Sporting Life Blends Nicely
   With  Kane's Acting Career 
            By Jeff Kidd - September, 1st  2001

Chris Kane's first shot of the day veered right.

Hard right.

"Sorry fellas. I'm working on almost no sleep," the Los Angeles-based actor told his playing partners soon after his drive caromed off a tree in Friday's first round of the Hilton Head Celebrity Golf Tournament at The Golf Club at Indigo Run.

Forgive Kane if he couldn't keep his driver straight. At this point in the summer, it's a Herculean feat simply keeping his sports and time zones straight. 

The former high school football player and wrestler just finished shooting "Life, Or Something Like It," in which he plays a second baseman and the love interest of actress Angelina Jolie. He's also been busy with promotional work for the recent release "Summer Catch," another baseball flick in which Kane plays a supporting role as a shortstop.

Switching from sport to sport can get confusing. Kane told a self-effacing story about his appearance in another celebrity tournament, where after a month of baseball practice to prepare for "Summer Catch," he caught himself taking a stride step before hitting his golf shots, ala Happy Gilmore.

Jet lag added to Kane's sense of disorientation on Friday. In the past two days, he's flown from New York to Los Angeles, then hopped another flight from Los Angeles to Hilton Head.

Smiling but obviously a little tired, Kane arrives on the tee at Indigo Run to find a corporate sales officer for U.S. Air, his son and the father of actress Angel Cropper, another tournament participant.

Oh, and a sports editor, too.

Not a single-digit handicapper in the bunch, each hoping the life of an actor affords plenty of time to hit golf balls.

"I guarantee you I'm absolutely nervous every time I play one of these tournaments," said Kane, who estimates he drags his clubs out only about 10 times a year. "People think I'm here because I'm supposed to be a good golfer. ... In a lot of cases, I might play with people who know me, but I don't know them and I want to impress them."

Actually, after a few power fades, Kane acquits himself quite nicely on the links. His athleticism shows as he pops several drives in the 250-yard range and helps his team to an 8-under-par score in the scramble event.

Athleticism has aided Kane's career, too.

In addition to his two recent baseball movies, he played daredevil firefighter Wick Lobo in the Warner Brothers Network series "Rescue 77." Then came a role as Lindsey McDonald, a backbiting attorney in the WB action series "Angel," a spin-off of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

But sports not only honed Kane's body; it prepared him mentally for the rigors of a profession that has masticated plenty a middle-American boy.

"This business is tough, and I know I've been lucky not to have to struggle for long," said Kane, a 27-year-old who left Norman, Okla., for Los Angeles five years ago with little more than $300 in his pocket and a desire to make it as an actor.

"There are a lot of hard workers in Los Angeles, but I feel like I'm more aggressive," he added. "I go get what I want. Being a wrestler and being from Oklahoma has a lot to do with that. The kids I grew up with were mean and aggressive mentally, and that really helped me.

"When I came out here, I was determined not to listen to the statistics about all the people who don't make it."

Granted, Kane hasn't made it as big as he intends to.

His television work garnered him a devoted following, but there have also been setbacks. "Rescue 77" was a short-lived series, as was his gig as the male lead in "Fame L.A.," a new edition of the 1980s television show and movie on the WB network.

And so far, "Summer Catch" has been roundly panned.

"The critics aren't digging the movie," Kane said philosophically, "and I've had some people (my) age who said they didn't like it but their kids did. And that's who we did the movie for. That's why there's not a lot of cussing or drug use in the movie. We made it for kids.

"Anyone old enough to write a review about the movie probably isn't going to like it."

Kane hopes bigger, more acclaimed roles follow. He's chosen to focus on film work, though he hasn't ruled out future television roles. He's also serious about a music career as the front man for a country-rock band that bears his surname -- Kane the music group has a standing bi-weekly gig in Los Angeles' trendy Viper Room nightclub. (Kane also put his musical background to work starring as a blues singer in the MTV production "Love Song.")

Like the golfer facing the risk-reward demands of a classic hole, Kane said he is at a critical juncture in his career. While it once was important simply to find work, eventually actors must choose their roles more carefully.

"Hollywood is all about the decisions you make," Kane said. "If you take whatever comes along, you won't be working in a couple of years."