Don’t say Hollywood.com won’t go the distance for you.
Just because we know you’re dying to get the inside scoop on the best show on television–and it just got an Emmy to prove it–we jumped on a plane to Oahu and headed into the jungle to track down all of the stars of Lost to get the dish on what’s happening both behind the scenes and on the screen for the highly anticipated second season. OK, maybe we didn’t get to talk to all of the castaways–Josh “Sawyer” Halloway insisted on trading a kiss for an interview with him, but as pretty as he is, we just hadn’t been marooned that long.
The island may be full of mysteries, but after delving into our in-depth report you’ll be anything but “lost.”
Why do you think the show has struck such a chord with viewers?
De Ravin: “Because there’s nothing like it on the air and the fact that they can be so creative with their storylines. There’s really no stopping them. They can do whatever they want. They have opened up this door of having this island that’s a little bit mythical and things go on here that normally wouldn’t go on. So you can do anything.”
Was there anything uniquely challenging about playing Claire’s pregnancy?
De Ravin: “Many things. Just everything that you’re doing with your body is different at that stage of pregnancy. It’s not about looking pretty. It’s about being able to sit down without being uncomfortable. It was a lot of fun talking to people and figuring those things out and just observing and so on.”
Are you told much about Claire’s story arc ahead of time, or do you learn as each script comes in?
De Ravin: “You find out certain things as it goes on. We’re not given scripts much in advance, but as far as important factors you’re sort of told things that would look silly if you didn’t know about them. But not much.”
How do you mentally fill in the blanks of all the secrets you don’t know?
De Ravin: “I think that with TV you have a background for your character in your mind–where she’s coming from, what she’s doing, what her past was like, what her childhood was like–and then sometimes you’re wrong. You can’t do anything about that, because we don’t have an episode twenty or an episode one. So that’s definitely something in television that’s an interesting thing to work with as an actor, because you don’t want to make character decisions that are maybe not going to make sense later on. But they work with us pretty well on that.”
Do you get any creative input into your character’s development from the writers?
De Ravin: “They are open to talking about things, but there are so many characters with so many ideas about where they’re going that the writers have that I think it’s too much input when it’s fifteen people.”
What’s coming up for Claire in Season Two?
De Ravin: “I think that Claire this season, now having had her child and dealing with the prospect of being a mother for a little while–which she had no intention of doing–she’s kind of gained in a good way, being in a place like this where there is a lot of physical activity required just to survive. She can now do that, even with the baby. It’s a lot easier with the baby than being pregnant. So it’s a lot more activity this year, a lot more going on this year.”
Working in Hawaii you’re slightly isolated. Was it a while before you realized just how hot the show had become?
De Ravin: “In L.A. it’s more hectic definitely. But people are really into it here, too, and I think that they love the fact that it’s shot here and it’s one of those cool things that people like when they’re living on a location, where we’re shooting. Everyone has been great about it. There hasn’t been anyone strange or anything.”
What’s been different about filming here, as opposed to the mainland?
De Ravin: “I think that it’s just so much more of a relaxed environment in general. Obviously when you’re working it’s kind of the same anywhere. It’s the same vibe, but I think that when you are in a surrounding like this it kind of makes people appreciate life a bit more and it’s a bit nicer. So it’s a great feeling actually working here. It’s really nice. If I’m here and I have downtime there are amazing beaches. What more could you want. Hiking that is just gorgeous.”
Have you had a chance to explore all of the islands?
De Ravin: “No. I haven’t yet actually. I spend a lot of time going back to L.A. So I haven’t yet, but I’d really like to do that. That’s on my list to do. I really want to go to Kauai. Maybe I’ll do that this year.”
How has your life changes since you were cast in Lost?
O’Quinn: “I get a regular paycheck. I live in Hawaii and I have a nice tan.”
Have you been getting more phone calls?
O’Quinn: “Yeah, a few more phone calls. A little bit more emails. But not too much. I’ve got a new group of friends for the time being, a new group of gypsies to hang with.”
What’s the most challenging aspect of playing Locke?
O’Quinn: “Probably the most challenging thing is the physical stuff that they ask me to do that I feel for a week after. That’s probably the most challenging.”
How do you prepare for the physical challenges?
O’Quinn: “I swim a lot out here. When I’m not working I swim, I walk, I ride bikes. I try to obviously not to eat too much.”
Any aspects of Locke that have seeped into your own life?
O’Quinn: “I think that we were pretty similar to begin with. So I don’t think that there’s a lot of seeping, except for what works.”
Have you picked up any actual survival skills from being on the show?
O’Quinn: “No. I can throw knives a little bit. If you stand the proper distance from me I can hurt you. Other than that no. I could hit you with the other end.”
Do you feel the role, and especially the nomination, is a nice capper for your career?
O’Quinn: “No. I feel like the job is a nice stop along the road. I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just a great break. It’s a good break. That’s all. I don’t feel like–the Emmy is just a side effect of the job.”
You’ve worked with J.J. Abrams on “Alias” as well as Lost. How do the shows compare?
O’Quinn: “There’s a lot more cast members. It’s a different kind of script. The character I think is a lot more multi-dimensional. Not that it couldn’t have been on ‘Alias,’ but I didn’t have as many opportunities on ‘Alias’ and maybe it just didn’t vibrate as well with me. So maybe I just didn’t find a handle. Some actors I think can find a handle to any role and some of us can only find a handle in some roles.”
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What are some of the best theories you’ve heard about what’s actually happening on that island?
Kim: “I’ve heard so many, but I think that my personal favorite is the alien ant farm. I like that one. I think that there’s something to that. I think that there’s an outside force watching how we interact and try and build a society, I think that there’s something interesting there.”
You’ve said you speak “Household Korean.” How hard is it to act your scenes in a language you’re not entirely fluent in?
Kim: “It’s pretty challenging, but in a good way. There’s a little bit of added pressure because I want to do justice to the character and I want to represent Koreans fairly and in a positive way. So I’m taking a little extra time to make sure that the Korean is down and that I’m representing.”
What kind of feedback have you gotten from Koreans?
Kim: “It’s been a mixed bag especially from people from my hometown in Korea. Some people have been really ecstatic about the Korean because not many people speak with a southern accent in Korea. It’s kind of like speaking with a Georgia accent here in America. But then there are some people who are native speakers from the north and from Seoul and they’re a little bit like, ‘Well, I don’t know. I can’t quite understand the hick.’ And I’ve got an American accent in there as well. So I’m working against two different accents.”
How radically different is your life compared to a year ago?
Kim: “Well, a year ago I didn’t have cameras and microphones shoved in my face like this so that’s a big change. But I think that just getting recognized a lot more than I have before is a big change and getting the opportunity to work on different projects and getting offers for things that I probably wouldn’t haven’t gotten an offer for previously. That’s been a change as well.”
When you film the flashback scenes, do you almost feel like you’re on a different show?
Kim: “You know, I’ve never been asked that question before, and it is a little bit like being on two different shows, because you have a lot of what’s going on on the island today. And then you do the homework of what your character used to be, and it’s nice to kind of have the dichotomy between the two and then put them together.”
What would you like to see happen to your character this season?
Kim: “I’d love for him to speak a little bit more English, to integrate himself into the fabric of the show a little bit more and find his role among the survivors, and I think the writers are going that way, so I’m pleased.”
Does being in Hawaii help keep you tight-knit as a cast?
Kim: “I definitely think so. Someone asked me today: ‘What’s the difference between Hawaii and L.A.?’ We film in Hawaii and it’s a jungle, but LA is a zoo. It’s just unbelievable what we come back to, and in a lot of ways I’m glad that we get to shoot in relative peace and quiet. You’re looking at some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and it’s a little bit weird to be working there, but I’m breathing the greatest air in the world, at the greatest beaches. I can’t really complain.”
Yunjin Kim
Do you think Sun and Jin’s relationship has a chance to go back to what it used to be?
Kim: “I hope so. I hope that it works out. I’m an optimistic person and I believe in marriage. I believe in love, so I hope that it does. In that case he needs to change a lot.”
Does your character need to change at all to make it work?
Kim: “Do I? God. I think that I’ve been sort of the giver in the relationship. Watch, Dan [Dae Kim] will come here and go, ‘She needs to change a lot.'”
Does Lost air in your home country, Korea?
Kim: “Yes. Definitely. Lost was the first American show that they actually bought. They usually wait until after the first season to see how it’s going, but as far as Lost it was an exception, because I had been working in Korea.”
So the show had a built-in audience thanks to your popularity there?
Kim: “Yeah, and it deals with a lot about Korea as well. It’s the first American TV show where it’s an hour show, but half of it is in Korean with subtitles. I think that this is the first American. I think that this is the first American show that’s even tried something like that which is great, and of course the Koreans are very, very intrigued.”
How different is your life from a year ago?
Kim: “How different? You know, I think that last year I was really nervous about how things were going to turn out. We didn’t know what Lost was going to be out and how things were going to turn out, but now I’m more relaxed. I kind sort of enjoy and enjoy all of this.”
You’re starting to venture back to the mainland for some fun events. How do you pick out your outfits for big red carpet appearances?
Kim: “Back in Korea, I’d always get a stylist to help. She’d bring me out 10 different dresses to wear, and I’d try all of them to see which would work.”
Are you enjoying living in Hawaii?
Kim: “I’m sure everyone sort of answers the same way: it’s beautiful here.”
What do you like the most about it?
Kim: “How mellow it is out here, and how removed we are from the world. It actually makes it easier to concentrate, and in a sense we are like are characters: we hold on to each other for support.”
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How did you react when you first found out what was happening to you in the final episode of Season One?
Perrineau: “I was pretty surprised because we knew that something was going to happen on the boat, but we didn’t know exactly what. Then the night before they give us a script and they’re like, ‘Oh, the boat blows up and you guys all wind up in the water.’ I was like, ‘Hey. This is really cool because I can’t swim.’ So suddenly they went into panic mode and they were like, ‘Dude, you can’t swim? Really? Like you can’t swim?’ So they had to get all of these water guys out there. That was pretty cool.
So you start Season Two treading water?
Perrineau: “I start season two drowning. I’m not sure if Michael can swim either. So we’ll see–and then other stuff starts to happen.”
Have you picked up any actual survival skills while working on the show?
Perrineau: “I started learning how to swim. So now if I was caught in the water, if my boat blows up I could survive for, like, 15 minutes.”
You went from joining The Matrix films at the height of their popularity, to starring in a relative unknown quantity on TV that took off out of the gate. What was that like?
Perrineau.: “My career has never been easy or straightforward or any of that stuff. So to jump into The Matrix and it’s like at the height of its thing and then it kind of did whatever it did which wasn’t the same as the first one, and then I jump in over here and it’s a different quality of work. It’s all still the exploration for me. I’m just exploring the stuff. Some of it is great, and some of it is not. Some of it is really, really cool, and some of it is really, really regular. But for me as an artist that’s how I’m going to stay interested and focused and moving forward. So I get all the sides of it.”
Are you looking forward to working with your former Oz‘s cast mate Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje?
Perrineau: “I am. I am indeed, as long as he doesn’t rape me or something crazy like he would do in Oz. [laughs] I’m totally looking forward to him coming over. I actually got a call from him today. He landed on the island and I’m not only interested in working with him, but interested in seeing–after having such a strong character in Oz. I’m really interested in seeing what they’re going to do with his character on this, and see how he’ll get to present himself as an actor in this particular genre.”
Does the distance from Hollywood make your cast and crew a tighter-knit group?
Perrineau: “I 100 percent believe that, yeah. I believe that if we were here, it would just be too confusing. We’d be pulled in all those different directions, and you can’t just focus on the show. As it is we’re pulled in a lot of different directions in Hawaii, but because we’re so far away there’s a lot that’s kept away from us. And because of the way the island is, the way the people there are, they’re not so on top of us either, and so I think 100 percent it’s the best thing for us.”
Do you get to have a fun personal life in Hawaii?
Perrineau: “Not yet, because we’ve been working pretty rigorously, and this season more. And it’s also a learning curve for me, because Hawaii’s really slower. So there’s learning how to live at that pace of life. It’s a really different thing. I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to get used to it, but not yet.”
What’s your dream scenario for Michael?
Perrineau: “It’s a really hard thing to say that about Michael, because the thing is, it just keeps getting bad for Michael–which is great for Harold the actor, because I get to play great stuff. So in one sense, I wish the guy some relief, because he needs some relief. But Harold the actor wants to see him go through all this stuff. But just to get his son back and to find some way to bond with him and get him safe. I want those things for him because he wants them so badly.”
Any opportunity for romance with Michael?
Perrineau: “I think there’s a lot of potential. Wait until you see this season.”
Have you been given any creative input into your character by the producers?
Grace: “We do have an open line of communication with the writers and producers, but of course they still have ultimate control. But they’re definitely open to our thoughts and suggestions and ideas that we have.”
Between the two projects have you had any time for a personal life at all?
Grace: “It depends on the time. But yeah, when I’m shooting both that was pretty much work and sleep, and I became the scary cat lady in my hotel in Canada. I just ate a lot of cereal by myself and hung out with my cat in that very little time between work and sleep.”
Do you worry at all about Shannon being killed off?
Grace: “No, not particularly. All of us are in the same boat it’s a great experience for as long as it lasts and hopefully we’ll all be here for a while.”
When did you find out the Boone was the character who’d be killed off?
Grace: “I don’t know. I think that it was towards the end of the season and we knew for some time before that who it was. So I can’t remember when exactly it was.”
Have you been surprised by the success of the series?
Grace: “I think the vast response, yes. I thought it was a good show and the pilot was a pretty amazing experience. Working with J.J. and everyone, we all had pretty good vibes from that. But I don¹t think anyone can expect this commercial response. It¹s just huge! I remember the morning we first got the ratings, we¹d just come back from celebrating that morning from the night before and we all got calls from LA saying the ratings had come out in the trade papers, and none of us could believe it.”
Do you think the second season is going to be even bigger?
Grace: “I think so, just from reading the scripts, they are really pushing the envelope and keeping it coming.”
Did your performance on Lost help you land your leading lady role in The Fog remake?
Grace: “Oh, I’m sure that it did. It’s a great thing to have such an amazing launch pad and way to show your work. So I’m sure that played a part.”
How involved was the original director, John Carpenter, on this version of The Fog?
Grace: “I think that we all felt that there was a really beautiful presence with Mr. Carpenter’s involvement. He was very much a present on the set especially in the beginning which was really lovely, to have that support. He gave obviously a wonderful template that’s been kind of an indie horror filmmaker’s ideal forever. He did the original with like two fog machines and some wind. He was very present. I mean, he’s an icon and it was lovely to meet him and talk with him about everything he did on the first one. But I thought that he was extremely gracious at allowing us to do this one. It was very nice.”
The Fog is a horror film, and you’ve had some pretty scary scenes as Shannon in Lost. Are you the type who watches the scary parts peeking through your fingers, or are the girl who says “Bring it on?”
Grace: “Of course I saw Halloween and some of the classics at slumber parties and freaked out and lived under the bed for about two weeks. I’m a bit of a timid horror watcher, to be honest. I still force myself to watch the really scary parts as a sort of exercise in educating myself to what works and what doesn’t. But for me practically anything works. I was the girl in the audience at What Lies Beneath and there’s a fake cat in the refrigerator scare, as was referred to earlier, but I was the only one in the audience that let out a blood-curdling scream. Everyone in the whole audience turned around and laughed at me. It was horrible. I was so embarrassed. So yeah, I’m the screamer in the audience.”
What do you do on your days off?
Grace: “I go to the beach. I had a girlfriend [from L.A.] come visit. We went hiking, went swimming a lot. It was really, really fun.”
I hear your answering machine messages are pretty creative in a karaoke kind of way.
Grace: “For a while I had the Seinfeld copycat voicemail: the “Believe It or Not” theme song from Greatest American Hero. And now I have some of the South Pacific songs on my voicemail. I sort of switch every week, my girlfriend and I…and you know we don’t even have to be assisted by any alcohol or anything. We’ll just be completely 100 percent sober and we’ll just say ‘Hey, let’s switch up our voicemail.”
Everyone watches Lost–which shows do you watch?
Grace: “I like Deadwood a lot. And weird little PBS stuff like there’s a reality show where they send people to live in this English manor house, stuff like that. It’s stuff that you’re just channel flipping and you’re like, ‘Wow. There’s a show about this?’ I’m a big Deadwood fan, though. That’s my show.”
What are you addicted to that if you were stuck on an island you wouldn’t want to live without?
Grace: “Chocolate. Chocolate martinis.”
Do you watch your diet at all?
Grace: “I try to be healthy but I love chocolate as much as the next girl. Chocolate macadamia nuts are really good, they¹re the best chocolate!”
Have you ever gotten island fever?
Grace: “No, I’ve never had island fever. I expected to get it after living in such a big city for a long time and traveling so much, but I love it.”
