Kevin Thompson

Kevin Thompson
First appearance	Esteemsters
Last appearance	Is It College Yet?
Voiced by	Marc Thompson
Episode count	53 (two non-speaking) 2 TV movies
Information
Gender	Male
Age	16-18
Occupation	Student at Lawndale High; QB of the Lawndale Lions
Family	Doug Thompson (father) Charlene Thompson (mother)
Significant other(s)	Brittany Taylor (Girlfriend)

Kevin was a football player, and Brittany Taylor's boyfriend. And, on a good day, that was about it.

Character Overview

Kevin

Kevin Thompson was a student at Lawndale High, where he was quarterback of the school's football team, the Lawndale Lions. His parents had him when they were still in high school, an unplanned event.

Kevin served as the show's "village idiot." He was exaggeratedly dimwitted and was one of many extreme personalities used to balance the main character's lack of enthusiasm, as well as justify her cynicism and give her a target for sarcastic remarks. To Daria's annoyance, Kevin keeps getting placed in situations with her or deliberately coming over to engage in small talk. He doesn't understand most of her insults and doesn't seem capable of realising he's being insulting when he cheerfully refers to her lack of popularity. Despite this, he seems to view her as a sort-of friend, in "The Big House" and "Ill", being concerned for her welfare, and asking her advice on frequent occasions. In "Partner's Complaint" though, he panicked at the idea of hanging out with Daria for any length of time.

Kevin's extreme stupidity drove teacher Anthony DeMartino to enraged despair, at one point strangling Kevin. He makes it through school entirely on the basis of getting "byes" on tests, at Principal Li's command: he's viewed as too important to the football team to have to worry about silly things like learning. Kevin's father takes the same view, believing football and the state championship are more important goals; his mother, however, wants Kevin to go to college.

He views Mack as his main "bro" and the two are constantly hanging out. Despite frequent complaints, he still hasn't worked out Mack doesn't like being called "Mack Daddy".

From the very beginning of the series, he was in a romantic (and very physical) relationship with fellow student Brittany Taylor, one of the cheerleaders, who was typically portrayed as smarter than Kevin, but not by very much. The duo's trademark was that they were scarcely seen wearing anything other than their respective team uniforms. They cheated on each other on a regular basis, but always made up. "This Year's Model" implies Kevin isn't a virgin, as Brittany refers to herself as "his first" (it turned out that was the unnamed "Slutty Girl").

In the Daria telemovie/finale, Is It College Yet?, Kevin was the only character among Daria's classmates who did not graduate, because of his low grades. He was embarrassed by this and tried to hide it from his girlfriend, worried she'd stop seeing him as a result. (It was hinted he was right to be worried!)

Trivia

• Kevin was voiced by actor Marc Thompson, who also gave voice to Anthony DeMartino, Timothy O'Neill, and Charles "Upchuck" Ruttheimer III.
• The voice actor has stated that Kevin is the character most resembling himself, "because he's really absent-minded."
• In the never-aired pilot for Daria (Sealed with a Kick), Kevin became convinced Daria was attracted to him, a mistaken belief that Daria uncharacteristically fueled to embarrass Kevin and make Brittany jealous. This particular dynamic between Daria and Kevin was never featured in any of the episodes that aired, although it is hinted at in the episode "The Lab Brat."
• Kevin managed to bond with Daria's dad, Jake Morgendorffer, albeit in the short term. While assigned to a group project with Daria, she introduced him to the Pigskin Channel on TV in order to keep him distracted while she worked, and Kevin watched this with Jake. The bonding, however, seems to have been exceptionally one-sided. There is little evidence that Kevin noticed Jake any more than he noticed Quinn's pathetic attempts to seduce him.
• Kevin is almost always seen wearing his uniform and shoulder pads. Still, there are a few instances (non-dream/fiction sequences) where he is seen without them:
  • The Lost Girls: He wears a tie-dyed tee shirt
  • Just Add Water: A "tuxedo print" Tee Shirt
  • A Tree Grows in Lawndale: Kevin removes his jersey and pads onscreen revealing a Tee with a cartoon character and the words "HEY, KIDS!"

External link

• Outpost Daria - Characters: Kevin