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By Christina Radish
Fans and viewers of the hit ABC television series Lost have learned to expect the unexpected, as have the show’s stars, who admit that they rarely know what will be happening with their characters or the story.
When Oceanic flight 815 crashed, on its way from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles, 48 survivors found themselves on an island of harsh terrain, cruel weather and dark secrets, with only each other to depend on for survival. Much has happened in the months since then and, in the season three premiere on October 4, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) struggled to understand why the mysterious Others, who they have discovered share the island with them, have taken them captive.
Although they can’t give away any details, two of the show’s stars, Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin, a fisherman’s son who married Sun (Yunjin Kim) and had to go to work for her wealthy father as a result, and Jorge Garcia, who plays Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, winner of $156 million in the lottery, did reveal a few hints to MediaBlvd. Magazine, in regard to what can be expected in season three.
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Daniel Dae Kim at the San Diego Comic Convention on July 22, 2006. | MediaBlvd.> What are you guys looking forward to in season 3? Do you know anything about where your characters are going to be going?
Daniel Dae Kim> I don’t know anything beyond what you can probably already speculate. We know nothing about what’s going to happen.
Jorge Garcia> And, Daniel knows a little bit more than I do.
MB> Is there any direction that you’d like to see your characters go? Would you like to see Hurley be more aggressive? Or, would you like to see Jin learn English on the island?
Daniel> I would love for Jin to learn more English. I think that would be a great thing for him. It would open up some opportunities to interact with other characters, and he could have some conversations with Hurley outside of dreams.
Jorge> We’ve had very one-sided conversations in the past. It would be interesting if Hurley stepped up, now that three of his friends are away and he’s sent to bring back the message. We’ll see. And, also, I think he’s got to come out of the tragedy that ended last season, different somehow. As to what direction that takes him, I don’t know if he’ll become more vengeful or apathetic.
MB> When Hurley and Libby’s romance took off, was that something that happened because of the chemistry between you and Cynthia Watros, and the producers noticed it, or was it something that was planned ahead?
Jorge> I think they had a plan to go in that direction. How we do the scenes gives the writers feedback, and might excite them and show them what parts to amp up.
Daniel> The writers watch our performances pretty closely and see what kind of chemistry we have with particular people, and they’ll write to what they like seeing.
MB> Why do you think The Others let Hurley go?
Jorge> I don’t know. At first, the big question was, “Why do The Others want Hurley? I don’t understand what they want with Hurley.” And then, they let him go and everyone goes, “Why did they let him go?” I guess they didn’t want him. I only have the information that you guys have -- that they want him to go back and tell the survivors that they can’t go over there. My only concern is that I hope Hurley makes it back to camp ‘cause he doesn’t know how he got to where it is. He had that burlap sack over his head.
MB> In regard to your characters, do you have any input with the writers, or do you go with what they give you?
Jorge> I pretty much go with what they give me. You can talk to the writers. We have their phone numbers. But, I let them write. My job is to just do my thing. There is a great comfort and freedom in knowing that my part of the show is just this little piece of the wedge. I don’t have to think about the giant hugeness that the show has become. I just play my piano, sing my little song, and do my thing. I like to let them do their part, as I do my part. I let the stories unravel in front of me. So far, I think they’ve written Hurley really well, so if it ain’t broke, I just let them do their thing.
Daniel> I make suggestions about Jorge’s character, but no one else’s, really.
Jorge> Oh, that explains a lot. I had to speak in Korean.
Daniel> Exactly.
MB> Are there any secrets about your characters that we haven’t found out yet? Is there more backstory to unfold?
Daniel> I would assume so. I’m guessing yes, but I don’t know of anything specific.
MB> When you were hired, how much backstory were you given?
Daniel> I knew a little bit just ‘cause J.J., Damon, Yunjin and I sat down and had a conversation. I’m part of a couple, which was unique on the show, and so, we just needed to know a little bit about our relationship.
MB> Are you hoping that eventually you’ll be able to speak English on the show?
Daniel> Well, if Jorge can speak Korean, I guess Jin should be able to speak English. I would love for him to learn some English and be able to communicate on a deeper level than grunts.
Jorge> I think, eventually, out of necessity, the language gets learned. It might be a quick learning curve ‘cause it’s television.
MB> What do you guys think about the new mysteries that were introduced at the end of season 2, like the foot of the statue?
Jorge> That’s probably the biggest one for me -- the four-toed statue.
Daniel> I heard that statue was actually supposed to have more toes than five, so it’s curious to me that it ended up with four.
MB> How much time do you guys spend speculating on the set about all the mysteries?
Jorge> We did, early on in the show, but it’s kind of died down a bit. Although, Daniel and I like to go looking out on the Internet and find out what people are speculating about. We do share information. Daniel turned me on to the Podcast that was going on, and so, we would tend to listen to those fairly regularly to find out what stuff that happens on the show that people jump on and get excited about.
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Jorge Garcia at the San Diego Comic Convention on July 22, 2006 | MB> Do you wish you had more scenes with certain members of the cast?
Daniel> I think one of the great things about having a cast that’s so large and so talented is that there are a lot of people that you want to play with. There are a few people I haven’t had scenes with yet that I would love to.
Jorge> It gets exciting when you get a new scene partner. When Hurley and Jin’s stuff started picking up, during season 1, it was funny because, around the same time, we started hanging out a little bit, outside of work, and were going to different places in the neighborhood. And then, all of a sudden, we started getting these scenes together. It was kind of cool.
MB> Do you have much interaction with the fans of the show? Do people come up to you and either ask you questions or tell you what they think everything means?
Daniel> Not when I’m with Jorge.
Jorge> I’m Daniel’s diversion when we’re out. He can become completely invisible when he’s hanging out with me ‘cause I stick out like crazy.
MB> Do you ever visit the Fuselage website (www.thefuselage.com), or any of the fan sites, to see what people are saying about the show?
Jorge> I’m on Fuselage all the time. I post. I get kind of obsessive compulsive about my section, and I try to reply to everything, even if it’s just, “Thanks!” It’s tough because the posts get bigger and it becomes more for them to sift through to try to find the answers.
Daniel> I go on the Fuselage a couple of times a year and I try to answer all the questions that are new, but I tend to get asked the same questions over and over again. I’m trying to figure out a nice way of saying, “Refer to my previous post.” But, I think it’s great that the fans are on a site like that. It’s pretty unique, among television shows, to have something like that.
MB> Have you guys done the Lost Experience (www.thelostexperience.com) alternate reality game?
Daniel> I haven’t. I heard it’s pretty extensive though. I’ve heard some little tidbits about things that people have found, but that’s about it. It’s just too deep.
MB> Have you guys ever felt about a television show the way your fans feel about Lost? Were you ever that dedicated to anything?
Daniel> I saw all three of The Lord of the Rings movies on the opening day, and I never see movies on opening day because I’m not a big fan of crowds. That was a pretty big deal. And, I know that I’ve seen almost every Star Trek from the original series, at least three or four times.
MB> Daniel, as a Star Trek fan, with J.J. Abrams working on the next film, have you hit him up for a part in that?
Daniel> No. I gave one of the producers some friendly advice, but that’s about it. I said, “You’ve got to make sure the ships are cool,” because, to me, that was what it was all about. I used to make models of the Enterprise, so I said, “If you’re going to do all those kinds of effects, make sure the Enterprise doesn’t look like it’s made of paper mache.”
MB> Would you want to be a part of it?
Daniel> Yeah. Any kind of decent project, especially something I’ve been a fan of, I would love to be a part of, but my first obligation is to Lost. If you want to dance, you’ve got to get asked.
MB> Have they explained to you why they’re breaking the season up? How do you feel about the fact that they’re going to air six episodes and then go on hiatus for awhile?
Daniel> I think it’s great. I think repeats were a big part of the viewers’ frustration last year. For everyone to know exactly what the schedule is going to be, it’s going to be good for the continuity of the show and for the ratings. I think it’s nice to have the idea of a mini-cliffhanger at the end of the first six episodes.
MB> How grueling is the physical nature of the shooting?
Jorge> It’s not construction, but there are some days that are more miserable than others, I must say. When Dan and I worked the Hurley stepping on a sea urchin scene, that was two days where we were exhausted at the end, especially with him trying to carry me. That was a day that we definitely felt like we earned our pay. Because Jin is such a good fisherman, they put real fish in his net, so he would just pull out a giant net full of fish, and a couple moray eels caught the smell of it and started swimming to where we were. We had to stop shooting that day ‘cause we couldn’t get in the water with the eels. They’ll bite.
Daniel> Moray eels’ teeth go inward, so when they bite into something, it angles in so you can’t pull them off. I’m told that’s pretty painful.
MB> Did you do any projects during your hiatus?
Jorge> I did a movie in Vancouver, called Deck the Halls. It’s a Christmas family comedy with Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick.
MB> Do you worry that Lost will hit a wall because expectations are so high? It’s a such a high profile show that, inevitably, people are going to be disappointed. Does the fact that nothing you could do could possibly live up to their expectations concern you at all?
Jorge> It doesn’t concern me. I think our writers are very strong. With the creativity of Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, if they hit a wall, they’ll just climb up the wall and do stuff on the ceiling.
Daniel> I always want the show to be as good as it can be, but we’re in good hands.
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