#AlexOLoughlin: Who Is He? – February 2008

Sunday Life,

17 February 2008

 

Who is/was Alex O’Loughlin, at that time?

1. Age:

32

2. Why he looks familiar:

Another NIDA graduate, class of 2000, O’Loughlin starred in 2004’s Oyster Farmer but got his break in the US as the star of Moonlight, a TV series about vampires, which aired on Channel Nine.

“I’ve got a six-year contract [with Moonlight], so I just try to keep my head down. I don’t wash dishes anymore; that’s the main thing”

3. Why you should care:

After the Moonlight pilot aired, producer Joel Silver realised the show wasn’t up to scratch and replaced the entire cast – except O’Loughlin.

“A lot of times you do a pilot … and you know if the pieces aren’t working. And I think they knew right away they had a star in Alex and they just rebuilt around him”, says co-star Brian White.

4. Birthplace:

Born in Canberra but grew up in Sydney

“My parents divorced when I was two. From the age of 10, I went back a forth between the two cities.”

5. Marital status:

He’s been dating Aussie singer and former ‘Neighbours’ star Holly Valance for the past 18 months and says,

“It’s going strong.”

6. Family ties:

“Mum’s a musician. She plays piano and has a beautiful voice, so she understands the creative need.”

But that doesn’t mean she misses he son any less now he’s living in LA.

“Mum lights up when she sees me. Her cheeks go pink – she’s all over me, pulling my hair, pinching my cheeks.”

O’Loughlin also has a sister, 31, whom he describes as a

“multi-talented volleyball player, gypsy chef”.

7. Bitten Young:

“I was in a school play when I was 10 and had fish fingers stuck up my nose and I was wearing these spectacles and making the audience laugh. I remember the rush and I loved it.”

8. Surreal moment:

O’Loughlin was taking a break from filming Moonlight on the Warner Brothers’ lot one day when a cart full of sightseeing women laid eyes on him. “

They started screaming at the top of their lungs – it scared the shit out of me”

9. The move to the US was tough:

“There was a whole year, in 2005, when I wasn’t getting anywhere. I had to sell my stereo and a few other things. I got my motorbike stolen, it was miserable. I was sleeping on a mate’s office floor, questioning my talent – that was really difficult.”

10. Home is where the work is:

“I love the Australian industry but it’s a boutique industry – the US is where it is.”

And while O’Loughlin admits that’s changing, he can’t wait around.

“If I want to buy a house, I’d have to stay in Australia making movies for a hundred years.”

11. Career highlights:

Auditioning for Casino Royale.

“The screen test for James Bond was a real ‘pinch yourself’ moment I’ll never forget.”

12. Inspiration:

“Daniel Day-Lewis is amazing. Ryan Gosling is also an incredible actor; he’s also a friend of mine …. well an acquaintance.”

13. Next:

August Rush, with Robin Williams, is out on Thursday.

My Thoughts

• This is yet another example of the media not always getting it right and that what we read are not all accurate …..
• From no 3: The writer says that after the pilot episode of Moonlight aired, they changed the cast – that original pilot of course never aired and I doubt if it was Joel who made the decision and choice to recast – think it had more to do with the network
• From no. 4: A contradiction between what the writer states and what Alex say in his comment: The writer says that Alex grew up in Sydney – but Alex himself says that he only started to move between the cities when he was 10. So more accurate would be, that he grew up in Canberra with mom and only started to visit his dad in Sydney when he turned 10.
• From no. 2: For people who say that when an actor signs a contract for a specific time, that the series will last for that long – Alex had a 6 year contract for Moonlight – the series lasted 16 episodes.
• From no. 10: Well, Alex was in the USA for 5 years, when he bought his house in Hawaii. (substantially less than that 100 years it would have taken him in Oz – sounds like he made the right choice then. 🙂 )
• Just some trivia about Brian White who played the detective on Moonlight – he had a guest appearance in Hawaii Five-0 in Epi 5:02 as the kidnapper.

 PS. The pictures are from Moonlight Episode 5 and the original pilot, which never aired.

We are still in big awe of Gabi´s (aka Fever´s) generosity for allowing us to share her unsigned copy of the original Moonlight pilot. We have uploaded it to our FB, so you can view it here

Thank you, Gabi ♥

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