Hercules' Kevin Sorbo Channels Clint Eastwood

After developing a large hero-worshipping following with 1995-to-1999's syndicated campfest Hercules, then as Gene Roddenberry's starship commander on 2000-to-2005's Andromeda, Kevin Sorbo is now trying his hand at the cowboy genre, as a preacher turned bounty hunter in Hallmark Channel's Avenging Angel (premiering Saturday at 9 pm/ET).

TV Guide: This sounds like a dark Western.
Kevin Sorbo: Usually Hallmark is sort of along the lines of G movies, but I'd give this more like a PG-13 — I think this is a big step for them. It's Pale Rider meets Death Wish. I play a character who's called the Preacher; you never find out my name, so it's sort of the Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" kind of movie I grew up loving. I heard rumors that they may want to do a sequel. It's not as dark as Deadwood, obviously, but I think there's a market out there for it. David Cass, our director, is an old stunt guy who has been around forever — he doubled for Robert Mitchum, John Wayne.

TV Guide: Does this film depict Deadwood-like harshness?
Sorbo: Yeah, I think it does, although you want to keep it somewhat sexy, I guess, for both men and women. We've got Cynthia Watros [Lost] as my love interest and she's just beautiful to look at — the camera just loves her.

TV Guide: Would you consider doing a Hercules reunion movie?
Sorbo: I would do that in a heartbeat. Team up with my spin-off Xena, even somehow work Young Hercules in, if Ryan Gosling would be interested — he's maybe too big for it now. I remember Ryan was so disappointed when Young Hercules was canceled. Of course, now he has been up for an Academy Award.

TV Guide: Is it hard to escape "heroic" typecasting?
Sorbo: I think one of the smarter moves I made was to do guest spots on a lot of different sitcoms — I did Dharma & Greg, Just Shoot Me, According to Jim and Two and a Half Men. But people put blinders on and you get these labels.

TV Guide: And what can Kevin Sorbo fans look forward to in the future?
Sorbo: I'm doing a movie next month with the guys who created the Scary Movie films, it's a spoof of 300, and it's very funny. After that I start a small independent film with Matt LeBlanc called Let Go. I've got stuff rolling down the pipeline — it's a good thing.

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