It’s not every day that Hollywood.com has Matthew Fox on the phone, bright and early on Oahu time, so while we chatted extensively about his upcoming film We Are Marshall we also slipped a few quick questions his perspective on his third season experiences on Lost, which so far has found Jack cooling his heels in The Others’ drained-out aquarium.
Hollywood.com: This last season has been big on The Others on Lost. Has that allowed you a little more personal time and not always be working, and how do you feel about fans missing the dynamic of the original cast because we’re getting into so many other new characters and stuff on the show?
Matthew Fox: Well, I understand the audience sort of missing some of those other dynamics, but the story is dictating right now that we’re looking at the story more from The Others’ perspective than our original survivors’ perspective. I think that’s a really amazing thing that the show is doing, and personally, because Jack is now a part of The Others and is being held in captivity there, I’ve gotten to work with new actors and create completely new relationships and dynamics, and that’s been really exciting for me. It has created some more time off for me, because I’m doing all of my work on one set and so I’ll have two or three days where I’m working 14 hour days, and then I’ll have a week of time off while they’re doing other stories. That has been incredibly nice for me. I mean, I worked on two films over my hiatus. I worked six days a week all the way through, and so getting back to Lost was exciting, but at the same time getting this much time off has been a real relief. It’s been nice.
HW: Do you and the actors who play The Others try to keep from joking in between takes or hanging out too much to keep the animosity easier between you all?
MF: I wouldn’t say that it goes that far. There is definitely a dynamic. I would say that the stuff that’s happening between Jack and Juliet, and Jack and Ben and these Others—the relationship that my character has with The Others, I think that there’s an understanding between us as actors. There is a certain dynamic on the actual day that we work that we try to strike, but I’m getting to know them both as people and they’re amazing. I just love them as actors too. I’m really excited about working with them all the time and how psychological the work is right now. So, yeah, I’m really enjoying that stuff.
HW: When you pick up a script each week, there is always the fear that they’re going to kill off even Jack, who’s one of the show’s central characters. Are you ever worried when you get a new script that you’re going to be next?
MF: I think that’s always an element to it. I don’t worry about it too much. I feel really fortunate to be a part of this project and I do from an objective point of view understand that that is an element of the show that is important. You can’t create this sort of island in which life is always sort of in the balance and then not have people perish. I think that’s just part of the show. So, yes, that’s always in the back of my mind, but I don’t fret it too much. If that happens to Jack, then I really feel—I have an enormous amount of faith in Damon Lindelof and J.J. [Abrams] and Carlton [Cuse]—that if that time comes for Jack Shephard it’s because that’s what is meant to happen in the story. I have faith in that they’re on top of that.
Look for more with Matthew Fox and his new film We Are Marshall soon on Hollywood.com!
