#AlexOLoughlin & Tannya Joaquin – Set Interview – Sept 2012

Tannya: Well, I hope you don’t mind, I made just myself right at home at your house here.

Alex: Please, make yourself at home. It’s only half a house, unfortunately. But it’s …. it looks like a house.

Tannya: Your mama brings some drama this year, doesn’t she?

Alex: Yes, mama brings drama. Yeah, mama equals drama. That’s right.

Tannya: You left is I mean……what a way to end Season 2. Everyone’s dying to get to Season 3. What can you tell us about the first episode?

Alex: Well we….. I can tell you that we take care of all the cliffhangers, right away. Kono sinking in the ocean at night, Malia in a lot of trouble and me opening the door to meet Shelburne, who turns out to be my mother.

And the most interesting of those three is, of course, me and my mom. I’m kidding, by the way. Yeah, I mean how does…..

Tannya: But not really, everyone… This is fascinating.

Alex: It’s kind of a big deal, you know. How does someone …. how does someone process coming face to face with their mother after thinking she’s been dead for 20 years, you know? And not just that. You know, I mean, Steve’s dad was killed, you know, as a direct result of the decisions that his mother had made and…… You know, he was in pursuit of her killers all those years later.

And so much devastation and destruction has happened because of what she chose to do, so. Where do you pick up? How do you forgive? How do you trust again? And what do you do with the resentment that you have?

Tannya: And women are just creating all kinds of problems for you this season. A lot of estrogen on the set this year.

Alex: A lot of estrogen on the set this year, yeah ah-ha, yes. I don’t know how we’re going to deal with that? I guess we’re just going to take it a day at a time.

Tannya: Christine Lahti said that her and Danno kinda get into it a little bit.

Alex: They do in the first episode. It’s pretty funny. You know, Danno does his thing and she puts him in his place very quickly while I’m on the phone with the Governor trying to sort things out with Chin.

But it’s good and Christine is such an incredible actor. She’s so much fun on set, but she has such a presence And she brings that…..the character of Doris McGarrett perfectly, you know she plays it pitch-perfect.

And yeah, from the scene when we first meet, to the scene where, you know, Steve and her re-acquaint, to all the way through, you know.

Tannya: You’re the alpha dog on set until now. Now that mommy is around, are we going to see a different Steve McGarrett?

Alex: No, not really. You know, I think there are a few moments where he is his normal sort of assertive self and, and she kinda puts him in his place. It doesn’t really change who he is.

But you know, I guess there is a few …… I guess he makes a few kind of, you know, adjustments here and there to accommodate her presence. But for the most part, he’s the same guy. A little less trusting, if that’s possible.

Tannya: Tougher cookie, Steve McGarrett or Doris McGarrett?

Alex: I don’t know, man. I think probably Doris. I mean it’s …… to, to disappear and leave your family, you know, and do what she did … That take …… I don’t know if that’s tough or what it is? No, it is tough! She’s tough, for sure.

Tannya: What’s it like to work on Hawaii Five-0 and live in paradise? Because this really has become home for you now.

Alex: It has actually. It became home pretty quickly for me. I fell in love with this place. I was in Los Angeles for a long time before this you know. And I’m not someone who gets homesick very often, but when I did, I would really …. I would keenly feel the absence of all the sort of little familiarities and comfortabilities that Australia has for me, you know. And here it’s actually a lot …. it’s kind of a lot like Australia. It’s a lot like Queensland.

And the people here are a lot more like Australians, you know. Hawaiians are very sort of chilled-out and grounded and loving but tough. You know, there are a lot of similarities. So I feel at home. I love it here, you know. I bought a house. I’m having … you know my son, my 15-year old son lives with me, has done this year. And, of course, my partner Malia and I are having a baby, in about a month.

Tannya: Congratulations.

Alex: Thank you.

Tannya: A month?

Alex: Yeah, in the next sort of a month, month and a half. It’s kind of up to him when he chose…

Tannya: Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?

Alex: Him. He.

Tannya: A boy?

Alex: A boy, yeah.

Tannya: Any names? Maybe a Hawaiian name?

Alex: Yeah, he’s definitely gonna have a Hawaiian middle name. There’s a Kahuna that’s a close friend of ours, that blessed my house and blessed Saxon and I into the islands and stuff. And so he’s probably gonna do something with our boy. He’s gonna find his name, you know.

But even if I had a name, I’m not allowed to tell you. She said I can’t tell anyone.

Tannya: I understand that.

Alex: I don’t know why?

Tannya: I wouldn’t want her coming after me.

Alex: Yeah, she was like ….. but I guess if you …. before your child is born and if you tell people the name  and they’re like …. If there’s any other reaction … so, it’s got to be like,  “That’s awesome!”. If it’s anything else, you’re like, “What do you mean?” You know. Instead of, “Oh, yeah okay”.

Tannya: If she’s eight months along, you don’t want to set her off. I was there.

Alex: No, no. Exactly.

Tannya: Well I was here for the blessing. And I caught that moment when the rain came down. I don’t know if the viewers who watched it did. That was kind of a magical moment, wasn’t it?

Alex: Yeah, that was a magical moment. And you know, we have like… There’s something about this show, I mean. I work on this show and it’s kind of a reboot of a really famous show that we all know and love. We have done our best to kind of remain …… keep as much integrity, you know and tip our hats where we can to the old show.

But we are doing something different. And I think we do what we do well. But there’s a lot of magic moments along the way, you know. We’ve had huge amounts of support from people all around the world. We have incredible guest casts that come through. I mean we had Terrence Howard was on for like one day last month.

I mean it’s like …… I don’t know how to explain that other than it’s a testament to what we are doing here and to what we’ve all kind of created. It kinda makes it all feel like we’re meant to be here, and that we’re meant to be doing what we’re doing.

Tannya: And the fans. You have some diehard, crazy fans. I mean, they want me to touch you and steal your clothes. That’s what they are asking me on Facebook.

Alex: You can have my clothes, if you want. You want them now or after the ….?

Tannya: Yeah, if you don’t mind…

Alex: I’ll give them to you after the interview, so that it’s not weird.

My fans are the best. I have …… I sometimes feel kind of bad because I don’t do ….. I  have a Facebook page but I’m really terrible at updating the blogs and stuff like that.

I don’t Twitter. I don’t do any of the other things. I mean I even have an assistant to help me open my mail, you know. It’s like …. I’m so unorganized.

Tannya: You are working a lot.

Alex: I work a lot and when I’m not, I’m doing things at home. I’m like, “Oh, I’ll fix that wall …”, and I get the tools out and do my thing. And I’m playing with the kids.

Tannya: Wait a minute. You look like this, and you fix stuff too?

Alex: I fix stuff.

Tannya: More women falling for you right now!

Alex: That’s true. I like fixing stuff, you know. But so, I guess, I guess, you know, I mean, kind of part of me wishes I could express to the fans more often and more easily my appreciation. But it’s …. I don’t know, they are the best, you know.

Tannya: You have a moment right now. Could you blow a kiss to them?

Alex: [Blows a kiss] Thank you! Thank you!

Tannya: I’d regret not asking that because you have a lot of diehard fans out there.

Alex: No, I mean, in all seriousness. My fans are excellent. They keep …. they remember my birthday.

They send me the most amazing cards and gifts. You know and they are supportive of everything I do. And I don’t know, it’s funny because when I watch… when I watch my stuff back, I’m like, “Agh”, you know.

Tannya: Really?

Alex: Yeah, I think … I’m sure all actors are like that. You know, but these people, they keep like tuning in and keep like following me in my career. Whatever I’m doing. So it’s like …. I’m deeply grateful.

Tannya: This year McGarrett finally gets a love interest, and people are so happy with this. Well, maybe not the women, all of them.

Alex: Yeah, it’s interesting that it has sort of taken this long. I mean, Michelle who plays Catherine, she’s been in and out of the show, here and there. She’s coming and she’s gone. But for the moment for the most part she’s kind like …. she’s kind of like one of his …… she’s almost like his best mate, aside from Danno as well, his best friend. And also somebody who can help him out; like she’s got great resources and all the rest of it.

And I think he’s so …… He comes from such a fractured home, and the stuff with Mom disappearing, and now with Mom coming back, it’s almost like …. it’s brought a whole other layer of mistrust and a difficulty to be intimate and all the rest of it.

But I think, I certainly hope that they don’t make it easy for him to just fall into a relationship because that wouldn’t make sense. He needs to struggle with that a bit, I think.

Tannya: Cut to the chase. Are we gonna see some shirtless scenes and cargo pants?

Alex: Yeah, totally, completely. And cargo pants? No, I think it’s just shirtless with no pants. That’s what they were telling me.

Tannya: That works, too.

Alex: I’m happy to do whatever…

Tannya: The Sunset On The Beach premiere. That’s gonna be a crazy thing for a show.

Alex: I’m so glad it’s happening. We weren’t sure if it was. I’m sure they were planning it all along. But I don’t really know. But we were all pushing for it. It’s such an important night for …… Not so much for the show but for the people here, for Hawaiians, for fans on the island,  you know. And for the locals that put up with us shooting at all hours of the night and borrowing their houses, their businesses and their streets.

But it’s great. It’s such a wonderful night. I really look forward to it.

We get to sort off put on some nice clothes and talk to people and watch it on the big screen as well. And when we watch … I think it’s like a reminder. At the beginning of the season, it’s a real reminder of what we’re making and it’s almost as if we’re make a little movie every week, you know.

We watch something on the big screen, it really shows the quality of what you’re doing, you know. Or the opposite. And I’m always impressed.

Tannya: You guys do such an amazing job with the action. But you seem like you also have a lot of fun on the set. Who’s the most likely to laugh during a take and you have to re-shoot a scene?

Alex: Probably me. I just did it then. Chin said …. Danno said something funny, but I think we’re all pretty even keel with that stuff. Scott holds it together more than …. He’s very dry. He’s got a very dry sense of humour. We all have a pretty dry sense of humour but he can hold it together better. And I laugh a lot.

Tannya: I also asked everyone else. Who is the biggest rascals on the set, or who’s the bigger rascals. Is it you guys or is it your dogs?

Alex: Oh, the dogs for sure. The dogs are out of control. As you’ve seen today, it’s a very dog-friendly set. There’s dogs running around everywhere. Mine’s in solitary confinement at the moment for bad behaviour. Which is an air-conditioned trailer, by the way, with plenty of food and water.

Yeah, they sort of run around and get into all sorts of trouble. We take ….. they’ve got little jingle-jangles on their collars – their name tags, and their like little badges of excellence and stuff. They jingle around. So we tape them up during takes, so they’re quiet.

But that allows them to kinda disappear cause we can’t hear them running away. They’re rascals. They’re naughty.
Anyway, I mean, Scott’s dog Dot. She’s kind of the matriarch and sort of runs the show. And my little girl Dusty, she’s a year-and-a-half old. Dot will play with her, but then she sort of puts her in her place. It’s funny. It’s a hierarchy, for sure.

Tannya: You said you’re gonna be a dad again. Tougher thing, to be this big action star or to be a dad again? Diaper duty?

Alex: Oh man, I’m not worried about diaper duty. Well, I am a little. Who wants to change a diaper? But it’s …. I think it’s more the sleep thing for a little while. I’m sure his gonna, if he’s anything like me, he’ll want to sort of just fix things all night and do stuff.

I’m really like that. When everyone goes to bed, I’m like “Right! What do I get to do? There’s so much I can do!”
So I’m sure he’s gonna be like me.

But being a dad is the hardest and the greatest job in the world. The only job harder, is being a Mom. That’s the hardest job in the world.
But I mean I’ve got a 15-year-old, and Malia’s got a 3-and a half-year-old and we’ve got the new one. So it’s gonna be ….. They’re all boys, so it’s a man factory at my house.

Tannya: She’s outnumbered.

Alex: Yeah, but she’s a tough broad. We’re all scared of her, I guarantee. We do what we’re told.

But look gonna be, it’s the greatest thing ever. I’m very excited to be a dad again. It’s been … the last 15 years have been the greatest years; it’s a little less than half of my life.

I had Saxon very young. I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to meet my new son. I can’t wait to … And I’m gonna have a little kama`āina baby.

Tannya: That’s amazing.

Alex: I feel a bit emotional. It’s the biggest thing happening in my life right now.

Tannya: Well, that’s great. Where would you like to see your character go? I mean you’re not even halfway through shooting the season. Any idea?

Alex: Yeah, we’re only seven episodes in, and so we got a long way to go. Look. They don’t tell me and I follow their lead. I  have faith …. I really have faith in these guys.

The creators and Peter Lenkov. And the people who deliver these stories to us, to take it from there. Because from the beginning, I asked them ….. They offered me this role, I said, “I don’t want to do a straight procedural. I don’t want to do a cop show that’s the same as every other cop show. I don’t want to do it. I’d rather wait for a movie or do some theater or something else.”

And they said. “We’re gonna do that. We’re gonna give you a lot of character stuff. We’re really gonna make it something you want to come to work for.” And they have been true to that. I mean we have to do procedural stuff. We have to do the stuff too, but there’s a lot of great character stuff. So I’m sure some more is gonna be coming.

Tannya: And unfortunately you missed the cross-over episode.

Alex: I know, I know. That was a shame. Those boys are great. You know, Chris and L.L.
Maybe that’s what happened with L.L. beating up the guy that came into his house. Maybe if I was part of the cross-over… Maybe he was angry about not being able to work with me.

Tannya: That must have been it.

Alex: I think it had something to do with it. Hopefully, we’ll do something like that again too, because I would love to work with those guys. I kinda have this feeling we’re not going anywhere. I don’t know why? I just have a feeling we’re here for a while.

Tannya: We could do a cross-over on Sunrise in our morning news. I’ll kick out my co-anchors.

Alex: Fantastic.

Tannya: You and Scott Caan come in.

Alex: Can we bring guns?

Tannya: Yes.

Alex: How about dogs?

Tannya: Yes, of course.

Alex: We would have so much fun. Right? And they can come in here and put this on and do the blah-blah.

Tannya: Okay, yeah, I can make that happen.

Alex: I’ll be there.

Tannya: Are you down for real?

Alex: Can we drink coffee and eat baguette and stuff?

Tannya: Malasadas.

Alex: Malasadas? I’ll do it!

Tannya: You’re in?

Alex: I’m in.

Tannya: You know, can you do me a favour? It’s actually our news casts? We have our fifth anniversary. Since it’s Five-0. Can you wish us a Happy Anniversary from Five-0?

Alex: Yes. I’m Alex O’Loughlin from Hawaii Five-0, and on behalf of all of us here at Five-0, I’d like to say Happy Fifth Anniversary. And many more!

Tannya: Yeah. Thank you so much.

Alex: How was that?

Tannya: That was fantastic.

Alex: Was it sincere?

Tannya: I think so. Did it feel sincere?

Alex: It did. It really felt sincere.

Tannya: Can you do a ‘Book’em Danno’ for us? Or are you out of practice?

Alex: No, I will not do a ‘Book’em Danno’. I absolutely refuse.

Tannya: What about the music, the Hawaii Five-0 theme song?

Alex: You want me to sing it?

Tannya: No.

Alex: This is outrages. What’s happening?

Tannya: No. Do you love it or are you kinda like, “Okay, I can’t hear it anymore”?

Alex: No, I love it. It’s so iconic. I mean when I hear it, I cringe a little bit. Only because it’s usually on an airplane. Cause I don’t watch the show anymore. I watched it in the beginning but once I knew what we were, I was like, “Okay…”

And I don’t watch it because it’s not good. I don’t watch it because I can’t look at myself for that long, without losing my mind alright. But when I hear it, it’s usually when I’m sitting on a Hawaiian Airlines flight.

And when it comes on, people go, “Hey buddy, hey” and they change seats and then it’s on. So, any work I’ve got to do, it’s out the window…

Tannya: Alright, Alex. Thank you so much. Such a pleasure. Mahalo and congratulations.

Alex: Aloha

Earlier that day Tannya tired to do an interview with Alex , but it was cut short.

You can see what happened here:

Sunrise Teaser for #AlexOLoughlin interview – September 2012