In an ‘Andromeda’ Strain

Kevin Sorbo--he of the flowing mane and buffed bod--has been inextricably linked to the high-camp action adventure series he starred in, “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” which sat atop the syndicated heap for much of its six-year original run and still pulls in strong numbers in repeats.

But the Minnesota native, who was a model and commercial actor before breaking into Hollywood in the Hercules role, aims to recast himself as a leaner, more thoughtful TV hero. He’s even shed the shoulder-length locks. He’ll still toss the villains around in “Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda,” a recently launched sci-fi series from the late “Star Trek” creator, but he’ll be more pensive about it.

The syndicated show, which airs locally on KTLA-TV at 5 p.m. Saturdays, is, like all Roddenberry projects, set in space, and Sorbo is Dylan Hunt, an earnest star ship captain who emerges after three centuries in a black hole to find his formerly peaceful galaxy in disarray. His self-imposed mission, with a six-member crew, is to restore order.

Question: After 6 1/2 years of “Hercules,” why do another fantasy series?

Answer: I’m drawn to fantasy as an actor because it’s fun. It brings out the kid in me. When I was 6 years old, I used to go in the backyard and pretend I was one of the “Star Trek” guys.

When I was wrapping “Hercules” in late summer ‘99, I was looking for another project. I really wanted to do a sitcom. The producers [of “Andromeda”] came to me and said they wanted me for the part of Capt. Dylan Hunt. Majel Roddenberry [Gene Roddenberry’s widow, who has been instrumental in shepherding her late husband’s manuscripts to TV] sent me a lot of scripts that Gene had worked on in the ‘70s after the original “Star Trek” aired, and I fell in love with them. Tribune [owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Los Angeles Times and KTLA] came in as the studio behind it. They gave us a 44-show guarantee, which is unheard of. If I was going to take another TV series--and the hour television format is brutal compared to filmmaking or sitcoms--it would have to be something I felt strongly about. I thought this would just be a blast, so I said, “Let’s do it.”

Q: What’s it like wading into a genre that’s become so popular it’s packed with shows?

A: What we did with “Hercules” touched off a huge action-adventure resurgence in syndication. The success of that series, and with [its spinoff] “Xena” and the copies--”Tarzan,” “Conan,” ’Sinbad,””Beast Masters”--opened the door for a lot of those types of programs. Production companies realize now that overseas is a huge market. These types of shows do very well there. “Seinfeld” is a great show, but some international markets didn’t get the humor. With “Hercules,” we were in 140 countries, and I think studios looked at that and realized it would be smart to be in that genre.

Q: Talk about how you’ve changed your look for this series.

A: I dropped 20 pounds and cut 8 inches of hair. It was definitely time to get rid of the hair. I was ready for that. When I look at the show [“Andromeda”], I see a completely different guy. I think when people watch it, they won’t even remember me as “Hercules.” I don’t want people to forget. . . . But I had to progress.

Q: What’s it like to see your co-star Keith Hamilton Cobb (“All My Children”), who plays the ultra-buffed Tyr Anasazi, step into the beefcake role?

A: That’s the nice thing about getting older--the ego goes. I just want to keep working as an actor and having fun at it. It’s like we transferred the muscle mass--I lost 20 pounds, and Keith put on 20. I’d been lifting weights for 23 years, for sports at first and then for modeling and commercials. And it was always a good release--for those eight years in Hollywood that I got door after door slammed in my face, I’d go workout. I still keep myself in shape, but now, Keith is doing all the lifting.

Q: The slapstick humor in “Hercules” helped endear it to audiences. What role does humor play in “Andromeda”?

A: That particular sense of humor is something I brought to the “Hercules” character; it wasn’t there in the beginning, from the script. Initially, he was written very unflatteringly, in my opinion. It was a cartoon show, a comic-book show. You had to have people laugh with you and not at you. Audiences have to like the character. Humor has to be there. . . . It’s the Harrison Ford factor that he does so well in his movies. People like that; they like to see a hero be self-deprecating. There will certainly be some one-liners zipped in there. The original “Star Trek” had that. Always that ribbing, that sarcasm between the characters. But you knew they liked each other, and that’s why they did it.

Q: What appealed to you about this character?

A: What’s good about him is he’s not Hercules--when he fights, he’s not going to win every time. With Herc, you knew he was going to win, you just had to make it funny. He slaps a guy, the guy flies 500 feet into the air and lands in a cow pie. That’s funny. This character is emotional. He has so much more going on. We’ve gotten to a point where we glamorize the negative in this country. I don’t understand why we want to uphold people who are mean, who are filled with hate. I still believe in that good old-fashioned tenet that good will survive over evil. Gene Roddenberry believed that.

It’s fun to play somebody who can deliver a good message, and it’s fun to keep playing the hero part. Hunt is more accessible; people can relate to him more. He isn’t half-god, he isn’t the strongest person in the world. He is just somebody with strong moral beliefs and standards he sets for himself, and he’s in a universe that’s totally against that. It’d be like a Republican in the Democratic world of Hollywood. As “Hercules,” as great as that was, that character can only save the world. I can save the universe now.

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“Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda” can be seen Saturdays at 5 p.m. on KTLA. It is rated TV-G (suitable for all ages).