Kevin Sorbo

Kevin Sorbo
Sorbo in June 2008
Born	Kevin David Sorbo September 24, 1958 (1958-09-24) Mound, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Sam Jenkins (1998–present)
Children	3
Website
http://www.kevinsorbo.net

Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor best known for the roles of Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Captain Dylan Hunt in Andromeda and Kull in Kull the Conqueror.

Early life

Sorbo was born in Mound, Minnesota, where he attended Mound Westonka High School. He is the son of Ardis, a nurse, and Lynn Sorbo, a junior high school mathematics and biology teacher. He is of Norwegian descent and was raised in a Lutheran family. Sorbo attended Minnesota State University Moorhead and worked as a model for print and television advertising in the 1980s.

Career

Sorbo started his acting career in the late 1980s making guest appearances in several television series such as 1st & Ten, Murder She Wrote and The Commish. He was considered for and lost out to Dean Cain as Superman in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and was a possible contender for the role of Agent Mulder in The X Files which went to David Duchovny.

In 1994, he shot to fame when he played the role of Hercules in the television film Hercules and the Amazon Women. This was the first in a series of television films that served as pilots for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which ran from 1995 to 1999.

Sorbo also guest-starred as Hercules in episodes of the 1995-2001 spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess and provided the voice of Hercules in the 1998 direct-to-video animated film Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus.

Other voice-over work followed, with Sorbo providing the voices of Reiko and Quan Chi in the 1997 video game Mortal Kombat 4. In between the years playing Hercules, he played his first leading film role in Kull the Conqueror (1997).

In 1997, while on a publicity tour for Kull the Conqueror and between the 4th and 5th seasons of Hercules, Sorbo experienced an aneurysm in his shoulder, which led to three strokes. As a result, he was weakened for the next several years, a condition that he and the producers of Hercules kept secret from the public. (Sorbo only revealed the details in 2011.) During the last two seasons of Hercules, the 5th and 6th, which aired in 1998 and 1999, Sorbo was given a reduced filming schedule to accommodate his condition, and more guest stars were brought in.

After Hercules came to an end, Sorbo played the starring role of Captain Dylan Hunt in the science-fiction drama series Andromeda from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, he played a recurring role on the final season of The O.C and guest-starred in the sitcom Two and a Half Men. In 2007, he starred in the direct-to-video film Walking Tall: The Payback, which was a sequel to the 2004 film Walking Tall. He reprised his role in the second sequel, Walking Tall: Lone Justice which released later that year. He also starred in the Lifetime Channel film Last Chance Café, the Hallmark Channel film Avenging Angel, co-starring his real life wife Sam Jenkins and guest starred as a bounty hunter in the season-two episode "Bounty Hunters!" of the series Psych. He appeared in the 2008 spoof film Meet the Spartans, which was a box office success despite being universally negatively reviewed by critics. He starred in the Albert Pyun directed SciFi Vampire flick Tales of the Ancient Empire.

Sorbo voiced one of the main protagonists, Prometheus, in the Wii First Person Shooter video game, The Conduit.

Sorbo returned to the role of Hercules, albeit in a more sinister portrayal, in the video game God of War III released for the PlayStation 3 in March 2010.

Personal life

Sorbo married actress Sam Jenkins, whom he met when she had a guest role on Hercules, on January 5, 1998. Sorbo is the spokesman and chair of A World Fit For Kids! (AWFFK!), a non-profit organization that trains teenagers to become mentors to younger children.

Filmography

Sorbo at Gatecon in 2005

Starring roles

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Condition: Critical	Dr. Thaddeus Kocinski	TV movie
1994	Slaughter of the Innocents	John Willison	TV movie
	Hercules and the Amazon Women	Hercules	TV movie
	Hercules and the Lost Kingdom	Hercules	TV movie
	Hercules and the Circle of Fire	Hercules	TV movie
	Hercules in the Underworld	Hercules	TV movie
	Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur	Hercules	TV movie
1995	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys	Hercules	TV series (111 Episodes, 1995–1999)
1997	Kull the Conqueror	Kull
1998	Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus	Hercules (voice)
2000	Andromeda	Captain Dylan Hunt	TV series (110 Episodes, 2000–2005)
2004	Clipping Adam	Father Dan
2007	Walking Tall: The Payback	Nick Prescott
	Walking Tall: Lone Justice	Nick Prescott
	Something Beneath	Father Douglas Middleton	Sci Fi Channel/RHI Films directed by David Winning
	Avenging Angel	The Preacher	Hallmark Channel film
	Last Chance Café	Chance Coulter	Lifetime Channel
2008	Meet the Spartans	Captain
	Prairie Fever	Preston Biggs
	An American Carol	George Mulrooney
	Never Cry Werewolf	Redd Tucker
2009	Tales of an Ancient Empire	Aedan
	What If	Ben Walker
	Fire From Below	Jake Denning	Andrew Stevens Entertainment
	Bitch Slap	Mr. Phoenix
	Paradox	Sean Nault
	Lightning Strikes	Ted Bradly	SyFy Channel
	Wolf Canyon	Rick / Sheriff Wolf	TV Pilot
2010	Tales of an Ancient Empire	Aedan
	The Santa Suit	Drake Hunter / Santa Claus	TV movie
	Pool Boy: Drowning Out the Fury	Sal Bando	Post-Production
2011	Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos	Pierluigi
	Soul Surfer	Holt Blanchard

Guest-starring roles

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	1st & Ten	Barry	"...The Clock Runs Out"
1991	Santa Barbara	Delivery man
1992	Cheers	(uncredited)	"License to Hill"
1993	Murder, She Wrote	Michael Burke	"A Virtual Murder"
	The Commish	Mark	"Dying Affection"
1995	Cybill	Rick	"The Last Temptation of Cybill"
	Xena: Warrior Princess	Hercules	"Prometheus"
1996	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	Himself
1998	Sin City Spectacular	Himself
	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Himself
	Mad TV	Himself
1999	Just Shoot Me!	Scott	"An Axe to Grind"
2000	Xena: Warrior Princess	Hercules	"God Fearing Child"
	Celebrity Profile	Himself	"Kevin Sorbo"
	The Howard Stern Radio Show	Himself
2001	Dharma & Greg	Charlie	"Educating Dharma: Part 1 & 2"
	The Howard Stern Radio Show	Himself
	The Howard Stern Radio Show	Himself
	Dharma & Greg	Charlie	"The End of the Innocence: Parts 1 & 2"
	The Big Breakfast	Himself
2003	According to Jim	Darryl Buckner	"The Pass"
2004	Hope & Faith	Kenny	"Mismatch"
	Live with Regis and Kelly	Himself
2005	Love, Inc.	Father John	"Amen"
2006	Two and a Half Men	Andy	"Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Burro"
2007	The O.C.	Frank Atwood	"The Earth Girls Are Easy; The My Two Dads; The Groundhog Day; The Case Of The Franks; The Shake-Up; The Night Moves; The End's Not Near, It's Here"
	Psych	Byrd Tatums	"Bounty Hunters!"
2008	The Middleman	1969 Middleman/Guy Goddard	"The Obsolescent Cryogenic Meltdown"
2009	Gary Unmarried	Larry	"Seven"
2010	Super Hero Squad Show	Ka-Zar	voice
	Hawaii Five-0	Carlton Bass	"Ko'olauloa"
2011	The Guild	Himself	"Social Traumas"

Producer

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	"Andromeda"	Executive Producer	2001-2005 TV series
2009	"Wolf Canyon"	Executive Producer	2009

Director

Year	Title	Notes
1995	"Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"	TV series

External links

• Kevin Sorbo Official Web Site
• Kevin Sorbo at the Internet Movie Database