Actor Kevin McDonald still wants to be a Kid

by Joey Guerra

Daily Cougar Staff

With the upcoming release of Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, the zany Kids make the inevitable move from boob tube to big screen.

"Depression has always been a big thing with the 'Kids'," said Kevin McDonald, one of the actors who portrayed just a few of the characters in the popular television comedy series, Kids in the Hall, which enjoyed success in America on HBO, CBS and currently in reruns on Comedy Central.

Indeed, the story behind Brain Candy deals with a mood-altering prescription drug craze that takes the nation by storm. McDonald portrays Chris Cooper, the scientist responsible for the drug's creation.

Sadly, the characters made so popular by the Kids, including the office women and the Chicken Lady, do not show up on the big screen. McDonald said the characters from the series wouldn't fit into the film's plot, but the new faces are even more outrageous.

According to McDonald, the transition from TV to film was like making a really long skit. He said that retaining much of the original crew (director Kelly Makin, hair designer Judi Cooper-Sealy, director of photography David A. Makin, to name a few) was important and made the shoot more of a team effort.

Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels is executive producer of Brain Candy, which may instill dismay in the hearts of fans who have found SNL a little less than amusing as of late. McDonald keeps an open mind.

"I think they're (Kids and SNL) two different, valid approaches," McDonald said. He stresses, though, that the Kids series was more of a collection of "small, one-act plays."

How will America take the Kids on the big screen? McDonald can only guess.

"The U.S. seems to be particularly fascinated with the gay aspect of the show," said McDonald, who adds that overseas countries find the more outrageous comedy skits amusing.

As for the possibility of becoming a big movie star, McDonald (who appeared in last years National Lampoon's Senior Trip) sums it up with a simple, modest statement: "I'm just a guy in Toronto."

Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy opens nationwide April 12.