9 Things You Didn’t Know About Grey’s Anatomy’s Kevin McKidd

Grey’s Anatomy fans are well aware that the show has a revolving door of characters, and even the best may exit the show at any given time, but fans are definitely happy that hasn’t been the fate of Kevin McKidd. McKidd has now been starring as Dr. Owen Hunt since the beginning of season five and has worked his way into the hearts of Grey’s fans everywhere. He may be a huge TV star but he is also very private and elusive, even when it comes to interviews! For those adoring fans who can’t get enough of Kevin McKidd, here are 9 things not widely known about him!

9. Early Life

Kevin McKidd was born on August 9, 1973 in Elgin, Scotland, to Kathleen and Neil McKidd. His mother was a secretary and his father was a plumber and McKidd worked odd jobs before pursuing acting. When he was 17, McKidd worked at the Macalian distillery and later went on to become an apprentice for a local coppersmith.

2

8. Education

While attending the Elgin Academy, McKidd took an interest in acting and became a member of a local amateur dramatic group at the Moray Youth Theater. He then went on to the University of Edinburgh where he spent one year studying engineering before dropping out and then enrolled at the Queen Margaret College which is known for its drama program. It was there he began deeply involved in acting, which led to his successful career.

3

7. Other Work

While he is best known now for Grey’s Anatomy, McKidd actually has 56 acting credits to his name. One of his first biggest roles was in 1996’s Trainspotting, which was only his second acting gig, and he went on to appear in many projects for British and Scottish television. He also appeared in 2005’s Kingdom of Heaven, as well as Hannibal Rising, Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief, and of course Made of Honor, alongside his former Grey’s co-star Patrick Dempsey.

4

6. Net Worth

Despite years of work, which includes a main role on one of television’s biggest shows, Kevin McKidd still has a modest net worth by Hollywood standards. His estimated net worth lands at around $2 million and, while salaries for some of Grey’s Anatomy’s other stars are more readily available, it is also estimated that he makes around $100,000 per episode.

5

5. Trainspotting

Although he plays one of the main roles as Tommy in Trainspotting, it has been noticed that Kevin McKidd is missing from the posters for the film. He is the only main character not featured because, as soon as filming was completed, McKidd went on holidays and missed the subsequent photo shoots.

6

4. Voice Acting

In every role he does, Kevin McKidd is a commanding character and not because he is an especially big guy at 6 feet tall, but because of his deep, powerful voice. With such a strong voice, he has also had several notable voice acting roles. He provided the voice of ‘Soap’ MacTavish for the video games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, as well as the voice of Jezz Torrent for the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. His voice is also recognizable in the hit Disney/Pixar film Brave for which he provided the voices of Lord MacGuffin and Young MacGuffin. For the part of Young MacGuffin, McKidd used his childhood experience of growing up in Elgin to use a variation of Doric dialect for the character, which turns into a running joke in the film because it is so hard to figure out what Young MacGuffin is saying.

7

3. Behind-the-Scenes

In season seven of Grey’s Anatomy, McKidd took on the additional task of directing an episode, and has taken to it so well that he has now directed 12 episodes in total. He admitted that, although the first time directing was challenging, the Grey’s cast made it a great experience for him. “I was incredibly nervous in the beginning. I kept thinking to myself, ‘How is everyone going to react to my direction? How are they going to feel about it?’ I shouldn’t have worried because everyone was fantastic. I felt really touched and moved at how kind everyone was. They all went to bat for me because they knew it meant a lot and they knew I didn’t want to screw up. Let’s face it; failure was not an option.”

8

2. Personal Life

Back in 1999, McKidd married his wife Jane Parker and together they have welcomed a son, Joseph, 16, and a daughter Iona, 14. In 2015 McKidd and his family officially became American citizens and only one year later in July 2016, Kevin and Jane announced they were splitting.

9

1. Surprised by Success

While McKidd loved acting from a young age, he has admitted that he never dreamt he would make it to the level of success he has, and always thought he would become a plumber like his father. “Absolutely not. I always knew I wanted to be an actor, but I didn’t expect to get this far. To be honest, I was destined to become a plumber like my father, and as a child I remember thinking, ‘If I get as far as London, I will be lucky.’ I never left Scotland until I was 20 years old. That’s how sheltered I was, so to be here is pretty remarkable.”.