Articles 2006 - 2007

May 25, 2006

'Shield' gets Oz justice

Source: The Star Online http://www.star- ecentral.com/tvnradio/tracks/tracks.asp?file=archives/tracks/2006/5/29Shieldgets&date=5/29/2006

Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin, last seen as a deputy sheriff in the direct-to-video Marvel Comics horror film Man-Thing, will join the cast of The Shield.

He will play Detective Kevin Hiatt, a new member of Vic Mackey's (Michael Chiklis) corruption-tainted Strike Team, on the acclaimed crime drama, Reuters reported.

Hiatt is brought on board to replace a team member who was killed off in the series' fifth season finale (we know who, and we're not telling).

The recent season was one of the series' most intense, with Internal Affairs investigator John Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker) pulling out all the stops in his efforts to nail Mackey for the murder of an undercover Justice Dept agent in the very first episode of the show.

May 30, 2006

(Source unknown)

You can almost hear the Jacobs Creek popping over in La La Land as yet another Aussie has cracked it in Hollywood.

You know him best as the 'Oyster Farmer' on the banks of the Hawkesbury river but Sydney actor Alex O'Loughlin has just scored a major break after being cast in a lead role on gritty US cop show The Shield.

O'Loughlin joins Vic Mackey's strike team as detective Kevin Hiatt after one of the team dies in the series' fifth-season finale.

"This will probably be the thing that gets me recognised," O'Loughlin, who narrowly missed out on the role of James Bond, said yesterday.

 "It's a big deal. The role was highly coveted over here and I'm really happy."

After a year and a half trying to crack the big time in the US, the actor said the audition process was a whirlwind.

"I auditioned two weeks ago, they called me back the next day and I just finished the first of seven episodes."

Known in Australia for his roles as Will Bryant in the TV mini series Mary Bryant and as Jack Flange in the Oyster Farmer, word of the Sydneysider is already spreading in are fast in LA.

"G'day mate, you're busted!' one headline reads.

But it seems we can count on O'Loughlin, 29, staying down to earth.

"I'm an actor - there's nothing glamorous about acting until you get to the f... you money and then it all turns to **** anyway," he joked about his impending fame

June 20, 2006

An exclusive chat with Alex O'Loughlin, the new member of Vic Mackey's team

by Eric Goldman

Source: IGN.com

If you haven't seen all of the most recent season of The Shield, watch out, because I'm about to discuss the shocking events that occurred. Suffice to say, all hell broke loose in Season 5. Of course, it's not like things had been happy-go-lucky on the dark and compelling series before, but with internal affairs officer Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker) investigating Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his Strike Team, things were getting increasingly dangerous for Vic. By the time the season had ended, tragedy struck in the worst way, as Strike Team member Shane (Walton Goggins) killed his friend Lem (Kenny Johnson), afraid that the increasingly guilt-stricken Lem would give up evidence on everyone and their corrupt and criminal activities. The last time we saw the Strike Team, no one knew what Shane had done, and Vic has vowed to get revenge on whoever killed Lem…

When The Shield returns next season, there will be a new face amongst the Strike Team, as Alex O'Loughlin joins the cast as Kevin Hiatt. Australian actor O'Loughlin appeared in the Marvel Comics adaptation Man-Thing and has a role in Blade: Trinity director David S. Goyer's upcoming film The Invisible, but The Shield will mark his most high profile role yet.

Recently I paid a visit to the set of The Shield and had a chance to talk with O'Loughlin about his exciting new role. Before our talk, I saw the actor standing in "Video Village," where the crew members viewed a scene being filmed, while O'Loughlin took turns switching off with Chiklis (who was also directing the episode) playing a bass guitar a crew member had loaned them. With production underway, it was understandably hard for O'Loughlin to set aside much time to talk, and the very friendly actor at one point had to be called away to film midway through our conversation, only to then very graciously take some time out of his lunch break in order to finish our chat. Though he was careful to not give away too much of the show's upcoming storylines, O'Loughlin discussed his character and what it's like to join such a dynamic show.

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IGN TV:How many weeks have you been working on the show now?  Alex O'Loughlin: About three.

IGN TV: How's it going so far?  O'Loughlin: It's going good. It's a really scary transition. I've never worked on something like this. It's tough! It's like there's film acting, there's TV acting and then there's The Shield. That's kind of how I describe it.

IGN TV:Can you describe your character?  O'Loughlin: Kevin Hiatt is the new "head's up" on the Strike Team. They've brought him in to lead the Strike Team and potentially take Vic Mackey's place. They've been talking about Vic moving into retirement. They've also been talking about Vic behaving himself and not moving into retirement, and so it's all kind of ambiguous at the moment. And they haven't released that much information as to how well behaved my character is either. But he's certainly… He's come from INS and he's done four years on the border and he's done some gang work as well. But he's pretty street savvy and he's pretty good with his weapon and good with his hands. So we think there may be a little more to it than that.

IGN TV: What's his relationship like with Vic? How do they get along?  O'Loughlin: They're getting there! [laughs] They're getting there. It's pretty interesting putting Kevin and Vic together. I mean Kevin's a lot younger than Vic and he's the new bloke, but he's also been brought in at the same level. So it's kind of like putting two panthers in the same cage and watching them just circle, you know? We're still -- even what we're shooting now -- where these two characters are working each other out. But they seem to be getting along okay.

IGN TV: What about the other guys in the Strike Team; Ronnie and Shane? Especially Shane, given what he did last season. How is he acting around the new guy?  O'Loughlin: Well Shane's pretty defensive around the new guy, you know, with Lem… [pauses] I'm just remembering what I can and can't say! Shane's pretty defensive around Kevin and so far Shane has not been open to a new guy on the Strike Team. And certainly not a new guy leading the Strike Team. And that's where we're at with Shane.

IGN TV: Who brings you in? Is it Kavanaugh?  O'Loughlin: Claudette brings Kevin in; to keep an eye on Vic and sort of relay information to what's really going on in within the Strike Team at the moment. And also as a potential replacement.

IGN TV: So how's it been working with the cast and crew?  O'Loughlin: It's been awesome. Look, this ensemble has been together for five years, and they're so tight and they know each other so well. And it's always difficult moving into something like that as the new guy. But this has been kind of good for my character; I mean I felt a little bit like a fish out of water. I mean it moves so fast, even though it shoots like a movie. It shoots like little movies; like lots of little feature films, but it moves really really really quickly and you get one- hundredth of the rehearsal time. You've got to have your s**t going on and you've got to be ready. And I never feel like I'm ready most of the time! [laughs] But we're getting along! We're getting there. I've been doing a lot of reading and spending a lot of time with the LAPD guys. I've been doing that and going out shooting lots of guns and sort of rolling with these cops and just talking to them and just doing as much research stuff as I can.

IGN TV: Were you very familiar with the show when you got the part?  O'Loughlin: Oh, totally! Absolutely. I love the show.

IGN TV: A lot of the subject matter and the cases on the show are pretty dark and horrific. Have you dealt with any of that stuff yet?  O'Loughlin: Yeah. We're actually dealing with these particular Salvadoran murders at the moment that are pretty nasty.

[Editors Note: At this point as we were talking, Michael Chiklis happened to walk right by and glance over at us]

IGN TV: And with him in earshot, how is Michael Chiklis to work with as a director?  O'Loughlin: [Smiling at Chiklis] Michael Chiklis is a beautiful man! He's very intense, and he's kind of frightening from time to time. But when you get to know him, he's like a teddy bear.

IGN TV: Is it interesting for you to go from working with him for a couple of weeks as an actor and now to see him also as a director?  O'Loughlin: Yeah, it's great. I mean Michael's character is so sort of the pinnacle of the show. The show pivots around his character I think. So it's almost not so strange to see him as the director, you know what I mean? It is kind of like, "Wait, hang on… what are you doing sitting in that seat?" But he's a fantastic director. It seems to come really naturally to him and it's great working with him. Working as an actor and also working with him as a director.

IGN TV: So have you gotten any hints yet from the writers as to whether your character is going to show his own dark side or stay on the straight and narrow.  O'Loughlin: Yeah… Even if they had told me, I couldn't tell you, you know?

IGN TV: [Laughs] Well, rephrasing a bit; What do you think would be more fun to play for your character?  O'Loughlin: Look, you know, for me… I'm on this show for a reason. I said yes to this part for a reason. And it's The Shield for a reason. And I think that the darker the secrets that any human has, the more interesting they become. I won't say any better or worse; just interesting. And we watch television and we make television and movies about what's dramatically interesting. So I think that hopefully some interesting little things will come out here or there about this guy. I'm sure they will over time.

Alex O'Loughlin: Moonlight's Hot Vampire

by Lynn Barker

Source: TeenTelevison.com

He's smokin' hot and he sleeps in a freezer! We're not kidding! Starting Sept. 28th on CBS, you can get acquainted with TV's hottest vampire P.I. since "Angel" on the new series "Moonlight". Aussie Alex O'Loughlin plays Mick St. John who was turned vampire back in the 1950's by his vamp bride Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon). Mick had rather aid the living than call them dinner.

In fact, he has the hots for one of them, Beth Turner (Sophia Myles) an investigative reporter while wifie from hell, Coraline forms the other point of this otherworldly triangle. At a recent press event to introduce the new show, we were treated to a filmed "Interview with the Vampire", as "Mick" answered Q's about his nightcrawler habits. We learned that this isn't your grandma's bloodsucker. He's very 21st century and he laid down the rules: crosses, holy water and garlic, don't phase him. Oh, he likes garlic on his pizza. Stakes will temporarily paralyze him but he can only be killed by fire or a nasty beheading. His fangs pop out when he's angry or fighting or...attracted to a hot babe. He can go out in sunlight but will turn crispy if he stays out too long. Oh, and he doesn't sleep in a coffin but a large freezer (we didn't get the explanation for that one yet).

The showrunners for "Moonlight" include Exec. Producers Joel Silver of "Matrix" fame and David Greenwalt who was a staff writer on "Buffy" and co-created "Angel"; some pretty big guns who guarantee that this show will rock! More great news! We stole a few minutes with sizzlin' Alex to learn everything from his TV watching habits to musical tastes, fave vampire films and novels and his roles in two feature films coming up. Oh, and he auditioned to play James Bond! Picture this hottie in all black (of course). Black suit, shirt and shoes. His longish hair and shadow beard complete the knock-out look. Pull up a coffin and cozy down....

TeenTelevision: What qualities does your vampire character Mick have that attracted you to the role? Alex: When I read the character, the first quality that I really related to was his humor. He has quite a dark humor. I'm not as dark as he is in humor but I see the lighter side of things. I see the comedy in life so that sort of was my entrance point to this role.

TeenTelevision: Are you personally nocturnal? Alex:I am a nocturnal. I wake up at midnight. It takes me a while to get to sleep.

TeenTelevision: What are you doing when you wake up at midnight or dare we ask? Alex: [laughs] I watch "Family Guy" and "The Best of Stewie". That's when I do my writing. Whatever I'm working on. I write music just for me. I'm certainly not good enough to do it on any kind of a level but I enjoy that time because it's quiet.

TeenTelevision: What kind of music do you like? Alex: I love rock and blues and I play the guitar but I never practiced enough to be good enough to do anything with it. But it's something that brings me great joy. I write songs for personal reasons. It's an expression. It's yet another expression of my art and that helps me be clear about what I'm doing in my chosen profession.

TeenTelevision: Do you find that biting women on the neck is a turn on or turn off? Alex: [smiles] I like it very much. My girlfriend really enjoys it too... until she doesn't and then she slaps me and that's the end of that.

TeenTelevision: [now we're laughing] You said that you like vampire literature and films. What are some of your favorites? Alex: Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Lost Boys and The Hunger are probably my three favorites and they were a part of my coming of age movies, especially "Lost Boys" but I think that Anne Rice's Chronicles are my favorite stories. The characters in there are just incredible. They are just incredible books.

TeenTelevision: You're going to have to stay in shape for this show. Do you work out or have a special diet? Alex: I do work out but not in a gym. I hate gyms. I run in the canyons. I run in the mountains. I like running outside and I have some equipment at home that I use but I like using nature. I rock climb as well. And I try to eat what I want but I eat moderately.

TeenTelevision: You mentioned before that your dad is a teacher. How did he feel about you becoming an actor? Alex: My family is extremely supportive. They are very forward-thinking, good parents. They're great. I think most parents have preconceived, unrealistic hopes for their children but, children are people and they'll find what they want to do.

TeenTelevision: Did they push you toward being a doctor or lawyer though? Alex: The only reason parents want that for their kids is that it's stable and it's money.

TeenTelevision: Did you always expect you would be doing this? Alex: Never.

TeenTelevision: You were on the TV show "The Shield" for a while. Who did you play? Alex: I played the new, potential head of the strike team Kevin Hiatt. I was on for seven episodes in season six.

TeenTelevision: There was a weird internet rumor that you are the son of famous AC/DC rocker Bon Scott. What was with that?  Alex: I don't know how that started. I got a phone call from a friend of mine and I Google-searched it and it was all over the internet. It was on IMDB and the tabloids. It's not that it was a negative rumor. It's just so interesting to me that something that was completely fictitious could actually make it that far that quickly.

TeenTelevision: Were you up for the role of James Bond? Alex: I was. I met with [director] Martin Campbell here in Los Angeles at his office on the Sony lot and he asked me to fly to London and test and we tested at Pinewood. It was the biggest screen test I've ever done. It was very comprehensive. I had tuxedos and suits cut for it and hair cuts.

TeenTelevision: Did you get to keep the wardrobe? Alex: No they kept it.

TeenTelevision: Were you just not blonde enough (since they picked blonde Daniel Craig)? Alex: I wasn't ... I don't know. To be honest, I think I was a bit young. I think in five years I'll be a good Bond. Remember that.

TeenTelevision: [oh we will!] How does your Australian accent work over here with the ladies? [note: He doesn't use it on the show] Alex: [grins]. It's funny. To me, it's just what it is. It's just how I sound but a lot of people really enjoy it. I think it has a relaxed thing about it, a relaxed drawl. Maybe I sound lazy.

TeenTelevision: How long have you been living here? Alex: I've been here approaching three years.

TeenTelevision: Was it culture shock when you first came here? Alex: A pretty hard transition, yeah. I'd been coming over to L.A. for a while, five or six years for auditions and meetings so I knew my way around but to actually shift over here, it took me a good twelve months to get used to how much time I had to spend in my car, how far I had to go for a coffee, where to get my bread and milk.

TeenTelevision: And now, how do you like it? Alex: I love it. It's home. I really love it.

TeenTelevision: We've heard that your nickname is "A-Rod". Are you aware that there is an athlete here with that name? Alex: I am. A friend of mine in Australia made that up and that's embarrassing. His name is Steve Perry, a very funny Australian actor. He made that up and who is it here?

TeenTelevision: Alex Rodriguez, the baseball player.  Alex: Oh. Anyway, it's embarrassing on many levels so we won't go into that.

TeenTelevision: You mentioned a girlfriend. Do you have someone in your life? Alex: I do. Her name is Holly Valance. She's an Australian actress and singer. She lives here.

TeenTelevision: We're familiar with Holly. Has it been difficult to break in here? You've done a few feature films and a little TV.  Alex: This was my first pilot season. It's a scary thing, TV. It's a big commitment and it took me a few years to get to the point where I was ready and relaxed enough to say 'I'm ready to do a pilot season'. I didn't read that many pilot [scripts] and low and behold here we are.

TeenTelevision: What, in your every day life, are you really good at and what are you really bad at? Alex: [laughs]. I don't know what I'm really good at. I'm really good at sittin' by the pool. I have to work at that. I'm really bad at auditioning.

TeenTelevision: You are in two new movies, August Rush and Whiteout. Who do you play? Alex: August Rush, I play a rock 'n roll guitarist from Dublin, Ireland. I play Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' brother and I play in a band with Jonny that moves to New York from Ireland. It's a great supporting role. My own guitar is in the movie. And in Whiteout, I play the villain. I play an Australian pilot who is on the slightly dodgy side. I like playing the villain.

TeenTelevision: Why are vampires so sexy? Alex: I don't know. I think it's the danger thing, the danger and the mystery, the dark mystery.

November 2007

Don't Miss August Rush

Source: Cosmopolitan (Australia) Celeb Insider

We felt the fuzzies with this sweet-as story about a music miracle child, Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore), who uses his talents to track down his parents who abandoned him when he was born. It's been a while since we got a 'magic-does-exist' fix, and we promise this fairytale-ish flick won't disappoint.

Keep your eyes peeled for Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (the parents), as well as Aussie actor Alex O'Loughlin (pictured with Meyers above). Hint: he's the spunky Sydney boy who's shacked up with Holly Valance in LA, and recently starred as a detective-slash-vampire in Channel Nine's Moonlight). We roped him in for a quick chat:

Cosmo : How's the Aussie-in-LA thing working out for you? Alex O'Loughlin : I lived on a couch for a year and effed my back, but things are going okay now.

Cosmo: Were you bummed to miss out on the James Bond/Casino Royale role to Daniel Craig? Alex O'Loughlin : I didn't think I'd get it, but being Jimmy Bond for a day was awesome! I had a tuxedo cut and was flown to London to shoot three audition scenes. One was a seductive scene with a topless Bond girl, and in another one I had to "assassinate" a guy!

Cosmo : You play an Irish muso in August Rush. Can we expect a duet with Holly [Valance] to hit the charts anytime soon? Alex O'Loughlin : (Groans) I know you didn't just ask me that.

Cosmo : We did. Alex O'Loughlin : Holly's fantastic, but no, not going to happen.

Cosmo : So spill: what's the most romantic thing you've done for a chick? Alex O'Loughlin : I'm going to sound like a knob aren't I?

Cosmo: Quite possibly. Alex O'Loughlin : OK ... I took her to a national park, built a campfire, and told her she would have to sleep in a single swag with me for the night!

Cosmo : That's original! Alex O'Loughlin : I think I'm a fun boyfriend. I love living life and doing spontaneous things.

Cosmo : Aww. Can we keep you?

November 29, 2007

Source: Daemon's TV

I was lucky enough to take part of a conference call with ALEX O'LOUGHLIN who plays Mick St. John in CBS Moonlight. Three press outlets were able to interview Alex O'Loughlin and ask questions about Moonlight and his career. All I can say is that Alex OLoughlin is a very charming person and very passionate about his work on Moonlight.  It makes you like the show even more when you hear how much work and love is put into it. So without further ado, here is the interview.

Daemons TV: Can you give us any scoop on whether Coraline is back or what the whole thing is with that, and how its going to affect Mick? Alex O'Loughlin: Yeah, I probably should mark my words, be careful how much I say but, what I can tell you is Coraline has an uncanny knack of never going too far for too long.

D: Okay, anything else? Alex O'Loughlin: Might you be seeing Coraline, the answer to that is yes

D: What about the character of Mick really spoke to you and made you want to play this character? Alex O'Loughlin: I really liked his humor, was the first thing that came off the page. First of all, I mean you read, as an actor, you read scripts every day and you read peoples interpretation of the characters everyday and some are more thought out than others and some are more one dimensional, and also some characters speak to you more than others you know. And this guy, I just really got him, I understood his motivation and I understood his passion, and I understood why he is conflicted, and I understood why he thought what he thought was funny was funny. Yeah, I just got him right away. I guess it all stems down to empathy. I had empathy and understanding for him, so therefore I felt that I could justifiably play him.

D: David Greenwalt came to the show briefly, left. What do you feel some of his contributions were to the show or to your character in particular? Alex O'Loughlin: It's a little difficult to answer that question because the crossover before David, introducing David, and letting David go, it all happened pretty suddenly. David wasn't on board with us for that long, but he was on board for long enough to make a difference. Those exact differences, it's not that he actually made any fundamental changes to my character, nobody does that but me, but he helped us, you know, in the time that we were in the transition phase from the original pilot presentation to the recasting into Moonlight, he helped us find what the new show was gonna be. It's not that different from the original concept. It's just that he was there when we all came together and said ok what are the boundaries, what are the lines, what are the rules. It was a relief that he was on the same page as we were and in the sense that this show is not about mythical books and goblins and trolls and monsters, that its about modern day vampires coming from a long lineage of first generation blood over the last 1500 years. And that's it, it's about vampires.

D: You're from Australia, and I was wondering how difficult it is to do the American accent and keep it consistent every episode? Alex O'Loughlin: I don't find it difficult. I'm actually surprised by how little I have to ADR [Automated Dialog Replacement] for accent. Sometimes I'll slur my words, or the mike won't pick up the sound or whatever, but it's not usually because I have to fix the accent. I think that's due to, I've studied for a long time as well, like I've been studying acting for quite a while now. I've studied accents specifically like since I was a little child. When I was a little boy I was fascinated with people who made different sounds. I always used to guffaw at Scottish accents. When I'd hear anyone from Edinburough or Glasgow, I'd roar with laughter because I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard. I guess to me, it's always been like a music, which is the way I've approached it. Bearing that in mind, in combo with the fact that I've grown up with American television, you have to realize in Australia we were born on, my generation we were bred on your TV, all the hit shows over here went over there. And my stepfather is Canadian. I've always been surrounded by the sound, so yeah, I don't find it difficult, I really enjoy it actually. But I stay in it when I'm working, when I'm on the set.

D: What's your favorite thing about playing Mick or about Mick in general? Alex O'Loughlin: What's my favorite thing about Mick? He's an awesome character to play, I gotta tell you, I'm standing here as I speak to you, covered in blood and mud. I've been up since 4:30 this morning and I've had my hands inside another man's stomach, tying off his thoracic aorta in the middle of nowhere. So I mean the situations this guy gets himself into. I read the scripts and I go "Oh Mick for Gods sake will you just go on Holidays. Can't you just sit in a hut somewhere for a week?"  My favorite thing about him I think is his ability to overcome extreme drama and duress and not lose sight of the lighter side of life, which essentially stems back to the humanity that he clings to, which is fundamentally extended in his heart. So I think without sounding sanctimonious or sentimental, my favorite thing about this character is his heart.

D: Without telling too much, obviously, because you can't give us spoilers, you have Coraline on there, who is of course your sire, you have Jason Dohring's vampire, who is an ancient vampire, but primarily a lot of the vampires we've seen pop up are basically newborns. Are we going to be getting in the future more of the old vampire mythology? Alex O'Loughlin: You are. You sure are. Before the end of this round of 12 shows, you're gonna meet some extremely old, some extremely powerful vampires. You're going to meet some of the lineage from the blood line that Coraline and Mick are from. You're gonna learn as well about where we come from and where Coraline and therefore Mick comes from. We start exploring blood lines and you're gonna learn about where our vampires come from. We have a procedural element in this show, we always will have a procedural element in this show, and that's established, and now the mythology and the true fan stuff, I mean the fans are gonna go nuts. Like I'm a vampire fan and there is some really juicy good stuff coming up in the next couple of months. '

D: I just wanted to mention that I had seen your performance in The Invisible and it was amazing, and you're actually the reason I was interested in watching Moonlight in the first place. My question is do you have any upcoming movie projects? Alex O'Loughlin: I have August Rush coming out, which is coming out on Friday is that right? [November 21] and that's in the can obviously, since it's coming out. I have Whiteout which is a Joel Silver film with Kate Beckinsale and it's due to release sometime next summer, I think. That's a 2008 release. At the moment, I'm reading scripts, it's a tentative time. With the current climate in Hollywood, you know I'm unsure about which direction I'll be going after Christmas. It's all up in the air, which is very sort of disheartening if you let it in, but you know we're all just sort of keeping our fingers crossed, though I am reading some film scripts and there's some good stuff out there, but I'm not attached to anything yet.

Kim [CBS publicist]: This is Kim interjecting. This man works so hard. When he says he gets up at 4:30 in the morning, he's not kidding and he works until midnight. Alex O'Loughlin: I'm not kidding, I'm not kidding!

D: What actors or actresses do you draw your inspiration from, or who are your favorites? Alex O'Loughlin: There are so many wonderful actors. Sean Penn got up at the Academy Awards when he won his award and said "everyone knows there is no best in acting" and there is no best, there are lots of performances that have inspired me over the years. Sean Penn is certainly one of them. Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Daniel Day Lewis is a phenomenon. He's like an enigma, I've watched his performances and I can't for the life of me work out how he transforms as he does. Marlon Brando. I love Marlon Brando, for all of his arrogance. I love actors that don't make half decisions. Mel Gibson, I probably shouldn't say that. I know he sort of fell off the wagon recently and said some stupid stuff. But growing up as a kid in Australia and seeing him do the movies he did, the Mad Maxes and stuff, and then move over to America and cross the bridge to producing and directing as well, and come up with films like Braveheart.  It's hard for any young man who's in the industry not to, I would imagine, not to find that inspiration. But then there's other actors that the world doesn't know about that I've grown up with, that I've seen on stage, that have breathed life into performances that have changed my life. They're some of my best friends, so that's as influential to me as those big stars that we all see in movies.

D: Speaking of the currently climate of things in Hollywood, I am just curious, are we going to have some kind of ending? Alex O'Loughlin: Oh yeah, we're just killing everyone (laughs) … maybe I shouldn't give that away (laughs). I'm sorry, I'm joking, of course!

D: But did you get the chance to have some kind of a wrap up for the first pod and then when things start up again well be fine? Alex O'Loughlin: To a certain extent. Let me be the one to tell you right now, I am not going to conduct myself and this character through this series at this stage as though we're not coming back, because as far as I'm concerned, we are coming back, even though Nina Tassler [CBS President] hasn't promised me anything, and Les Moonves [President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS], I can't get him off the golf course to answer his phone. But there are certain things … I'm just thinking about how to answer this.

D: Let's put it this way, the reason I'm asking is because shows like Heroes reshot their ending to give their 13 episodes an ending point so that until it picks up again people are at least satisfied with the first arc.  Alex O'Loughlin: Oh, I mean no, people are gonna be totally satisfied. People are going to be salivating, for Moonlight to come back, and that's what were going to deliver because we don't plan on not coming back. We've got a few really epic things that are coming that wrap the end of the series. It's an ending with no finale. I mean it's an ending with a bunch of open ended stuff that you're just going die to know what happens next. There are a couple of points that happen that change the course of the picture, but the world won't let Moonlight fade away after this. The fans will be rabid. They will demand a re-release, they'll demand a pickup.

D: Exactly, you can have the fans ship nuts. Kim: Or garlic!!

D: I'm really enjoying the relationship between your character and Josef. I was wondering if there were any plans to elaborate on that and maybe get a little background on how they met. Alex O'Loughlin: Yeah, there are certainly plans to do that. That relationship, because it was pre-established - Josef and Mick's relationship is established early on, and they're great, that's the way things are. Little pieces of information are released along the way more and more, youre gonna get little bits of information. The whole how we met and that storyline, we don't touch on until we come back, but there's portions of it that come out in the storyline that have to do with Coraline and things that are going on with Beth. So you will learn more. I think youll be satisfied with everything the way were wrapping it up.

D: I'm always interested to hear your take on why someone should pay attention to the show and watch it. Alex O'Loughlin: I think it's a really satisfying show. We own the demographic, and we own the demographic for a reason and that is that people of all ages are enjoying the show. Teenagers to people in their middle ages of life are sitting down watching Moonlight because it's got so many elements that we turn to. It's a love story. It's a story about unrequited love. It's got incredible action and great fight sequences. It's got a tormented conflicted protagonist who always goes towards good, well for now, and whose rules are ambiguous and his motives, at times, are ambiguous, and it's based in a genre that's really exciting, that's mysterious, that's really sexy. CBS has'nt pulled punches on the show, they've allowed us to take it to levels of truth, they've allowed us to take it to levels of humanity where network TV can sometimes skimp on because they want it to look better or not be as real or be less sort of confrontational. I just think it's an all around good show. I think it's also a show that questions the norm, that questions the beliefs, you know, society's belief on certain topics. I hope that's a sort of roundabout answer to your question.

D: Lets talk Mick and Beth for a little bit here. You guys have sort of, and I hate to use this pun, but it's the Moonlighting relationship, it's the will they wont they flirtation back and forth, and sometimes it gets closer than others. How long do you think its going to be until at least something happens? Alex O'Loughlin: Somethings coming up in 11 [episode], that puts a big spinner in the works and affects the way Beth feels about Mick, and also affects the way Mick views Beth. A part of me feels like if anything ever happened between those guys, the show's over. But then again, I'm not the creator. The unrequited love aspect of the show, the Romeo and Juliet mirror that we constantly provide in Moonlight, I think is an essential part of the drama, of the tension. I mean, in Micks mind, there is no way he could ever cross that line, despite how weak the flesh is, despite the feelings that he has for this woman, in his mind, that would be the ultimate sin. He looks at her and it's so awkward, he looks at her through paternal eyes you know, and if he wants to sleep with her, I mean that's pretty weird [laughs].

D: Well he's her guardian angel. Alex O'Loughlin: Well yeah, so he really shouldn't. [laughs] But you know, you never know, I get surprised from script to script. I dont think they should ever be given that luxury. I absolutely think it should be unrequited. I mean, re-read Romeo and Juliet and tell me you don't cry at the end when they kill themselves, and I'm not saying what we're dealing with here, by no means am I drawing comparison to Shakespeare [laughs], but the nature of the idea, I mean if you're not putting like the big ideas on TV, why are you making TV, who cares? And if it's not about the big love, that great love, that one great love, that comes into each of our lives if we're lucky, why are we putting … who gives a f**k. Lets go to the beach!

D: There's a lot of action in the show, and I was wondering if you do your own stunts or if you have a stunt double. Alex O'Loughlin: [With a deep sexy voice] I do my own stunts baby [Laughs] No, I do have a stunt double because there are certain things that they won't let me do. Like they won't set fire to me. They won't like let me jump off a 20 story building. There are certain big stunts that it's just impossible to get insurance to let me do, but for the most part I'd say I do probably 75% of my stuff. I have my own harnesses and my own pads and back protectors. I'm trained in stunt work, I really love it too. The other thing is, you don't have to shoot around the stunt double's face, you can just shoot me doing my thing. It makes the show better, until I slip my sciatic nerve and have to work in a back brace, that's the downside.

D: What are some of your favorite shows in your downtime, which it sounds like you dont have a lot of? Alex O'Loughlin: I haven't had downtime for about 7 months. Let me see, I really love Curb Your Enthusiasm.  I really love The Contender,  I just love that show [laughs].  Family Guy.  What else?     Americas Most Smartest Model [laughs] no dont put that on.  I love The Shield, big fan of The Shield. [Alex OLoughlin had a part in  The Shield as Detective Kevin Hiatt]

D: When CBS originally announced Moonlight, they said they were going to do a procedural show with vampire elements and it seems that now they're moving more towards the genre based. Are you pleased that they went that direction with the show? Alex O'Loughlin: Thrilled. I couldn't give a f**k about the procedurals. I mean sometimes I can, and sometimes it's really interesting. Sometimes, it's great fun. But if I wanted to do CSI, I would have done CSI. It's not what this show is. This show is a character driven drama, that has a procedural element, and is based in a genre. That's what the show is. It's a character driven drama. The procedural element is great fun when it's used correctly, but when it's overused, it turns into something else. I think it's really disappointing from a fan point of view when people get lazy and they know that that's going to work and that it's going to require less effort and they just sort of go with that. I think what the guys have done with Moonlight has been great. I think they've really put a big effort into balance it all out. We've had some great procedural stuff and some really interesting cases, and as were moving on, we're getting into the characters more and more, and we're caring about these characters more and more, and we're learning more and more about the mythology and getting deeper into the actual genre and the blood and guts of it, pardon the pun. So I'm really happy with the way its shaping up.

December 05, 2007

As an Aussie in Hollywood, Alex O'Loughlin, the star of Moonlight, says he's prepared to risk almost everything to find success

by: Darren Devlyn

It's a typical day in Los Angeles. The midafternoon sun has finally penetrated a gauze-like haze and the atmosphere behind the famous wrought-iron gates of Warner Bros studios is as Hollywood as you can get.

A line of star trailers, make-up and wardrobe vans and outrageously expensive exotic cars are parked outside sound stages.

While film and TV crew members fly past in golf carts to reach various studios on the lot, a director's assistant, giving a two-way radio a solid workout, is searching for an actor Aussie Alex O'Loughlin.

O'Loughlin is the vampire-playing star of the drama series Moonlight and there's concern his hair and make-up routine - including application of his character's intricately designed, painted-on tattoos - will make him late for filming his first scene of the day.

It turns out O'Loughlin, 32, who rose to prominence in Australia in the mini-series The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant and the movie The Oyster Farmer, is in his trailer, recovering from the rigours of a previous day's work that kept him on set until 2am.

Later, puffing on a cigar in a break from filming, O'Loughlin says he's taking none of this sudden international success for granted.

Waving away a billowing plume of cigar smoke, he explains how Moonlight just may be the show that rescues him from extended bouts of unemployment and the ever-present prospect of debt.

"I've been living here coming up to three years," O'Loughlin says of Los Angeles.

"The government here is f----d up and it's hard to find good food that's not full of sugar, but the people here are great and I'm grateful this country has opened its arms to me and let me work here."

His Hollywood drama breakthrough, however, has come at a cost. Long work hours have had a huge impact on his life with fellow Aussie, singer-actor Holly Valance.

O'Loughlin, as Moonlight's leading man, vampire Mick St John, spends up to 16 hours a day on set. When he's done with work for the day, he heads home for a quick dinner, then starts memorising dialogue for the following day's shoot. Weekends, he says, are for sleeping.

"Time is the thing. A show like this pulls all your time away from you. Usually I'll get home from work on a Saturday about 10am (after doing night shooting) and I'll sleep until Saturday afternoon. Saturday night and Sunday I'm usually feeling wiped out and I've not seen Holly all week. It's a pretty full-on life, but what do you do? I love my work and there are sacrifices."

And working on a Hollywood drama sure beats scrounging for guest roles and dealing with constant rejection on the audition circuit.

"The first year I was here I was auditioning all the time and got no work," O'Loughlin says. "I had no money and a piece of s--- car and in the end I had to hock things like my stereo to get by. I was just doing anything to scrape by, working on a building site for $15 an hour. There were times I was thinking, 'What am I doing, this is crazy'. I was scared because I had no money and no ticket home. That is the time when everyone else packs up and leaves. But I remembered everything my grandfather taught me about the work ethic before he died. He was brought up out in the bush and his advice was 'put your head down and keep working, son, and you'll get what's coming to you'. You just push through.

"This is the first time I've been paid (in the US) and, mate, it's nice not having to worry about making the rent.

"I did a Warner Bros film and it actually cost me 10 grand to do it. You might scratch your head and say how can that be, but trust me.

"You go from doing independent films where you're getting paid very little or it's costing you to do work to get your career going. Then, overnight, you start getting paid if you keep pushing through. You accumulate 10 to 20 years of debt and if you stick at this and are lucky, you can start paying it off.

"I've got to tell you, man, it's (success) not always about having great talent. Great talent does not always equate to success.

"I do not think I'm a great talent. I think I'm a medium talent, but I think I understand the business and enjoy the business. It's a right-place-at-the-right-time kind of business, but it's also about perseverance."

Source: MX Brisbane (Queensland, Australia)

Alex O'Loughlin's face is plastered over billboards across Hollywood and the down-to-earth Aussie isn't entirely sure what he thinks of that. But he acknowledges it can only help his fledgling career.

"I am seeing a lot more of myself in pictures,'' O'Loughlin says, laughing. "I think this has created an exposure I have needed to forward my career.''

O'Loughlin stars in new Channel 9 drama Moonlight, as handsome, charismatic and forever-30 Mick St John.

Bitten by his then-new bride about 60 years ago, Mick became a vampire. But he became one of the good guys, using his role as an LA private investigator to help the living.

O'Loughlin, who lives with girlfriend and fellow Aussie actor Holly Valance in West Hollywood, says: "I have always loved vampires (and) I came in with a significant knowledge of the genre.

"And I think if you are going to be a vampire, 30 is the peak of a man's age.''

O'Loughlin wrapped on the first half of the series less than two weeks ago and has returned to Australia with Valance for the Christmas holidays.

It's a well-deserved break. O'Loughlin shot a film, Whiteout, before starting work on Moonlight's grueling schedule.

"When you are the lead of a one-hour drama it is the hardest you will ever work,'' O'Loughlin says.

"But it is not only a one-hour drama, it is effects-heavy, makeup-heavy and I am doing my own stunts.''

He is the first to admit that a lead actor doing his own stunts may not be the smartest idea.

"But I love it I find it very invigorating,'' he says.

And while O'Loughlin believes he and his character share a similar sense of humour and irony, the "dark and brooding'' characteristics are Mick's alone.

"He is also a lot tougher than I am and a lot brighter than I am; he's like a new-age superhero,'' O'Loughlin says.

As with any genre show, comparisons started early. Moonlight has been compared, perhaps unfavourably, to some of the genre's hits, namely Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off Angel.

"I actually really enjoyed Buffy and Angel ,'' O'Loughlin says. "(But) we have a very different show, catered to a slightly different audience.''

Pressed on his other favourite television shows, O'Loughlin shows his lighter side after racking his brains.

"I can't believe I am going to say this: America's Most Smartest Model,'' he says. "It's television genius.''

He admits he's also a fan of Family Guy - but confers with girlfriend Holly Valance to complete MX 's quiz on his favourite shows.

All-time favourite TV show? "Monkey Magic."

Current fave show? "Curb Your Enthusiasm, f***g brilliant."

Wouldn't watch if you paid me? "Cheaters. It's about people who f***k around on their partners."

Alex is lucky and in love

By Jacqui Lang

http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=339359

Devilishly handsome Alex O'Loughlin, 31, is yet another Aussie actor making his way in Tinseltown, starring as a likeable vampire in Nine's new series Moonlight. In real life, Alex is also the devoted boyfriend of singer Holly Valance — just don't ask him about her!

On Moonlight, you suck a bit of blood from time to time? Yeah, I suck lots of blood.

How do you rehearse that?You can't rehearse, you just go for it!

While you're in a role do you speak in the required accent all the time?  Yes and some people criticize that. At the end of the day, my face will be on screen and I want to play the character as well as I can. I lived in New York with Jonathan Rhys Meyers while making the movie August Rush — in which I play a Dubliner — and it was helpful that Jonathon is Irish. I kept that accent for four months. That can be quite confrontational for people around me.

Is it true you nearly scored the role of James Bond (that Daniel Craig won)? Yeah, it is. I flew to London and screen-tested for it — and obviously didn't get it. But at least I got to be Bond for a day!

Despite not becoming James Bond, are people starting to recognise you in the street?  Yes, it's weird. It's nice having your work recognised but having people follow you around is kinda weird.

What do you want for Christmas?  To sleep. I badly need a vacation.

Read more of this interview in Woman's Day (on-sale December 24, 2007)