Kevin On Kim (SheKnows exclusive)

Kevin on Kim
Joel D Amos

Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd has the most unmistakable Scottish accent. As an appreciator of all things UK, immediately SheKnows was impressed.

Of course, McKidd’s gift for acting only grows our appreciation further. Since joining Grey’s Anatomy in 2008, McKidd has become a part of the smash show’s newest and hottest love triangle.

Grey's Anatomy new love triangle

Considering this is Grey’s Anatomy, the show built on an Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey and Kate Walsh love triangle, the potential for an amour conflict involving McKidd’s Owen Hunt Sandra Oh and Grey’s newcomer Kim Raver of Lipstick Jungle and 24 -- is exciting to say the least.

McKidd phoned SheKnows after a busy day on the Grey’s Anatomy set to take us inside one of television’s biggest hits.
Kevin McKidd exclusive

Spoiler Alert click Read Me for the rest of this interview.... source

SheKnows: How are things going for you personally on the Grey’s Anatomy set?

Kevin McKidd: I’m enjoying it. It’s funny. For my character, so far this season, it’s been a very war oriented season. Last year, right off the bat, he had some pretty intense personal stuff going on dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and reintegrating himself back into civilian life. The first half of this season, it seems he’s settling into the hospital more and now with the introduction of Kim Raver’s character, someone he’s spent years working together in Iraq, things get very interesting from this point on, this season, I don’t know, but I would guess is going to be much more explosive. There will be a lot more intensity and complication.

SheKnows: Besides joining a hit show and a great cast, you mentioned the challenges your character had coming back from war in Iraq. Was that one of the appealing aspects of you tackling this character?

Kevin McKidd: Absolutely. When I met Shonda Rhimes and she described this character at the beginning of season five, I just felt that it was a very important story to tell. You don’t get chances as an actor to through character to help spread education and inform people what is going on right now. I felt it was very important to be involved in that and I felt very honored. I still feel very honored to be a part of that.

The docs of Grey's AnatomySheKnows: Owen’s a bit of a mystery too…

Kevin McKidd: He’s got a lot of paradoxes. On one hand, he’s very honorable and wants to do things with the correct protocol. He’s been Army trained after all. The whole point about being in the army is that you follow protocol so when you’re in these intense situations, you can operate well. And yet, he’s a very impassioned and impulsive, sometimes hot headed man. He’s a red-blooded man. There’s this really interesting dichotomy that I get to play as an actor. In a strange way, in his personal life, he’s much more all over the place than he is professionally. In his personal life, that’s a whole nether deal.
Raver’s rivets grey's anatomy

SheKnows: You mentioned Kim (Raver) joining things, what has it been like on the Grey’s Anatomy set with the addition of Ms Raver?

Kevin McKidd: It’s been great. She’s such a great actor. I’m very, very blessed for the entire season five, I got to work with Sandra Oh, who I love. I am so blessed that she is my acting partner. I look forward to that continuing. And then, Kim comes in, and Sandra and I are kind of nervous, because it’s someone that both she and I have to work with in a very in-depth way. She’s fantastic. She’s a “died in the woods,” professionally trained actress with a deep talent and a real passion for her character. I think the three of us are really enjoying working together.

SheKnows: And the casting people at Grey’s Anatomy just nail it again, time after time.

Kevin McKidd: They do, yeah. They really do, it’s funny, I did some meetings and all the actresses that came in were fantastic. They wanted to see, they liked something where they felt potential. I met with a few actresses and they were great. But, when Kim came in, it felt like it was the right fit. You can tell right off the bat.

Introducing the war doc played by Kevin McKidd on Grey's Anatomy
Owen’s awkward entry

SheKnows: Lastly, you came in on Grey’s Anatomy during season five. Now, Grey’s Anatomy is a full-blown phenomenon. What it was it like to come in as somebody who is new to the cast?

Kevin McKidd: My character did not come in easily. Most characters get to come in and do something kind of cute and smile. They’re endearing and people grow to like them. (Laughs) With my character, I show up, I stab somebody in the throat with a pen. I show up again and go back to Iraq. Then, I sedate and stab a whole lot of pigs that are on operating tables and tell these interns to save them and ignore the girl I kissed in the previous episode.

SheKnows: (Laughs.)

Kevin McKidd: I was nervous (laughs). I told them, “You know. This is a real gamble.” When Owen Hunt arrives and joins the hospital initially he was just a guest star. This is my character’s first action joining the show? People are really going to get this guy or I’m going to be out on my ear.

We both laugh.

Kevin McKidd: It worked. It seems to have worked. It was controversial at the time. But, then again, Grey’s Anatomy writers know how to hit ball out of the park each time.