AS Kevin McKidd wrapped filming and bid farewell to Grey’s Anatomy, he rushed to the airport and returned home to Scotland to film the upcoming Highlander revival.
It was an emotional journey as one of the most transformative chapters in his career came to an end. At the same time, it was a symbolic journey as he returned home after so many years to where his acting career began.
“I came back to my homeland, and flying back home after such a long journey gave me a chance to zoom out and look at my life from a high vantage point,” said McKidd. “I could see how much I had achieved.
“When you’re in it, you’re taking one step after another, trying to climb Everest and getting to the top of the mountain. When you get there, you can see how far you’ve come,” said McKidd.
After 18 seasons and starring in over 385 episodes as Dr Owen Hunt on the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, McKidd said goodbye to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for the final time.
When McKidd was first pitched the role of Hunt by Shonda Rhimes, he assumed his journey would last a maximum of five years. However, he was able to evolve and bring new life to his character in ways he couldn’t have imagined.
“He was pitched to me as this traumatised, broken and edgy man who was quick to anger but very loyal and had real deep-rooted PTSD issues,” said McKidd. “To imagine then that this character would evolve and heal and mature the way he has, I didn’t think I’d get enough screentime to tell a big story like that, but we did. Owen got to heal that wounded side of him and that feels satisfying to tell that story.”
His presence on Grey’s Anatomy has extended to directing, with McKidd directing almost 50 episodes of the show, more than any other director in the series’ history.
McKidd was also entrusted with directing his final episode, and despite the emotional circumstances, any feelings of sadness were instantly replaced by a focus on the “mission of completing the episode.”
“It felt really empowering. I felt very grounded during the entire episode and that I had really earned that place. It felt like a real moment in time in my career to reflect,” said McKidd.
“I started on the show, and I had never directed anything before, so to be trusted by this big network to bring home the big season finale with the end point of this journey and that character, it felt very empowering. There are moments in life when you feel in flow, and things feel right and as they should be.”
After one chapter of his career closes, another opens as McKidd will star alongside Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe in Highlander.
He will be portraying Angus MacLeod, a role played by his close friend and longtime collaborator James Cosmo in the 1986 original.
The Hollywood production descended upon Scotland and filmed in locations across the Isle of Skye, Glencoe and Eilean Donan Castle.
“Every time I come to Scotland to work, I love it. The balance between really professional and good banter and having a good laugh with these people who are really passionate about filmmaking is great. It’s where I started and it’s what I know,” said McKidd.
He added: “This is a huge multi-million dollar movie with an amazing action director [Chad Stahelski], who does all the John Wick films. It was so much fun to be in a film in my home country that was so big in scale.
“It was a big old-school epic movie, it felt like you were in a John Ford or Kurosawa film, it was that level of production which you rarely see in the UK.”
From Highlander to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey to The Batman: Part II to Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Scotland has become a prominent filming location in recent years, with some of the biggest movies in Hollywood.
“It’s great to see outside productions seeing that the film doesn’t have to be set in Scotland for the country to be a compelling place to film. We have brilliant crews, we have pretty competitive financial deals and it’s a beautiful place with real homegrown talent. It’s good to see that people are realising that,” said McKidd.
Early in his career, McKidd played the role of Tommy in the cult classic Trainspotting, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. In that time, he has seen the Scottish film industry reach new heights and is excited about what’s to come in the future.
This optimism in the future led McKidd to start a production company alongside creative director Charlotte Rutherford, Ferryman Films, which aims to develop Scottish talent with strong Hollywood connections.
His vision for the production company was encapsulated by an upcoming television series, which is in paid development with Amazon.
For this project, McKidd introduced veteran screenwriter and director Bruno Heller and Scottish playwright-turned-screenwriter Kieran Hurley to combine their skills and experience.
“I can watch it in real time, the talent of those two combining in a way that feels really satisfying. This is an old-hand Hollywood producer who is handing over his trade secrets to this younger writer who is rising up rapidly in the industry,” said McKidd.
He added: “The incubator of that and seeing the knowledge and talent being passed on from generation to generation feels really exciting. A lot of great stories will come out of that. That’s one of our main ethos – to feed Scottish writers and creatives.
“I know so many people in the Hollywood system, so it’s about plugging people into that and seeing what comes from that.”
