From Demigod to Mortal: The Real-Life Tragedy of TV's Hercules Kevin Sorbo looked invincible in the late '90s. As Hercules, he had the kind of physique that made the rest of us feel like we were doing life wrong. Then in 1997, at the peak of the show, a shoulder issue he'd been brushing off turned out to be an aneurysm. It caused three strokes. He went from being able to do his own stunts to struggling with basic balance and vision problems. He had to relearn a lot of everyday movement. What always stuck with me is that he kept shooting the series through it—quietly doing rehab between scenes while dealing with the exhaustion and the mental side of recovery. He never got that massive, Hercules-level build back. His body just didn't cooperate the same way anymore. He's 67 now and still dealing with the fallout. Earlier this year he had a knee replacement that got infected and put him back in the hospital. He's thinner these days, visibly changed. The guy who once played an actual demigod has spent decades learning how to live inside a body with real limits. He put it simply once: "I'm not Hercules. I'm just a mortal with human limitations." It's a good reminder that even the strongest people hit walls their bodies won't let them climb.