10 Questions with Kevin Kirkpatrick

Kevin Kirkpatrick is one of the top improv artist in America. Kevin is a teacher and performer at the Groundlings in Los Angeles, CA. His filmography and TV guest appearances includes Joe Schmo 2,  Stacked, Arrested Development and  Gilmore Girls.

1.    How and why did you become involved with the film Gamers?

Upon first reading the parts of the script that I’d been given, I was very struck by how genuinely funny it was.  I remember I had a few different auditions that day, spread out across town, and felt very pressed for time.  I needed to be in and out of each one pretty fast.  I read the scene once through with the director and then did a more improvisational version.  Then I asked if there were other scenes we could play with.  I was no longer aware of my time constraints.  I was just having so much fun being “Gordon” that I didn’t want to stop.  I did a few scenes and then they brought Scott Rinker in and we did a scene together.  Eventually, they basically just had to tell me to stop and go home.    I thought about the part a lot over the next week or so, and was very psyched to hear it was a “go”.  

2.    Tell us about Gordon, the character you play.

Gordon is hungry.  He’s the kind of hungry that stands in front of a refrigerator and has no idea what to eat.  More than anything, he’d like to belong.  Along comes this role-playing game and it’s like a big soft grandmother who keeps telling him he’s perfect just the way he is.  He goes in headfirst.  “Underwater” for years, he eventually opens his eyes to find that the “sea” he’d been living in is actually a slowly leaking, small plastic kiddie pool, crammed with five miserable children. 

3.    Can you tell us a little bit about your background in acting and improv?

I studied acting in college in Texas, then later, moved to LA and sort of accidentally found my way to The Groundlings theatre, where I fell in love with improv and eventually became a company member.

4.    Do you have any experience with RPG's?  If so, please tell us about your favorite game and character.

I have very little experience with role-playing games aside from watching my older brother and his friends not let me play.  But I showed them!  I became engrossed in my church youth group where I wrote and performed Christian puppet shows.

5.    How did it feel to be working with such industry greats as Beverly D’Angelo, John Heard, and Kelly LeBrock? 

Really, really cool.  I wanted to stare. 

6.    On screen, the 5 gamers have a real chemistry, as though they’ve known each other for years.  Was it hard to capture this feeling with a bunch of guys you just met?

You’d think…but no.  Chris was naturally pretty brilliant at fostering the kind of atmosphere that produced a fast, comfortable camaraderie.  Once the guys accepted that I was the “pretty one”, it just worked.

7.    What was your favorite moment during filming (either on screen or off)?

When we wrapped our fourteen-hour day of shooting in that 112-degree garage. 

8. If a sequel is made, how do you envision the character of Gordon moving forward?

I think life took a couple great turns for Gordon, then he got “hungry” again.

9.  Now the question that’s on everyone’s mind (especially Dave Hanson’s), what was it like filming your scenes with Meredith Zealy?

Dave makes me sad.  I felt great chemistry with Meredith.  It was really easy to feel like Gordon around her. 

10. If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who is not a relative or a religious figure, who would it be and why?

Donald Trump.  He and I have the same sense of humor.