In ‘History’s Deadliest,’ the award-winning actor trades the fictional disasters of Hollywood scripts for real life catastrophes.
Ving Rhames has questions. The opportunity to investigate them is what motivated the Harlem, New York, native to take on his latest project as the host, narrator, and executive producer of the History Channel’s new show “History’s Deadliest with Ving Rhames.”
“I’ve read about man’s inhumanity to man,” Rhames told The Epoch Times in a recent interview. “Locations where certain disasters happen, I’m wondering, can the soil that something happened on create a certain kind of energy for disasters? I’ve always felt that if you do evil on a certain soil, the evil just doesn’t go away.”
Rhames said he set out to find “the truth” about this and much more while working on the 10-part series, which premieres on Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and streams the next day on The History Channel app, the History site, and On Demand on all pay-TV platforms that offer The History Channel.
“History’s Deadliest” aims to reveal the unimaginable details surrounding the world’s most prolific and powerful killers. From conniving criminals, lethal weapons, and epic battles to violent plagues, devastating natural disasters, and more, these are the deadliest people, places, and events that altered the global landscape and changed civilization forever.
The most challenging part of becoming the series’ host for the veteran actor? “I probably would say making it my own and making it believable,” said Rhames, of this first-time “fun experience.”
Starring in eight “Mission: Impossible” movies, along with critical hits like “Pulp Fiction,” “Don King: Only in America,” and “Dope Thief,” Rhames acts as a guide taking viewers through the pivotal decisions, deadly chain reactions, and far-reaching consequences of these historic catastrophes. Expert interviews, rare archival footage, and dynamic visual storytelling offer deeper insight into why these events proved so lethal—and how similar scenarios could erupt again.
For Rhames, who is accustomed to flying around the world to make his movies, the chance to film this gig from a studio in his new hometown of Las Vegas was a welcome opportunity. “I just moved to Vegas a year ago,” said the 66-year-old actor, who appreciates that “it’s cheaper—no state taxes—and cleaner than Los Angeles.”
He’s also taking advantage of the city’s abundance of entertainment offerings. “New Edition, after 40 years, was really good,” he recalled about a recent concert.
Of course, he’s still willing to hit the road when the right circumstances present themselves. Case in point, Rhames just returned from Serbia, where he was filming “Painter,” an action-thriller set for release on Hulu. Surviving that 15-hour plane ride was all about “sleep,” he said. Rhames stars alongside Amber Midthunder and Walton Goggins, with James Cameron as an executive producer, in the story of a young woman rescuing her kidnapped father.
And while 2025’s “Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning” was billed as the last time Tom Cruise would star in the action franchise, the movie did not completely close the door on another adventure for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Rhames, whose tech-savvy IMF agent Luther Stickell is the only character besides Cruise’s Hunt to appear in all eight films, would eagerly sign up for the next “Mission.”
“The great thing about Tom Cruise is Tom does not see color,” said Rhames. “I met Tom Cruise at the premiere of ‘Pulp Fiction.’ I was in the bathroom and guess who walks in? That’s how I met him. Afterwards we hugged and talked about some films. And a good long ride.”
That “good long ride,” acknowledged Rhames, who became “Ving” from Irving thanks to a nickname bestowed on him from fellow actor Stanley Tucci, when the pair were roommates at the State University of New York’s Conservatory of Theater Arts in Purchase, can be traced to his lifelong mantra: “If you’re going to be successful, believe in yourself.”
That confidence in himself memorably shone through in 1998, when Rhames won his Golden Globe award for his role as Don King in the television mini-series “Don King: Only in America.” After arriving on stage, he asked if his fellow nominee—for his role as a juror in the TV Movie “12 Angry Men”—and screen legend Jack Lemmon was in the room, and then invited him to join him.
Lemmon, who died in 2001, took to the stage to thunderous applause, and he and Rhames wrapped an arm around each other in embrace. Before Rhames could elaborate, Lemmon eyed the statuette and innocently joked, “Don’t give me that!” But after Rhames did a little more talking, he did just that, saying this at the time: “I feel that being an artist is about giving, and I’d like to give this to you, Mr. Jack Lemmon.” The audience of Hollywood A-listers went wild.
Although the Golden Globes still recognizes Rhames as the official winner, his spontaneous gesture honoring Lemmon will always remain a part of award show history. Since then, a duplicate of the award had been made so that Rhames could also own the statuette.
None of that seems so surprising after the former defensive halfback shared his motivation for getting into the profession when injuries left him sidelined as a football player. “I didn’t decide,” Rhames said. “God chose me to act. I didn’t choose acting. God chose me to act.”
That doesn’t mean Rhames doesn’t have a few of his own career wishes for the work he takes on. He’d still like the opportunity to add to his lengthy and varied credits the role of Martin Luther King Jr. “I’d like to play his life but I’d want to play his life from his experience [as] a man, not as a myth,” said Rhames. He’s also hoping to get a chance to work with an actor he admires, Giancarlo Esposito—best known for his role as the drug kingpin Gustavo “Gus” Fring in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.”
After his experience with “History’s Deadliest,” Rhames would also consider more of that type of work. “It did spark an interest in me,” he said.
Whatever the project is that comes his way, Rhames knows one thing: it will land. “I haven’t had to audition in about thirty years. My last audition was “Pulp Fiction.”
