How did the career of the impersonator Hercules go? Kevin Sorbo was a star in God of War, but not only that

Since the dawn of cinematography, Greek mythology has been a fascinating subject for a variety of cinematic and serial works, and usually attracts mass spectators. Starting with “Helena” of 1924, through perhaps the most famous “Jason and the Argonauts”, and ending with modern scenes, such as the relatively recent “Clash of the Titans,” it’s clear that the Hellenic legacy has always presented creators with engaging stories worthy of screenplay. However, among the many interesting individuals, the central place seemed to be Hercules, who is a half-human and half-divine character, who goes through many adventures, for example, which appeared in the famous 1997 Disney animated film.

A few years ago, the idea to reduce the popularity of this hero came from American television creators, including the legendary Sam Raimi, who initially made a series of television fantasy images, such as the beginning of the series “Hercules and the Amazons”. from 1994. Although many – including Robert Chapin, in whom he was offered the main role as the first – considered the script of this film to be fatal, as is usually the case in such cases, viewers bought it in full, and its success marked the beginning of the series, Then the regular series too, which premiered in 1995. By 1999, more than 110 episodes of the series had been produced, a spin-off in the form of almost equal popularity “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Young Hercules” starring Ryan Gosling in the title role.It is a testament to the huge success of both its creators and the actor who played the main character in it.

Mighty norwegian

Kevin Sorbo, born in Minnesota in 1958, dreamed of working as an entrepreneur in his youth. The future screen star, of Norwegian descent, studied at the local university in Morehead, graduating in Marketing and Management. However, due to problems with paying tuition and maintenance, and at the same time having an exceptional posture, which had not only a height of more than 190 cm, but also a well-built body, he received additional money as a model, especially in advertising campaigns. At the time, he was known for appearing in the movie promoting whiskey Jim Beam.

As with Michael Dudikov, it was not far from acting, although the beginnings of Sorbo in this business, of course, were very difficult. In 1986, he played a small role in the popular television series “Santa Barbara”, which led to his appearance in other popular series of the time, the titles of which do not speak much today. The actor was about to star in the new Superman series, which eventually went to Dean Cain. Interestingly enough, he was also one of the candidates to play Fox Mulder in “From the X-Files”. However, the creators chose David Duchovny and it must be said that it was a real success. Meanwhile, Kevin Sorbo still had to wait for a breakthrough in his career.

This was, of course, the performance in the aforementioned first film in the series, which fits perfectly with his long height, lush hair and specific facial features. Despite the above-mentioned doubts about the script, the picture was warmly welcomed, as were the following four parts of The Adventures of Hercules, which gave the green light to the entire series, which was shown in the United States on five different television stations, which earned additional money by selling all Types of figurines and memorabilia related to your hero.

Getting involved in this series was a real boon for Sorbo as well because the actor himself was a lover of all kinds of great stories in his youth and found himself quite well in them. It was also a kind of naive favorite of the whole story, also aimed at younger viewers. said the impersonator of Hercules himself. On another occasion, he revealed that while he didn’t immediately refuse to play “the villain,” he once refused to play a character he believed would shoot a thirteen-year-old.

The massive physical work, both on the set of the series and in the movie “Kull the Conqueror” that was filmed at the same time, unfortunately had an effect on the health of the 38-year-old actor who – in his own words – tried the hard way that he’s mere mortal. During this time, Sorbo was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his arm, which caused several clots, followed by three strokes. “I felt as if I had transformed overnight from a careless young man to someone who had to prop a chair every time to go on a tiring five-year journey to his private bathroom.” The actor said, adding that only two years after hell did he feel himself again. During this period, he was afraid not only for his career, but also for everyday life

From fantasy to science fiction and back again

The health problems of the star radically changed the way of filming the next seasons of “Hercules”, in which the actor appeared less often. On the fifth and sixth, several guest actors appeared, such as Karl Urban, and the filming periods in which Sorbo participated adapted to his needs, while he did not reveal to the public any information about the health of his star. He was also supported on the set by Sam Jenkins, who became his wife in 1998 and is still with her today, which, as he himself emphasized, is unusual for the film industry. In subsequent years, the actor received many awards, emphasizing his contribution to the development of general knowledge about strokes.

In 1999, after filming only eight episodes of the sixth series, it was decided to end the filming of The Adventures of Hercules. The show’s producers had to propose a new contract to Sorbo, extending the contract for three consecutive years, but the actor quit it, motivating his decision by wanting to test himself in other roles. However, the sudden decision to end production was an unpleasant surprise for him, and, as he himself said, he considered it to be aimed directly at him and directly related to his refusal indicated in this project. He himself had enough time to finish the sixth season, eight months between the end of the old series and the start of work on the new series.

It turned out to be a new project based on the work of Gene Rodenberry “Andromed”, which premiered in October 2000. Several months ago, Sorbo was chosen to play Dylan Hunt, the captain of the title ship, who after 300 years of being caught in the so-called was found The uniqueness in which time stood for him. The world of peace and prosperity he’d known for so long is now gone, and he must now lead a crew that travels across different corners of the universe to save the fragile balance between the races battling each other. Although the production may have shocked an ordinary TV aficionado of those times, fans spread across the globe certainly appreciated the richness of the various creatures and the intricate connections between them, making this production one of the television classics of space opera.

Subsequent years did not abound in significant roles for this actor, who appeared in productions such as, say, the two poorly linked parts of “The Walking Tall”, which from today’s perspective looks like a classic of the VHS era, after nearly a decade, which did not It had a normal cinematic distribution. He also starred in the typical “300” parody titled “Meet My Spartans”. The beginning of the first decades of the twenty-first century was also a period of return to the more famous role, although this time it was of a completely different character. Sorbo lent his voice to Hercules in “God of War III”. This was not the first such role for the actor, since a year earlier he was appointed to a similar position in “The Conduit”, later also known as “Crusher” in the series “Skylanders”.

God warrior

In later years, Sorbo’s voice was much louder in the context of his own convictions than in his later major roles in film or television. In many of the actor’s statements from the twenty-first century, a recurring motive has been a reluctance to hire people of conservative views, which would seem absurd given how important – somehow understandably – an aspect of public life in the United States is religiosity. Sorbo himself, who comes from a Lutheran family, today declares himself a “non-denominational Christian”, that is, he does not belong to a particular church. The question of his opinions is very important when analyzing his statements, as well as the products in which he has played recently.

Although he returned to typical fantasy cinema, for example in the series “Mythica”, as well as participated in the production of the notorious studio Asylum, where he was constantly looking for old screen stars that would help him to be similar to blockbuster films. At that time, the loudest voice in recent years was his appearances in religious films. Like, for example, “Spirit of the Game,” which tells of the Mormon basketball team, “And there will be light,” the hero of his novel is an atheist who, after a dramatic event, transforms or “about a girl who believes in miracles” from 2021. The actor has often been seen at various Christian conferences, where he talks about his own experiences of being a Christian in the world of cinema.

It is clear that such a strong one-sided commitment to the conflict, which continues to strongly polarize public opinion, should provoke different opinions. The famous tweet that defended Mel Gibson, reminding the world that “it was the Jews who killed Christ”, has sparked a few gates to sarcastic comment on the emergence of a “washed-out TV star from the ’90s,” and inspires his comments on the aforementioned reluctance to hire conservative actors. The enthusiasm on the religious right, as well as the amusement of the left liberal side, which at the same time pushes clicks to different portals. They are treated indifferently by those who, on the one hand, respect the actor’s famous creations from previous decades, as well as his position on life and the many noble projects in which he participated, and at the same time admit that at the present time it is very difficult to play a role – but very limited In terms of acting – an impostor can find himself in it.