off doing shoots everywhere. At least when my family was in the UK they had our own families around”.
Then in a near perfect synchronicity, came the call from Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes to offer him a part in the hit show. McKidd debuted with a bang – his first episode saw him use a biro to perform an emergency tracheotomy – and has since seen his popularity reach epic proportions in America. McKidd’s character is the dashing yet enigmatic Dr Owen Hunt, a former army medic and Iraq war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Struggling to fit in with civilian life, he falls for the ambitious and prickly Dr Christina Yang, played by Sandra Oh. Such is the screen couple’s popularity they have been dubbed – in the vein of Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and TomKat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) – “Crowen” . Likewise, with his co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane tagged “McDreamy” and “McSteamy” respectively, a similar nickname for McKidd has been widely debated on fan forums with “McHottie”, “McHunky” and “McBadass” all contenders.
“It is really odd because I have never seen myself as a good looking guy” says McKidd laughing. This is , after all, a man who once described himself as having “a face that looks like a baked potato”.
“My features are more suited to being cast as a boxer or a rugby player, although I think I have grown into my face as I have got older. It is flattering, but for me to be lumped in with all those people? “ He pulls an incredulous face. “It is a new thing for me”
Although experiencing regular pangs of homesickness (“When my mum visits she has to bring almost like a first-aid kit with oatcakes, butteries and rowies…”) McKidd and wife Jane, 33, are determined to make the most of like in La-La Land. Their children Joseph, nine, and Iona, seven, are thriving in Los Angeles, he says. “They are making lots of friends and go on, what do you call it? Ah, yeah, play dates. When I am not working I’m a taxi service for their play dates”.
The youngsters, he adds, have also developed something of an intriguing dual accent. “What’s interesting, is that it’s an unconscious thing”, says McKidd. “They are like the best actors I have ever met. They get up for school in the morning and will be talking in their little southeast England accents they have always had, then as soon as the classroom door opens and their American teacher says ‘good morning’ they go straight into the US one. Then, later, coming home in the car, they switch right back without even missing a beat. It’s amazing.”
There are definite shades of a modern-day Partridge family in the McKidd household. “My son wanted a drum set so I made him save up half of it” he says. “He saved up his pocket money, Christmas money and birthday money for a year. I used to play acoustic guitar but I bought an electric one and have started teaching myself Hendrix and Led Zeppelin songs. We practice in the garage and my wife was like “what are you two doing”? So now she’s going to learn bass guitar. What about his daughter? “She is feeling a little bit left out, so is going to start on tambourine and then, I think, become a pianist of may be a vocalist”
Asked to describe life in Los Angeles, McKidd ventures: “Very different…. Have you been?” I tell him yes, adding I found it quite surreal. McKidd grins. “It is surreal” he confirms. “Weirdly, we live quite a quiet life. The kids go to school and I go to work. It’s almost as close to an office job as I’ve ever had. Usually I’m living out of a suitcase and seeing my wife and kids infrequently because I’m off here, there and everywhere. Now, nine or 10 months out of the year I’m doing Greys, so it’s regular hours and I can actually pick the kids up from school. We live off Laurel Canyon. It’s quite green up in the hills and quiet compared to down n the flat part [of the city] which would drive me a bit nuts”.
So he’s not hanging out at hipster celebrity haunts such as Chateau Marmont or Mr Chows? “Occasionally we will go if there is an event” says McKidd. “Initially we were too shy to go out and do any of those things but then we realized ‘Hang on, we are probably only going to be here for a couple of year’ and you need to have some stories for your memories. Usually, though, we just go into the valley and onto Ventura Boulevard to the wee spit and sawdust places, the little neighborhood restaurants”.
McKidd smiles, a memory coming back to him. “Actually speaking of functions I went to one recently with my dad. It was a big flashy do and Jane couldn’t go because she was feeling ill. My mum and dad were over visiting us so I said” ‘Dad, do you want to borrow a jacket and come with me?’ Off we went and he got chatted up by this model. She was saying to him all this stuff like: ‘Oh my God, you have such amazing eyes’ and now my dad can’t stop talking about how he got chatted up at one of the big LA glitterari parties” .
Many Americans have been surprised to discover McKidd is Scottish; such is the authenticity of his US accent. “I have always enjoyed accents” he says. “ I put it down to the fact that in Bishopmill, the area of Elgin where I ‘m from, our council house was surrounded by an estate of RAF housing. I used to copy the accents of all these kids from Manchester, Birmingham and some who had spent time in America. I have always loved using accents”.
He is uncomfortable with the notion of being part of the “British invasion of Hollywood” , alongside the likes of Hugh Laurie and fellow Scots Dougray Scott and Ashley Jensen. “ I remember 14 years ago when Trainspotting came out. There was the whole Cool Britannia thing and we were all part of that” , he says. “It was very nice, don’t get me wrong, but I’m always reluctant to jump on a bandwagon. I don’t like the idea of a cliquey little set of people. It makes me nervous. I get claustrophobic in those kinds of environments."
McKidd has been outspoken in the past about the importance of Scottish-set films actually being made here, suggesting the Government should look at tax incentives to encourage filmmakers. “I am not a politician or lobbyist, so I’m speaking from a very naïve position” he says, carefully. “ the last time I was filming in Scotland was two years ago for Made of Honour, which was a big American film using Scotland as a location, as opposed to a grassroots Scottish production. The crews we have are fantastic and highly skilled, the infrastructure is great. We have talent and amazing locations. Patrick Dempsey [his co-start in Made of Honour] couldn’t believe more films aren’t shot here because he thought it was the best place on earth."
McKidd latest’s big screen offering, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief (“I’m playing Poseidon, god of the sea. It’s all about the Greek gods and how they still exists in modern day New York…”) opens on February 12. In the pipeline is a role as Dylan Thomas in a biopic about the Welsh poet’s life. As for an ultimate role?
"I have always wanted to do the play Macbeth,” he announces. Err, isn’t it considered bad luck to say the name of the Scottish play outloud? McKidd shrugs, grinning. “I know, but it’s ok, we’re not in a theatre, we’re in a hospital. I would love to do an all-Scottish theatre production of Macbeth and then take the same cast on location in Scotland to do it as a movie. That has been a big ambition, but it’s still slowly, slowly. I’m too young to play Macbeth”.
He is reticent, though, to have things too mapped out. “I try not to look too far into the future”, says McKidd.”There are moments when I think:’ I’ve not been on stage for six years. I’m going to drop everything and do that’. Then the next day I will think: “OK, I’m going to chase this whole thing in America’. I’m really indecisive and flighty. I have total respect for the actors who are driven and say: ‘I’m going to make myself an action hero’ or ‘I’m going to carve myself a romantic comedy niche..’, I’ve always liked variety in life. Being an actor is a bit like being a circus performer, you just have to go where the work is and pitch your tent”. And , for McKidd, life in Hollywood’s big top is definitely looking rosy.
thanks to Betinad for the text
Kevin attends Inglourious Basterds Event to celebrated its DVD and Blu-ray release
Audiences will be amazed at the performance Brad Pitt turns in as the leader of a World War II secret squad of Jews dropped into occupied France to terrorize Germans.
Also along for the Tarantino thrill ride is Diane Kruger, The Office’s BJ Novak and Hostel director Eli Roth.
Immediately following the screening at the New Beverly Cinema (which was recently purchased by Tarantino) the filmmaker and his cast went to Grace Restaurant to celebrate their film’s arrival on DVD and Blu-ray.
Inglourious Basterds stars that attended the evening’s festivities includedDiane Kruger , Golden Globe-nominated actor Christoph Waltz, Eli Stone, Novak, Melanie Laurent, Omar Doom, Samm Levine and Zoe Bell. Also in attendance was our favorite doc on Grey’s Anatomy, Kevin McKidd as well as Fringe’s Joshua Jackson (there supporting girlfriend Kruger).
source: Entertainment-SheKnows
Moray McKidd
He will go to live in Los Angeles where Kevin lives.
credit: Buckie Bears of Scotland
Cards for the Troops
Photos by Ernesto Elizarraraz
"For the Troops (FTT) Organization hosted their second annual writing holiday letters for troops who are currently on duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, held at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. F.T.T. expects to send over 3,000 holiday cards from today's event. The organization also sends monthly care packages to the troops containing food, entertainment and personal hygiene products." (www.forthetroops.org)
text credit Daily News Los Angeles
Three photos: one, two, three
Sign Christmas Cards for our Troops
FOR THE TROOPS will again be signing Christmas Cards for our deployed military in Iraq and Afghanistan. This year the event will be held at the Reagan Presidential Library on Saturday, December 5th from 10 am to 12:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served. Our celebrity signer this year is Kevin McKidd who plays Dr. Owen Hunt on Grey’s Anatomy. As he plays a Trauma Surgeon who has just returned from a tour in Iraq, he was delighted to come and show his support. We would love to have you join with us to send off wishes of support and cheer. Space is limited to 80 people on a first come, first served basis. Please RSVP to USA@ForTheTroops.org if you wish to attend. BE SURE TO PUT ‘RSVP’ IN THE SUBJECT LINE.
Please wear your red For The Troops tee shirt if you have one. If not, wear a red shirt or something patriotic. Thank you.
Note: This event will take place in one of the private conference rooms at the Reagan Library. Entrance fee to the Reagan Library and Air Force One is not included.
FOR THE TROOPS
Supporting Our Troops One Care Package At A Time
For The Troops
P.O. Box 630103
Simi Valley, CA 93063
Headquarters: 2872 Cochran Street, Simi Valley CA 93065
Phone: (805) 306-0830 or (818) 640-3846
Website: www.ForTheTroops.org
Federal Tax ID #: 20-8099782 section 501(c)(3)
"Kevin McKidd Out as Thor?" http://www.movieweb.com/news 19 Feb 2009.
It seems that Kevin McKidd may no longer be the lead contender to play the titular god of thunder in Marvel Studio's Thor. A casting call that was snuck to Corona Coming Attractions has gone out for the lead in the film, and beyond simply confirming that McKidd is probably no longer up for the role, it also suggests what the producers and director Kenneth Branagh is looking for in the part.
The casting call reads: Male MUST BE MID-LATE 20'S and SIX FEET OR TALLER. LEAD.Physically powerful, very handsome, occasionally egotistical, petulant, and wild. A natural warrior with a quick charming wit who must be genuinely and severly humbled before becoming the compassionate, mature hero of our film. According to the casting call, the start date for filming would be this July, with the film wrapping in September. Marvel is eyeing up a July 16, 2010 release date for Thor.
"McKidd Blames Bad Organisation for Dogs' Puppies." http://www.wenn.com. 5 Jan 2009.
Trainspotting star Kevin McKidd and his wife Jane have pledged to be more organised in 2009 after waiting too long to neuter their pet dogs.
The actor admits he's terrible at paying bills on time because he can't get organised and his failure to keep track of things left him with seven puppies.
He explains, "Last year we took these two dogs home from London to L.A. - two dogs that we love dearly - and we kept saying, 'We've got to take these dogs to the vet and get the job done, so they don't... because one of them's a boy and one of them's a girl.
"And then they did get the job done; we opened up the kennel one day and they were kinda like 'together' looking in each other's eyes lovingly... and we've got these seven puppies and they're just adorable."
McKidd and his wife have now had their pets neutered. They managed to find homes for six of the litter and have kept one of the pups.
Reynolds, Simon. "Boyle discusses 'Trainspotting' sequel." http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/.
26 November 2008.
Danny Boyle has revealed that a Trainspotting sequel will move forward once the original cast begin to look older.
The director explained that the storyline will take place two decades after the events of Trainspotting, when the characters "hit the wall" in middle age.
However, Boyle said that Hollywood vanity is slowing down the ageing process for stars Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner and Kevin McKidd.
He told The AV Club: "The problem is, they don't look any different at the moment from when Trainspotting was made. They look exactly the same. They're a little heavier, but they basically look the same.
"Actors stay suspended in that timeless moment where they're moisturising and looking after themselves and making sure they keep fit and healthy, because it's their work, it's their future employment. But when time ravages them, we will be waiting for them."
Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh wrote a sequel to the novel called Porno, which follows the same characters working in the pornography industry.
Salmond, Catherine. "Couple's Love Song on a Shoestring." Edinburgh Evening News. 11 Oct. 2008. http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com
IN the cutthroat world of the movie business, would-be film screenwriters have to use every tactic they can think of to get noticed. Except perhaps one.
"I did once go to an interview with the BBC and I just bombarded the interviewer with story ideas," recalls Adrian Mead with a wry smile.
"At 6ft 3in tall and weighing 11 stone, I am not a small guy. I basically shouted at her for about half an hour. It wasn't the best approach."
It may not have done Adrian any harm – on Monday, October 20, the critically acclaimed Night People, which he co-wrote and directed with his partner Clare Kerr, gets its first showing on television and the 45-year-old has a host of other projects on the go. But he is hoping that his new book, Making it as a Screenwriter, will help young hopefuls avoid a few of his mistakes.
"I wish I had had this book when I was starting out," he says. "I'm able to tell people all the things I did, most of them, on reflection, in the worst possible ways."
There is another reason Adrian is keen for the book, which was launched last Tuesday, to succeed – the proceeds are all going to Childline, a charity he volunteers with every week in the Capital.
He's only just finished his training, learning the hugely responsible task of how to help a small voice with often terrifyingly large problems on the end of a phone line. He admits that the first call was "very scary", but adds: "Sometimes you come away from a call and do feel that you've been part of something that's made a difference.
"Although it's very nerve-wracking at the start, there is such great support, so that passes."
The couple do not have any children themselves – Adrian says volunteering was more to provide an antidote to the sometimes navel-gazing world of movies.
"The media business can get rather silly – a bit self-obsessed. It's good to do something that's not about myself," he says.
Not that he's running the industry down – after all, it took every inch of the former hairdresser and city bouncer's determination to get into it in the first place.
"In the beginning, I knew absolutely nobody," he admits. "It's all about who you know and keeping in touch with people."
"If you want something, though, you have to believe you are already nine-tenths of the way there. You have to believe you are going to do it. It's about having a strategy – you have to plan and you need to execute that.
Two years ago, he and Clare, who live on Leith Walk, did just that with Night People, a love song to the city, shot on a shoestring £300,000 budget and with just the street lights to illuminate the Capital's world-famous skyline.
Since then it's been shown at film festivals across the world, including in Tehran. "It's been mentioned all over the world just how beautiful the city looks in Night People," says Liverpool-born Adrian, who co-wrote and directed the film that Clare produced. However, in Berlin, there was a slightly worrying moment when one young man excitedly told the couple the film gave him a headache. "We were a bit confused, but he meant that he loved looking at all the colours in the film," laughs Adrian.
"A lot of people from Edinburgh who have watched the film said they have never seen the city look like that," adds Clare, 42. "I'm proud of the fact that we made this place – where I have come back to throughout my life – beautiful."
Night People follows a series of characters on their journeys across Edinburgh. David, a 13-year-old runaway, is fleeing the Capital on the first bus he can get to London. But at the station he meets Josh, a rent boy just four years his senior, who promises he can show him a new life, right on his doorstep.
Taxi driver Jane spends the night as a desperate chauffeur, caught in the middle of dodgy goings-on across the city. She is forced to take her five-year-old daughter Alison along for the ride, spinning fairytales about where they are going to protect her from the truth. Other characters include a struggling single father and a guilt-ridden missionary.
Although the film will be a first for thousands of television viewers next week, the couple have since focused their attention on more familiar projects, including the antics of a much-loved, black-haired tearaway named Dennis.
"Yes, it is true, I have been writing for the Beano character," smiles Adrian. "It's been absolutely fantastic."
And he says he gets a huge thrill out of writing for the BBC cartoon series. "I loved it when I was a child and I think my friends are a bit jealous. In fact, I got an e-mail the other day from one of them, simply saying 'B*****d!'."
He has also managed to find time to write scripts for the BBC's hugely popular Waking The Dead, for which he wrote two parts for the final series.
"It was great. There are so many writers wanting to do the show. It's a big responsibility – you know half the country is watching."
And as for Clare, a former chef raised in Abbeyhill, there are many projects on the go, including a feature film entitled Faith.
Although she emphasises that the film is still in its infancy – she hopes work will start next year – it has secured Rome and Trainspotting star Kevin McKidd for the lead in a tale about the relationship between a father and daughter. She's also co-producing Wide Open Spaces, a film comedy from the writers of Father Ted.
She says: "Even with the credit crunch, people still seem to go to the cinema. For £10 they know they will enjoy themselves and can escape from real life for a bit."
But do the film-making duo ever tire of living and often working together?
"Not really," Clare laughs. "The biggest challenge is to remember you have to stop working!"
• Night People will be broadcast on STV on Monday, October 20 at 10.35pm.
The full article contains 1054 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper. Page 1 of 1 Last Updated: 11 October 2008 11:48 AM Source: Edinburgh Evening News Location: Edinburgh
Davis, Dave. "McKidd a Highlander?" 21 August 2008. http://www.joblo.com
There can be only one! Unless there's another one... As we learned a few months ago, a "reinvention" of the HIGHLANDER franchise is in the works courtesy of Summit, the company behind the (soon to be massively successful) TWILIGHT movie. But who might possibly be willing and able to don the kilt and wield the hefty blade once held by Christopher Lambert?
JoBlo reader 'Lynchy' tells us that actor - and actual Scotsman - Kevin McKidd (HBO's "ROME", DOG SOLDIERS) was just on Dublin radio, and mentioned he'd been approached by the production company about starring in the film. We don't know much more than that, but the producers did previously mention they would include medieval Scotland in their version of the story. And McKidd may have some time on his schedule after the termination of his "JOURNEYMAN" series.
In case you weren't aware, the indefatigable HIGHLANDER series revolves around a secret race of immortals who, over the course of centuries, constantly clash and cut each other's heads off with swords so they can absorb the special effects that spill from the decapitated bodies.
Extra Tidbit: McKidd was reportedly a favorite to play THOR before director Matthew Vaughn exited the project.
Cookson, Steven and Cameron Brooks. "Scottish actor calls for tax breaks to attract film-makers, Plan could generate tourism and create jobs in north, says hollywood star." The Press and Journal. 08 August 2008. http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/783238?UserKey=0
Actor Kevin McKidd has called for tax breaks to be offered to film-makers to encourage more movie production in the north of Scotland.
The Elgin-born star, known for his roles in Trainspotting and the TV drama series Rome, spoke as he was made patron of the Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission (SHIFC) yesterday.
He said that by offering tax breaks to film companies it will make productions cheaper, and could bring potential interest to the area.
Cross-party MSPs agreed with his comments and said as much as possible should be done to attract film-makers to the region to generate tourism and create jobs.
Labour MSP David Stewart said the industry would be further boosted if film studios were established in the Highlands and islands where the scenery is a selling point.
He said this would give Scotland a “competitive advantage” over other parts of the UK and Ireland, where films such as Braveheart were filmed for financial reasons.
Mr McKidd, 35, who is delighted with his new role as patron, said: “If we can bring films to the Highlands and islands we will reap the economic benefits and there is the bonus of putting the area on the map. There are tax breaks for film productions in countries like Ireland and they seem to work there so I don’t see why they wouldn’t work here. I would be dead keen to support any proposals in Moray.”
Between 15 and 20 films are made in Scotland every year.
Hollywood blockbusters such as Stardust, The Water Horse, and a new Viking epic called Valhalla Rising are expected to bring £2.7million to the Scottish economy.
SHIFC chairman Eric McGillvray said: “Kevin may be based in Los Angeles but he is passionate about Scotland and his home patch in particular.
“We are delighted that he is genuinely interested in supporting film production in Moray and the Highlands because of the economic benefits it brings. I am sure he will be a big asset for us.”
Culture Minister Linda Fabiani said the SNP Government is “committed” to ensuring the industry prospers.
She said: “We have a wealth of talent and expertise here and through the right support we can grow our screen industry and position Scotland as a key destination for film production.”
selling point Highlands and islands Tory MSP Mary Scanlon said: “Scotland has undoubtedly a unique selling point in terms of scenery and location spots so tax breaks should be seriously considered as a means of boosting remote and rural economies.”
A spokesman for HM Treasury said the UK Government currently offers a “comprehensive system” of tax credits to support the UK film industry.
The Scottish Government has awarded Scottish Screen £3million for 2008-09 to support the industry.
An additional £5million will be made available over the first two years for Creative Scotland to support artists and creativity provided the legislation is approved by the Scottish Parliament.
The bill was stalled in June after opposition MSPs voted it down amid financial concerns.
Smith, Graeme. "McKidd call for Highland tax breaks to attract filmmakers." The Herald. 12 August 2008. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2423020.0.McKidd_call_for_Highland_tax_breaks_to_attract_filmmakers.php
Hollywood actor Kevin McKidd yesterday called for tax breaks for film-makers to encourage more movies to be made in the Highlands and Islands.
The Elgin-born star of Trainspotting, who has just started filming a series of top American drama Grey's Anatomy, was speaking in his home town at a ceremony marking his appointment as patron of the Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission (SHIFC).
The actor, who is now based in Los Angeles and is best known for roles in the BBC TV series Rome and the recent comantic comedy Made of Honour, was also in Elgin to celebrate his 35th birthday.
"There are tax breaks for film productions in countries like Ireland and they seem to work there so I don't see why they wouldn't work in Scotland as well.
"Tax incentives would make it much more attractive for film companies to shoot in the Highlands and Islands. I have been involved in a few Scottish productions shot in other countries because it was cheaper, when I wish they could have been shot here," he said.
In his new role as patron of SHIFC he aims to raise awareness of what the Highlands and Islands has to offer to the film and TV industry.
"I will do anything I can to support the work of promoting film and television production in my home area. I want film companies to know that not only are there great places to film here, but also that there is an infrastructure of accommodation and facilities to support large film productions with crews of up to 300 people.
"If we can bring films to the Highlands and Islands we will reap the economic benefits and there is the bonus of putting the area on the map.
"That's how you achieve things like the Harry Potter tourist trail in Lochaber," he added.
The actor is backing SHIFC's "Film Crews Welcome Scheme," which enables film production companies to discover online which hotels and bed and breakfasts have an understanding of their specific needs. Kevin, who filmed One Last Chance with fellow Scot Dougray Scott in Moray, wants to return to his home turf to make more movies.
He said "I would love to film again in Moray. I am trying to find scripts to shoot here, maybe a new film of Macbeth."
Eric McGillivray, chairman of SHIFC, said: "Kevin may be based in Los Angeles but he is passionate about Scotland and his home patch in particular. We are delighted that he is genuinely interested in supporting film production in Moray and the Highlands and Islands because of the economic benefits it brings."
Mr McGillivray presented the actor with a kilt in a special tartan designed for the SHIFC, which he will wear for future promotions.
There is currently considerable optimism for the future of the film industry in the Highlands and Islands. A £3.2m Viking epic, Valhalla Rising, where Highland locations are doubling for the Canadian landscape, is filming at the moment, and is expected to bring £2.7m into the Scottish economy.
"Trainspotting Star for Grey's Anatomy?" 03 July 2008. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0704/greysanatomy.html
One of the stars of 'Trainspotting' is reported to be in talks to join 'Grey's Anatomy'.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Kevin McKidd, who played Tommy in 'Trainspotting', is in "serious talks" about the medical drama. It says that McKidd's storyline in the series would be a lengthy one.
McKidd's other credits include 'Rome' and 'Journeyman'; he was most recently seen on cinema screens opposite 'Grey's Anatomy' star Patrick Dempsey in 'Made of Honour'.
** The rumor is that McKidd would play a doctor who scrubs in at the hospital after a stint in Iraq.
"McKidd Heads Film Campaign." Teletext Northern Scotland News. 25 May 2008.
McKidd heads film campaign Actor Kevin McKidd has become patron of an organisation which aims to make the Highlands and Islands a leading destination for film-makers.
The Elgin-born performer, best known for his role in TV series Rome, is to take on the role for the Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission.
The actor said he was "delighted" to receive the honour as patron.
Evans, Chris. "Stars sign up for Future Films' Parasomnia." 16 May 2008. http://www.screendaily.com
Future Films signs Karolina Kurkova and Kevin McKidd to Parasomnia
British star Kevin McKidd (The Last Legion, Trainspotting) and Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova have signed as the leads in Future Films' and MilCoz Films' psychological horror Parasomnia.
Written and directed by Modigliani director Mick Davis, Parasomnia tells the story of a woman who is haunted by constant nightmares following her father's death.
The film is scheduled for a July shoot in North Carolina and will take advantage of Future Films' US tax credit package cash-flowing the production against enabling producers to exploit the State by State tax breaks.
Joy Mellins and Costa Theo at Milcoz Films are producing alongside Albert Martinez Martin at Future Films. Marina Fuentes at Spanish outfit 6 Sales is handling global sales.
Kevin McKidd will next be seen in Guy Moshe's Bunraku alongside Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Ron Perlman and Woddy Harrelson, which is being sold in Cannes.
Bedford-based Actor Confirms "Semi-True" Thor Rumours
Luton Today Online 27 April 2008
http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/545/McKidd-linked-with-superhero-film.4007892.jp
Bedford-based actor Kevin McKidd has been linked with the latest superhero film.
He is one of the names in the frame for the role of Thor, aka The Mighty Thor, in a motion picture directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake; Snatch; Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels) expected to begin filming later this year.
The Scots-born actor is reported to have described the rumours as "semi-true", saying: "I didn't know about them either until I heard the rumours and called my agent. And he went: 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've been talking to them about it.'
"But the last I heard from my agent, they're talking that they want to go for somebody much younger, a 19 or 20-year-old, for that role. So they're reconceptualising it as we speak."
However, internet rumours have also suggested that Mr McKidd could be in line for another major part in the film - touted by some as Thor's nemesis Loki, his adopted brother who has hated him since childhood. Both characters were inspired by Gods of the same name from Nordic mythology.
The title role has been linked with professional wrestler Paul Michael Levesque, better known by his ring name Triple H.
While Mr McKidd found his big break playing the tragic Tommy in the classic 1990s film Trainspotting, he is no stranger to appearing in costume.
His career has also taken in portraying a centurion in the BBC series Rome, the Duke of Norfolk in period series The Virgin Queen, an English sergeant in the Crusades-era film Kingdom Of Heaven, and he even wore a dog collar as Father Deegan during a Father Ted Christmas special.
Thor Speculation
McKidd Confirms Thor Rumors September 7, 2007
Kevin McKidd, star of NBC's upcoming time-travel series Journeyman, confirmed for SCI FI Wire—sort of—rampant rumors that he may play the title character in a big-screen version of the Marvel comic book Thor.
Speaking in a conference call on Sept. 6, McKidd (HBO's Rome) called the reports "semi-true." "I didn't know about it either until I heard the rumors and I called my agent," McKidd said. "And he went, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've been talking to them about it.' But the last I heard from my agent, they're talking that they want to go for somebody much younger, a 19- or 20-year-old, for that role. So they're reconceptualizing it as we speak."
Matthew Vaughn (Stardust) is set to direct Thor for Marvel Studios, and he reportedly wants McKidd, whose credits include The Last Legion, for the lead role of the God of Thunder.
Even if a younger actor were to play Thor, McKidd hastened to add, he might still appear in the project. "I think there's the other main male character in that movie that I'm in consideration for," the Scottish actor said. "But, certainly by no means it's not in the bag or anything and, to be honest, until I read a script I don't really know. I haven't really had a look at a script. This is all still just information that's coming in. So, you know, it could be fun, but it just depends on what's on the page. I think it all starts and finishes with the quality of the script."
Journeyman premieres Sept. 24 and will air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.) —Ian Spelling
Kevin McKidd Responds to Thor Rumors
by Jeff Giles | September 07, 2007
Source: IGN Movies
Not content to merely work the rumor mill regarding Kevin McKidd's rumored consideration for the lead role in Thor, IGN Movies up and asked the actor himself if the rumors were true.
As it turns out, McKidd, who was participating in a conference call promoting NBC's Journeyman, heard the rumors too, so he did the smart thing, and asked his agent if they were true. The response? "Yeah, we're talking to them."
But don't go picturing McKidd wielding Mjolnir just yet. He told reporters that the studio is looking for a younger actor, "a 19 or 20 year old", to handle the role, but there are no hard feelings. McKidd went on to explain that he may still be involved in the project, as there was another older role for which he is under consideration. McKidd, a self-professed fan of science fiction "since I was a child," said he'd definitely consider the project. "It could be fun, but it all depends on what's on the page."
Obviously, until a final casting announcement is made, this is all just speculation -- but at the moment, it appears as if Matthew Vaughn's vision for the God of Thunder will skew decidedly younger than fans might have expected (or probably hoped for).
Horne, Marc. "Hollywood Doesn't Understand Me, says Doric star McKidd." Scotland on Sunday. 29 July 2007. http://www.scotsman.com
THE loons and quines of his home town would doubtless be fair stammygastered but one of Scotland's rising stars has admitted he had to drop his "impenetrable" accent to make it big. Trainspotting star Kevin McKidd has moved to Los Angeles after his performance in the swords and sandals epic Rome made him the toast of Tinseltown.
As he prepares to play the leading role in a major new American TV series, the Elgin-born actor revealed he had to sacrifice his native tongue for success. After swapping the UK for California, McKidd admitted American audiences would have been left baffled if he had maintained his north-east brogue. Speaking at a US press conference, he said: "My indigenous accent is completely impenetrable. It's a beautiful accent, but it's pretty much indecipherable. "I went to drama school in Edinburgh and they said 'You know you are never going to work with a voice like that', because there are very few dramas being made about the upper regions of the Highlands. I had to develop a kind of generic Scottish accent. The voice I have essentially is a very middle-class neutral accent."
After moderating his native lilt, McKidd then mastered an English accent. "That again is another set of rules. Then to step into the American dialect, which is the one I'm working on now, is a hard one, but it just takes work and perseverance. I just see that as part of the transformation and it's tough to get it right, but hopefully I can." Jean McIver, the director of Moray Youth Theatre, cast McKidd in his first role in a production of Anne Of Green Gables in Elgin Town Hall in 1987. "Kevin had an accent as a youngster, but it certainly wasn't broad, broad Elgin," she recalled. "He had to soften his accent before he was offered larger parts and that is understandable. He learned to speak with standard Scottish and English accents fantastically well and his hard work is now quite rightly being rewarded."
Aberdeen-born actress Joyce Falconer, whose broad Doric tones have made her an unmistakable figure in the Scottish soap River City, took issue with the claim that the north-east accent is unfathomable. "I recently performed in Canada and they love the Scots accent over there," she said. "For me using the Doric has been a real help in my career rather than a hindrance. "The dialect spoken in the north-east is one of the richest in the UK and it is a shame that more people don't get to hear it. When I was at college people advised me to drop my accent for the good of my career but I wasn't prepared to do that. To me, received pronunciation is ridiculously old-fashioned and I regard it as just another regional accent."
Dr Robert McColl Millar, a linguistics expert at Aberdeen University, said the Moray dialect was distinguished by 'wh' being replaced by 'fa'. "Instead of saying 'what's going on?' people from the Elgin area would say 'fat's going on?' The accent is fairly straightforward but differences in vocabulary could make it difficult for people from the south of England to understand."
McKidd's performance as tragic Tommy in the 1996 film version of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting was critically acclaimed. But fearing the gritty film would only attract a meagre audience, he infamously opted to go on holiday rather than attend the photo shoot which produced the iconic orange and black image which went on to be plastered on billboards and in bedrooms around the world. As a result of his low profile the job offers dried up and the Moray resident found himself having to work shifts in a pub to pay the bills.
The transformation of McKidd's fortunes came when he was cast as soldier Lucius Vorenus in Rome, the acclaimed £60m series made by HBO, producers of The Sopranos. The drama drew huge audiences in the US and the UK and won four Emmys. It led to the 33-year-old actor being headhunted to play the lead character in the new US science fiction series Journeyman. McKidd will play an American newspaper reporter who gains the ability to travel back in time in a big-budget drama which is being touted as a cross between Doctor Who and Quantum Leap.
Teuchter's guide to Tinsel Town
Ah'm bleezin'. Far aboot's the chuntie? - I am overly refreshed on vintage champagne and need to recuperate in the rest room.
I'll drap my semmit an' ging in the bare buff if the siller's guid. - I would consider doing nudity if the role demanded it and the money was sufficient.
Hey min! Far aboot's the reid carpet? - I wonder if you could direct me to the location of the film premiere my good man?
Foo muckle for cairryin' on like a gype? - How much would my performance in this comedy role command?
I canna thole this plouter nae langer. I'm awa' back tae the panto in Auchenblae - I am scaling back my work to rededicate myself to my first love, the stage.
"Kevin McKidd Comes Homes." Aberdeen Press and Journal. 15 Feb 2006.
Film star Kevin McKidd relived his days at primary school in Elgin yesterday - including the time he was told off in front of his classmates for stealing a penny chew.
The Elgin-born artist said he can clearly remember the words of the headteacher at Seafield Primary as he was made to stand in assembly and his fellow pupils were told "That boy is a thief - don't trust him".
Mr McKidd, 32, said the sweet in question had come from the local shop.
He said: "I was greeting, but I certainly learnt my lesson."
Since then, he has risen to critical acclaim having starred in more than 20 films and dozens of television dramas.
His return visit to Elgin was organised as part of the school's 50th anniversary celebrations, and youngsters in P7 said they were thrilled the actor spent nearly an hour answering their questions.
Ben Gilchrist, 12, said: "I've never met anyone who has been in films or anything like that before now, so it was really quite exciting."
Mr McKidd, who is preparing to return to Italy to film the next episodes of the hit television series Rome, in which he plays the character Lucius Vorenus, told the children his desire to become an actor was born in P5 when he was cast as a hiccupping King in a school play.
"That was when I first realised that you can make people enjoy themselves and make them laugh," he said.
Other topics the P7 pupils were keen to learn about were the size of his house, his favourite roles and preferred subjects at school.
Mr McKidd, who has just appeared as the evil Duke of Norfolk in the television drama The Virgin Queen, said his house is an average size and that he had the most fun filming the movie Dog Soldiers, where he played a soldier carrying out a military exercise marred by the presence of werewolves in the Scottish wilderness.
He said his favourite subjects were English and drama, but not maths.
Headteacher Ken Skelton gave the actor full marks for his attendance, and said it was particularly fitting he had visited in the school's anniversary year.
He said: "He is a good role model for the pupils to aspire to. It's great for them to see a former pupil - a local lad - doing so well."
And, although lessons may have moved forward since Mr McKidd left, he said not much about the building itself has changed.
"It was a good laugh coming back here and it is just exactly the same as I remember it.
"The children are more switched on than I was at their age though."
Mr Mckidd, who attended Seafield Primary from 1978 to 1985, has agreed to return for the 50th anniversary prize-giving ceremony next term.
The actor got his big break in 1996 when he was cast as gang leader Malky Johnson in Small Faces. That was followed by the role of Tommy in Trainspotting, before appearances in films such as Hideous Kinky, Topsy Turvy and The Kingdom of Heaven.