My Name is Not Kreussenheimer.

It’s Jeffrey Machado. I’m the voice actor who had the privilege of bringing Kevin Kreussenheimer to life in audio form, a fact I’m still pinching myself about. 

Aside from the fact that Kevin and I sound alike, though, we have almost nothing in common. Kevin lives an adrenaline-fueled life of action and intrigue. He masters almost every skill he comes in contact with. He’s levelheaded in a crisis and takes command effortlessly. In short, he’s cool.

I, on the other hand, am a nerd. As a kid, I worshipped Ray Harryhausen. I wore corduroy pants to school. I lettered in marching band. I didn’t kiss a girl until I was 17, and even then it was scripted. (We were characters in a play. I was so nervous to kiss her that I missed her lips by a full two inches, getting a huge laugh from the crowd and making me blush so hard I almost passed out.)

And yet…there was something about Kevin that felt familiar, some frequency at which we were both vibrating. What could it be, I wondered? What could a guy who’s lived his whole life within 40 miles of his hometown possibly have in common with a worldly badass like Kevin?

Then it hit me. When Kevin’s in his element, he’s in total control, a master of planning and execution. But when the rug gets pulled out from under him? He’s just as lost as I would be in his shoes. 

I had my way in.

Suddenly, playing Kevin wasn’t about living out a James Bond fantasy—although I admit, that part was fun. It was about the quiet between the action. The moments when he didn’t have the answers. When unfamiliar emotions crept up on him at two in the morning. When he had to find the courage to be vulnerable.

Those moments are relatable, not just to me, but to everyone. And when we see Kevin struggling to overcome his past and become the person he wants to be, we all understand, if for a small moment, what it’s like to be him.