Back in action: Oklahoma actor Christian Kane stars in new TV series ‘Almost Paradise’
Christian Kane is a man of action, and once again he’s answering the call to it.
After starring in the hit TNT shows “Leverage” and “The Librarians,” the actor, who was born in Dallas and grew up in Norman, is taking the lead in the tropical crime drama series “Almost Paradise.”
“You know me. You know the stuff that I’ve done: I’ve always been a superhero. Eliot (Spencer on ‘Leverage’) was a superhero. Jake Stone on ‘The Librarians’ actually went to Shangri-La and trained with the Monkey King, so he learned how to fight like a superhero. And then this guy is a superhero in his own right in the agency; he was one of the top DEA guys in the world … and then that’s what cripples him, is when he can’t do it anymore,” Kane said a phone interview from his home base of Los Angeles.
“This is the genre that I love, and I’ll tell you why: because this is the genre that I watch. Nothing against courtroom dramas; it’s not my cup of tea. … I would rather watch something like this.”
Premiering Monday night on WGN America, “Almost Paradise” stars Kane as Alex Walker, who was the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s top undercover operative until his partner’s betrayal and a life-threatening bout with hypertension forced him into early retirement. Looking for a more relaxed lifestyle, he buys a tiny gift shop on a pristine beach in the Philippines, but the island’s luxury resort draws the rich and powerful, including high-end international criminals. Despite his plans for a less stressful existence, he finds himself fighting crime alongside a pair of local cops (Arthur Acuna and newcomer Samantha Richelle).
“It’s so much fun, man, and it just keeps getting better and better and faster and faster. … What a character to play,” Kane said. “We’ve got unbelievable stories, very heartfelt, very emotional. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry, and that’s the kind of television I love being a part of.”
Country as character
“Almost Paradise” reunites Kane with Dean Devlin, who previously produced the caper series “Leverage,” which aired on TNT from 2008 to 2012, and “The Librarians,” the fantasy-action show that ran on TNT from 2014 to 2018, under his Electric Entertainment shingle.
“He cast me in ‘Leverage’ and then he wrote the role for me in ‘The Librarians’ – literally wrote the role for me. He had this one in his pocket for about 10 years. He came up with it on his honeymoon and just kind of sat on it for a bit. When he asked me to do ‘The Librarians,’ we had lunch that day, and he asked me, said, ‘You want to do “The Librarians?”‘ and I said, ‘Hell yeah.’ And he goes, ‘Man, I’ve got something else that you’re perfect for, but you’re just not old enough for it yet. You’re too young to play this guy.’ And when ‘The Librarians’ got finished up, he goes, ‘I think you’re ready.’ And we moved right into this, and we were working on it for almost a year before we started filming,” Kane said.
“We do, we have a really good rapport. And especially with the genre that I love – and especially all the action – I couldn’t ask for a better boss. That’s right up his alley with (the movies) ‘Independence Day’ and ‘Godzilla’ and ‘The Patriot.’ … He just loves blowing stuff up – and I love being there when he does it.”
“Almost Paradise” is the first U.S. television show filmed entirely in the Philippines. Devlin is a Filipino heritage.
“A lot of people have never seen the Philippines. Now, Americans sometimes know Japan, China, even Korea, because we’ve seen it on TV. But no one’s ever really filmed in the Philippines. Nobody knows what the Philippines looks like: all these colors, all these cultures, all the spiritualness of it, and the food. … So, we’re actually going to introduce it to people, which I feel like that’s kind of being a part of history now,” he said.
“The Philippines is one of the lead actors on the show – and rightly so because of the colors and the way it’s built and the beauty of the people. The Philippines should have been on the call sheet. … And I think people are really going to understand that and appreciate that whenever they watch.”
The seasoned actor appreciated getting to film “Almost Paradise” in a place that lives up to the title.
“There’s not a lot of people in the world that get to do what I do. Now, I got here through hard work, and I got here through showing up every day. But there’s not a lot of people that get to do what I do. But even the people that get to do what I do – even all the actors out here – nobody gets to go to a beautiful, heavenly resort island and film for five months. I was in hog heaven, man. I absolutely loved it. I can’t wait to go back and do Season 2,” Kane said.
Country boy in action
The Oklahoma actor, 47, is known for doing his own stunts, especially fight sequences, which in the first episode of “Almost Paradise,” even includes an underwater brawl with a baddie.
“Even though I’m getting a little older, I still do ’em, and I had a blast doing all these stunts and all these fights. … It just makes me feel young,” Kane said with a laugh.
“When we got to the Philippines, we were filming on this little island, and we found this little studio and it had a water tank. It had a three-story water tank. … We just happened to luck out and find it. … After an underwater fight, where do you go from there? Well, they found ways to make it better, man. It’s crazy, some of the fight scenes and some of the action sequences.”
More than two decades after he left the University of Oklahoma to pursue an acting career, Kane said he is excited to bring another new action-packed TV adventure to audiences, especially in the troubled times of the coronavirus pandemic.
“People are like, ‘Do you feel weird about promoting a show when all this is going on?’ And I’ve said, ‘You know, what’s always saved us is entertainment.’ People are sitting at home, and they don’t want to be where they are. We don’t want to be in this situation. So, literally we get to take them on a vacation to the Philippines. … You can sit on the couch and we’ll take you somewhere really beautiful and entertain you for a little bit so that you can forget about the shape that the world’s in right now,” he said.
“I’ve been blessed by the Lord to be working as long as I have, A. for Dean Devlin and B. in this industry. … For me to get the opportunity to keep doing what I’m doing, not bad for a country boy from Oklahoma.”
ON TV
“Almost Paradise,” the action-packed new crime drama starring Oklahoma actor Christian Kane, premieres at 9 p.m. Monday on WGN America. For more information, go to wgnamerica.com/series/almost-paradise or www.facebook.com/almostparadisetv.
-BAM
Find the original article here: https://oklahoman.com/article/5658902/interview-and-video-oklahoma-actor-christian-kane-stars-in-new-action-series-almost-paradise-premiering-monday
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