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NOCC: Kevin Sorbo Unchained
Company: Wizard World
Product: New Orleans Comic Con 2013 Coverage
You might remember a number of years ago when this little show called Hercules debuted. Hercules and it’s star, Kevin Sorbo, just clicked with millions of people around the world, so much so that it became the highest rated TV series at the time! Since then, Kevin has gone on to star in many shows and movies. He’s become quite popular, especially with the ladies.

Quite a few of the questions asked of Kevin were about Hercules and Xena, which was a spin-off. Kevin agreed that the first season of Hercules was more serious, but the fans really started enjoying the show after the second season when it became more campy and fun. He said that since Hercules can’t die, it became a challenge to see what all he could do with that immortality. Someone asked him about working with Sam Raimi, but he said that he really didn’t get to work with Sam much at all since Sam didn’t really do much with the show. He never came to New Zealand where it was filmed on set or anything like that. He was more or less name only. Kevin quipped, "Just put me in one of your movies!" Someone else wanted to know what it was like working with Lucy Lawless, who played Xena. He said that Lucy is great. She’s very athletic and a wonderful person. He hasn’t seen her in a long time though, because she still lives in New Zealand.


Another area that people wanted to know more about is Kevin’s life. We learned that a hero of his is Steve Reeves. Kevin is a tall, fit man who likes to stay in shape. One thing that I didn’t realize was that Kevin Sorbo was originally up for the part of Superman in the TV series, Lois and Clark. Actually, he was told he had the part so he went out and got drunk to celebrate. Then they called him up the next morning and said that they had changed their minds and were going with Dean Cain instead. Kevin agreed that Dean makes a better Superman but Kevin also said that he, himself, makes a much better Clark Kent. He looks better in glasses. Kevin also surprised me with his answer to what role he would love to play. He said that he would really love to be in When Harry Met Sally. He loves romantic comedies. For someone who I’m used to seeing as the action role guy, this was a bit of a shock to me, but I can see it working out. He has several new movies coming out soon, including a faith-based drama called God's Not Dead, a modern retelling of the story of Cain and Abel called Abel's Field and one in which he gets to play a serial killer called Julia X. Kevin definitely has a wide range of acting skills!

Probably even more shocking than his penchant for romantic comedies is the fact that he revealed that during his role as Hercules, he had a serious health crisis. Between Seasons 5 and 6, he had some problems with his arm and went to the doctor, who subsequently found a lump in his left shoulder, which turned out to be an aneurysm. Before there was even time to biopsy the lump, it burst, causing him to have three strokes in his brain. With his balance center out of whack, he had to undergo three years of rehab, learning to walk again. He still suffers a 10% loss of vision in both eyes. The crew was very supportive throughout his ordeal as he was only able to shoot one or two scenes per day, clocking in about an hour of work each day. Kevin's written an uplifting book about the ordeal called True Strength, but its not a depressing book. It's about overcoming tragedy.


Besides acting Kevin likes to do charity work. For the last 16 years, he has worked with a group called "A World Fit For Kids!" which is the number 1 after school program in California. They spend time working as mentors to inner city children. They try to develop both the mind and the body keeping kids fit, intelligent, and healthy. These kids then become mentors for the younger children, which develops a healthy cycle of positive support. I really like this concept and I find it wonderful that he finds the time to work with these kids. Of course, having three kids of his own as well gives him a great perspective for helping children.

For those of us who love videogames, it was exciting to hear Kevin's voice in the latest installment of Skylanders, called Skylanders: Giants, where he plays a character called Crusher. Pretty fitting if you asked me. Additionally, he was asked about voicing the character of Hercules in God of War III, which he said was pretty cool, especially because he got to kill his own character while playing the game.


I’m really glad that I got to sit in the Kevin Sorbo Q&A. He’s a fascinating character and a wonderful human being. If you ever get the chance, you should go listen to him speak for yourselves and check out his new movies!


-Cyn, GameVortex Communications
AKA Sara Earl
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