Smyrna Bartender Featured In Episode Of 'Leverage: Redemption', An IMDB TV Show

SMYRNA, GA — A local bartender at a popular Smyrna speakeasy is featured in a new IMDB TV show.

Kraig Dane, an Iowa native with over 10 years of acting experience, portrays Phil in "Leverage: Redemption," a revival of TNT's action series "Leverage," which aired for five seasons from 2008-12. Dane appears in the 11th episode, titled "The Jackal Job," which first aired Oct. 8.

Dane stars alongside Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, Beth Riesgraf and Christian Kane, all of whom were stars from the original series.

"I love to play and imagine being other people, and that extends to interacting with people and exploring feelings. Watching Heath Ledger as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' was transformational; I want to give meaning to a role like he did," Dane told Patch when asked how he got into acting. "I want to inspire someone else to chase a dream. I want to explore who I am, and other parts of myself, and acting is a great way to safely explore all areas of what it means to be human."

When he's not on set, Dane is a bartender at Eleanor's, a speakeasy located at Muss & Turner's in Smyrna. His position allows him the flexibility to work between roles, and he said patrons often recognize him from various shows.

To date, Dane's credits include recognizable roles in "Criminal Minds" and "This Is Us," as well as the character of Boseman in "The Underground Railroad," a new Amazon Prime series that premiered in May.

“My mentality has always been what’s next or what can I do better,” Dane said of his process. “With acting, it’s such a creative process, and there are so many ways a given movie, scene, or line can be portrayed that you can’t be ‘right,’ and that is a really hard concept for me.

“I’m still working through that, being okay with trying things and not getting down if someone else has a different idea,” Dane said. “I didn’t do it wrong, ‘I’m not what they are looking for, or they just saw this moment differently’ I’m constantly trying to remind myself of this.”

"Leverage: Redemption" debuted July 9 and was filmed in New Orleans in August 2020. While it's not available on Netflix or Hulu, it can be streamed on Amazon's ad-supported IMDB TV streaming service. It's available on IMDB, Fire TV devices and within the Prime Video app.