Aussie has Back-up Plan before tackling McGarrett (2010)

New star of Hawaii Five-O reboot plays nice guy in Lopez comedy.

in Times Colonist

20 April 2010

wrtten by BOB THOMPSON

LOS ANGELES — Even the acerbic Aussie Alex O’Loughlin knows when to speak softly and carry on with very little shtick.

The moment arrives when he’s asked about the American TV institution called Hawaii Five-O. O’Loughlin has signed to play the role of Hawaii state police Det. Steve McGarrett, defined by Jack Lord in the classic 1960s cops ’n’ robbers series that ran from 1968 to 1980.

But he’s hesitant to divulge much about the modern makeover, or offer his critical impressions of the original show, which featured a stylized brand of acting and lots of location filming in Hawaii. “I’m not really sure how much I should say,” admits a diplomatic O’Loughlin during a recent chat promoting the Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan, opening Friday.

Some things Hawaii Five-O won’t change, notes the actor. The memorable theme song will be the same, and his McGarrett will utter the classic “Book ’em Danno” at the end of the pilot.

And, while O’Loughlin’s McGarrett will continue to track down bad guys each episode, he’ll do it with more intensity, and a great deal more hand-to-hand combat, as a former special-ops Navy SEAL commander.

“That’s a lot of fun to do,” the 33year-old says of his action scenes in the series, which wrapped shooting its pilot last month.

For something completely different, there’s The Back-up Plan. In the Alan Poul-directed romantic comedy, O’Loughlin plays a nice guy instead of a villain, a tough guy or an investigator with an attitude. Instead, he’s Stan, a nice guy who meets Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) when they both try to grab the same Manhattan cab at the same time. One thing leads to another as they slowly fall for each other — but there are complications.

Zoe is a forceful independent business woman who has already decided to conceive through artificial insemination because she was getting frustrated waiting for the right guy to come along. So Stan has a lot to consider when Zoe eventually confesses to him that she’s pregnant with twins. Cue the laughs as The Back-up Plan explores, and exploits, the dilemma, mostly for chuckles.

That’s where Lopez comes in, O’Loughlin says. He was surprised and pleasantly pleased by her comic abilities. “Jennifer’s the true queen of romantic comedies,” says O’Loughlin. “And I actually learned a lot from her.”

Lopez, who had script and actor approval, reports that they connected almost immediately, which helped both of them. O’Loughlin’s a rookie in the romantic comedy genre, and Lopez was returning to work after being away for a few years to care for her fraternal twins.

O’Loughlin took a few years to get into the swing of things after starring in several Australian TV series. He joined the cast of the well-received U.S. cable series, The Shield, portraying Detective Kevin Hiatt, but really broke through as the private detective and vampire Mick St. John in Moonlight.

Lopez says O’Loughlin has an onscreen presence that is rare, and should serve him well in his future roles.

“Some actors are good on TV and get lost in a movie,” Lopez reports.“Alex can do both. And especially on the big screen, you want somebody who can hold your attention, and Alex proved he is one of those people who can do just that.”

Scan:

Vampire on a mission – #AlexOLoughlin and his Mick

Insatiable … Alex O’Loughlin is a private investigator who is also a vampire intent on ridding the world of types like him.

The Sydney Morning Herald

17 December 2007

written by Scott Ellis

 

Alex O’Loughlin is sitting in his make-up trailer, alternating puffs on a cigar with a serious discussion about spiritual belief and human nature. “I think really if there’s nothing out there in the dark, then once we’re dead we’re just dead and all religion, all spiritual belief, is redundant,” O’Loughlin said. “So there has to be something else, or what’s the point? And if we accept that there has to be something … then there can be anything.”

It’s a deep thought, particularly given the fact that one of the “anythings” he’s talking about is sitting three seats down: another actor who waves happily as he is made up to look like an undead soul recently escaped from hell.

It all makes sense only because Sydney-born O’Loughlin is the star of Nine’s newest drama, Moonlight, which follows a vampire private investigator out to save humanity from the monsters like himself … and hopefully save himself along the way.

“Mick St John essentially is a human who denies the monster within,” O’Loughlin said. “He became a vampire against his will and then became a private investigator because he feels that each predator he gets rid of, each monster he kills or has put away gets him closer to the humanity within himself that he has lost.

“He’s a very complex character to play because really he hates what he is and hates himself, and that’s put him right on the edge.”

Also pushing him to the edge is his relationship with Beth Turner (played by Sophia Myles), a reporter who discovers his secret.

As a child, Beth was saved by St John and was the first step on his search for redemption. Now grown up and igniting passions he’s tried to deny, she is both the one woman he could love and the one woman he shouldn’t.

“What saving [Beth] signifies to him was so enormous and now that she’s come of age and he’s starting to find himself attracted to her … oh man … he wants her to call him Dad and he wants her to call him Baby … it’s all messed up.

“But that allows for some really dramatic twists and changes in the character that you just wouldn’t see anywhere else.”

This complexity convinced O’Loughlin, who had previously been attracted to more conventional roles (including a much-publicised tryout as the new James Bond), that a vampire would be a good role to sink his teeth into.

“A big thing that comes up for me with this show and with this world is redemption,” he said. “At what point can we no longer be redeemed? And Mick’s hoping the answer is never.”

 

Flashback: Count Von Count

Vampires have been monsters, murderers, occasionally saviours and even, since 1972, a teacher helping children to understand numbers. Count Von Count, a Muppet modelled on Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of Dracula, has been a part of Sesame Street since season four and, despite his fangs, bats and wicked laugh, has been a favourite ever since. His compulsive love of counting, according to Muppets lore, is due to a condition called “Arithomania”.

 

My Thoughts

• Of course Alex was not born in Sydney as reported in this article, but in Canberra, Australia.

#AlexOLoughlin ……. I’m a passionate person

I was taught by very passionate people and I am a passionate person. I was taught that passion is either constructive or deconstructive. I keep trying to build on that and be constructive. If you don’t approach a character passionately, if you’re not trying to elevate the material then you’re probably in the wrong job. I want to be better each day.

– Alex O’Loughlin

Midweek.com

September 2011

 

 

Life around #AlexOLoughlin – 3 weeks in review (26 Jun – 14 Jul 2017)

 

Yes, can you believe it, hiatus for cast and crew of Hawaii Five-0 ended more than a week ago already. It will definitely be a different kind of season for the show, and hopefully there are a lot of fresh new stuff to look forward to. Of course we are here to support Alex in his career and he remains our No 1 priority.

I am sometimes kind of bemused when people come here and try to insult us by calling us Alex-obsessed, and accuse us that we tend to place Alex on a pedestal. Well DUH – we are a fansite for him, so? And about the pedestal – most of the time he just gets himself up there, by who he is, what he does and how he does it. Sometimes those who work with him, or meet him, do it for us. They do it  without somebody even asking them for it, or them getting reward for it. They just can’t help but sing his praises. And most of the time, the praises are about him just being a very grounded dude who does his job with passion. What is there not to love about that?

Just to explain some of our logistics again, apart from this blog, we also have supporting pages on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. As we have done for the past two years, when fresh news and pictures come in during the week, we first post the worthwhile things on our Facebook and Twitter pages. At the end of the week, we make this summary post of all the latest stuff happening during the week and post as many of the pictures as we can find from people who post news regarding Alex. All our pictures and news will mainly be about him and things that affect him. We also try to add some fun to the post, and not just report the news ……

As always Thank You for those who take pictures and post pictures of Alex. And Thank You to those who find pictures that were posted in obscure places away from the tags where we normally look for new information – if we can see who found it we will normally credit them for the find. And Thank you to Bee for helping us locate all the stuff that we need to post – You are a star!

Here are some of the accounts that are worth your while to follow to get regular updates of pictures:  hawaii isla 808‏ @hawaii_isla808   ,  Belle Anderson‏ @SurfBelle2   , Lisa‏ @alohaspaceman

Most of the pictures we add here are cropped and edited to correct some parts of it and to make Alex more visible. And remember that the credit and links to the original posts are in all in the names. And you can click on the pictures to make them bigger in order to see better.

Hope you enjoy our first post for the new season!

Life on the Set (Season 8):

• Filming at the pool at the Hilton Hawaii Village.

anelawings  5-0 in the house 🤙🏻#hawaii50#H50 #hawaiifive0 #five0redux

 

sheila_piggy #hawaii50 filming in the #hiltonhawaiianvillage this morning 😍😍😍

 

Hawaii Isla 808  (12 July) ·This morning July 11, 2017 shoot filming near Hilton Hawaiian in Hawaii. Alex Oloughlin and Scott Caan today..

 

Joe Gizzarelli (12 July) Look who’s filming Hawaii Five-O right now at the hotel we’re staying at!!!

 

ryanimal47  Got be with the Hawaii five-0 cast for the day at the tapa tower

Kimferly Ann H. Ocampo-Vidal ·Hawaii Five-O Season 8 in Action

• And if any of you are wondering who the actress is who are on so many of the pictures on set with Alex and Scott – It is Meaghan Rath. And although we could speculate that she might be a new regular cast member, there are no official news about it yet and we do not know if she is just a guest star in this first episode or if she will be there for more. Guess we will have to wait and see during the next few weeks if she remains on set, or if any official information about new cast members come through. Please don’t jump to conclusions and condemn the poor woman already before we know more.

 

Life on the Set – Videos:

• Posted by Hawaii Isla 808

 

 

• You can spot Alex in the middle of the screen greeting people.

 

 

• Alex and Scott with Meaghan

 

Life on the Set – Earlier days:

(‘New’ old pictures found by the scouts)

David Stoker (20 November 2010)  Hawaii 50 filming today at the church. Here is a photo of Alex O’Loughlin who plays Steve McGarrett. Very nice guy. In fact the whole cast and crew are super nice. They are great representatives of the Aloha spirit of Hawaii.

Hale Koa  (21 January 2011) ·  Hawaii Five – 0 at the Hale Koa Hotel

Fan Photos:

• New fan photos from the set this week:

jeffreys808  #hawaii50 is still here shooting at SIN lounge, but I think I need to stop sneaking shots to Alex. Haha! #tvshow #hawaii #McGarettgettingallbus

 

djcox15 Met the boys #Hawaiifiveo #h50 #hawaiifive0cbs

 

Other News for the week:

• The new season kicked off with a Blessing ceremony at the studio on 7 July, with no footage from any news outlets. We only got some glimpses of the event. It looked like everybody was in good spirits. Of the main cast Alex, Chi and Jerry were there.

• Blessing:

alexnwunderlaaand  Blessings on blessings 🙏🏼🎬🥂 #HQ #hawaiifive0season8

(Alex and Chi standing with their backs to the camera)

 

Dennis Chun  (8 July) Update from #dennischun Aloha, Most meaningful and beautiful Blessing Ceremony today. Great to see everyone and feel the eagerness to begin filming. Have a feeling that Season 8 will be a most unpredictable, meaningful and exciting one.
Mahalo all your aloha and support. Malama Pono

 

Angela Gerstner (8 July ) Saved the best for last. Here’s a personal message I got from a crew member about this Friday’s blessing ceremony of H50 Season 8. I would like to share this for my fellow Alex and H50 fans: “Alex gave a great uplifting speech today. And Lenkov spoke highly about the cast and crew.”

• Short Video taken at the event:

 

Alex and Charity:

• Congratulations to Lynn who came in as the highest bidder of the CharityBuzz auction at $13 500. I am sure Taylor’s Gift Foundation and Alex are grateful that the bidding went that high. Lynn, we can only wish you the best of times there in Hawaii, and hope you enjoy you time on the set with Alex.
• Here is a post from somebody who on a previous occasion also won a bid – this time not spesifically to meet Alex, but apparently Peter arranged it for them.

Heather Adri‏ @HeatherAdri @PLenkov CharityB auction tomorrow also reminds me of how gracious you were in letting me & my dad meet Alex 2yrs ago when we won. Thx again

Alex & Family:

• Belated birthday wishes to Alex’s eldest son Saxon, who celebrated his 20th birthday in the beginning of July.

 

Next Week:

• They should wrap up with the first episode of Season 8 somewhere during this coming week and move onto Episode 8:02. Can you believe it?

#AlexOLoughlin …. stay who you are.

It’s reassuring when you come home and your mates say you haven’t changed much.

– Alex O’Loughlin,

The Sydney Morning Herald,

November 2011