Step aside, Governator. A new beefcake action star is in town.

Severn native Kevin Levrone has long been known for his stellar body and was a force in the competitive world of bodybuilding throughout the 1990s, winning multiple honors before calling it quits in 2003 to follow in the footstep of his hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"I've always wanted to do something in the entertainment industry," Mr. Levrone said.

Eight months ago he moved to Hollywood to pursue his next challenge, making the move from muscle man to movie star.

"This is where the entertainment industry is," he said in a recent coast-to-coast phone interview.

Mr. Levrone met the future California governor in 1994, and a few years later was invited onto the set of Mr. Schwarzenegger's action flick "End of Days," where the star and former bodybuilding champion offered some expert advice.

"He said, first of all, you're going to have to walk away from bodybuilding," Mr. Levrone remembered of his conversation with the seven-time Mr. Olympia. "I wasn't ready to do that."

But it didn't take long for Mr. Levrone, a four-time Mr. Olympia runner-up himself, to catch the acting bug. Following the governor's advice, he changed his diet and dropped 55 pounds from his massive frame, topping out at 215 pounds, which Mr. Schwarzenegger suggested as a suitable "acting weight."

Soon afterward, Mr. Levrone landed his first starring role in the movie "Backlash," in which he plays a hired assassin with a penchant for wine and poetry. His character, Turk, is the movie's lead villain.

"Backlash" is being filmed in California and is expected to wrap at the end of the month, with a planned release in January. Mr. Levrone was able to travel to Trinidad while shooting the film and hopes to parlay his experience into a full-blown acting career.

Starring in the female lead is Danielle Burgio, known in Hollywood for her stunt work in movies like "The Matrix" and "Pearl Harbor."

Ken Shamrock, known for his skill in the popular hand-to-hand combat Ultimate Fighting Championships, which gave him his nickname "The World's Most Dangerous Man," takes part in a major fight scene with Mr. Levrone.

"We have some confrontation and I've got to take some guys out," Mr. Levrone kidded about the fight scene.

But he's serious about his acting and his fighting techniques. Mr. Levrone spent weeks with a professional stunt choreographer in preparation for the movie. He also honed his acting skills with drama coach Milton Katselas, who has helped people like George Clooney, Alec Baldwin, Tom Selleck and Michelle Pfeiffer become household names.

Mr. Levrone said acting helps him deal with his troubled past. He lost his parents at a young age and says he feeds off such memories when playing a role.

"Everything that I grew up around, that I saw, I apply it to my acting," Mr. Levrone said. "It's a very deep thing. I enjoy it. It's a way to express yourself."

In bodybuilding, Mr. Levrone said, audiences only saw his outward appearances.

"Everything was on the outside," he said, adding acting "lets them feel you come across."

Asked if he plans to follow his mentor's lead later in life and run for governor, Mr. Levrone said no way.

He'll run for president.



By PATRICK RIPLEY
Published August 22, 2005, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2005 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

For a blast from the past GMV has released Kevin on DVD as he battles with Dorian at the 1996 IFBB English GP, Dorian's last GP. GMV-243DVD