Checking in with
Every actor has a technique for breathing out a character after a series ends.
Some go to Europe for a few months, others engage in risky behavior like skydiving or bungeejumping and still others jump right into another project.
For Keir Gilchrist, who recently ended his run as Sam Gardner, a collegian on the autism spectrum, in the Netflix dramedy “Atypical,” which begins streaming its fourth and final season Friday, July 9, he sought the solitude of the wilderness.
“I kind of woke up the next day,” the Englishborn Canadian actor recalls, “and sort of was like, ‘Wow, it’s really over.’ And then with my partner, we just went up to a cabin in the mountains and took a week to just kind of ... breathe and hang out and hike and just sort of get out. Especially also too, being on set, especially after having been in isolation for a year, was a lot, kind of a lot of stimulation. So I just took some time to just kind of be with my partner, my dog and just relax. And I think I’m still processing it to some degree.”
The new season finds Sam taking on a new challenge about which Gilchrist could reveal very little, except to say it is “something very outside of his comfort zone.” He likes the character, something he says is not always the case, and he embraced the chance to play a very serious character on a comedic show.
“He’s kind of the ultimate straight man to some degree in a lot of these comedic situations,” Gilchrist says, “and that was a really interesting kind of juxtaposition because ... Sam is very serious. But there’s also some hilarious situations and so getting to be in these hilarious situations with Sam was really fun and at times it was also very challenging and heartbreaking.”
Full name: Keir David Peters Gilchrist
Birth date: Sept. 28, 1992
Birthplace: London, England (raised in
Family ties: Single; the oldest son of Ian and Catherine Gilchrist; is the grandson of Canadian economist Douglas Peters
TV credits include: “Queer as Folk,” “Doc,” “1-800-Missing,” “ReGenesis,” “The Winner,” “United States of Tara,” “Family Guy” (voice), “Newsreaders,” “Delete,” “Room 104”
Movie credits include: “The Right Way” (2004), “A Lobster Tale” (2006), “The Rocker” (2008), “Hungry Hills” (2009), “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” (2010), “It Follows” (2014), “The Good Neighbor” (2016), “Heartthrob” (2017), “Castle in the Ground” (2019)
Hidden talents: Is a singer in two death metal bands
Favorite book: “Right now, I’m revisiting ‘Blood Meridian’ by Cormac McCarthy, which has been one of my favorites since a teacher gave it to me in high school and I’m just kind of loving it all over again . ... As far as nonfiction goes, there’s this book ‘1491’ by Charles C. Mann – that book just captivated my imagination and it’s a history book ... . And then that’s accompanied by another book he did called ‘1493’ that I just read over the pandemic that’s about the post-Columbus (era).”
Favorite movie: “For horror, (John) Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ is one of my favorite movies. I watch it once a year at least. I really love a movie called ‘This Is England’ by (writer/ director) Shane Meadows and again, that’s one that I revisit once every couple of years at least.”
Favorite musical artist: “I’m really into extreme metal and I play in a couple of extreme metal bands as well. And right now, one of my favorites is this band Black Curse from Denver. They released a just brutal album last year that I loved. And then I also grew up on first wave punk stuff, so The Clash and ‘London Calling.’ That album blew me away when I was a kid, still love it. And then I listen to a lot of hip hop and rap, too, and I really love like Earl
Sweatshirt. He’s probably my favorite rapper.”