He is Ash, the wisecracking hero with a chainsaw hand from the "Evil Dead" movies. He is Autolycus, the comical "King of Thieves" from the "Hercules: The Legendary Journies" and "Xena: Warrior Princess" television series. He is an aging mummy-battling Elvis Presley in the horror-comedy "Bubba Ho-Tep." And among nearly 100 other characters, self-proclaimed B-movie actor Bruce Campbell is now retired Navy SEAL Sam Axe from USA Network's hit spy show, "Burn Notice."
Instead of gaining fame as a pretty marquee face in blockbuster movies, Campbell's notoriety is the result of years spent in the blue collar world of acting. Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, he is a work-for-hire performer who just happened to appear in enough movies and TV shows he got to be well known. It didn't hurt that his roles in the aforementioned cult favorites (not to mention his turns in "Maniac Cop," "Escape from L.A.," "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.") made Campbell a pop culture stalwart. Campbell has even traded in on his working-class cult actor status in those Old Spice commercials, a meta movie "My Name is Bruce" - where he played himself - and two books, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" and "Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way."
But it is getting more difficult for the 53-year-old to claim "B" status.
Contributor: Barbara Davies