Joseph D. Kucan
Encyclopedia
Joseph David Kucan 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.
. He has two younger brothers, Michael and Daniel. 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 went to work for Westwood Studios
where he served as the Director of Dramatic Assets for 8 years.
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 film
s 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 which marked the conclusion of the Tiberian series
and thus the role of Kane.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and casting director for various gaming companies
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and movies. He is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. He is well known for his role as Kane
Kane (Command & Conquer)
Kane is a fictional character in the alternate history universe of Westwood Studios' and Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer real-time strategy video games in which he is a seemingly immortal mastermind behind the ancient and secretive Brotherhood of Nod society...
from the Command & Conquer series.
Early life
Kucan was born in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. He has two younger brothers, Michael and Daniel. 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
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and took a job as a staff actor with the Firebird Theatre Company, a touring repertory theatre company in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. 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 went to work for Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
where he served as the Director of Dramatic Assets for 8 years.
Career
Kucan started working with Westwood StudiosWestwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
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
Kane (Command & Conquer)
Kane is a fictional character in the alternate history universe of Westwood Studios' and Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer real-time strategy video games in which he is a seemingly immortal mastermind behind the ancient and secretive Brotherhood of Nod society...
, the messianic/prophetic leader of a pseudo-religious mass movement with transhumanist
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
ambitions called The Brotherhood of Nod. He also directed and acted in various film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s and video games over the years such as Clover's Movie, Luckytown
Luckytown
Luckytown is a 2000 film starring Kirsten Dunst, James Caan and Vincent Kartheiser.-Plot:When she turns 18, unhappy Lidda Daniels leaves Southern California to look for Charlie, her father, a professional gambler who abandoned her years before...
, Monkey on Mama's Back and a computer game based upon Blade Runner
Blade Runner (video game)
Blade Runner is a point-and-click adventure game, developed by Westwood Studios for the PC. Rather than re-tell the 1982 Blade Runner film, the developers created a different story set in the same universe, serving as a side story...
, for which he also was a writer.
He is also featured in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
and the subsequent expansion pack Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath
Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath
Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is an expansion pack for the 2007 real-time strategy video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Developed by Electronic Arts Los Angeles and BreakAway Games studios, it was released on March 24, 2008 in the United States and on March 28, 2008 in Europe by...
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 which marked the conclusion of the Tiberian series
Command & Conquer: Tiberian series
The Command & Conquer: Tiberian series is a sub-series of real-time strategy video games belonging to the extensive Command & Conquer franchise by Westwood Studios and Electronic Arts...
and thus the role of Kane.
Gameography
- The Legend of Kyrandia: Fables and FiendsThe Legend of KyrandiaThe Legend of Kyrandia is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game trilogy with comedy elements, created by Westwood Studios, and released for DOS, Amiga, FM Towns and Apple Macintosh...
(1992), Virgin GamesVirgin InteractiveVirgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group... - The Legend of Kyrandia: The Hand of FateThe Legend of KyrandiaThe Legend of Kyrandia is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game trilogy with comedy elements, created by Westwood Studios, and released for DOS, Amiga, FM Towns and Apple Macintosh...
(1993), Avalon InteractiveAvalon InteractiveAvalon Interactive was a video game distribution company, which was originally Virgin Interactive. It was acquired in 1999 by the French publisher Titus Software and its name was changed to Avalon Interactive on July 1, 2003.... - Lands of Lore: The Throne of ChaosLands of Lore: The Throne of ChaosLands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is the first installment of the Lands of Lore series. It was developed by Westwood Studios and distributed by Virgin Games, Inc...
(1993), Westwood StudiosWestwood StudiosWestwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in... - The Legend of Kyrandia: Malcolm's RevengeThe Legend of KyrandiaThe Legend of Kyrandia is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game trilogy with comedy elements, created by Westwood Studios, and released for DOS, Amiga, FM Towns and Apple Macintosh...
(1994), Virgin InteractiveVirgin InteractiveVirgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group... - MonopolyMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
(1995), Hasbro InteractiveHasbro InteractiveHasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company.Hasbro Interactive was formed late in 1995 in order to compete in the computer and video game arena. Several Hasbro properties, such as Monopoly and Scrabble, had already... - Command & Conquer (1995), Westwood StudiosWestwood StudiosWestwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
(played KaneKane (Command & Conquer)Kane is a fictional character in the alternate history universe of Westwood Studios' and Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer real-time strategy video games in which he is a seemingly immortal mastermind behind the ancient and secretive Brotherhood of Nod society...
and directed cut-scenes) - Command & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
(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 2000Dune 2000Dune 2000 is a real-time strategy video game, released by Westwood Studios in 1998 for Microsoft Windows, and later ported to the PlayStation. It is a partial remake of Dune II, which is also based on Frank Herbert's Dune universe. The story of the game is similar to Dune II, and is continued in...
(1998), Westwood Studios - Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Retaliation (1999), Westwood Studios
- Command & Conquer: Tiberian SunCommand & Conquer: Tiberian SunCommand & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
(1999), Westwood Studios - EA Games (played Kane and directed cut-scenes) - NoxNox (computer game)Nox is an action role-playing game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Electronic Arts in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It details the story of Jack, a young man from Earth who is pulled into a high fantasy parallel universe and has to defeat the evil sorceress Hecubah and her army of...
(2000), EA Games - Command & Conquer: Firestorm (2000), Westwood Studios - EA Games (played Kane and directed cut-scenes)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a 2.5D real-time strategy computer game by Westwood Studios, which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2000 as the follow-up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Set in the early 1970s, Red Alert 2 supposedly picks up at the conclusion of the Allied...
(2001), Westwood Studios - EA Games - Command & Conquer: Yuri's RevengeCommand & Conquer: Yuri's RevengeIn Command and Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, the true story starts off assuming the Allies won in Red Alert 2. The plot is based around Yuri, the former head of the Soviet Psychic Corps, coming out of hiding to take over the world by using his Psychic Dominators...
(2001), Westwood Studios - EA Games - Emperor: Battle for DuneEmperor: Battle for DuneEmperor: Battle for Dune is a Dune video game, released by Westwood Studios on June 12, 2001. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe....
(2002), Westwood Studios - EA Games - Command & Conquer: RenegadeCommand & Conquer: RenegadeCommand & Conquer: Renegade is a first and third person shooter video game developed by Westwood Studios and is part of the Command & Conquer series. It is the only C&C game that uses the first person view...
(2002), Westwood Studios - EA Games (voiced Kane and directed cut-scenes) - Pirates: The Legend of Black KatPirates: The Legend of Black KatPirates: The Legend of Black Kat is an action-adventure video game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox...
(2002), EA Games - Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium WarsCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium WarsCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
(2007), Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(played Kane) - Command & Conquer 3: Kane's WrathCommand & Conquer 3: Kane's WrathCommand & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is an expansion pack for the 2007 real-time strategy video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Developed by Electronic Arts Los Angeles and BreakAway Games studios, it was released on March 24, 2008 in the United States and on March 28, 2008 in Europe by...
(2008), Electronic Arts (played Kane) - Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian TwilightCommand & Conquer 4: Tiberian TwilightCommand & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight is a real-time tactics video game and the latest installment of the popular Command & Conquer franchise, released March 16, 2010. It constitutes the final chapter in the Kane saga...
(2010), EA Los Angeles - EA (played Kane)