Kevin Symons
Both photos courtesy of Kevin Symons
Kevin Symons is an actor who's probably best known for his role as Councilman Bill Dexhart on NBC's Parks and Recreation. You might also recognize him from his roles on Best Friends Whenever, Desperate Housewives, The West Wing, or NCIS, among many others.
Kevin joined me via Zoom to discuss his career and his many roles.
To listen to the interview with Kevin Symons, click the play button below (or click here to open the audio player in a new tab/window).
Kevin Symons is a supporter of The Actor's Fund.
If you'd like to donate, you can do so here, via their website.
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Mike Reflects
Councilman Bill Dexhart was probably one of my favorite Parks and Recreation characters.
Most of the characters would deliver their most outlandish lines with an air that I couldn't quite but my finger on, but that, to me, anyway, seemed to say "this is a comedy show & this is comedy". But not Bill Dexhart. Never Bill Dexhart.
Bill Dexhart delivered every line with the sincerity and gravitas that one wouldn't generally expect would accompany the type of outlandish things he'd say almost every time he'd open his mouth.
The writing was great, but the portrayal by Kevin Symons was even better.
Generally, when I request an interview, it's because I have (at the very least) a small handful of "big" questions, which I assume others have as well, that I'd like to try to get answered for all of us. In this case, I didn't even have to ask my biggest one before he answered it: whether Councilman Dexhart was inspired by Mark Sanford.
As an interviewer, I always like when people answer my questions before I ask them. I know it may seem counter-intuitive, but it's a sign that it's a good question, and one that adequately follows the current train of thought.
While it's always fun to ask a question that people don't see coming—a question that says that, as an interviewer, I have a unique take or a different place I want to go—it's just as much of a...I guess you could call it a "compliment"...to ask one that they answer before it's asked.