Kevin Cahoon
Kevin Cahoon stopped by HollywoodLife to talk about his role in ‘Glow’ Season 3 — and there was so much to talk about! Kevin, who is a vet of the Broadway stage, brought his incredible talents to the role of Bobby Barnes for the hit Netflix show. Bobby, a female impersonator on the Vegas strip, befriends the women of the wrestling ring after they make their way to Vegas to keep their beloved show alive.
While talking with HollywoodLife, Kevin shared several fabulous stories about working on the show, finding his character, and what it meant to work alongside powerful women such as Geena Davis and Betty Gilpin. He went in depth about the costumes, created from scratch especially for him, and prepping his impersonations for iconinc women like Liza and Barbra. But mostly, Kevin shared just how ‘grateful’ he is to have been given the opportunity to play Bobby and tell the story of a gay man during the 80’s and the AIDs crisis.
Check out highlights from the interview, as well as HollywoodLife’s exclusive portraits of Kevin in the gallery and watch ‘GLOW’ now, streaming exclusively on Netflix.
On His ‘GLOW’ Costumes
“Incredible and it was built for me!” Kevin explained as we talked about his first drag ensemble — Barbra Streisand’s Oscar dress when she won for ‘Funny Girl’. “That Liza look, that Barbara look. The artistry that went into it is really remarkable.”
On Bobby’s Bond With The Women Of ‘GLOW’
“Bobby is a catalyst for discovery and change in a lot of the characters,” Kevin said. “They sort of hopefully feel empowered by his sort of presence in their world, but when Bobby has the line when Sheila says, “How long have you been Barbara?” And he says, ‘Longer than she has.’ That is so key because, it’s funny, but it’s also key because Barbara was his lighthouse, Liza was his light house, those women were his lighthouse to be the greatest example of himself that he could be.
On His Audition
“I don’t do female impersonations normally, so I thought, ‘What women sing low? Who does not have a crazy high range?’ So, I couldn’t narrow it down, I picked five: Cher, Carol Channing, Loretta Lynne,Shirley MaClaine, and Tammy Faye Bakker.”
On Working With Betty Gilpin
“Nurse Jackie was just sort of like the appetizer on the tray compared to what Glow became for Betty and I. Because, she is so generous, she is so smart, and the entire cast was so welcoming.”
Favorite Memorable Shooting Day
“In episode 9, when I am carried out as Evita in the coffin. We had never rehearsed that before. So, I’m dressed as Evita, I’m lying in a plexiglass coffin, being lifted by these six guys, with an audience that did not know what was about to happen…It was that’s authentic and my heart was racing a 100 miles an hour. A 100 miles an hour.”
On The Women Of ‘GLOW’ Coming TO Vegas
“Everybody goes to Las Vegas with a dream. And Bobby went to Vegas with his dream, and he fears that his dream is about to not come true. All the girls had come to Vegas with their dream and that’s the heartbreak.”
