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Guest Interview
Guest Interviews: Kevin Sorbo
Written by: Jim Penner
2167 08/14/11
JP: Today it’s my great pleasure to introduce our guest, Kevin Sorbo. My generation remembers Kevin as Hercules in the series “Hercules, the Legendary Journeys,” which was the most watched TV in the world! It aired in 176 countries. Kevin also starred in Gene Roddenberry’s “Andromeda” for five years, which was then the number one syndicated show on television; quite an amazing accomplishment. My daughters’ generation remembers him from being on the hit television drama, “The OC.”
Kevin’s first feature film was “Kull the Conqueror,” a prequel to “Conan the Barbarian,” and most recently he co-stared in the faith based film, “Soul Surfer,” the Bethany Hamilton story. Today, he’s starring in a Pure Flix movie called What If, a tremendous movie of faith. Let’s welcome, Kevin Sorbo. God bless you, my friend.
KS: Thank you, God bless you. It’s good to be here.
JP: This film is a long way from Hercules and some of the other films that you’ve done. What made you gravitate to this role?
KS: Well it’s probably three thousand years difference between the characters alone! It was a wonderful script from beginning to end. Its funny, its touching, obviously its faith based, and then you mix it in with a great cast to work with, and it was just an amazing experience. We shot the film in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Manistee, and we had a wonderful, wonderful time.
JP: Give us the brief overview of what the film is about.
KS: I play a character, Ben Walker that was originally going to go into the ministry because he wanted to help people. He’s a college graduate, he’s in his mid 20’s, he’s got his fiancée and he’s looking to maybe go on and do something else, just for this year, to sort of get financially settled into what he wanted to do.
He leaves his fiancée and says he’ll be right back, but 20 years passes and he has stayed with the company. He’s worked his way up the ladder, he’s become very successful and during that time, he’s turned his back on God. Now I’m not saying successful people turn their back on God, because I know many very successful people that are very religious people. But this character, even though he still believed in God, he sort of went in this direction. He went down a different road, a different path.
Well he’s visited by an angel played by John Ratzenberger. You may remember John from the television program “Cheers.” He played Cliff the postman who knows everything, and he’s also been the voice in many Pixar movies. The angel gives my character an opportunity to see what his life could have been like.
JP: One of the scenes that really touched me was when your character goes to see the angel and says, ‘I don’t like this alternative life that God’s presenting to me. I want to go back to the old life.’ And there’s a very interesting scene, that interchange that you have with the angel, where the angel talks of the sacrifices that God made for us. That was a powerful scene and there’s a tremendous message in that scene.
KS: Yes, there is.
JP: God sacrificed everything and He asks us to sacrifice everything. Tell us about your faith; where you grew up and the faith that God’s placed in your heart.
KS: Just to back track for a second, I do believe the message in the movie is really about redemption. It’s about getting a second chance. I mean we’ve all had health issues, we’ve lost jobs and we’ve all had pain and suffering. And it’s so easy to blame other people, and to point fingers at someone else. I find what’s going in the world right now very troubling, because I think we have to take more responsibility for ourselves..
JP: That’s true.
KS: ..and not point fingers at everybody else, but look at yourself in the mirror and point the finger at yourself and say I can change. And that’s what this movie is about. It’s about getting a second chance. It’s about redemption. It’s about forgiveness and it’s out there for everybody.
I grew up in Minneapolis in a very loving, nurturing world. I lived in a very small town called Mound, Minnesota; it’s on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Our claim to fame is we were home to Tonka Toys.
I had a really good safety net around me. I had my parents, my neighbors, my coaches and my teachers. It was when I went to the university that my eyes were opened to see the problems of the world. I had grown up very secluded and sort of in my own space, and when I went to college, I realized that there was something I wanted to be able to do for other people when given a chance to do it.
JP: And you are doing something. Talk about your foundation - A World Fit for Kids.
KS: A World Fit for Kids is based in Los Angeles. I’ve been a spokesperson and chair for 14 years now. We work with over 12,000 children in underprivileged schools, over 12 different schools in LA County. Now LA County is not different to most major cities. There’s a 54% drop out rate, starting as low as 5th grade. The 12,000 kids that I’m fortunate enough to work with, we have a 98% graduation rate and we have a 67% higher GPA.
I travel to Washington DC once a year to speak with Congress, saying to them, ‘what is it that I’m doing that you guys can’t do with the stroke of a pen.’ I believe we need to get to a place in our lives that we’re fed up with what’s going on in our educational system, with childhood obesity, with the lack of after school programs and the lack of funding to help these kids that are looking for a place to be that’s safe, that’s nurturing and a positive place for them to be after school.
JP: That’s terrific. Kevin Sorbo, thank you for being here today.
KS: Thank you.
JP: God bless you. The DVD, What If, is available at hourofpower.org
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