A Real Fight Erupted On The Set Of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 13 seconds ago

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys has a lot in common with pro wrestling. The fights are all choreographed, the plots are soap opera drama for men, and sometimes, the actors will go into business for themselves. Most of the time a fight scene goes off without a hitch, or at least, nothing that can’t be fixed in post. During the filming of Season 2’s “Siege at Naxos,” the battle between Hercules and Goth devolved into an actual fistfight requiring both actors to be separated. What caused it? Jealousy. 

A Real Fight With Cameras Rolling

The story of the fight between Kevin Sorbo and Brian Thompson, playing the barbarian leader Goth, started before the two were on set together. When Sorbo won the coveted role of Hercules, Thompson was the runner-up. In the back of his head, he thought the role should have been his. That was enough for him to stop thinking straight and start throwing real punches at Sorbo during the filming of the fight. Sorbo fought back, and quickly, the two were separated with Thompson being escorted off set for the day. 

These things happen, no lasting damage was done, though Thompson never did appear on Hercules again. The story of the fight was relayed on an extra from the DVD box set, and while it was a bit of a shock for real punches to be thrown, it wasn’t as bad as other on-set injuries Sorbo experienced filming the show. In the very first episode, he was cut by a sword, and he again took a real punch in a later season when he wasn’t able to move out of the way like he needed to.

No Blood, No Foul

Brian Thompson went on to have a long career in Hollywood filled with guest star spots on every show that needed a muscular villain or a stern authority figure. He played aliens on multiple Star Trek series, from Next Generation through Enterprise, the Alien Bounty Hunter on The X-Files, he was on The Orville, and most recently, Fallout. In retrospect, had he been given the role of Hercules, he would have absolutely killed it. 

Kevin Sorbo isn’t acting as much these days, but part of that goes back to his time on Hercules where it wasn’t a stunt gone wrong or a fight that left him with a lasting injury, it was a chiropractic adjustment. Sorbo’s explained that the release of blood clots caused him to suffer not one, but three separate strokes while filming in New Zealand. This left it hard for him to move, and acting becomes considerably more difficult when your muscles stop listening to your commands. 

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was one of the most successful shows of the 90s, though it always lagged behind its own spin-off, Xena: Warrior Princess. Thompson didn’t get the part, and acted a fool for a brief moment, but in the end, everyone went on to find success in their own way. Given the horror stories of other sets, it was the best possible outcome, and at least “Siege of Naxos” is one of the best episodes of Season 2.