By Christina Radish
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Dominic Monaghan at the William S. Paley Television Festival night honoring Lost held at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood, Calif. on March 12, 2005. |
With the hugely popular ABC television series Lost making its eagerly anticipated return, the show will most certainly continue to raise more questions for every answer it gives, as has been the case since its debut. Returning at a new time of 10 pm, the 16 all-new episodes pick back up with Jack, Kate and Sawyer still being held captive by the mysterious Others, and waiting for their chance to escape.
Josh Holloway, who plays resident bad boy Sawyer, and Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie, a musician trying to kick his heroin habit, spoke with MediaBlvd Magazine about what they would like to see happen on Lost before it finally goes off the air.
MediaBlvd Magazine> How is the show going to be different now?
Josh Holloway> It’s fun because it's been so intense. The beginning part of the season, and all the beat-downs and head wounds and everything that Sawyer sustained, got to me, after awhile. As an actor, you're trying to live it as honestly as you can. So, without giving anything away, I'm really happy now. There's some lighter things going on, which is fun for my character. There's some diversity there. It's lighter. There’s some funny stuff.
MediaBlvd> What would you like to see happen with your character?
Dominic Monaghan> As an actor, I would just like to see more. I'd like to work more and be in the show more. It's an ensemble cast, so you have to wait your turn. Stanislavski said, “There are no small parts, just small actors,” so you have to really use the small amount of screen time you have. But, I love it when Charlie goes dark. I love the Dark Jedi thing that he does when he puts his hood up. I want to see him go down a dark pathway. I'm friends enough with Damon that I can have conversations with him and talk to him about concerns. This year, I've just been asking, “What is actually going to happen with Charlie, when he reappears toward the end of the season?” We've been talking about that a lot.
MediaBlvd> Do you and Emilie de Ravin talk about storylines for your characters? Dominic> We're on set a lot, so we talk about what we think will happen with Claire and Charlie. In terms of our downtime, no we don’t talk about it. But, when we're working together, we always wonder about what's next.
MediaBlvd> Since Charlie struggles with his urges for drugs, do you feel a sense of awareness or responsibility because you play a drug addict?
Dominic> Yeah. I have been asked a lot about drugs. I did an article with USA Today, just to address the drug issue, because I didn't want to give media-friendly sound bytes about drugs. It's obviously a personal choice that people have to make, but it essentially ruins people's lives. You have to be very careful. I think Charlie is proof, on camera, that drugs are probably not a great idea. He's the effect of drugs. I'm a young guy who grew up obsessed with The Beatles. I know all about drugs. I know what it's like to lose control.
MediaBlvd> Is Charlie going to play more music this season?
Dominic> That's more of a writer question. I wrote a song for the show this year, called “Flux,” which I sent to (executive producers) Damon and J.J. and, possibly, we'll do something with that. But, that's not up to me, it's up to them.
MediaBlvd> At this point, what surprises you most about Sawyer?
Josh> That he makes the same mistakes, over and over again. It's kind of a dichotomy because he's not a dumb person. He's pretty smart. He makes references to books, all the time, so he’s well-read. But, he makes the dumbest mistakes, repeatedly. How many times is he gonna reach for his gun and get knocked out?
MediaBlvd> Sawyer is always very disheveled-looking. Do they just throw a bucket of mud on you, when you get up in the morning?
Josh> I actually caught the wardrobe guy dragging my jeans across the parking lot. I said, “What are you doing? I’ve gotta put those on.” And he said, “Ah, they just were a little too clean, and it’s not reading good on camera." In the morning, you get to the set, you're showered, you’re waking up, and then, they just ruin you. You have to put on what they call the hero shirts. You think, “I’ve gotta put this thing on again?” So, that has been challenging, but I love physical acting. I grew up with three brothers, in the country, on 33 acres of land. I love a good physical scene. But, it does work on your psyche to constantly get beat down because you're trying to live it, truly. I go home moping a bit, and my wife's like, “It's all right.”
MediaBlvd> Was it awkward to do the love scene with Evangeline Lilly?
Josh> No, because Evie and I have such a great friendship now. We trust each other, as actors, and it's so key to be able to be vulnerable and really open up with each other. We have a sold friendship and trust. And, my wife and her have a great relationship. There’s a lot of trust there.
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Josh Holloway at the ABC Winter All-Star party held at the Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif. on January 14, 2007. |
MediaBlvd> What do you think is going to happen with the relationship between Sawyer and Kate?
Josh> I'm sure that he's gonna mess that up pretty quick. It's his nature. As an actor, it's more intriguing, to me, if he tries to make it work because it'd be so foreign to him. To explore that fine line of falling in love, when it’s not a part of that person's make-up, is challenging. It's been fun because neither of us really know where it's going, so we don't know exactly what to fully invest in, which plays well on camera. It's nice, not knowing. One minute, we're really close and sappy, and the next minute we’re like, “What the?” But, our friendship is deep. We've been working together constantly, and we discuss these things and how we're going to do them, so it's good. We were really proud of the way that love scene turned out because we wanted it to be different. We wanted it to take some time and have some moments in the middle of it, not just this crazy furious thing because it's been such a long time coming. We really work together well, communicating about what we're trying to do.
MediaBlvd> Does your wife mind when you film love scenes?
Josh> She is incredibly confident because we're very much in love. She knows how I feel about her. Because we have such an open good friendship and dialogue with Evie and Dom, we talk about these things. However, that last one made me a little uncomfortable. I was watching it with my wife, and that's who I look at that way, normally. There was a little twinge of guilt, but that just means I did my job.
MediaBlvd> Do you have any ideas of what’s going on, on the island?
Josh> I would be disappointed, as part of the audience, to find out we were dead. But, I really don't know what's going on. All I know is, I’m sure I'll be getting beat up soon, by someone. At first, as an actor, it was hard to really let go. We’re used to knowing a beginning, middle, and end. That way, you know how to flavor your performance, accordingly. Since we don't have that option, it's really been a leap of faith, to let go of that, immerse yourself in the character, and trust what you're gonna get. But, they have been incredible. My wife still steals the script and locks herself in the bathroom, so I can't read it first. It’s still exciting.
MediaBlvd> Would it redeem Sawyer, in your eyes, if he died saving somebody?
Josh> Yeah, it would. I feel like there's really no redemption for Sawyer. He's beyond that. He doesn't want redemption. He doesn't embrace it. It actually makes him angrier, in a way, because his power is in being indifferent. When he's made to care and to feel things, it pisses him off. He’ll react and do something wrong, so he feels better and gets his power back, by wronging someone.
MediaBlvd> Are you a prankster on set?
Josh> Sure. I would be more of one, but the machine must go on. Sometimes beautiful opportunities come up, but I don't want to ruin the take for my friend and get yelled at because we're on a schedule. Only a few times, have I actually just done it anyway and burned the film. It's fun and it's funny, and it ends up on the blooper real. We need to do more of it, but it's become such a fast, hard pace that it's hard to do.
MediaBlvd> Do you guys hang out?
Josh> A lot. It depends on who's working together and our schedules. Just like any other place, once you live there a little while, how often do you see all your friends? When you can, when your jobs brings you together, you do. It’s like that there, as well. But, we still make an effort. My wife loves to cook. She cooked a huge Thanksgiving dinner. We actually flew in a Honeybaked Ham from Los Angeles and had a huge get together with everybody, just to kick off the holiday. Then, we did another get together and watched the show. I'm vigilant about keeping the family together.
MediaBlvd> What’s your motivation for working out?
Dominic> Well, I think my body looks a lot better when I go to the gym and it helps me eat more food, which I always need to do. If I have a day at work, I'll come home and be three pounds lighter through stress. What I need to do is eat a lot and work out. And, I love surfing.
Josh> That's a double-edged sword. I hate working out because I'm forced to, but it keeps me in shape, and I appreciate that. I would be a slob, if they would let me.
MediaBlvd> What's life like in Hawaii?
Josh> We love it. It took my wife and I about eight months to get over the island fever, and feeling a bit isolated. But, now we’ve started a duck orphanage and we raise all these ducks on the canal. And, I've got my boat and the kayaks. I’m a very outdoorsy type person. Now there's an archery range that has just opened, a mile and a half from my house. I got a traditional bow and arrow for Christmas, so I'm going there for that.
MediaBlvd> How has it been to deal with the loss of anonymity?
Josh> I think that is an adjustment for anybody who has become someone in the public eye. It's been very difficult for me. It makes you nervous, at first, and self-conscious. I tend to isolate myself in my house. You have to get used to knowing that everyone knows who you are. And, I'm not exactly politically correct all the time. I'll go out, all sweaty from the gym, to the market, and you hear people say, “Oh, he looks terrible,” while you're thinking, “I need to go home.”
MediaBlvd> As a visible TV star, is it easier being in Hawaii?
Josh> You get noticed there too, but unless it's tourists, I just know where not to go. If I'm going to go there, then I'm going to own it and say, “Alright, let's do pictures.” The local people just give you a nod and say, “Love your work.” The tourists already have their cameras out.
MediaBlvd> Do you have a film lined up yet for your hiatus?
Dominic> I'm gonna do a film called I Sell The Dead. It's about grave robbers in the 12th century. I play the lead guy. Me and Ron Perlman are in it.
Josh> I have Whisper (in which he plays the kidnapper of the 10-year-old son of a wealthy New England socialite), and I chose that role because it was the opposite of Sawyer. It was more of a Jack type of role. The character is a bad person, but with a good heart. It's a straightforward premise. I thought it would be interesting for me to play a more heroic character, but who’s still a little off, so that's why I chose that.
MediaBlvd> How much do you want to have a dual career in movies?
Josh> That's tough. I compare it to burning through the atmosphere. In order to break through the movie thing, you've got to burn through that atmosphere and it's hard. You work all year, at this fierce pace, for Lost, and you're constantly doing something. And then, you get that little break and you want to do even better. The pressure's high.
MediaBlvd> Before acting, what did you want to do?
Josh> I first wanted to be a fighter pilot, when I was young. And then, I was very interested in traveling the world and I was trying to figure out how to do that, so I was going to do import/export. But, I worked construction all my life, so I was probably going to end up a contractor. That's what you do in Georgia. You're a mechanic or a contractor or chicken farmer.
MediaBlvd> When did acting come in?
Josh> I did 16 years of print modeling. I modeled for years, traveling around the world, when I was very young. At 18, I took off. After I got that out of my system, with about 12 years of constant travel, I didn't know what else to do. I opened a development company in Georgia and tried that.
MediaBlvd> Is acting a natural transition from modeling?
Josh> No. The only thing that it helps you with is being comfortable around people and being interviewed and being constantly judged. That's the only real training I think that I did.
MediaBlvd> Was modeling fun for you?
Josh> I loved it at the time. In my experience, for men, the actual job was not fulfilling. I was used to working hard labor, so people would complain and I'd be laughing. I was like, “This is a cocktail party, with cappuccinos and bagels, and whatever you want.” I enjoyed it. It didn't bother me, at first, but then it worked on me after a while -- the constant travel and then the non-fulfillment aspect -- so I had to move on to something else.
MediaBlvd> Do you think you have any of your own island survival skills?
Josh> I love nature so I probably wouldn't freak out. I'd get into it. They say the biggest part about surviving in the wilderness is not panicking. It's your attitude. That's your biggest tool for survival, so I would do just fine. I love to camp and I do so all the time. Now, I've got my bow and I'm down at the archery range, practicing. Maybe I could even get myself some food. Bring on the boars.
MediaBlvd> What do you think of the plan to end Lost at a certain point?
Josh> They're already talking about that. That has been a suggestion, from the beginning. Damon, J.J. and Carlton are really invested in the integrity of the show, so much so that they were willing to pull three days of production because the storyline was wrong. The beginning of last year, the second episode was my episode, but the story wasn't right. Emotionally, it didn't make sense. So, after three days of production, they said, “We don't like that. It's Harold's episode now,” and they switched it. That ain't cheap, but for the integrity of the show, they really fought for it. They've really been wanting a beginning, middle and end to this story. They don't want it to go too long and get watered down and be not good.
MediaBlvd> How would you like to see the show end?
Josh> I want a big, bloody Braveheart battle. That’s what I really want. And, I want Sawyer to die, badly, as a last thing, after he does something good.
