By Christina Radish

Australian native Grant Bowler is a versatile actor making a name for himself in Hollywood. In addition to playing Connor Owens, the CFO of Meade Publications and the love interest of Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) on the ABC hit television series Ugly Betty, Bowler also guest starred as Captain Gault on Lost. A classically trained graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the 40-year-old New York City resident and father of two (he is married to actress Roxanne Wilson) is best known to Australian audiences for his roles on some of Australia’s most successful series, including Always Greener, Blue Heelers, Medivac, Wildside, Halifax F.P., Farscape, All Saints and Stringers.

Bowler spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about working on such popular television shows as Ugly Betty and Lost.

MediaBlvd Magazine> How did you become interested in acting? Was there someone or something that inspired you to act, or had you just always wanted to be a performer?

Grant Bowler> No, I had never wanted to be an actor. I never thought of being an actor. In fact, I didn’t realize that, in real life, you could be an actor. I was from a town in Northern Australia, and I’d never met an actor. But, I ended up writing advertising when I was 17 or 18, and the lead copywriter was an actor. I didn’t watch too much television, when I was a kid, and he was the first actor I ever met. He and I wrote an ad together and we went out to shoot it, and the guy that was meant to be in it, didn’t turn up, so the lead writer said to me, “You get up and do it.” I said, “Well, I don’t know how to do that,” and he said, “That’s easy. I’ll tell you.” So, I jumped up and did it. It seemed pretty easy and they paid me, and I got to be the center of attention and show off. So, I pursued it from there. But, it was an accident, more than anything.

MediaBlvd> What made you decide to make a career out of acting?

Grant> They paid me money to do it, the first time. And, it seemed really easy. The terrible thing is that I think I learned how to act backwards. I got up in front of a camera and did whatever came into my head and got paid for it, the first time out of the gate, and then I had to go back and figure out what it was, how to go about it and learn how to do it. I went into it backwards and I’m glad I had that ignorance, in the beginning, because I didn’t realize that it might be difficult to learn how to do, or there might be hoops that you have to jump through. Ignorance is bliss, when it comes to that stuff.

MediaBlvd> Once you decided to make a go of acting, did you always have a goal to come to the States for work?

Grant> It was always something I thought about. I was always pretty lucky. I tended to work very constantly in Australia, so although I always thought about it, there was always another job to do. Probably about three or four years ago, I just thought, “I’m going to stop for a minute and have a look around, and re-asses what it is that I want to do.” I was lucky that I was able to come over and land a job, and then the next job came from there, and the next job came from there.

MediaBlvd> How did you originally get involved with Ugly Betty? Did you just audition for the show, or had they seen you in something?

Grant> I auditioned for the show. I’d been shooting Down Under, and I’d just gotten back to L.A., and I was having trouble finding a role. I read at the very, very last minute, and met with the show’s creator, Silvio Horta, and it seemed that I was what they were looking for. I’ve been a huge fan of the show, ever since the pilot. I’ve always loved the show, so I was really excited that the opportunity was there.

MediaBlvd> What did you identify with, when it came to Connor?

Grant> He’s an Australian in New York, so I identify with that. And, he’s an outsider coming in, and I really identify with that. That was easy. Connor is the coolest guy in school, which is not my personal experience, but I remember seeing the coolest guy in school, when I was at school. So, it’s been fun to play. It’s always nice to play that stuff. There have been some really great twists and turns. He definitely took a bit of a walk on the dark side, and that’s fun. I like doing that stuff. There’s definitely a bit of an edge that creeped into the character.

MediaBlvd> What did they tell you about your character, when they cast you? How much of him existed, in the beginning? Have you put in any input, as far as his development, or was he always this guy?

Grant> Pretty much. The writers of Ugly Betty are very quick to pick things up, so it’s a bit of a dance. You do the work you do on the floor, and then they pick up on how you are as a performer and actor, and then they write to you, a little more. It’s a little bit of a conversation, episode to episode, and week to week. But, they wrote the character, and I came in to play the character that was written. As time goes on, you get used to playing the character, and they get used to you playing the character, and they write to you a little more, so it all becomes a bit of a marriage.

MediaBlvd> When you play a character that has secrets, how does that affect your performance? Do you prefer to know what those secrets are, so that you can shape your performance a certain way?

Grant> I don’t know. For me, when I was starting out, as a young actor, I wanted to know all the secrets. And now, I like them to remain a surprise.

MediaBlvd> What has it been like to work with Vanessa Williams?

Grant> It’s been a treat. I was a bit intimidated by Vanessa, before I turned up. She’s very beautiful and she plays this really tough chick on the show, so I was like, “Oh, my God! How is this going to be?” But, she’s been fantastic. She’s a gear-head, she loves cars and she’s hilariously funny, so she’s been a treat to sit around and talk to, all day. We have a lot of fun. She’s funny and sweet and kind. She’s lovely.

MediaBlvd> How is it work in New York?

Grant> I love New York. I love working in New York. New York has this amazing energy to it that I’ve never seen anywhere else. I shot a documentary on Bollywood in Mumbai, years ago, and that would be the only city that would have even close to the same energy level, but that’s a horrible energy. New York has a great energy. It’s phenomenal. The vibe and the energy of the place feeds into shooting, and it just makes it the most exciting and dynamic place there is to shoot. I think New York is just too cool for school.

MediaBlvd> What’s been the most enjoyable thing about doing the show? And, has there been anything particularly challenging?

Grant> The most enjoyable thing about the show is that the cast, the producers, the directors and everybody, all the way through, get along. I’ve never been on a show where everybody, top to bottom, has gotten along, like with this show. It’s just amazing. You hear it a lot, but it’s not true. Everybody on this show eats dinner together, they dance together, they have a good time together, they go out together, they hang together and they just get along, like a house on fire. That’s been the most enjoyable thing. The most daunting thing was that I had to ice skate. I come from Queensland in Australia, which is the tropics. It’s all jungles, beaches and desert. So, ice skating wasn’t part of my resume, when I signed up for the show. It’s tricky.

MediaBlvd> Do you know how long you’re going to be on the show?

Grant> I don’t know. It’s up to the bosses, how long I continue on the series. That decision is above my pay grade.

MediaBlvd> Is there anything you’d like to see happen with Connor, before you’re done?

Grant> I’m happy, at the moment. I love what they’re written for me. There have been plenty of twists and turns, and I’m really enjoying all of the working relationships that I have.

MediaBlvd> How did you become involved with Lost? Had you also been a fan of that show, prior to working on it?

Grant> Yeah, although I’ve tended to travel around so much for work, in the last few years, that I could never keep up with the show. I’d go to one country and they’d be a season behind, then I’d go to another country and they’d be on a different season. One country would be half-way through a season, and the next country would be just starting that season. So, I was always going backwards and forwards on the show, as a viewer. I was a huge fan of the show. Getting involved with it was just a matter of auditioning, like everybody else.

MediaBlvd> Had your work on Lost prepared you for getting involved with a show as popular as Ugly Betty?

Grant> Yeah, I think so. And, I did a series for HBO before I was on Lost, that ended up getting killed in the writer’s strike. I’ve shot 320 hours of drama now. Every job prepares you for the next job, and they all inform one another. But, at the end of the day, every job is new, every cast is new, every production and crew is new. Whenever you form a new group of individuals, whether you’ve met or worked with them before, you get a new dynamic because you’re working on a new creature. You’re always making it up, as you go along.

MediaBlvd> When you come into shows that are already established and successful, like with Lost and Ugly Betty, do you get nervous or feel intimidated at all, or are you confident enough in your abilities as an actor that it isn’t an issue for you?

Grant> Both. You’re the new kid at school, and that’s always hard. But, by the same token, I’ve been doing this for 20 years now. Being nervous or intimidated doesn’t serve the show or what you’re meant to do. It can only hinder you. So, you may as well believe in yourself. It’s a great privilege to come onto shows as successful as Lost and Ugly Betty.

MediaBlvd> If you had your choice, are there types of roles or specific genres that you’d like to work in, that you haven’t gotten the chance to yet?

Grant> I want to do a Western. I love riding horses. I like Westerns because you don’t have to worry about what your hair looks like, or any of that stuff. You just sit on the back of a horse and you act, all day. I love that idea.