Kevin Claydon: Rising Canadian Star Talks Acting And His Future

Photo Credit: Brian Hamilton Image Acquired from Portrait PR

Kevin Claydon’s is only just beginning to rise who knows just how lucky he is to be able to do what he loves through the worlds of film and television.

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When someone talks about their passion, you can tell. Their eyes light up or you can hear the excitement in their voice. For most people, their true passion rarely becomes a reality. However, the up and coming Canadian actor Kevin Claydon is living that dream and he knows how lucky he is.

“I started working right away (out of college) and landed a network job pretty quickly.” He told me in our phone conversation. “I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was.”

However, acting wasn’t his first passion. Originally, he went to school for film at the University of Toronto and planned on being a director. It was when he acted in a short film for a friend in college when he caught the acting bug.

“I had a bunch of great people advise me to keep doing it.” Claydon explained. “They’d tell me, ‘You don’t know it yet, but you’re an actor.'” Then with a laugh, he says “Here I am 6, 7 years later and I guess I’m an actor.”

He still finds time to write and produce short films, but acting is now his main passion. Since landing network gigs early on, he’s also guest starred in shows like The Girlfriend Experience and Heroes Reborn. Recently, he’s even landed a recurring role on the critically acclaimed sci-fi series The Expanse.

“At the beginning, it looked sorta big and daunting,” he said painting a picture of the giant sets and costume warehouses. “But in the end, it really wasn’t because of the people involved.” 

Claydon talks about how story and character focused The Expanse still feels and how that’s one he looks for in a project. It’s this preference that makes his most recent project, 21 Thunder, the highlight of his career so far. On this CBC show, he plays a Stefan, a veteran soccer club player. He said the fact that the cast were mostly unknown actors like him made the show more personal and relatable. 

“There was a level of enthusiasm that we all had for it and you saw that.” Claydon explains. “We all wanted to do it the right way.”

As much as Claydon loves what he does, it’s not without its struggles. No matter the role, he always does intense preparation before walking onto a set to compensate for what he feels is a lack of experience on his part.

“I didn’t do it growing up so I do feel a level of self-consciousness.” He says. “I don’t like to figure out what I’m doing on the go.”

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After learning about Claydon’s process and goals, it makes sense when asked what actor he’d want to share a screen with, he doesn’t mention the famous celebrities most do. Instead he mentions what he calls “working actors” like Richard Schiff and J.K. Simmons. 

“I have sort of odd heroes obviously.” He quips with a laugh. “But I have a lot of admiration for guys like that.”

This perspective is one of things that makes Kevin Claydon so unique. He wants to be more than just another actor. In the sea of so many faces, he wants to stand out. In a world where everyone only wants fame and fortune, Kevin wants something more.