Joseph D. Kucan
Joseph Kucan | |
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Born |
Joseph David Kucan March 19, 1965 Henderson, Nevada, U.S. |
Other names | Joe Kucan, Kane |
Joseph David Kucan (born March 19, 1965) is a Video game developer, director, actor, screenwriter, and casting director for various gaming companies and movies. He is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. He is well known for his role as Kane from the Command & Conquer series.
Early life
Kucan was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has two younger brothers, Michael and Daniel Kucan. His parents, Kenn and Jenny, worked as public school teachers in Clark County for 35 years (Kenneth Kucan taught English at Ed W. Clark High School). He began acting at the age of 10 in a local community theatre production of "The Riddle Machine". Soon after, he was one of the founding members of the Rainbow Company, a theatre training program for young people sponsored by the City of Las Vegas. Kucan was involved with that program for 8 years, receiving training in all aspects of theatre arts. After graduating from Bonanza High School and the Rainbow Company in 1983, Kucan moved to California and took a job as a staff actor with the Firebird Theatre Company, a touring repertory theatre company in Los Angeles. He left after one season and returned to Las Vegas, enrolling at UNLV as a theatre arts major. He then returned to the Rainbow Company, taking the position of Educational Director. For the next 10 years, Kucan taught, directed, acted, designed, choreographed and otherwise worked on more than 50 plays, musicals and experimental projects. He left the Rainbow Company in 1994, and after that he ended up working for Westwood Studios where he served as the Director of Dramatic Assets for 8 years.
Career
Kucan started working with Westwood Studios in 1994, and directed as well as acted in all four parts of the Command & Conquer saga. Kucan portrays the series' most iconic character, Kane, the messianic/prophetic leader of a pseudo-religious mass movement with transhumanist ambitions called The Brotherhood of Nod. He also directed and acted in various films and video games over the years such as Clover's Movie, Luckytown, Monkey on Mama's Back and a computer game based upon Blade Runner, for which he also was a writer.
He is also featured in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and the subsequent expansion pack Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath for both PC and Xbox 360, where he reprises his role as Kane.
Kucan was recently inducted into the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008 as the longest recurring actor in any video game franchise to date for his portrayal of Kane.
He reprised his role once again as Kane in Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight which marked the conclusion of the Tiberian series and thus the role of Kane. He also played a small role in Red Alert in the Soviet story in which he is an adviser to Stalin.
In 2013, Kucan, along with his partner, Ann-Marie Pereth, and brother, Daniel Kucan, founded A Public Fit Theatre Company based in Las Vegas, NV.[1]
Gameography
- The Legend of Kyrandia - Book One (1992), Virgin Games (voiced Brandon)
- The Legend of Kyrandia - Book Two: The Hand of Fate (1993), Virgin Games
- Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (1993), Westwood Studios
- The Legend of Kyrandia - Book Three: Malcolm's Revenge (1994), Virgin Interactive
- Monopoly (1995), Hasbro Interactive
- Command & Conquer (1995), Westwood Studios (played Kane and directed cut-scenes)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert (1996), Westwood Studios (played Kane and directed cut-scenes)
- Lands of Lore II: Guardians of Destiny (1997), Avalon Interactive
- Blade Runner (1997), Virgin Interactive
- Dune 2000 (1998), Westwood Studios
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Retaliation (1999), Westwood Studios
- Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999), Westwood Studios - EA Games (played Kane and directed cut-scenes)
- Nox (2000), EA Games
- Command & Conquer: Firestorm (2000), Westwood Studios - EA Games (played Kane and directed cut-scenes)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2000), Westwood Pacific - EA Games (directed cut-scenes)
- Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge (2001), Westwood Pacific - EA Games (directed cut-scenes)
- Emperor: Battle for Dune (2002), Westwood Studios - EA Games
- Command & Conquer: Renegade (2002), Westwood Studios - EA Games (voiced Kane and directed cut-scenes)
- Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat (2002), EA Games
- Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007), Electronic Arts Los Angeles (played Kane)
- Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (2008), Electronic Arts Los Angeles (played Kane)
- Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight (2010), Electronic Arts Los Angeles (played Kane)
External links
- Joseph D. Kucan at the Internet Movie Database
- Joseph D. Kucan at MobyGames
- http://www.apublicfit.org/