Lost News (long!)

Bigger, Badder, Lost-er! We've Supersized This Week for Your Favorite Castaways!
by Kristin Veitch | Mar. 25, 2005

Yes, the Paley Television Festival's Lost panel was that good. And lest you think I was the only one who went ape-dung over it, you should know that hundreds of fans lined up at 6 a.m. to get good seats, bought costly tickets on eBay and flew in from mysterious, faraway places like New Jersey. I so wish every one of you Lost die-hards could've been there. Instead, in honor of the show's triumphant return (new episodes begin this Wed., Mar. 30!), I've supersized the column this week to bring you scoop on what went down inside the theater and one-on-one conversations with the castmembers in attendance, complete with video clips. I am nothing if not a giver.

Up first, the juicy-fun tidbits you need to know from the panel session:

1. The Moderator Didn't Know Anyone's Name: I nearly leaped out of my seat to take over when he introduced "Dominique" Monaghan. Unless there's something Dom isn't telling us...

2. Get Ready for the C-Word: "The season finale is something that I love so much my jaw dropped," said executive producer JJ Abrams. "I love cliffhanger endings." Of course, upon hearing the dreaded c-word, the audience let out a massive groan, so JJ added playfully, "And yet, I like this idea." Right. Not buying it.

3. Dominic Was Supposed to Be Sawyer: According to executive producer Bryan Burk, the role of Charlie originally was supposed to be played by an older actor, "someone who had been on Alias." Then Dominic came in to read for Sawyer, and they realized he "wasn't mad enough to be Sawyer." To which Josh Holloway (Sawyer) scoffed, "Sawyer, puh-leeze."

4. Evangeline Lilly Was "Frumpled": Ian Somerhalder (Boone) was the first to be cast; Evangeline Lilly was the last. Bryan Burk said she looked "frumpled" in the audition, and they asked her to do it again with her hair pulled back. Sold. Meanwhile, Jorge Garcia (Hurley) and Ian were the only ones who tested for their roles. "After the audition," Jorge said, "I ran into Ian on the way out to the parking lot, and he was like, 'See you in Hawaii, bitch!' "

5. JJ Confirmed the Big Death: "By the end of the year," he said, "one main character does die. The truth of it is, it's a sad, painful thing to do. But I just saw the episode, and it's insanely well done."

6. Locke Down: By show of hands, the moderator polled the audience on whether we thought Locke was good or evil. Fifty-fifty. Then he asked the cast, "Who thinks Locke is good?" Only one castmember shot up his hand: Ian (Boone).

7. Could Michael Have an Alias? When asked what they would like to have happen, Harold Perrineau answered, "I hope you find out Michael works for SD-6."

Speaking of Harold, I unfortunately wasn't able to grab him for an interview before the session was started (sniff, sniff, I love him so). But I did get every other castmember in attendance: Dominic, Ian, Jorge, Josh, Naveen Andrews, Yunjun Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and Matthew Fox.

Enjoy being a fly on the red carpet!

Dominic Monaghan (Charlie)
Get your hands off Jorge Garcia.
Sorry, we had to hug. We haven't seen each other in, like, 24 hours, so we miss each other, you know. We were on different planes, which is stressful for me, to be away from him for a long amount of time.

You'd think being together on a plane would be stressful.
Right. We know that can be bad.

Are screaming fans like this old hat to you?
Well, we did have some of that for Lord of the Rings. It's always good connecting with the people who pay your wages, because then I can make sense of my job a little more.

So, what's up with you and Claire?
I don't know if it will fully blossom. I keep asking the writers, and they're like, "You know, right now we got something really good going on. It's a very sweet, kind, nurturing kind of friendship. If you guys start making out behind palm trees, it might get a little dirty."

I'm all for that. I want the palm trees rockin'.
Really? Dirty Charlie? Dirty Claire? I think Charlie could be dirty, but not Claire. I'm leaving that more to Shannon and Sayid. You know, kind of that older man corrupting that young woman. It's like Salman Rushdie and Paris Hilton.
That's hot.

Ian Somerhalder (Boone)
I think these fans like you.
Yeah, I heard people were here at 6 a.m. That's insane. It's been one of the most endearing and enticing parts of this, that people really like this show. Someone coming up to you, and just saying, 'Hey, I really like your work,' and taking off. That's really cool.

Maybe they aren't killing off a human
So, are we going to see another Boone-centric episode?
Boone-centric? Yeah, I think we will. Which is great, because anytime it's Boone-centric, it's Locke-centric, and that's the coolest thing.

You guys are sort of like Batman and Robin now.
[Cringes.] I can't believe you just said that! But yeah.

Sorry, bad analogy.
You know what, if Terry O'Quinn is Batman, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I will so be Robin, because that man is--I just have an insane amount of respect for him. Listen, here's the thing: You wake up at four in the morning. It's dark. You walk outside. You're in Hawaii. You're having a cup of coffee reading over your material, and then you realize you get to spend that day in the jungle with Terry O'Quinn, for the next eight days. It doesn't get better than that.

Yeah, that just made me hate you a little.
You and 19 million other women.

Daniel Dae Kim (Jin)
You know, my wife gets more news on our show from you than she does from me. She reads your stuff every week. And now that a castmember's being killed off, she's on there every day to make sure it's not me. [Laughs.]

Really? How sweet. So, tell me so I can tell her.
I wish I could! We do know who's getting killed, and you know, we're all trying to move on and make the best show we can, and if that means some of us have to leave, it's sad, but I think it might be best for the show. The thing is, we all wanna be on this show! All of us started this project together, so there's a special chemistry, and when one of us leaves, it changes it a little bit.

Your hair's a bit longer. Is this for the show?
It is! You know, time has passed, and I think it's kind of a character note also. Jin might be letting his hair down a little bit.

Does this mean you might take back Sun? I'm sort of rooting for you now.
You are? It's really interesting. Half the time I get that, and then half the time people say they think she should leave my sorry butt. I think the backstory episode did a lot to illuminate what was going on behind his character and his history, and I was waiting for that myself, so I'm glad that it resonated with people.

Yunjun Kim (Sun)
Here's what I want to know. This guy next to you right here, your husband...
This meanie? [Pokes Daniel Dae Kim's shoulder.]

The Lost woman talks "giving it for the girls"
Any hope?
I don't know--can you get a divorce on this island? That's what I would like to know! I don't know if we're gonna break up or--how can you break up on an island? I don't know what's going to happen with Sun and Michael or Jin and Sun, but all I can say is that I'm happy that I'm in between these really great actors who happen to be very, very good looking as well, so, I'm flattered. But, like I said, I don't know what's going to happen.

Sure you don't. Wink, wink.
No, trust me! We don't know any of the secrets. I wish we did. When I get the scripts, if I'm, say, grocery shopping, I'll get the call that it's at my house, and I drop what I'm doing and go immediately home to read it. I'm dying, as well, to find out.

When you find out, will you tell me?
Of course. You know I have you on speed dial.

Jorge Garcia (Hurley)
Can I borrow a million dollars?
[Laughs.] Of course!

That was an amazing episode. Do you think those numbers are really cursed?
It's so funny, 'cause when we were shooting that episode, a lot went wrong, like the Hummer they were mounting the cameras on, they cracked the windshield, so it took all this time to get a new windshield, and it was the wrong size. Then they got another windshield. We cracked the other windshield. There were little things that would happen that we'd be like, "It's the numbers, it's the numbers!" And now friends or people on the Internet will tell stories about when they were watching the episode, bad stuff happened or happened in that week, and everyone's blaming the numbers.

You know some fool is gonna play the lottery with those numbers, right?
Yeah, I think people already did. I was like, "What are you doin'?! Are you crazy? You opened the box!"

Why were you on TV in Korea?
I think that's how much money I won. I won so much money it even made Korean news. I think there's a little subtitle on it that said, like, big winner in Korean.

Is there gonna be another Hurley-centric episode?
There has to be, because you saw the psychiatric place that apparently he used to be in. That sets up that we have more to learn from him. Also, in my episode, there are a lot of people calling me Hugo, and now everyone's calling me Hurley, so he's got a whole 'nother chunk of his life we haven't even really delved into.

Naveen Andrews (Sayid)
I just read a story about you in Entertainment Weekly. You've had a crazy life.
I have lived. I can't really apologize for that. I do have a past. Thankfully, it's in the past. You know, you've got to move on, and I'm just very lucky to be alive.

"I feel grateful that anybody's interested"
And lucky you, you got the hot babe.
Well, I think Maggie Grace, as a person and as an actress, has a lot of soul. And that probably wasn't brought through early on, or she didn't have a chance to bring it through. And I think the relationship between Shannon and Sayid, which came from left field, came from nowhere; no one would have put those two together. I'm very glad it happened. It seems to have worked.

Will there be another Sayid-centric episode?
Yeah. We just finished shooting it. So, there will be another one. Everyone gets a crack of the whip, like the Jorge one that just came out I thought was f--king brilliant. It was just great. And beautifully written, too. Sometimes the show actually surprises me. I watch it, and I think I'm actually proud to be on it sometimes.

Josh Holloway (Sawyer)
You naughty boy. You stole Jack's girl.
Yeah, I did. And it's wonderful! I'm not apologizing.

So, you're digging it?
Of course. I love the way the story has developed, and, you know, our relationship off-set, as actors, Evie and I. I love the fact that we're becoming more playful and less combative all the time, her with her arms crossed, and me always being mad and saying something snide. You know, there's a development in that relationship coming up that's actually really beautiful.

So, there'll be more Kate and Sawyer?
I hope so! I haven't got her yet. Come on!

You could at least tell Jack about your run-in with his father.
Are you kidding me? I hold the ultimate trump card. I think he'll string him along with it. Dangle the carrot.

Is that boar still haunting you?
I hope not! Damn boar! You know, that was a real boar, and he was so massive. But thank god, he didn't run me over. He had a thought. I saw him do a little jitter, like, toward me, and then he stopped. I could just picture myself on When Animals Attack!

Are you scared your character will die?
Of course! It just hangs there. You know it's a possibility, so you better be on your best behavior and step up to the plate, you know? There are too many ways you can die on that island.

Matthew Fox (Jack)
I just scolded Josh for stealing your girl.
[Laughs.] Hey, he hasn't stolen her at all! Anybody who knows anything about anything will tell you that's an interim thing. Those two characters are sort of finding solace in their own problems.

On his special friends, the writers
You don't think Jack and Kate belong together?
Jack is a really--he has his own problems, and he's harder on himself than anyone would be, but he has a very relentless moral compass. And so, I think Kate and Sawyer both feel like they have a hard time living up to his demands of what is right and wrong and what should be happening. That's always going to get in the way of the Jack and Kate thing, until either Jack becomes a little more gray, or Kate becomes a little more solid in her decision-making.

Are you freaked out by the screaming fans?
No, it's great. We kind of work in a little bit of a bubble over in Hawaii. We're somewhat disconnected with all of this. So, for us to be here and be together and meet the fans and get some direct feedback from the audience, we're loving it. It really doesn't get any better than this.