Kevin Sorbo
As a strong leading man and a hunky Half-God, Kevin Sorbo brings a refreshing
cadence to Hollywood. Growing up in Mound, Minnesota, a western suburb of
Minneapolis, the "Sorbs" excelled at football, baseball, basketball, and golf,
but his passion was always with the theater. After studying marketing and
advertising at Moorhead State University and the University of Minnesota, Kevin
joined an actors theater group in Dallas, Texas before traveling to Europe for 3
½ years and another 6 months in Sydney, Australia, where he enrolled in theater
courses and modeled for print ads and appeared in over 50 commercials. When he
returned to the States, Kevin settled in Los Angeles where he studied acting
with Bill Traylor at the Loft Studios, Janet Alhanti, and Roy London. Sorbo shot
over 150 commercials and began making prime time appearances on shows such as
“Dallas”, “The Commish”, and “Murder She Wrote”.
Kevin received international stardom as Hercules on the hit TV series,
“Hercules, the Legendary Journeys “ (1993-2000). After the success of the
initial five, two-hour movies the series exploded onto the mainstream, airing in
176 countries and surpassing rating-topper “Baywatch” as the most watched TV
show in the world. Sorbo also directed two episodes and co-wrote one installment
of the Hercules.
As season seven of Hercules was ending, Sorbo signed with the Tribune Company
and went on to star in the lead role of Captain Dylan Hunt in Gene
Roddenberry’s, Andromeda. The series was created by Gene Roddenberry off the
heels of Star Trek in 1969 and revived in 2000. Andromeda debuted as the number
one, hour-long show in first run syndication and remained at number one for its
entire run from 2000-2005.
In 1997, on a hiatus from Hercules, Sorbo starred in the feature film Kull,
the Conqueror. “Kull was the prequel to Conan the Barbarian. That was followed
by Walking Tall, the Payback and Walking Tall, Lone Justice, both released on
Sony DVD. Other popular credits are Lifetime Channel’s Last Chance Café, and
Hallmark’s third highest rated film, Avenging Angel. Sorbo is most recently
recognized for his roles in The Santa Suit (2010), Meet the Spartans (2008),
Fire From Below (2009), Lightning Strikes (2009), Prairie Fever (2008), Flesh
Wounds (2011), and Paradox (2011). In 2010, Sorbo played “Pierluigi” in the
Australian comedy, The King of Mykonos, which debuted in Australia at number
one. Sorbo has since played opposite Kristy Swanson and John Ratzenberger in the
independent film “What If”, which premiered in August of 2010. The film remained
in theaters for 5 months on strong word of mouth and was nominated for Best
Family Movie of the Year 2011 by the Movie Guide Awards. Sorbo himself received
the Movie Guide Award for Most Inspirational Performance of the Year for his
portrayal of Ben Walker.
In between all that shooting, Sorbo also guest starred on a number of
sitcoms. Those included “Just Shoot Me”, “Two and a Half Men”, “Dharma and
Greg”, “According to Jim” and many more.
In 2011, Sorbo stared alongside Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and Carrie Underwood
in Soul Surfer, the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton who
lost her left arm in a shark attack. Also set to release on the big screen in
2011 and 2012 is Julia X, a 3D psychological thriller, an Italian/American
feature, The Captives. Other movies include The Coffin, Sam Steele: The Silver
Chalice, SoBe Real, Avarice and two comedies: Poolboy : Drowning out the Fury,
and FDR: American Badass. He just completed “Abel’s Field”. “Abel’s Field” is a
modern day Cain and Abel tale set in the world of Texas High School football.
Sorbo is currently shooting two movies in 2012. “ Shadow On the Mesa” for The
Hallmark Channel, and an independent comedy, “The Whole Banana”, starring along
with Matthew Perry. Sorbo is currently shooting two movies, “A Matter of Time”
and “Angel Next Door” with Terri Polo and Della Reese for release in the Fall of
2013.
Kevin has had the pleasure of starring in many guest spot appearances on TV
shows, such as “Hawaii 5-0”, “Gary Unmarried”, “Just Shoot Me”, “According to
Jim”, “Hope & Faith”, Two and a Half Men”, and USA Network’s “Psych”, with
recurring appearances on “Dharma & Greg” and “The OC”. He also is attached
to star in a new TV series, “Me 2” for Sony Studios.
Kevin has just released his memoir, “True Strength: My Journey From Hercules
to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life”. The book chronicles his near
death experience in 1997 at the end of season 5 on Hercules. Suffering three
strokes and the battle to gain back his life. It is an honest account of
celebrity, personal tragedy, and the power of letting go. It is a book for
anyone who suffers a setback in life and is struggling to find their way
forward.
In real life, Kevin leads "A World Fit for Kids”, a successful mentoring
model that trains inner-city teens to become positive role models school,
fitness, sports, and uses them to mentor younger children. In 1997, the program
was awarded the Governor’s Gold Star for the most successful after-school
program in the state of California. Then in 2003, Kevin was named national
spokesperson, successor to Arnold Schwarzenegger, for the Afterschool Alliance;
a non-profit organization working to ensure that all children have access to
safe, enriching afterschool programs.
Sorbo currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Sam and three young
children.
