A life on television is a luxurious one, but many mistake acting as a frivolous occupation. On the contrary, plenty of actors of merit utilize their fame to advance their careers and reach new heights of success. One such mastermind was Herman Wedemeyer. Previously a football star, a politician, and an actor, Wedemeyer managed to become an idol across cultures, sometimes simultaneously.

While Wedemeyer was holding office in the Hawaii House of Representatives, he also began playing guest roles on the popular crime series, Hawaii Five-O.

During an interview, Wedemeyer was more than willing to admit that his time on television certainly helped his political career.

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"One wonderful aspect of Hawaii Five-O is it's become a year-round campaign for me," said Wedemeyer during an interview with the Deseret News. "Not too many people have this wonderful asset."

In fact, Wedemeyer credited the series with cementing his election after one political opponent attempted to stifle him.

"In the last campaign, another candidate asked for equal time, and it backfired," Wedemeyer said. "The candidate who was seeking equal time wrote to the FCC asking for a decision to be rendered. It didn't restrict television from showing the Hawaii Five-O segments I had already made. But we compromised and took my shows off the air. The other candidate was running for office for the first time. She was successful in the primary and then brought up the issue of equal time. So the local station just took my shows off the air."

With the amount of press surrounding the entire ordeal, Wedemeyer actually benefited from the experience.

"The whole thing worked out very favorably for me because it gave me more publicity than I might have had otherwise," said the actor.