I get immense joy out of seeing a character’s arc progress throughout a project. Early in my career, I quickly had to learn how to boost the onscreen talent but critique them honestly on what I was specifically seeing on the monitors while I’m equally managing expectations of the director & product.

KEVIN:

My twin boys, Ethan & Gavin Kent had been playing Bill Paxton’s son, Lester Hendrickson for a few years on HBO’s “Big Love” when my great friend and mentor, Harry Humphries asked if a group of other SEALs and myself wanted to be in the feature film “Red” starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, and Mary-Louise Parker. Harry had started his military technical advisor career working with such phenomenal industry icons as Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay, and Ridley Scott about fifteen years earlier on such shows as “The Rock” “Blackhawk Down” and G.I. Jane.” Harry and I hit it off in the next few years, working on “Transformers 3 and 4” as well as the television show “The Last Ship.” Once I retired from the Navy in 2013 it seemed only natural to continue my work with Harry in this industry. 

KEVIN:

My wife tells everyone that I’m one of the worst people to watch a movie with because of the inaccuracies or inconsistencies that I constantly point out. Luckily when I first started advising for film, I had Harry Humphries to show me the things he had learned over the course of twenty years in the industry. Things like training actors and stuntmen during preproduction to look good on film, while not necessarily trying to turn them into Navy SEALs or superhuman commandos in real life. Ideally, we want the actors to be as comfortable as possible while moving with a weapon, so that they can concentrate on the acting portion of their job instead of worrying if they look authentic or not. 

When training individuals to portray military units like Army Special Forces, Marines and Air Force units there are many items such as their dialogue, military protocol and uniforms that vary significantly from SEALs or regular Navy, as well as which era they’re portraying. However, the shooter’s individual tactics, techniques and procedures are very similar throughout all branches of the military considering it’s typically an operator shooting, moving, and communicating safely with his team in the parameters we’re able to capture for film. Obviously, in films like “13 Hours” I want the characters to look as authentic as possible to give tribute to the SEALs I served with, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty, who were killed in action in Libya. 

When it comes to producers coming to me for authenticity, I manage certain expectations and get familiar with what exactly they want very quickly. I traditionally ask a lot of questions and try to compare tactics or a team’s action to other films producers might have seen or a specific unit like the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, which I was recently asked to make a group of background actors look like. 

Working with Spike Lee on “Da 5 Bloods” I relied on Harry’s vast knowledge of U.S. Army tactics from that era, since he was a SEAL in the Vietnam War. We trained the cast in varying postures and stances with their weapons and live rounds on a range, to give them as many tools to work with on camera as possible and then would give specific critique points to the actors as we shot the scene. Working on films such as “The Tomorrow War” with Chris Pratt was a joy because the storyline lends itself for the main characters to have a vast array of knowledge and experience with their weapons handling.

Act of Valor, 13 Hours, The Last Ship, and most recently Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan all feature your outstanding work. Is there a job or role you've played that you especially like the most?

KEVIN: 

Starting a project from the ground level is always a phenomenal experience for me because I frequently get to help shape and mold the characters before the casting process. Frequently, I am pleasantly surprised with the level of questioning once the actors are cast for roles and the lines of communication are opened between them and I. Many of the questions are very different and I can’t pinpoint anything specific or out of the ordinary. However, the worst thing an actor can do in my opinion, is to not ask a lot of questions. Especially in the case of a role that involves someone with a specific skill set or type of experience that’s foreign to the layman. This is the specific reason I am hired, and I get immense joy out of seeing a character’s arc progress throughout a project. Although, I have found that talking to actors like SEAL students or “dropping them down” into the push-up position isn’t very well received on set. Early in my career, I quickly had to learn how to boost the onscreen talent but critique them honestly on what I was specifically seeing on the monitors while I’m equally managing expectations of the director and producers.