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| Campbell in 'Burn Notice,' Courtesy USA |
movies. He is Autolycus, the comical “King of Thieves” from the Hercules: The Legendary Journies
and Xena: Warrior Princess
television series. He is an aging mummy-battling Elvis Presley in the horror-comedy Bubba Ho-Tep
. And among nearly 100 other characters, self-proclaimed B-movie actor Bruce Campbell is now retired Navy SEAL Sam Axe from USA Network’s hit spy show, Burn Notice.Instead of gaining fame as a pretty marquee face in blockbuster movies, Campbell’s notoriety is the result of years spent in the blue collar world of acting. Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, he is a work-for-hire performer who just happened to appear in enough movies and TV shows he got to be well known. It didn’t hurt that his roles in the aforementioned cult favorites (not to mention his turns in Maniac Cop
, Escape from L.A.
, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
) made Campbell a pop culture stalwart. Campbell has even traded in on his working-class cult actor status in those Old Spice commercials, a meta movie My Name is Bruce
– where he played himself – and two books, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
and Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way
.But it is getting more difficult for the 53-year-old to claim “B” status.
Since the show’s premiere in 2007, Campbell has appeared in Burn Notice on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. as Sam, a beer-drinking, ladies man who uses his espionage knowledge as a do-gooder private investigator in Miami alongside disavowed spy Michael Westen (played by series star Jeffrey Donovan) and former IRA operative Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar). A fan favorite, Campbell’s character received the stand alone treatment in the TV movie, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe
and the fifth season premiere of Burn Notice net 5.2 million viewers. His current success also involves appearing as the voice of “Torque” Redline in Cars 2, in theaters now and an upcoming appearance at the Comic-Con International in San Diego.While taking a break from filming the sixth season of Burn Notice in Miami, Campbell discussed his work on Burn Notice, as well as involvement with Evil Dead and Bubba Ho-Tep sequels, and more books.