Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) is the second youngest of the five Walker siblings on "Brothers and Sisters." Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), Kitty (Calista Flockhart), and Tommy (Balthazar Getty) are all older, while Justin (Dave Annable) is younger. Although the siblings often bicker, Kevin is close to all of them. He also has a loving relationship with his mother, Nora (Sally Field). Kevin is a lawyer with liberal views and a sarcastic attitude. He sometimes serves as the voice of reason in his family, but at other times he gets caught up in his emotions. Many of his stories have revolved around the fact that he is gay. He is married to a chef named Scotty Wandell (Luke Macfarlane).
During the first season of "Brothers and Sisters, " Kevin struggled with the death of his father, William (Tom Skerritt), and the revelation that William had a long-running affair that resulted in the birth of a child. Kevin also donated sperm so that his brother Tommy and his wife, Julia (Sarah Jane Morris), could have a baby. He met Scotty while working on a legal case. The two began to date, but had problems when Scotty accused Kevin of not being serious enough about their relationship. They broke up and Kevin dated a television star named Chad Barry (Jason Lewis). His next boyfriend was a minister, Jason McCallister (Eric Winter). Although Kevin declared his love for Jason, their relationship faltered when Jason left for Malaysia on a missionary trip. Kevin began to see Scotty again and later broke up with Jason. After he committed to being with Scotty, they became engaged and married at the end of the second season.
During the third season, Kevin balanced his home life with his job as a press secretary and lawyer for Jason's brother, politician Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe). Since Robert married Kitty, he is also Kevin's brother-in-law. The two often clashed over political issues before Robert left his office. The focus then turned to Kevin and Scotty's desire to start a family. They arranged to use a surrogate mother and believed they would soon have a child, but their plans fell through. In addition, Kevin tried to reason with his uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin), who had only recently come out as being gay. Kevin feared that Saul might be HIV positive and wanted him to get tested. At the end of Season 4, Kevin's concerns seem to be confirmed.
Kevin Walker is notable as being one of the few major gay characters on American network television. He is also one of the only gay men who has married another man. Television critics Matt Roush and Robert Bianco have praised the character for being a multi-dimensional homosexual man who deals with the same sorts of problems as his heterosexual counterparts.
Memorable Quotes:
"Too bad I don't represent Republicans. What, even lawyers have some scruples!"
"You know, for the first time in my life I went back into the closet after coming out. And you were absolutely right. It's a very dark place."