KYLE SCHMID [SIX]
Name: Kyle Schmid
Hometown: Port Credit, Ontario, Canada
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA
Nickname: Caulder
Instagram: @iamkyleschmid
Twitter: @iamkyleschmid
Who is Kyle Schmid? How would you describe yourself to a ten year old?
Kyle Schmid is a Canadian born film actor currently living in Los Angeles, California. He has a pup name Cali and plays with toy guns on TV portraying Alex Caulder, a Navy Seal.
He loves animals, and sports and always tries to find the best in people but, let’s face it he sometimes acts like a 10 year old himself.
Where are you originally from? Tell us about your hometown?
I was originally born in Etobicoke a city on the outskirts of Toronto. I grew up in Mississauga with my mom and my step dad. My father lived a little further north of the city. It was a nice way to grow up, having two different ways of life at my fingertips.
I played a lot of organized soccer when I was young, and into my teens. Toronto was a great place for that. It was a cultural melting pot. It introduced me to many different kinds of friends and foods and people.
How and when did acting start for you?
I started acting after a very short stint in modeling when I was 12. It was an easy way to make a little money and save for a college education, but modeling was something I realized I didn’t enjoy almost immediately.
There was no substance to it and I didn’t think my fake smile was good enough. I told my mom I’d like to quit. She sent me into the office to do it myself. To do so, I had to walk past the secretary at my agency named Cindy. I had a crazy crush on her. Within minutes she had me walking back out to my mom going to my first film audition. I got the part. In the film I got to shoot a gun, get a tracheotomy and even die. I was hooked. This was fun. Years later I started taking it much more seriously, immersing myself in classes and theory. The psychology of it all was what made me fall in love with what I do. It’s funny how things turn out that way.
How is it playing Alex Caulder at History Channel’s Six?
I love the character. He’s one of the most complex characters in the show and that’s something I always consider before taking on a role. He’s the moral compass at the beginning, but then the audience is slowly introduced to his flaws. He has a daughter who he pushes out of his life and has an affair with one of his teammates wives. It’s easy to demonize someone who makes choices like he does, but I think the writers did an amazing job to humanize him instead.
There are reasons for who he is. He pushes his daughter away because he doesn’t want to hurt her, knowing his next missions could always be his last. He sleeps with his teammates wife shortly after he passes away, because two people who are in such incredible pain sometimes just need to be held. He also begins to second guess the morality of what he does. He’s a beautiful character who is also so much fun. I couldn’t be in a better place with him.
Do you mind giving the audience an insider look at the training that you and your fellow actors took to make Six a highly authentic and successful show?
When this team got together to make this show, one thing was most important, integrity. We were taking on the responsibility of representing a group of men and women who are real everyday heroes, who go to war and ask for nothing in return.
For us to understand the mentality of that kind of human being we did a series of training sessions at a place called SealFit, which is run by veterans. Essentially described to us a preparatory course to BUD/S we knew we were in for it. The goal was to test our mental and physical limitations, to break down those walls and rebuild them and then break them down again. We all broke, we all hit our walls. We came out of it better people, stronger mentally and physically and most importantly we came out of it as a team.
What’s the favorite character persona that you have ever played so far?
Caulder.
If you can describe acting with food, what would it be and why?
Pudding. If you threw a jar of pudding against a wall it would drip down a different way every time. None being absolutely right or wrong, they just simply are. Real life is like that, as is acting - A cycle of actions and reactions, messy and hard to clean up, but hopefully sweet as well.
Dream project?
I’m currently working on my dream project. I don’t think I’ll know my next one until I start working on it.
Book you’re currently reading.
American Gods – Neil Gaiman
What keeps you busy aside from acting?
Staying healthy and active. You name a sport, I play it. I hike a lot with my dog, Cali. She’s almost 12 but in fantastic shape. Most recently it’s been golf and beach volleyball. I also participated in the Los Angeles Tough Mudder.
Currently binge watching________
Big Little Lies.
Any advice you can give to any aspiring actors out there?
Make sure that you’re doing this for the right reasons. Love it. Be happy whether you are on stage making 50 bucks a night or in the biggest blockbuster ever. It’s an incredibly hard business to succeed in, but if you’re here for the right reasons, it’ll never seem quite so rough.
If you will be given the chance and opportunity to help a specific charity, what would it be and why?
I currently work with GOT YOUR 6, a charity that works with veterans. Veterans sacrifice so much to allow us the freedoms we have. They ask for so little in return and more often than not we give so little in return. I think that needs to change.
I also help out animal charities when I can. I don’t know where I would be without my dog. I adopted her from the south central shelter 11 years ago.
TEAM CREDITS
PHOTOGRAPHY: IRVIN RIVERA
STYLING: LUKE LANGSDALE
GROOMING: SIFA SITANI
PHOTO ASST: PHIL LIMPRASERTWONG
Catch Kyle on History Channel's new drama series SIX!