Three-time Tony award-nominated Broadway and television actor Kevin Chamberlin visited SLU to give a talk on Nov. 9 in Xavier Hall.
Chamberlin is best known for his role as the grouchy butler, Bertram Winkler, from the Disney Channel sitcom “Jessie” and for playing Uncle Fester in the 2009 Broadway run of the musical “The Addams Family.” He also had his solo cabaret debut, “Finding the Joy,” at the Blue Strawberry on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.
Chamberlin discussed his acting career and how acting has changed with the rise of social media. As part of the talk, Chamberlin offered advice on how to get started as an actor.
“Everyone has this little [cellphone] in their pocket, and it’s a great way to be creative,” Chamberlin said. “You also want to get an agent as quickly as possible, and a good way to do that is doing stuff on YouTube.”
In addition to discussing his well-known TV and Broadway roles, Chamberlin also discussed how he became famous on TikTok.
“During COVID, I needed a creative outlet, and a friend of mine convinced me to go down the TikTok rabbit hole,” Chamberlin said. “A student said ‘Can I film you doing your Bertram catchphrase?’ and she posted it. I’d never heard of TikTok, and within a day [the video] had two million hits. It was crazy.”
TikTok also provided a job for Chamberlin during the pandemic, when acting gigs were scarce.
“The daughter of the owner of the grocery store Sprouts was a follower and fan of mine on TikTok, and she told him ‘Hey dad, you should get Kevin Chamberlin to do ads for Sprouts,” Chamberlin said. “All of a sudden, I had this huge campaign and I was a jingle writer making money off of TikTok. It just exploded.”
On TikTok, Chamberlain posts comedy content like “Dad Joke Saturdays,” where Chamberlin says a dad joke every Saturday and does impressions of his characters. Chamberlin also made music for TikTok, including an original song called “I’m Not Dead” to debunk false rumors that he suffered a heart attack and a song called “Anyone Can Cook” for the Ratatouille musical. The Ratatouille musical was an unofficial crowd-sourced musical on TikTok in which Chamberlin played renowned chef Auguste Gusteau.
For people like sophomore Spanish international student and biology major Clara Sobrino Gil, the visit was an unexpected but welcome surprise.
“Jessie’’ was a huge show for me growing up, and it became one of the ways I learned to speak English,” said Sobrino Gil. “As soon as I saw the announcement that he was going to come to SLU, I knew right away I was going to see him. He was a big part of my childhood and seeing the actor in real life was a very special moment for me.”
Though Chamberlin’s personality wasn’t as grumpy as his character Bertram, students realized that the two weren’t so dissimilar.
“I was a fan [of ‘Jessie’] ever since I could watch TV, and Bertram was one of my favorite characters. I loved how cranky and loveable he was, like a sweetheart on the inside but tough and angry,” freshman Sakari Moore said. “The inside part of Bertram is like the entire part of [Kevin Chamberlin] all the time.”
After the visit, students lined up outside Xavier Hall to take pictures with Chamberlin.
“It was definitely a long wait, but it was worth it. I took a picture with [Chamberlin] and was even able to chat with him for a bit,” Sobrino Gil said. “It was a great experience and I am very grateful SLU gave us this opportunity.”
