'AVENGING ANGEL' CAST BIOS KEVIN SORBO (Preacher) – for Seven Years, Kevin Sorbo Played the Hulking, Heroic Lead in USA Ne
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‘AVENGING ANGEL’ CAST BIOS KEVIN SORBO (Preacher) – For seven years, Kevin Sorbo played the hulking, heroic lead in USA Network’s “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” a role that made him a star. But the self-described jock from Minnetonka, Minnesota (the home of Tonka Toys), the fourth of five kids, got the acting bug at age 11 seeing something quite different – the musical “Oklahoma” and Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” at Minneapolis’s famed Guthrie Theater. Though he made his first commercial - for Target - while attending the University of Minnesota, Sorbo graduated from Moorehead State University in Fargo, North Dakota, with a dual degree in advertising and marketing. In 1982, after college, Kevin moved to Texas, where he began studying acting in earnest. A model friend there convinced him to travel to Europe, where he stayed for three years, building a tremendous commercial reel, with spots shot in cities from Milan and Munich to Paris and London. Within days of his return to the States in 1985, he shipped off to Australia for new commercial assignments, returning to L.A. six months later. Sorbo remained in demand through the early 90s, for both television and commercial work – he estimates appearing in 57 spots in the three years prior to being cast as Hercules. After appearing in such series as “Murder, She Wrote,” “Cheers” and “The Commish,” and after seven call backs with producer Sam Raimi, Kevin was given the role of Hercules. The character appeared first in a series of two hour movies as part of USA Network’s “The Action Pack,” alongside William Shatner’s “Tek Wars” and others – Hercules being the sole survivor of the group and landing its own series. The show was filmed in New Zealand over the next seven years, producing over 100 one hour episodes and launching several spinoffs. Not long after leaving the show in 1999, Sorbo returned to the U.S. and was asked by “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry’s widow, Majel Barrett, if he might be interested in appearing in one of her husband’s unproduced series, “Andromeda,” which he accepted. Sorbo spent the next five years playing the heroic Captain Dylan Hunt, whose ship was locked in a time warp for 303 years and finally set free in the future. Kevin also served as executive producer for the series. Through his tenure on “Andromeda,” he also made TV appearances in such series as “Dharma and Greg,” “Two and Half Men,” and a recurring role on “The O.C.” He most recently starred in two direct-to- video feature film releases for Sony, “Walking Tall 2” and the recently-completed “Walking Tall 3.” Kevin lives in Los Angeles with his wife of nine years, Sam Jenkins, and their three children. ### CYNTHIA WATROS (Maggie) – With a wide-ranging talent, Cynthia Watros’ acting career has run the gamut from soap operas to sitcoms to dramas. A native of Michigan, she attended Macomb Community College in the late 1980s, where a poster for the upcoming play, “Annie Gooch,” caught her eye. She won the part of the “geek” in the production, her director eventually getting her a scholarship and sent her on her way to Boston University. Her first television role was a three year run beginning in 1994 as Annie Dutton in CBS’s long-running daytime (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘AVENGING ANGEL’ – Cast Bios – Page 2 drama, “The Guiding Light,” for which she won an Outstanding Lead Actress Daytime Emmy Award in 1998 (she was also nominated as “Outstanding Villainess” that year by the Soap Opera Digest Awards for the part). She has appeared in numerous television and film roles, including “Spin City,” “Profiler,” “Mercy Streets” (with Eric Roberts and Stacey Keach), and Faye Dunaway’s “Yellow Bird,” among others. In 2000, Cynthia began a 3 ½ year run on Fox’s “Titus,” starring as series star Christopher Titus’s calming girlfriend. She continued her comedy work on “The Drew Carey Show” as Kellie Newmark for another three years, before joining the cast of ABC’s hit series, “Lost.” The cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2006. Cynthia lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Curt Gilliland, a restaurateur. The couple are the parents of twins, born in 2001. ### WINGS HAUSER (Col. Cusack) – Since his earliest days in television, there has scarcely been a popular series which has not seen an appearance by the popular and talented dramatic actor. Born in Hollywood, Hauser grew up in an industry family, his father Dwight was a writer for such radio series as “The Whistler,” “Retribution” and “Mr. President.” The elder Hauser eventually turned to television after a brush with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, working for Walt Disney and executive producing such series as “The Fugitive” and “Twelve O’Clock High.” It was the latter series which gave Wings his first break, appearing on the show in 1966. That same year, he was also cast in his freshman feature, “First to Fight,” alongside other newcomers Chad Everett and Gene Hackman. Over the following several years, Hauser pursued a music career, recording under the name Wings Livinwryte. He eventually returned to Los Angeles and acting, winning a role in 1972 in William Conrad’s “Cannon” and other series, spending three years portraying Greg Foster on “The Young and the Restless” from 1977 to 1981. From there, roles kept coming in nearly every major series over the following decades, with appearances on such series as “Magnum P.I.,” “The Fall Guy,” “Airwolf,” “The A-Team” and other popular shows. Wings also worked frequently in both TV and feature films through the 80s and 90s. His credits include Jewison’s “A Soldier’s Story,” “Vice Squad,” “Tough Guys Don’t Dance” “China Beach,” “Roseanne,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Other recent appearances include guest shots on “CSI: Miami,” “Third Watch,” “House, M.D.,” and “Monk.” This fall, he will be starring in the new CBS series “Viva Laughlin.” Hauser currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Cali, an actress and screenwriter. The pair are prepping two films under their LiliHause shingle, including “South of Eden,” to be produced by award-winning producer Hans de Weers. Wings is also the father of actor Cole Hauser. --HALLMARK CHANNEL-- .