Alex O’Loughlin and Gabriel Macht – Interesting to look back at the days before they both starred in two hit TV shows. Alex as the lead actor on Hawaii Five-0, with a 240 episode run and Gabriel as lead on a 136 episode run of Suits, with the difference being that Gabriel ended up also as the executive producer of his show and being able to steer the direction of his show.
This is only one of the few delightful interviews they did together for the movie Whiteout.
For Collider
8 September 2009
Interviewing two people at the same time is hard. The reason is, when you’re interviewing just one person, you can focus all your energy and questions on that individual. But when you have two people ready and willing to answer questions, you’ve got to come up with stuff they both can talk about and you never know if they’re going to play off each other.
Sometimes you only have the time to ask one question because they’ll keep going on and on. Trust me, it’s a challenge. Thankfully, when I sat down to speak with Alex O’Loughlin and Gabriel Macht for their new movie “Whiteout”, not only did they play off each other quite well, we had enough time to ask some individual questions.
So if you’re curious what making “Whiteout” was like and what they have coming up, take a look at the interview after the jump.
Also, since it’s not online, Gabriel revealed that he’s been cast in Edward Zwick’s new film “Love and Other Drugs” opposite Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Transcript:
Alex: It’s not attractive.
Gabriel: Just don’t pick on your teeth. They are alright.
Steve: What we were discussing prior to the camera rolling – Food, in-between interviews. What’s your personal favourite?
Gabriel: Of?
Steve: Food?
Gabriel: Food! Uhm, actually … what’s my personal favourite. I was talking about this the other day. [To Alex] You might get a kick out of it. Crumpet, with some margarine and Vegemite on it. It’s actually…
Alex: Oh!
Gabriel: Yeah.
Alex: The word crumpet made me laugh. When you say it… crumpet
Gabriel: Sorry.
Steve: Okay, well
Alex: ‘Cos, you’re kind of crumpet. You don’t have crumpets here.
Gabriel: No, they’re … the closest thing is an English
Alex: They’re the greatest thing. They’re an Ozzie thing.
Gabriel: My wife is Aussie, and …
Alex: There’s the connection right there.
Gabriel: And the Vegemite, or the Promite
Alex: Vegemite… Promite is good too? But crumpet is a … how would you describe it? It’s kind of … It’s like a muffin, but it’s kind of got holes in it. They bake it and then they stop baking it. So, then you reheat it, and it’s kind of doughy, holey, crispy on the bottom. Oh. It’s delicious.
Gabriel: It’s really nice, yeah.
Alex: Can’t get them here, though.
Steve: I was going to say, I like… I like muffin tops. You know muffins?
Alex: It’s another… Well, yes, it’s a different thing, but it’s similar … it’s in the same land. You would find the crumpet and the muffin top, living in the same land.
Gabriel: They’re cousins …. they’re cousins.
Alex: Absolutely. At least.
Steve: I suppose I need to ask you a question about the movie at hand, or…
Gabriel: Oh, please don’t.
Steve: [Laughs] I guess we can talk about …no, no, no … I’m going in. When … when you … obviously, you knew this was going to be a physical shoot, when you were going in. But how did it compare to your preconceived ideas of what it was going to be?
Alex: I don’ think you can prepare yourself for minus 50 degrees, you know. I mean, you can’t … I’d never been in that … unless you had been there I suppose. But you can’t … you think you have an idea of, “I’ve been in the snow before” I’ve done this, I’ve done that … No man.
You know, it shuts down. Your body shuts down. Your mind changes. You know, your rhythm shuts down. Your breathing patterns change. Everything shifts. And so, it’s … it’s .. it benefits … for me it benefited my performance and my experience as an actor in the film, because I was subjectively experiencing the climate as a character. But, you know, I don’t think …
Gabriel: You see your blood pressure actually drops, right?
Alex: I think so.
Gabriel: Yes, so if your blood pressure is dropping, it’s sort of the antithesis of what you need to do as an actor. Because …
Alex: Which is like…
Gabriel: Which is such an intensity that you need to sort of create. And so, that’s a challenge actually. I forget about that.
Alex: Yeah.
Steve: Well, there was a lot of challenges, when I was looking at the notes. With the filming in the show in the show and filming at the sound stage. What was the hardest thing … and I rarely ask this, but what was the hardest thing that Dominic asked you guys to do, in the shoot?
Alex: Getting naked and running across the ice, when it was minus 35.
Steve: Really?
Gabriel: For me …
Alex: Yeah, dude. Didn’t you see the movie?
Steve: No, I did.
Alex: I was, yeah …. I was part of the Polar Bear club.
Gabriel: In the very beginning, there’s 20 guys, for 3 minutes there…
Steve: I …
Alex: You were so overwhelmed by courage … the courageous act …
Steve: The male nudity, just makes me, you know…
Gabriel: Look the other way, right?
Alex: I understand.
Gabriel: You were waiting for me to come on stage.
Steve: It’s not…
Gabriel: Because, I had a no-nudity clause.
Alex: I understand.
Gabriel: [Laughs]
Steve: [Laughs]
Steve: Okay, I’m going to switch subjects, because you guys obviously been answering about, Whiteout all day. Okay, but you both are involved with a lot of other stuff. Is there any that you want to, sort of mention to your fans, of what you have coming up?
Gabriel: I have, three movies coming out next year.
Alex: Really!
Gabriel: Yep. I’ve got a movie called “Middle Men”, which is about the internet porn business in the late ‘90s. Which is a great comedy-drama, crime-drama. It’s a lot of fun.
Steve: I’m in.
Gabriel: Written and directed by the guy who wrote, “Midnight Run”, George Gallo. So, it’s a lot of fun. And then I’ve got an independent film…
Alex: Well, we need to get to mine, so …
Gabriel: …with Rebecca Hall …
Alex: Let’s wrap this up.
Gabriel: And Amanda Seyfried in. And then I’m going to do the next Ed Zwick film, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria …
Alex: He is busy.
Gabriel: So, it should be fun, yeah.
Steve: I’m…
Gabriel: This guy doesn’t have anything coming out.
Alex: Nothing. I’m on a new…
Gabriel: What’s your back-up plan for that?
Alex: Oh, very funny. I’m on a new almost very, very hit TV show. Almost, which will be called Three Rivers. About organ transplant medicine and organ transplantation. And, I have a film coming out with Kate Beckinsale called, “Whiteout”.
Gabriel: You’re in that?
Alex: I am. And I also…
Gabriel: Did you wear a hood all the time?
Alex: Yeah, I’m not telling. And I sort of have a film with Jennifer Lopez, coming, called The Back-Up Plan. You should stay tuned.
Steve: I understand. I’m definitely getting the signal. So, listen folks, thank you so much.
Link to the video:
Some thoughts:
- Of course, blood pressure actually goes up and not down, in extreme cold, as they mention here. And because of it, your heart rate also excellerates.
- Interesting trivia, is that James Caan was also in the movie Midnight Men with Gabriel.
Alex O´Loughlin ~ An Intense Study 