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Video interview with Josh from USA Today: 'Lost' star Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway shows the softer side of Sawyer on 'Lost' - USATODAY.com
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HONOLULU — Josh Holloway has a theory about the mysterious island at the heart of Lost. "To me, it's a mirror to everyone's spiritual growth. It forces each character to face their demons, whatever they are, and come out the other side. Or die," he says, laughing.
For Holloway's dark con man, Sawyer, that's a lot of demons. "His survival mechanism has been anger and hate, not letting anyone in. That's the way he survives. That's the way he understands life from his childhood all the way through," says Holloway, who sat down on a day off-set to discuss Lost and Sawyer.
The hardened Sawyer has shown signs of softening over the years, working with fellow survivors even as he stung them with nicknames and sarcasm. The character moved to a new level last season, enjoying a trusting, committed relationship with Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell).
It's not the kind of shift every actor can pull off, says executive producer Carlton Cuse, who calls the "charming, lovable, dangerous" Sawyer his favorite character to write. Holloway has been able to take Sawyer "from being a rogue bad boy in the beginning to being a mature grown-up in his relationship with Juliet."
That mature relationship and softer Sawyer appeared in jeopardy in last season's finale, when Juliet was injured by a fall into a drill shaft. Worse, the fall was the result of a plan, which Sawyer had angrily opposed, by rival Jack (Matthew Fox) to set off a nuclear bomb in hopes of changing history. Juliet appeared to detonate the nuke as the season ended.
Where that leaves Sawyer and his fellow castaways, Holloway can't say, per orders to maintain secrecy. (Good luck with that. A bootleg version of a weekend Waikiki Beach screening of the first hour was posted online within hours.)
As it starts its final season, Lost likely will have to resolve Sawyer's relationship with Juliet and his still-smoldering feelings for Kate (Evangeline Lilly), which came between Sawyer and Juliet in the finale. The chemistry between Sawyer and Kate, who combine with Jack for a potent romantic triangle, has been there from the start, Holloway says.
"It was pretty much our first day of work where I shoot the polar bear and Kate gets the gun from me and then I grabbed her. The scene wasn't written that way. ... As she got close to me, I pulled her in close, and that's where it started. They said they saw sparks, so they went with it," he says.
After that — and many shirtless scenes — Holloway is a sex symbol.
"To me, it's comical. Most people who know me think I'm pretty goofy. Sex symbol doesn't cross their mind. Hippie, yeah. Completely goofball. But sex symbol, not really. My wife laughs at that."
He's flattered and knows it has professional value. But couldn't it have come earlier? "I'm like 40 now, and they want me to take my shirt off. What happened when I was 25 and just naturally ripped? It takes a lot more work to stay in shape."
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'Lost' star Josh Holloway sees a bright future ahead - USATODAY.com
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HONOLULU — Josh Holloway has something in common with his raffish con man, James "Sawyer" Ford. The character survived a plane crash; the actor has survived into Lost's final season. "I feel some validation because I'm still alive!" Holloway, 40, says as he beams a high-wattage smile.
Holloway, sitting down for a beer at a waterside restaurant, says he thought loner Sawyer would be an early goner on Lost (tonight, 9 ET/PT, ABC).
"I remember reading the first pilot and going, 'Oh, my God, this guy's an ass! I'll be lucky if I last half a season.' My work was to try to find any inkling of humanity in the guy in order to survive," he says. "Well, it's worked so far."
Yes, it has. Over five seasons, Sawyer has become a Lost favorite for his sex appeal, his sarcastic quips, his part in the great Sawyer-Kate-Jack love triangle and that snarly yet charming demeanor.
It was Holloway's first big role, and he's grateful to have had the chance to prove himself on Lost. "So much has changed for me here," he says. "I really didn't believe I would last this long or that I'd be accepted, or that I'd grow as an actor ... It's a lot of fun to not be embarrassed when I say I'm an actor," says Holloway, who plans to pursue film work after Lost ends.
Producers praise Holloway's skill. "It's almost impossible to transform a bad boy into the guy with a heart on his sleeve, but Josh had done just that," executive producer Damon Lindelof says.
Holloway's time on Lost coincided with big changes in his life: his first house, marriage to wife Yessica, and having his first child, daughter Java, last year. "All these huge milestones in life have happened here. It's changed my life significantly, partly because I was at that point in my life, and partly because (Lost) has allowed me to do so."
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