Eric Petersen on the Kevin Can F**k Himself series finale

While the credits roll on Kevin can fuck himself For the last time, it looks like Kevin McRoberts (Eric Petersen) really took the advice of the series title. He learns that his wife Allison (Annie Murphy) faked her own death to escape him, and now she is returned to ask for a divorce. Angry, heartbroken and isolated, Kevin vengefully burns her passport while he drinks. It leads to an accidental fire that consumes McRoberts’ house, most likely with him in it.

AMC’s genre-bending dramedy has Kevin’s scenes centered in multi-cam, full of fake laughter and harsh lights. However, his final confrontation with Allison finally takes place in a somber single-cam setting. It provides a complete picture of Kevin’s control behavior. Audiences have been waiting for a glimpse of Kevin in the “real world,” so to speak. KCFH puts it compactly but poignantly to the point.

The AV Club spoke with Petersen about bringing Kevin to life outside of the sitcom, why he preferred to see that dark side of him a little, and the experience of working with Erinn Hayes, her sudden firing from CBS Kevin can wait loosely inspired to create Valerie Armstrong KCFH.

The AV Club: Everyone has been waiting to see Kevin off the sitcom and in the real world. What conversations did you have with [series creator and episode director] Valerie Armstrong on how you wanted to portray Kevin in real life?

Eric Petersen: It was so exciting to finally be able to do that in the last 15 minutes of the final. There were conversations during season one where Valerie thought we might not need to see Kevin on a single cam. She said she heard fans say, “We need to see the truth of what he is.” There have been some people looking at sitcom plays and saying, “Oh, he’s not that bad. He’s stupid and an idiot to them, but he doesn’t deserve to be murdered.”

AVC: There were several similar comments below The AV Clubalso the flashbacks.

EP: Exactly. Personally, I thought it wise to take a peek at the end of the monster that he was. It was made more powerful by not seeing it to the end. When we arrived on the day of filming, I was dying to show that other side of Kevin. As an actor, it’s nice to show people that the big decisions I’ve made in the sitcom world have been stylistic decisions. This has a purpose, so we see that it’s controlling and emotionally abusive. In this scene, he doesn’t hit her, but he corners and physically captures her. He shows his true face.

It was an intense day of shooting. People saw Kevin in a way for the first 15 episodes, and then the truth about who he is couldn’t be that big of a flip where he’s gritting his teeth or something. It had to be the same guy but without the laugh track. You see the physical space between Kevin and Allison because it wasn’t filmed from a wide angle. All of these things help show who he was. Annie Murphy also knew I was looking forward to showing a different side of my acting and character, so we shot it a few times to keep the intensity and make it scary without being over the top.

AVC: Kevin is isolated when Allison comes back to ask him for a divorce. When she brings it up, Kevin switches to single cam. What were you trying to evoke by how lonely he ended up getting?

EP: The writers did a great job of dismantling his support system in the final four episodes of season two. Pete and Neil fall away and he is left alone. The multi-cam scene that comes just before his reunion with Allison shows you how alone he really is. It’s a tiny detail when he’s sitting in the kitchen and saying, “It’s too quiet,” and you can hear the chair creak as he turns. You don’t hear that in multi-cam scenes; it’s such a tiny detail.

AVC: Kevin’s long beard in this last episode is quite a shock. How did you come to this choice?

EP: It shows that time has passed; this is the easiest way to show it. But I read that Kevin can wait, after Erinn’s character was killed and the show comes back, her husband has a beard. So it was kind of an homage to that. I’ve never had such a big beard. I sent a picture to my manager who told me to grow one. It was fun to see Kevin’s different looks. It made those final scenes with Allison more menacing. Unlike a baby face, the grisly beard made him more intimidating.

AVC: What was it like developing the dynamic of Neil and Kevin in season two, considering that even in the sitcom world, Neil behaves differently and Kevin’s ignorance of it further affects their friendship?

EP: Alex Bonifer is such a great actor and he was thrilled to see both sides of Neil in season two. It was interesting to play some of the scenes like the middle part of season 2 where Neil starts to push back and not be a puppy. I love that Kevin would say a little bit to Neil that he’s not a good soldier, but he’s got such blinders that he’s never asked his best friend, “Hey, why are you acting like that?” Instead he’s like, ” Hm, that’s weird, but that’ll work out.” It was weird as me, Eric, knowing that the character of Neil is going through all this stress and then acting as Kevin completely clueless.

AVC: It is noticeable that Kevin laughs straight away when he spots Neil and Diane together. It’s very different from how Allison and Patty reacted when they found out.

EP: What a cruel, cruel scene. The fact that Kevin is so awful to Neil and Diane. I mean, at this point, Diane is still his family. Neil is as close to family as possible. I don’t think I have lines in this scene and I’m just laughing. It’s so mean. But like you said, it should shed some light on what their friendship is really like.

AVC: What do you think of how Kevin’s story ultimately ends with the fire he sets?

EP: Once again, Valerie and the writers did a great job. After Kevin’s penultimate scene with Allison, he burns her things and all the breadcrumbs were put away beforehand. We say he set a few fires during season two, so we know he’s an arsonist. He took out all the smoke detector batteries to run the generator [in episode five]. I love that it wasn’t Allison who killed him. He does it to himself out of his own boorishness, irritability, stupidity and alcoholism. Everything comes together to ignite the fire that ends him. I also love that we don’t see him die. I think we can all assume that’s what happened, but I like the ambiguity that he might have found a way out and be roaming around Worcester. I think he probably died, but I like that his body isn’t shown on a stretcher or anything.

AVC: What was it like having Erinn Hayes on board for the final episode, considering Kevan knows how to fuck himself was inspired by her sudden dismissal from Kevin can wait a few years ago?

EP: It’s funny because when the press release came out that I was cast as Kevin two or three years ago, I was doing a musical workshop at the Pasadena Playhouse and one of the characters in that musical was Erinn Hayes. She had already seen some of the posts about it KCFH, and how her experience inspired her. I knew I had to at least talk to her about it. So we had that moment where I told her, and I said, “We’re going to honor your experience.” Cut around the time they told me she was going to play Molly, my new girlfriend, in the finale. I thought it was perfect. She’s a total pro in the multi-cam scenes, so it was easy for us to fall into the rhythm. I asked her when we were shooting, you know, “How’s that for you?” She was so beautiful. She said it’s strange to know that this entire production was inspired by a personal experience, but it has a lovely coming full circle moment to close this thread. I thought that was good and I hope we did her the honour.

AVC: Kevin started dating Molly two months after Allison’s death, so we don’t see him grieving for his wife. do you think he did it?

EP: I think he grieved for her in the way that was most selfish to him. I keep saying Kevin never liked Allison. He loved her in a controlling, manipulative way. He’s ignorant and stupid so he thought he was a good husband when he actually abused her. I think when she died he was sad that things will change and he wonders who will clean up after him now. I don’t think he said, “Oh, my wife, my lover is gone.”

AVC: Conversely, have you wondered if Allison is going to mourn him or throw him a funeral now, considering she’s back in town?

EP: Oh man, that’s funny to think of. I did not think about that. It’s a deep question. Would Allison have some kind of funeral for him, or would she want to take her hands off him completely? I do not know. I want Allison to have a happy ending, so I want to believe he doesn’t get a great funeral with everyone crying over the tragic loss of Kevin McRoberts. Somehow, the truth about his real self emerges and people rally around Allison when they realize the horrible situation she was in that made her run away. For her sake, I think that’s how it ends for Allison.