Kevin McKidd

Early life

McKidd was born on 9 August 1973 in Elgin in northeast Scotland, the son of Kathleen, a secretary, and Neil McKidd, a plumber. At 17, he worked at the Macallan distillery in Speyside. He later went to work with the Lumsden family of coppersmiths, where he was apprentice to famous Elgin coppersmith Alan Lumsden. He attended Seafield Primary School and Elgin Academy, and was a member of the local amateur dramatic group, Moray Youth Theatre. Planning to study engineering, he initially attended the University of Edinburgh, then decided to enroll at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret College to study drama. He joined Edinburgh University's student theatre company, Bedlam Theatre, where he was a member of the improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts.

Career

After playing Tommy in Trainspotting, McKidd was cast as Father Deegan in the 1996 Christmas episode of Father Ted. Subsequent roles include Malky Johnson in Small Faces. In 2004, he played James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the BBC mini-series Gunpowder, Treason & Plot.

In 1999 he was part of an ensemble cast in Mike Leigh's Topsy Turvy, depicting the development of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. The actors researched their historical characters and used this knowledge during extensive rehearsals to help develop dialogue for scenes blocked out by Leigh. McKidd, like the rest of the cast, did his own singing in the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas portrayed in the film.

In 2001 he played Elliot in the British film Understanding Jane, directed by Caleb Lindsay. He appeared in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, and in the 2002 film adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby. In Neil Marshall's horror film, Dog Soldiers, he appeared as Pte Lawrence Cooper. In the 2005 BBC drama, The Virgin Queen, he played Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk.

In 1998, McKidd was in the four part BBC2 series Looking After Jo Jo, playing the role of Basil. He was also one of the main stars of the joint HBO/BBC series Rome, where his portrayal of the soldier/politician Lucius Vorenus received critical acclaim.

McKidd also starred in the premier of Caryl Churchill's newest play, Far Away. He played Todd, the romantic partner of Joan, and her co-worker as hat maker.

Additional work includes his role in the Silence of the Lambs prequel Hannibal Rising (film) (2007). In late 2007, McKidd began his role as the lead character in the American Fantasy television series Journeyman on NBC. Despite building a strong audience, the show suffered from the fractious situation in America due to the writer's strike at the time and only thirteen episodes were produced.

His role in Rome led to McKidd's casting in the medical drama series Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Owen Hunt. He made his directorial debut in the series's seventh season, directing the episode "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)". He won the award for "Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline" at the 14th Prism Awards for his work in "Grey's Anatomy". He played the role of Poseidon, god of the seas, and the father of Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

McKidd has done voice work and voiced the character of Jezz Torrent, flame haired lead singer of the fictional Scottish hard rock band Love Fist in the video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City". He is also credited with playing a voice-over for the character John "Soap" MacTavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. McKidd was in talks in 2008 to portray Connor MacLeod in a big screen remake of the 1986 fantasy movie Highlander, though the role has subsequently been associated with Ryan Reynolds. In 2012, he voiced the characters of Lord MacGuffin and his son Young MacGuffin in the Disney/Pixar film Brave. Having grown up in Elgin, McKidd used a variation of the Doric dialect for Young MacGuffin, and one of the running gags of his lines is that not even Lord MacGuffin is entirely sure what he is saying.

Speyside Sessions

McKidd instigated The Speyside Sessions, a Scottish folk music album recorded in 2011/12 at Hogmanay in his home town of Elgin. Many of the contributors to the album are old school friends of McKidd's. The album was released on 15 June 2012 in aid of Save the Children.

Personal life

McKidd was married to Jane Parker from 1999 to 2016. They have two children together. In August 2015, McKidd became an American citizen.

Director

Video games

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare - 2007 Soap MacTavish