ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604160010
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SANTA MONICA, CALIF.
SOURCE: BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Forget the musclebound Hercules who annihilates monsters and speaks in grunts and stilted English. The '90s version of the world's first superhero is more surfer than Greek, and he tries to reason his way out of scrapes.
He is Kevin Sorbo, a savvy 37-year-old Minnesotan with flowing brown hair and intensely blue eyes. At 6-foot-3 he has a powerful build but not the kind that would win Mr. Universe contests.
Sorbo stars in ``Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'' now in its second year of syndication (Saturday at 9 p.m. on WDRG-Channel 24) and due for more. The show regularly outstrips ``Baywatch'' - in the ratings, that is.
``Hercules'' contains plenty of action, an occasional monster, a myriad of villains and production values rarely seen in syndicated or network television. The New Zealand settings are fresh and exotic. Although it takes place in ancient times, with appearances by the gods, the dialogue is totally modern - no ``thees'' or ``thous.''
``Any actor who gets work is lucky,'' said Sorbo over coffee at a Santa Monica hotel during his sabbatical from the series.
``It's like being struck by lightning to get a job. Also if you get a hit. I got struck by lightning twice, and I lived to tell about it.''
Sorbo is assured of steady work for the next two years, and now there is talk that Universal may want to extend for a third year.
``Now do I want to add a third year?'' he mused, laughing dubiously. ``Two and a half years of beating myself up the way I've been doing. ... The show is a lot of fun, but it's a lot of work, too.''
The workday is 12-16 hours, much of it involving running, jumping, fighting and falling. He does as many of the stunts as safety permits. After the day's shooting he spends 90 minutes working out, then goes for a run.
Based in Auckland, ``Hercules'' films all over New Zealand, using local actors, most of them stage-trained. The country has a strong theatrical tradition, but the population is only 31/2 million.
``It seems we've used half the population as actors and extras,'' said Sorbo. ``We slapped so many mustaches and beards and wigs on the same actors because we run out of actors to use.
``That's part of the down side of the show. Even though they've got wonderful actors, we've got 44, maybe 66 more shows to go. How many times can we use the same actors?''
Despite the remoteness, Sorbo enjoys the New Zealand experience. The fans are not as prevalent as they are in the United States, partly because ``Hercules'' did not appear on New Zealand TV until two months ago. He was known there, and in other countries of the world, as the Clint Eastwood type who strolls into a Western bar in a Jim Beam commercial.
He made the whiskey blurb in New Zealand four years ago, and it still brings hefty residuals from showings in China, Russia, Italy, Japan and many other countries.
``When I came out here in '86, I was one of those lucky guys who didn't have to do the bartender or the waiter thing,'' he commented. ``Commercials kept me alive.
``I was very fortunate that I shot a lot of commercials that paid the bills for me, that allowed me the free time to go to acting classes that I wanted to be involved in, to concentrate on the career. I knew the [downside of] the business when I came out here. I had a good eight years of `too old'- `too tall'- `too short'- whatever.
``It's hard to take that rejection and not take it personally. I just sort of reached a space in myself and realized that my time would come, that there's a lot of work out there. I got past the point of being crazy jealous of other people working.
``The minute I dropped out of acting class and stopped hearing the voices of teachers and other actors telling me how I should be doing things, I started working.''
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Kevin Sorbo has the lead role in ``Hercules: Theby CNBLegendary Journeys,'' airing Saturday at 9 p.m. on WDRG-Channel 24.