Kevin Franklin ends Kindred season 1 with his biggest fear coming true.
WARNING: This post contains spoilers fromKindredseason 1.
Kevin Franklin (Micah Stock) found himself living his nightmare in theKindredseason 1 finale.
Micah Stock as Kevin Franklin.Richard Ducree/FX
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How familiar were you withKindredbefore landing the role?
What research did you do about the book itself or the time period?
Immediately after reading that, I dove into the novel.
Mallori Johnson as Dana, Micah Stock as Kevin Franklin.Richard Ducree/FX
Everybody sort of went off of their path, but we had shared readings of passages from the novel.
The present onKindredis our present instead of the 1970s.
From your perspective, how does that change the Dana-Kevin dynamic we see compared to the original text?
That was a choice that Branden made, but to me it makes perfect sense.
That shifted other aspects of Dana and Kevin’s life and relationship.
People don’t get married as young.
On the show, Dana and Kevin are just getting to know each other as the time traveling begins.
What was it like to develop that chemistry with Mallori as Dana?
We have to believe that they would go on this journey together, right?
Kevin feels that for Dana.
That’s why he goes back to the hospital in episode 4.
He hasn’t prepared to go back in time, but he knows he needs to be around her.
The first episode was like a two-week first friend date for Mallori and I.
The truth is, Dana and Kevin are both outsiders.
Kevin spends a lot of time with Thomas Weylin in the past.
Can you share some memories of filming scenes with Ryan Kwanten?
I love doing those scenes with him on a creative level.
It’s also dangerous because there are times when Kevin forgets how awful they are.
There were little moments where he almost forgot that they were the people they were.
Can you talk to me about the trajectory of Kevin’s journey in the past?
When we went back, Kevin didn’t think it’s real at first.
He thinks it’s some sort of like old acid and he’s tripping.
Kevin has the privilege to respond slowly.
Perhaps not as much as in 1815, but certainly more than white people do.
It was important for me to track the slowness of him figuring out the situation.
Did you speak with Branden about what that would add to Kevin’s story?
It was important for him to weave it in a more subtle way.
Kevin isn’t necessarily struggling not to drink for most of the season.
He’s just going through this awful experience.
The season ends with Kevin in the past.
He will attempt to maintain himself and some semblance of self as much as possible.
We saw what happened to Olivia after spending the years in the past as a modern woman.
Kevin has a long road to figuring out what kind of man he’s going to be.
We don’t know what he will encounter, but I hope we get to see it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Kindredseason 1 is currently available to stream on Hulu.
