spicedogs | For Durand, playing the 'Lost' psychopath can be a blast

I don't like the character, but I have nothing against the actor. Keamy lovers, enjoy....

By Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY

"Hi, how are you doing? So I guess I'm gonna be killing you today."

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That's how Kevin Durand recalls introducing himself to actress Tania Raymonde, his first — but far from his last — victim on ABC's Lost. They were headed off to shoot the execution-style death scene of her teen character, Alex, in front of her father, Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson).

The scene helped set up the standoff between Durand's cold-blooded mercenary Keamy and Ben, which comes to a violent conclusion in Thursday's two-hour season finale (9 ET/PT).

Durand's attempt at gallows humor may have been cold comfort to Raymonde, but it serves to spotlight the stark change from his younger years doing stand-up comedy in his native Ontario to help pay for college.

"I don't know if they were laughing at me because they were scared of me or if I was funny," recalls the imposing, 6-foot-6 Durand, who enjoyed another past life as teen rapper Kevy D in local shows with his group, the AOK Posse.

A professed "spaz," Durand, 34, says he foundered a bit in school until his high school English teacher introduced him to Shakespeare — and to the Bard's best villains. "I had no interest in Hamlet or Romeo. I always loved the Edmunds, the Iagos and the Petruccios."

He put his booming baritone to work in theatrical tours around Canada until he began to get some television and film credits. In 2001, he had his chance to belt on Broadway, starring as Injun Joe in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. (He still enjoys a little song-and-dance; the native French speaker is particularly fond of Les Miserables. "That one always gets me," he admits.)

Growing up playing ice hockey helped him land a role in the 1999 comedy Mystery, Alaska, alongside Russell Crowe, who became his mentor — and bandmate. Durand sang backup and even resurrected his rap skills on Gaslight, the debut album by Crowe's band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. (Fans curious about his rhyming skills can check out the track Nowhere.)Their paths crossed again last year in the Western 3:10 to Yuma — this time with bloodshed. "Russell thought it was funny because he got to kill me," he jokes.

The casting director on Lost liked his turn as Tucker in Yuma and called Durand to read for the role of Keamy, at which time he says he had no idea how evil the character would turn out to be.

Keamy has drawn attention to Durand — not all of it good, and not surprising given that he has killed or beaten up an average of one character per hour during his nine-episode hitch. He caught an earful from fans angry over Alex's death in particular.

"People would just yell at me. They weren't too happy about that," Durand recounts. "I kept saying, 'It wasn't my fault! It's Ben's fault!' But (then) people started cheering me on. I think they just love to hate the guy."

That said, he realizes bloodthirsty fans are probably hoping that Keamy bites the dust when the two battle it out in Thursday's finale. "We

Durand is delighted to have a normal hairstyle again after shaving his head for a string of roles dating back to 2007's Smokin' Aces. But it might not stay that way: "I'm gonna grow long dreads," he cracks.

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haven't really seen anything outside of Keamy's mission, so I think they definitely want him put down," he says.

Asked to concoct a flashback plot for the stone-cold killer, Durand chooses his words carefully. "Keamy has a very big personal stake in this mission, and it's beyond anything monetary. He's just trying to get it done as soon as possible. It has to do with his family, so that's why he's working at the pace he is."

At the time of his casting, he'd only seen about half a dozen episodes of Lost, mostly from Season 1. "I had no idea what was happening, and once I got it, I chose to leave it that way. I didn't want to know anything or be attached to anybody. I'm glad I didn't. But now that I'm on it, I'll watch all of it."

But a Lost DVD-viewing marathon may have to wait until Durand takes a well-earned vacation at home in Thunder Bay, Ontario: He spent six months shuttling between Sydney (where he "packed on" about 700 pounds to play The Blob in next year's X-Men Origins: Wolverine), the Hawaiian base of Lost, and the Santa Fe set of Legion, also due next year, in which he plays the angel Gabriel, sent by God to destroy humanity. (Sound familiar?)

"I'd like to take a little bit of time and wait for something that excites me now," he says. "I'm definitely gearing more toward film. I like the fact that I can play a character for a week or four months and then switch everything up. But you never know. Lost was really fun. If I can have that experience in any genre, I'd take it."

SOURCE: USA Today