Angel

Background:

“If you move to L.A. because you’re good looking and you think you’re going to be a star, you’re an absolute moron. This is the land of beautiful people. It was just pure luck. That’s how it works out here. But when you’re lucky enough to get your shot, you have to have something to back it up.” Christian Kane

American actor and singer/song writer Christian Kane is perhaps best-recalled for his portrayal of the morally ambiguous lawyer Lindsey McDonald in the TV series “Angel” (1999-2004) and as front man and guitarist for the country rock/American band ‘Kane.’ More recently, he starred as Jack Chase in legal drama “Close to Home” (2005-2006).

On the big screen, Kane picked up a Phoenix Film Festival Award for brilliantly working in the wonderful comedy/romance Her Minor Thing (2005) and received a Teen Choice nod after playing the villainous role of Brittany Murphy’s ex-lover in Just Married (2003). Other movie credits include Summer Catch (2001, with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel), Life or Something Like It (2002, opposite Angelina Jolie), Friday Night Lights (2004, along side Billy Bob Thornton) and Taxi (2005, with Queen Latifah). The good-looking player is set to star in two upcoming horror/thriller movies, Hide (2006) and Death Walks the Streets (2007).

Off camera, Kane was listed as one of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanzine’s “Top Ten Sexiest Men” of the Buffy / Angel universe in 2004. He is the cousin of country music phenomenon Branden Hart and a best friend to actor David Boreanaz. As for his romantic life, 5-foot-10-inch Kane was once linked to Linda Brava (dated in 1997-1998).


Southern Boy

Childhood and Family:

“I have very loving parents. My parents are the greatest in the world. My mom should actually get an award, I swear to God. She’s probably the best mom in the entire world. My dad’s just a country boy, so that’s the way I grew up. He wasn’t afraid to use force, and he wasn’t afraid to give me a kiss. He’s a great guy. Christian Kane on his parents

Christian Kane, known by family and close friends as Chris, was born on June 27, 1974 in Dallas, Texas. Young Chris, whose father worked in the oil business, had to move quite often throughout the South and Midwest before his family eventually settled down in the small town of Norman, Oklahoma. Growing up, he found loves for movies and theater movies, and decided to become an actor after seeing the Tom Cruise vehicle Top Gun. With the hope of fulfilling his dreams, Chris headed out to Los Angeles after departing his Art History studies at the University of Oklahoma.


Death Walks the Streets

Career:

Leaving university in favor of pursuing an acting career in Hollywood, Christian Kane got his start working as a production assistant and in the mailroom of a talent agent before receiving his first break as the male lead, Ryan Legget, in a new television show, “Fame L.A” in 1997. The series, however, was not a massive hit and was axed after 22 episodes. Before long, he won a role in the Aaron Spelling paramedic series “Rescue 77” (1999), playing Wick Lobo, but it also ended in cancellation. Undaunted, he undertook a small part as a production assistant in the Ron Howard-helmed Edtv (1999), a comedy starring Matthew McConaughey which also marked Kane’s movie debut.

It was also in 1999 that Kane landed the role of malevolence lawyer boy Lindsey McDonald in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off “Angel.” Though only a recurring character, it was enormously popular, and he could demonstrate the world how good he is at being bad. He remained with the show until 2004.

While working on the shows, Kane also appeared as Idaho guy in the drama-comedy The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), costarred with actress/singer Monica Arnold in the made-for-TV film Love Song (2000) and guest starred as Gretchen’s two-timing former boyfriend, Nick Taylor in the WB hit series “Dawson’s Creek” (2001). He then was cast as J.T. Langston in the Western television film Crossfire Trail (2001, starred Tom Selleck), teamed up with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel in director Michael Tollin’s Summer Catch (2001) and portrayed Angelina Jolie’s big league fiancé in Life or Something Like It (2002). After television film The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron (2003), he earned a Teen Choice nomination for Choice Movie Villain for his role as Peter Prentis, the ex-boyfriend of Brittany Murphy, in the comedy-romantic Just Married (2003), also starring Ashton Kutcher. The same year, he played young Hub in Secondhand Lions, a coming-of-age story about a bashful, young boy sent by his negligent mom to spend the summer with his affluent, eccentric uncles in Texas.

In 2004, Kane found himself acting in such films as the short movie The Plight of Clownana, the sport-themed Friday Night Lights, opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Lucas Black, and Tim Story’s Taxi, with Queen Latifah. The next year, he starred as Paul in the fabulous comedy/romance Her Minor Thing, a role that brought him a 2006 Special Jury Prize Acting Achievement Award from the Phoenix Film Festival, and costarred in the thriller Keep Your Distance. On the small screen, he could be seen as Abe Wheeler/High Wolf in the miniseries “Into the West (2005),” and made his return to series TV as Jack Chase in the legal drama “Close to Home” (2005-2006).

In addition to acting, Kane is also singing and playing the guitar. He is the vocalist and guitarist of ‘Kane,’ a southern rock band he put together with his palls ‘Steve Carlson’ and Mike Eaton. With his group, he had performed in Los Angeles pubs like The Mint and The Viper Room and toured the U.S., as well as Germany and London. Also, the band had released two CDS.

The actor is scheduled to star as Billy in the horror film Hide (2006), along side Rachel Miner and Polly Shannon, and in 2007, he will have a lead in director James Zahn’s Death Walks the Streets, also serving as co-executive producer. The horror/thriller movie will focus on an ex-con, Michael (Kane), who is released from jail and snagged into “the Organization,” which is made up of zombies, demons, vampires and other iconic supernatural creatures.


Awards:

- Phoenix Film Festival: Special Jury Prize Acting Achievement, Her Minor Thing, 2006