Chakram newsletter #18, 2002

Reneé O'Connor Remembers Kevin Smith

I think I knew of Kevin before I met him. So it wasn't like meeting a stranger. I was aware of his work on Hercules. I'd seen his movie Desperate Remedies with Michael Hurst and Jennifer Ward-Leland.

I saw Tim Omundson, Alex Tydings, Eric Gruendemann and his wife, Patricia Manney, and some others last night. We were having chats about Kevin. My most recent memory was of telling him that Steve and I were pregnant. I told him before I told the crew and even before I told a lot of my friends because he and I had always chatted about his boys. Their soccer games and how he was going to be the dad at home with the boys while Sue, his wife, was playing soccer. That's how we bonded over the last years on Xena.

Every time I met him, I thought, 'what a talented, amazing man'. And he was such a humble, loving person as well. Someone who didn't know him would think he would have such an ego. But he was the antithesis of that. I keep thinking of his family. Sue and his boys grounded him. They were such an integral part of his life.

When I saw him during "Soul Possession", I just had to tell him I was pregnant because I knew he was going to be so excited. He'd met Steve a few times being fellow South Island boys. Steve's from Christchurch and Kevin's from a place not far from there called Timaru. It really surprised me, but when I saw him I thought, "I've got to tell Kevin!"

He's such a family man. He was very private, but you could tell from the way he talked he was a proud dad and thought Sue was the most amazing woman keeping them all in line.

I was with Michael Hurst when Kevin passed away, rehearsing Love Letters. We were talking about Kevin being injured and what an invincible, strong man he is. We were praying for him. Then later, Michael called me and said we'd lost him. It was odd being here in LA where my friends don't know Kevin and what a great man he is and could appreciate our loss. I wanted to be around the crew who knew him to share memories and celebrate his life.

Eric Gruendemann told us how moving the memorial was in New Zealand. I think fourteen hundred people turned out. All the productions in Auckland that were ongoing at the time, closed down early so the crew members could go to the memorial. Isn't that amazing? It shows the love that Kevin created in the industry. He was an icon in New Zealand.

Part of him was the kiwi bloke who wanted to take you out for a beer and talk about rugby. He was everyone's buddy. So accessible. That's why people loved him so much. Here's this gorgeous man who's so physically formidable and yet there was so much depth to him as well.

It took me a long time to get to know Kevin since I only had a few scenes with Ares in the first few years. But as we started to work rogether more, I would see other sides to him. Initially, I would go to certain events in New Zealand because I knew he was working in them. And I was constantly astounded by how talented this man was!

I saw him in Othello directed by Michael Hurst. And now that I've been attending a Shakespeare seminar, I can really appreciate how difficult that was. He was amazing. Afterwards, I saw him in a music version of Peter Jackson's Braindead (AKA Dead Alive). Michael Hurst transformed the film into a musical play. It was hilarious seeing Kevin camping it up on the stage.

Steve and I often went to Theatre Sports on weekends. They get up and say they're going to do, say, a Shakespearean poem. Three people in the audience pick topics for each of the three actors on stage. And they make it up right there on the spot. He was amazing every time we saw him. There's no safety net. You don't have a script to rely on. It's all you and your own quick-thinking wit. He's a very clever man.

I also sw him in The Blue Room with Danielle Cormack. He played this one character who was like a young boy. And I kept imagining Kevin's own son, Oscar. It was astonishing how he could transform himself. So charming.

I sw him at a wedding where he was performing with his band at the reception. We were talking about the conventions and he said he wanted to get into a different type of music with Joel Tobek that was more hard rock and roll. As opposed to the retro music he was performing at the reception. After he did the cabaret with Joel, Kevin said it was pretty gritty. I really wanted to see them.

There are so few actors who can do everything. Except dance! I remember him freaking out, in a joking way, during the first musical, "The Bitter Suite". He said, "I'll sing whatever you want, but, mate, just don't make me dance." He was so worried about them putting tap shoes on him. Then he had that gorgeous tango with Lucy that looked fantastic. He kept making so many hilarious jokes about himself trying to dance.

I remember during "Ares Farm", Kevin had been working out very hard. The last few years on Xena, he looked especially amazing. Not that he didn't before, but he was just so strong. During "Ares Farm", because he was on the set all day and couldn't go to the gym, he would do pushups or grab sandbags and use them as weights. Lucy and I sat there watching him and asking ourselves, "Okay, how come we're not doing that?" We were just sitting there like slugs. So we both started doing pushups, whenever Kevin wasn't looking, trying to get stronger. It was hilarious. lucy and I both on our knees trying to get a couple pushups in.

I miss him.

The Kevin Smith Trust Fund


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