Kevin Sorbo

Before Hercules, he spent years doing print modeling and over 150 commercials, was passed over for Superman in Lois & Clark, and had little to show for a decade of trying. Universal's syndication package of five cheap Greek mythology TV movies wasn't expected to fix that. It did. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ran six seasons from 1995 to 1999, filmed in New Zealand, became one of the highest-rated syndicated series globally, and accidentally spawned Xena: Warrior Princess. The show was corny, the budget showed, and nobody cared.

God's Not Dead (2014) redefined what Sorbo's career was going to be: Christian entertainment with a political edge. His social media now runs on conservative commentary, and former co-star Lucy Lawless publicly called him out after his January 6 comments, which he blamed on antifa. He calls himself Hollywood's first cancel culture victim, blacklisted for his faith. He's continued making dozens of films since supposedly being blacklisted, which makes the victim narrative harder to sell.

The production secrets behind Hercules Season 5 were hiding a genuine medical crisis. Three strokes and an aneurysm hit Sorbo in 1997 while on a press tour, and he kept the whole thing quiet while the show reduced his screen time and brought in guest stars. He was left with a permanent 10% blind spot and nerve damage that persists today. None of it was public until his 2011 memoir True Strength. The American Academy of Neurology later gave him a stroke awareness award, which is the last footnote you'd expect next to Hercules.