Who is Kevin Gage?
Kevin was born as Kevin Franklin Gaede under the zodiac sign of Gemini on 26 May 1959, in Wisconsin USA; he holds American nationality, and his ethnicity is White. He’s an actor with nearly 70 credits to his name, perhaps still known best for his role as Waingro in the 1995 movie “Heat”, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer. The interesting fact about this role is that it was Kevin’s dream come true, working with Robert De Niro; it took him over two months and eleven readings with the casting director to get this job because the competition for the role was tough.
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Early life, family, and education
Kevin was raised in Wisconsin, presumably by his parents, although he hasn’t spoken about them or any siblings. The only person who he’s mentioned from his childhood is his grandfather, saying that he grew up on his dairy farm, and how he was helping him before and after school. He remembers how he used to go fishing with his grandfather, and how he lived a rural style of life during the summer.
He attended a local high school, and upon matriculating on his 18th birthday in 1977, he didn’t enroll at college, but he went to Florida to fulfill his dream of seeing the ocean for the first time.
He decided to travel further, going to California with a plan to work in construction, so he came to Hollywood, doing all kinds of jobs to provide for himself, and then he attended a bartending school, and found a job in a local steakhouse.
When he was 21 and at work, a theatrical agent approached him and recommended Kevin take acting classes, so he launched his acting career, first in local plays, then on TV and the big screen.
Roles in series
Kevin made his acting debut in an episode of the series “Highway to Heaven” in 1986, followed by his appearances in “Werewolf”, “High Mountain Rangers”, “L. A. Law”, and “Renegade”.
After almost a decade, he was cast to play in the popular early ‘90s series “Nash Bridges”, and then portrayed Dwight Merrill in “Martial Law”, followed by minor roles in “V. I. P.”, “Going to California”, “Firefly”, and “Smallville”, among others.
His most recent roles on television have been in the series “Amnesia”, “Sons of Anarchy” and “Scorpion”.
Roles in movies
Kevin made his first appearance on the big screen in the 1986 movie “Space Camp”, followed by supporting roles in “Steele Justice”, “The ‘Burbs” and “Last Resort”, before he was cast to play his most notable role as the rogue criminal Waingro in “Heat”; this action crime drama attracted 14 award nominations.
In the following years, Kevin made an appearance in “Con Air”, then was cast to play Instructor Pyro in “G. I. Jane”, an action war drama starring Demi Moore, Anne Bancroft and Viggo Mortensen, which had three award nominations and won two.
Kevin had more support roles in movies such as “Double Trap”, “Point Blank” and “Junked”, then was cast to play Leon Minghella in “Blow” starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Ray Liotta, before he portrayed Tucker in “Laid to Rest”, alongside Lena Headey and Bobbi Sue Luther, which brought him a nomination for Fright Meter Award Best Supporting Actor, in 2009.
Following years saw him in numerous movies – his most recent role was in the 2021 “Hustle Down”, and Kevin is now working on four movies in post-production, one filming, and another announced, so fans will be happy to hear that they will soon enjoy his work.
Love life and marriage
Kevin met his future first wife, actress Kelly Preston, when attending acting classes, and after a few years of dating, he proposed to her, and they married in Hawaii, USA in 1985; the two acted together in “Space Camp”, but two years later this love story ended, and they divorced in 1987.
His second wife was Shannon Perris- Knight – they married in the sunset on a Santa Barbara beach, California, in 2006, and she gave birth to their son Ryder Jay Gage in January 2007.
They were enjoying their love and raising their son, but unfortunately in 2008, Shannon was diagnosed with brain cancer, and sadly died in July 2014.
As of late 2021, Kevin lives in California with his son, and it seems that he is single, or he prefers to keep his love life away from the media’s attention.
Why Kevin was in jail?
Sometime in 2002, Kevin co-founded a company with two partners, growing and distributing medical marijuana, which although legal in California, the Federal government disagreed and police arrested Kevin and his partners.
Kevin was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, however, he was released in September 2005 for good behaviour.
Hobbies and other interests
Kevin was into sports from an early age, and played basketball for the school team, still plays baseball, football and hockey, as well as working out almost every day; swimming is also one of his favorite hobbies.
In his spare time he likes to hang out with his son, play video games together, or watch movies starring his favorite actor Robert De Niro, and a couple of their favorites are “Taxi Driver”, “The Godfather”, and “Goodfellas”.
Kevin is into traveling, and thanks to his acting career has visited several US states, particularly enjoying Weymouth, Massachusetts filming for the movie “Blow”; he dreams of visiting Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Age, height, and net worth
This 62-year-old character actor, with his bald head and piercing blue eyes, weighs around 176lbs (80kgs) and stands 6ft (1.85m) tall, surely looking like someone who is born to play rough and insensitive criminals. However, according to his family and friends, he’s the opposite from the characters he portrayed.
As of November 2021, his net worth has been estimated at over $1 million.
