Kyle Valenti was a fictional character created by Melinda Metz for the young adults book series Roswell High and adapted by Jason Katims for the 1999-2002 American science fiction television series Roswell. He was portrayed by actor Nick Wechsler in the television series. In the CW reboot, he's played by Michael Trevino.
Fictional character summary
Kyle is used regularly as comic relief in serious situations. He has the most developed sense of humor of the group, and is always looking for the joke in a situation. He does, however, have a very serious and caring side, becoming very protective of those he cares about. Kyle's Buddhism is often used as joke fodder, with him often quoting philosophical texts to help in serious situations, to the exasperation of his father, Sheriff Jim Valenti, and friends.
Kyle is a sophomore and good athlete. Although he is mostly shown as being a football star at fictional West Roswell High School, he is also shown on the basketball team, and reveals in one episode that his true passion is baseball and he wants to play for the Houston Astros.
Fictional biography
Season one
Kyle is initially an antagonist, albeit a reasonably sympathetic one, at the beginning of the series. He is introduced as being the casual boyfriend of protagonist Liz Parker. When Liz starts hanging around Max Evans and soon thereafter dumps Kyle, he becomes jealous of Max and begins a rivalry with him. This rivalry is fueled by Jim Valenti's obsession with Max. Jim Valenti warns Kyle to stay away from Max, as he may be dangerous. Although Kyle's feelings for Liz were only casual and he is soon able to get over them, he continues to find himself in tense conflict with Max.
At the end of season one, his father doesn't return home and an FBI agent is put in front of his house to keep a watch out. When Max comes to his house, knocks out the agent, and tells Kyle to stay put, Kyle is furious, thinking Max is putting his father in danger. He takes a gun from his father's cabinet and follows Max to the UFO Center, where he finds Agent Pierce, whom he believes to be the innocent Deputy Fisher, tied up. When Kyle frees him, Pierce takes his gun and attacks the others. In the ensuing melee, Kyle is accidentally shot by his own father. Kyle is found by his father and the others, and Max heals his wound, saving his life. Kyle is then entrusted with the secret that Max, his sister Isabel and his friend Michael Guerin are actually alien-human hybrids.
Season two
In the second season, because he is now "in on the secret", Kyle's character is expanded. It is revealed that, in order to come to peace with the presence of aliens in his life, he has found Buddhism. He wants nothing to do with the "little green men" and at first, does not join them in their main adventures, but finds one as a roommate when the orphaned Tess Harding moves in with him and his father. At first, Tess is annoying and hostile toward him, but the two soon become friends, with a heavy hinting of an attraction between the two. Tess is shown as filling the gap left in Kyle's family life because it is revealed that his mother left when he was six. Tess transforms the household from being just two guys into a real family again.
Kyle now has an understanding of those he was formerly pitted against and becomes friendly with the entire group, now considering Liz to be a good friend. He begins to resent Max again, however, when Sheriff Valenti loses his job protecting Max's secret. After this, Kyle is reluctant to help the group but does so anyway when they are searching for a cluster of toxic crystals that could spell doom for the world. He and Alex end up trapped in a cave with the crystals, and he forms a kinship with Alex Whitman, who helps him appreciate the presence of the aliens in their lives. Kyle then finds a way to kill the crystals and, upon escaping from the cave with Alex, exclaims that they just saved the world. After this encounter, Kyle once again grows friendly with the entire group, including Max, and becomes a substantial member of the alien clique. When the eight of them travel to Las Vegas together for a vacation, he is seen hanging out primarily with Alex.
Kyle ends up confronting his feelings for Tess and asking her to the dance. When Maria DeLuca asks him why they haven't hooked up yet, he says that he is, for some reason he can't put his finger on, resistant to do so. When a friend of his makes sexual comments about Tess, however, Kyle exclaims, "Don't you talk that way about my sister!", thus realizing that he truly feels a sibling love, not a romantic one, toward Tess.