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

Biography

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 was educated at Moorhead State University 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 for playing the role of Hercules in the television movie Hercules and the Amazon Women. This was the first in a series of television movies that served as pilots for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys which ran from 1995 to 1999. The series was a huge ratings success throughout different countries becoming one of the most popular syndicated shows in television history and becoming Sorbo's most well-known role. He also guest-starred as Hercules in episodes of the spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess and provided the voice of Hercules in the animated movie Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus which released in 1998. In between the years playing Hercules he played his first leading movie role in Kull the Conqueror (1997).

After Hercules came to an end he 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 appeared in the direct-to-video movie Walking Tall: The Payback which is a sequel to the 2004 movie 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 movie Last Chance Café, the Hallmark Channel movie Avenging Angel, co-starring his real life wife Sam Sorbo and guest starred as a bounty hunter in the season 2 episode "Bounty Hunters!" of the series Psych. Most recently, he has appeared in the spoof movie Meet the Spartans which opened at Number One at the U.S. box office charts.

Personal life 
Sorbo married actress Sam Jenkins on January 5, 1998.Their first child, son Braedon Cooper Sorbo (7 lb. 8oz), was born on August 22, 2001. Second child, son Shane Haaken Sorbo was born on March 31, 2004. His birth weight of 12 lbs. 6oz. broke the Nevada hospital's record. The couple's third child, daughter Octavia Flynn Sorbo (8 lb. 7oz) was born on October 16, 2005.

Sorbo is the spokesman and chair of A World Fit For Kids, a non-profit organization that trains teenagers to become mentors to younger children.

Filmography

Starring roles

Guest-starring roles

Producer

Director

References

Other websites 

Kevin Sorbo Official Web Site

Official International Kevin Sorbo Fan Club
Official European Kevin Sorbo Fan Club

1958 births
Living people
American television actors
Xenaverse actors
American movie actors
Actors from Minnesota