The Chakram Newsletter: Issue 18
Thirteen years ago, just after my daughter was born, I was an extra on the TV show Gloss. I played a patron in a nightclub scene. I was amazed when someone said Kevin remembered me from that. A couple years later, we were both on the New Zealand series Marlin Bay.
We also did Theatre Sports together. It’s improv like Who's Line Is It Anyway? Kevin's a master at it. He's the best of the best. And he did celebrity debating. He was pretty hot and in demand because he’s such a great brain.
Everyone on Xena was always inventing all the time. But the kind of improv that I’m talking about is the really scary stuff. You're on stage and you have to be inspired. Which means letting go of all control and just allowing some immense creative force come through your body. And Kevin has the greatest facility for that. He has a direct conduit to the Comedy God.
Kevin’s also a great rider. A natural. Being from Timaru he would ride bare-back. None of us knew that about him, but we saw footage at the memorial and the tribute and there he was galloping along.
I keep saying “is.” I think it’s because Kevin has never been part of my daily life; he’s part of my working life. And since we haven’t been working, I haven’t truly come to terms with the fact that he’s gone. If there was ever a revisiting of Xena, making it without Kevin Smith, without Ares, would be like half the colors are gone from your palette. That’s when I know I’ll have my final catharsis.
I'm glad the people got to see Kevin’s range on Xena. I think he has a persona in his own country that doesn't do him justice. He has done some spectacular work in movies and on the stage here, and yet the persona of being the sexiest man in the country was so much more broadly known. Kevin was not the sort of person you think was great after he’s gone. We who worked with him knew, and I think the Xena fans knew, how great we had it while he was here. There is no one to replace Kevin Smith.
I've been wanting to thank all those nice people who care about Kevin and gave money at the convention. I wanted to say that I'm sorry that a place for their money to go wasn’t arranged sooner. It was simply that the people who were arranging it were so close to Kevin and needed time to support his wife and family. I want the fans to know they weren’t being ignored. I don’t want them to feel disrespected. Tell them I’m sorry I haven't sent word. Every day I say I’ve got to write a letter and I'm just out of words. I know that his wife and children will take a great deal of heart of how much Kevin meant to people out there they don’t even know. It’s going to help them through this tough time. Please thank everyone so much for me.
You can never envy anyone for what they have, the way they look. You don’t know what that person’s been through in their past. You don't know what they’re going to go through. You don’t know what their health is. We’ve got to be so grateful for our bodies and our talent. Value every day and wish other people well and be happy for their success.