Kevin Sorbo doesn’t mince words about his life after Hollywood. In a wide-ranging interview with The Daily Wire’s “Weekend Plans” feature, the 68-year-old actor and producer described his 2019 departure from California as an escape β not a retreat.
“We escaped in January of 2019,” Sorbo said. “We live in the free state of Florida and we love it here. I don’t miss the taxes and the traffic. I don’t miss the majority of the people.”
The Minnesota native, who spent more than three decades in Los Angeles playing a demigod on “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and later leading “Andromeda,” now lives in West Palm Beach with his wife, actress Sam Sorbo. He acknowledged there are a few things he misses about his old life β including “some of my dear friends that are still there suffering” and his Mediterranean-style villa with its pool, spa, gym, fruit trees, and view. He also conceded: “I miss the weather.”
A ‘canceled’ career he saw coming
Sorbo told The Daily Wire he was “canceled before it was cool” β dropped by his agent and manager at the height of his career, a move he attributes to his outspoken Christian faith. He said he has always been himself, even when that meant disrupting a system he says demanded conformity.
“I tell people all the time I’m a 13-year overnight success,” Sorbo said. “I know what it’s like in Hollywood. Rejection is part of the norm.”
Rather than retreat, Sorbo built a parallel pipeline. He founded Sorbo Studios to produce family-friendly, faith-oriented films, and he has partnered with other independent production houses. He is currently promoting “Elijah Peel,” a faith-based feature in which he plays a cynical, seasoned talent manager shepherding a drug-addicted rock star toward redemption β a role he told The Daily Wire benefits from his decades of industry mileage. He also narrates “Eating with the Enemy,” a biblical depiction of the Last Supper.
Sorbo said he shoots four or five movies a year now, most with budgets in the $2 million to $3 million range β money he described as a rounding error for a typical blockbuster. “I’m always trying to raise money,” he said. “I’m always looking for funders to help our little independent movies.”
Every film is faith-based, he argues
Sorbo’s assessment of Hollywood’s ideological landscape is characteristically blunt: He calls every movie faith-based, regardless of who made it.
“If you’re an atheist, ‘I believe in nothing'” is itself a statement of faith, he told the outlet, arguing that even secular filmmakers operate from a belief system about the world.
That conviction extends to his travel. Sorbo and his wife lead public tours of Israel β trips he said draw atheists and agnostics alongside believers. “We’ve had atheists and agnostics come on the trip because they don’t deny there was a person named Jesus,” he said. “If you love history, come to Israel. It’s amazing and you’ll have a blast.”
Early mornings, fast golf, and Led Zeppelin
Sorbo’s daily routine bears little resemblance to the stereotypical Florida retirement. He is up early β a habit he traces to a seven-year paper route that had him rising at 4:30 a.m. six days a week in Minnesota winters. He starts with ESPN highlights but has little patience for full baseball or basketball games. He often skips breakfast; when he eats, he prioritizes protein with some carbs. He described a 30-to-40-minute cardio session every day, plus stretching he jokes he was doing “before it was called yoga.”
Then it’s the golf course, where he plays fast and alone in about an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes for 18 holes. “I don’t go to any golf course unless they let me tee up first,” he said. He carries a 6-handicap, which he called “not great, but it’s good.”
He recently had a knee replaced β a procedure he said hasn’t slowed his golf, gym sessions, or travel schedule. Music on the course depends on the day: Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel, or Frank Sinatra. He calls his morning round his “Zen moment.”
He also acknowledged the changes that come with age. “I mean, I can’t lift like I did in my ‘Hercules’ years,” he said. “I do my 30 to 40 minutes of cardio every day. I don’t like sitting around.”
Marriage, sitcoms, and the occasional margarita
Sorbo and Sam Sorbo have been married since 1998. Their recipe, he said, is communication and comedy: they talk through the day’s logistics at bedtime, then watch a sitcom because “we want to laugh before we go to bed.” They have praised the writing on the new Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell show “The Madison,” and they have worked through “30 Rock,” Tim Allen’s “Last Man Standing,” and are now in season two of “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”
As for a nightcap, Sam might have a glass of wine. Kevin described himself as a once-a-week cocktail drinker, partial to a good margarita or Crown Royal β a preference, he noted, that predates his Florida address. Key lime pie, he allowed, may now be the more Florida-appropriate indulgence. Mostly, he said, he is “still a water guy.”
Sorbo’s children are in their twenties now, and he and Sam, who homeschooled them, have not slowed down. Sam travels the country teaching her methods, and Sorbo said work remains the organizing principle of their lives. “It’s always about work,” he said. “I love work.”
More than a decade into the faith-based genre, he said he still loves making movies. And if you spot a man speeding through Florida in a golf cart with Led Zeppelin blaring, The Daily Wire suggests it is probably him β one of those Hollywood outlaws, hunting the good kind of trouble.
Source: www.dailywire.com β https://www.dailywire.com/news/weekend-plans-with-kevin-sorbo-from-hercules-to-hollywood-outlaw