Christian Kane hopes to give “Leverage” an Oklahoma flair
Christian Kane (Photo by David McDaniel/The Oklahoman)
Norman-bred actor Christian Kane is hoping to have at least one episode of his TNT caper series “Leverage” set in Oklahoma, he told The Oklahoman’s TV Editor Penny Soldan.
The second season of the series starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The first season is available on DVD today.
The series is filmed in Oregon, but that backdrop fills in for a variety of locales on the show.
“Oregon is very hilly and not as flat as Oklahoma, but the trees remind me of home,” he said. “We haven’t done an episode in Oklahoma, but I’m trying to get them to do that right now. I’m trying to bring some Oklahoma flavor into it — maybe some Native American stuff that I grew up with,” Kane told Penny.
“Leverage” stars Kane, Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge and Beth Riesgraf as a team of con artists who rob the rich who are exploiting the weak and powerless in society.
Kane’s character, Eliot Spencer, is a retrieval specialist with superior fight skills. The actor does his own stunts on the show, and he recently was injured in the line of duty.
His Oklahoma ties are still strong: He recently bought land near Norman and his parents live in Tulsa.
“I have a house in Los Angeles and a house in Nashville (Tenn.), but that’s not my home,” he said. “Oklahoma will always be my home.
Read more of Penny’s enlightening interview with Kane by clicking here.
-BAM
New Releases
This week in DVDs there is a cornucopia of TV shows, including the first season of Oklahoma boy Christian Kane’s TNT series “Leverage.” Meanwhile in books, apparently the founding of Facebook was more exciting than I realized since there is an entire new tome on the subject.
Here is a list of CDs, DVDs and books hitting stores this week from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Daughtry, “Leave This Town.”
Pearl Jam, “The Lowdown.”
The Dead Weather, “Horehound.”
Clutch, “Strange Cousins from the West.”
Judas Priest, “A Touch of Evil” (Live).
Celtic Thunder, “Take Me Home.”
Joe, “Signature.”
DVDs
“Leverage: Season 1″
“Mad Men: Season 2″
“Grey Gardens”
“ER: Season 11″
“For All Mankind”
“The State: Complete Series”
“The Color of Magic”
Books
“The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal” by Ben Mezrich
“Guardian of Lies” by Steve Martini
“Undone” by Karin Slaughter
“The Best of Times” by Penny Vincenzi
“Girl in a Blue Dress” by Gaynor Arnold
“In the Valley of Ancient Rain Gods” by James Lee Burke
“Jericho’s Fall” by Stephen L. Carter
“Sacred Hearts” by Sarah Dunant
“Best Friends Forever” by Jennifer Weiner
—3D
Christian Kane’s song featured on latest episode of “Leverage”
It didn’t take long for the masterminds behind TNT’s new heist series “Leverage” to incorporate series star Christian Kane’s country crooning.
On Tuesday night, the third episode, titled “The Two-Horse Job,” featured Kane’s soulful country ballad “More Than I Deserve.”
Kane, who was raised in Norman and attended the University of Oklahoma, plays a “retrieval specialist” (read: butt-kicking tough guy) on the fun, savvy series. The show, which has received strong reviews, centers on an honest man (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) who leads a crack team of criminals in helping the little guy stick it to the fat cats and corrupt corporations trying to exploit them.
I also noticed Tuesday night that it also didn’t take long for Kane’s character to get some female action; that’s to be expected, because if you don’t mind me saying so, the man is hot. In the episode, the team aids one of Eliot’s old flames and her father, a horse trainer, and the sparks still fly between Eliot and his feisty former sweetheart.
“Leverage” airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on TNT; I haven’t missed an episode yet.
If you want to hear a clip of “More Than I Deserve” and some of Kane’s other songs, go to www.myspace.com/christiankane.
Also, check out the Eliot Spencer video character profile from www.tnt.tv/dramavision:
-BAM
My take: “Leverage”
I got the opportunity to watch the pilot and second episode of TNT’s new caper series “Leverage” prior to my interview Monday with Oklahoma-born Christian Kane, one of the stars of the show.
The series is set to debut commercial free at 9 p.m. Sunday on TNT; it will air regularly at 9 p.m. Tuesdays starting next week. Kane said the cast and crew already have filmed all 13 episodes of the first season.
Oscar winner Timothy Hutton (”Ordinary People”) plays former insurance investigator Nate Ford, whose life has been derailed by tragedy. Out of work and wallowing in grief, Ford is approached by an aeronautics executive to steal back airplane designs the businessman claims were stolen by a rival.
The executive has assembled a skilled group of thieves, grifters and hackers best known for working alone. The team includes Parker (Beth Riesgraf, “Alvin and the Chipmunks”), a wacky thief; Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge, “Friday Night Lights”), a sharp computer specialist; Eliot Spencer (Kane, TV’s “Angel”), a tough “retrieval specialist” who can easily take out a band of thugs; and Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman, “Coupling”), an actress who is terrible on stage or screen but terrific when she’s running a con.
When the team is double-crossed, they decide to reunite to get revenge. Their first job soon leads to a new vocation – under the front of a consulting firm called Leverage, the band of crooks play the role of modern-day Robin Hoods, robbing from the rich, powerful and wealthy to benefit the oppressed.
The show is smart and fun, with a feisty attitude and a mix of comedy and action. The characters are quirky and colorful. It’s great to see Kane back in action, and Hutton and Bellman have crackling chemistry as the team’s honest man and point woman, who have a history.
For those who like heist movies or shows, or are just looking for a show that “sticks it to the man,” as Kane put it, I recommend “Leverage.”
Video: The music of Christian Kane
Along with acting in the new series “Leverage,” Oklahoma-raised Christian Kane also is a singer who has been working for the past couple of years on a country album. Kane told me in a recent interview that he feels that if you grow up in Oklahoma, you have a little bit of country music in your blood.
Check out these videos, posted here courtesy of YouTube, of Kane showing off his smooth, sexy voice. I’ve even included a couple of clips of his performance Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill here in Oklahoma City.
“L.A. Song” from the TV series “Angel”:
“Right in Front of You” from the movie “Keep Your Distance”:
“Whiskey in Mind”:
“Mama”:
“Happy Man” Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Oklahoma City:
“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” Monday night at Toby Keith’s (appropriate, eh?):
-BAM
Video: Sneak peek of “Leverage”
Check out this sneak peek video of the new TV series “Leverage,” starring Oklahoma-raised actor Christian Kane, courtesy TNT’s Web site.
The series will debut at 9 p.m. Sunday on the cable network. It is set to air regularly at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
It’s all part of Christian Kane Day here at BAM’s Blog, and the clip shows Kane in high-octane action.
Also, I posted earlier this week the video of Kane playing Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Bricktown. But here it is again, in case you missed it.
-BAM
Podcast: More on “Leverage”
“Leverage” star Christian Kane poses for a photo Monday at The Oklahoman studios. (Photo by David McDaniel/The Oklahoman)
My colleages Penny Soldan and Don P. Brown give their take on the new TV series “Leverage,” which debuts Sunday on TNT, in their NewsOK TV podcast. It will air regularly on Tuesday nights on the cable network.
The caper series stars Oscar winner Timothy Hutton and Oklahoman Christian Kane, who also appeared in the series “Angel.”
To hear the podcast, go to www.newsok.com/multimedia and find the podcast named “TV Preview: “Leverage” on TNT” on the A&E player.
-BAM
Video: Christian Kane
I got the awesome opportunity to talk to actor/singer Christian Kane in our NewsOK video studio earlier this week.
We talked about his new TV series “Leverage,” which debuts Sunday night on TNT, as well as about his experiences on the cult TV favorite “Angel” and his upcoming country album.
Check it out.
-BAM
BAM Column: Oklahoman Christian Kane finds “Leverage” after “Angel”
A version of this story appears in Saturday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Christian Kane finds ‘Leverage’; stays close to Norman roots
Christian Kane went Hollywood a decade a go, but he hasn’t lost the blue-collar sensibilities he grew up with in Norman.
The actor/singer has found an outlet for his working-class attitude, along with his fighting skills, in the new TV series “Leverage.” The show, which debuts at 9 p.m. Sunday on TNT, follows a group of professional criminals who use their skills to help people victimized by the wealth, the corrupt and the powerful.
“It’s a finger to the man. This is for my daddy, you know, this is what we do it for. … It’s television so it’s not real, but the fact is that the law sometimes doesn’t allow you to do what’s right. And that’s where we come in,” Kane said in an interview Monday at The Oklahoman offices.
Oklahoma roots
With a dad in the oil business, Kane, 34, grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. When he was in eighth grade, his family settled in Norman, where he wrestled in high school, attended the University of Oklahoma and apparently, caused a bit of trouble in his youth.
“Listen, I’m from Norman. You drink beer and you fight. That’s what it is,” he said with a winning grin. “I probably got beat up in high school more than I won fights, but … in college I found that being a wrestler helps when it comes to tussling.”
His wrestling training taught him how to carry himself and sparked an interest in learning different fighting styles. He did his own stunts in his breakout role as wicked lawyer Lindsey McDonald on the series “Angel,” and the experience not only gained him loyal fans but helped him get a part on “Leverage.” Kane said series creator and executive producer John Rogers, a writer on the movie “Transformers,” created the role of Eliot Spencer with him in mind.
“I did all my own stunts; no one doubled me whatsoever. … I’m very fortunate in that sense because producers a lot of times won’t allow someone to do something like that,” Kane said.
Finding “Leverage”
On “Leverage,” Kane plays a “retrieval specialist” who can take out a mob of heavies while sipping a cup of tea. Former straight arrow Nate Ford (Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) , who was an insurance investigator before his life was derailed by tragedy, recruits Spencer and three other crooks to form a crack team dedicated to righting corporate wrongs.
While his character fights like super-spy Jason Bourne, Kane was inspired by B.A. Baracus, Mr. T’s character on “The A Team,” to give Spencer an angry edge.
“It’s made me fall in love with television again, man. It’s made me fall in love with acting to be honest with you. I’ve been very fortunate; I’ve done a lot of stuff. But this role, I honestly feel like I’ve combined everything I’ve known and learned and smashed it into this character. I got a lot riding on this guy; this is my favorite guy in the world.”
Singing, acting and coming home
The tight-knit cast and crew wrapped finished filming of all 13 episodes of the first season, which will move next week into its regular 9 p.m. Tuesday timeslot, about three weeks ago. Despite the long days over the five-month shoot, Kane said he had so much fun he never felt like he clocked in.
While he hopes for a hit with “Leverage,” Kane is bound for Nashville, Tenn., where he is working on a country album. The singer performed Monday night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Bricktown.
Kane, who has appeared in the films “Friday Night Lights,” “Secondhand Lions” and “Just Married,” also has wrapped three movies set to come out soon.
Though he already divides his time between L.A. and Nashville, Kane also owns land south of Norman. His parents live in Tulsa, and Oklahoma is still home.
“I’m an Oklahoman. Your heart’s here. This is a great place to be raised and it’s a great place to die,” he said. “It’s funny because you fight so hard to get out of Oklahoma, and now I’m fighting so hard to get back.”
On TV
TNT’s new caper series “Leverage,” starring Oklahoma-raised actor Christian Kane, Oscar winner Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge, premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday.
The series will move next week to its regular time slot at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
In an interview, Kane said the tight-knit cast and crew filmed the entire 13-episode first season in an intense five-month shoot that wrapped about three weeks ago.
-BAM
Christian Kane Day at BAM’s Blog
We love to recognized talented Oklahomans here at BAM’s Blog, so I’ve declared today Christian Kane Day here at the blog.
Kane, 34, grew up in Norman and attended the University of Oklahoma before loading up in his truck and driving to Los Angeles to become an actor.
He broke out in TV series “Angel” and has appeared in the movies “Just Married,” “Secondhand Lions” and “Friday Night Lights.” He also has been in the telefilms “Into the West” and “Crossfire Trail.”
In addition, Kane is a country singer working on an album.
In honor of this day, I’ll have interviews and videos with Kane, along with other insights into “Leverage.” Check it out.
-BAM
