Today many people do not remember either his face or his name, but from 1995 to 1999 Kevin Sorbo became known on the small screen as a performer in the TV series Hercules, which centered on the eponymous hero of Greek mythology.
At the time, it was one of the most watched American series in the world, but despite this, its protagonist later fell into oblivion. The reason? According to the version of Sorbo, who is now 64, it would be due to the fact that he often made no secret of his political positions close to the Republicans and his Christian faith, which are unliked by today's progressive Hollywood.
The interviews
Interviewed with his wife Sam Jenkins by Fox News, Sorbo told how he was dumped after being "blacklisted" by the U.S. film industry. "You know, it was sad to me that my agent and manager after so many years would say 'we can't give you work or work with you anymore because you're Christian, you're conservative,'" he told. "At this I almost laughed, because it is an industry that invokes tolerance, yet it is one-sided. It invokes freedom of speech. But Hollywood is a one-way street. And that is not good, you know. But I love this industry, I love movies and TV."
He added that "it was very strange. I mean, here's the thing: we are very divided in this country right now, and this division is perpetuated by mainstream media, by movies, by TV."
This is not the first time Sorbo, who by the way survived three strokes in 1997, has taken a public stand on the subject. In October 2019, again hosted by Fox, ahead of the release of one of his new films he explained, "Hollywood is neither left-wing nor right-wing. There are people working in the industry with different views, even conservative views, but they get thrown out. And I hear far too many of these stories," he said.
Payback
After being banned from major productions, aside from a few roles as a voice actor for video games (including returning as Hercules in the 2010 video game God of War III), Sorbo and his wife set up on their own by founding their own independent production company, Sorbo Studios, which produces family-oriented works focusing on Christian themes.
Between October 29 and 30, the film Miracle in East Texas, in which Kevin Sorbo is actor, director, and producer, will be released in U.S. theaters (for those who may be in the U.S. at that time, tickets can be reserved by clicking here). Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s and inspired by a true story, the film stars con men who travel between Oklahoma and Texas to convince poor widows to invest in supposed oil fields, which are later revealed to be dry. This is until, on arriving in Texas, they discover a real oil field, one of the largest in history.
Jenkins stated that "We want to bring families back to theaters to start laughing again." She added that Miracle in East Texas message is the opposite of what cancel culture does: "We live in this culture that cancels people out. And that, of course, is the opposite of forgiving them," he said. "And one of the themes of this film, which is also partly the reason we fell in love with it, is that there is a theme of redemption, of forgiveness. And you know, every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."
Hollywood and Christian cinema
In recent years, in parallel with the growing presence of woke themes in the U.S. cultural industry, there have also been attempts to create a parallel industry with different positions: after the conservative website Daily Wire created its own streaming platform with original productions, including the controversial documentary What is a Woman?, recently there has been the case of Sound of Freedom, an independent film about a former special agent who fights child trafficking in Colombia, which in just a few weeks earned more than $177 million against a budget of $14.5 million. In addition, it has been announced that a film on the life of Ronald Reagan (the latter played by Dennis Quaid) will be released soon, in which Sorbo will also star in a supporting role.
During the latest interview, the couple also discussed the changes in Hollywood's mindset over the decades: in particular, while the film industry once proudly celebrated American history and culture, according to them things began to change starting in the 1960s: with the '68 revolution, the hippies, and the Vietnam War, "movies began to glorify the anti-hero more than the hero. And that was something that changed the way movies were watched."
While Christian films were initially aimed mostly at a niche audience, this is shifting. This is because according to them every film "is based on someone's faith. And that was the prevailing faith in Hollywood at one time, when it was pro-God and pro-America. And that has changed. [...] But, in general, all of Hollywood has changed. And that opened up a space for men of the cloth to come and say 'well, we need some entertainment. Let's give it a chance.' And as they progressed, they got better and better at that."
Giornalista pubblicista, ha scritto per le testate Mosaico, Cultweek and Il Giornale Off. Laureato in Beni culturali (Università degli Studi di Milano) e laureato magistrale in Giornalismo, cultura editoriale e comunicazione multimediale (Università di Parma).
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