Alex O'Loughlin (born Alexander O'Lachlan on 24 August 1976 in Canberra, Australia) is an actor, currently starring in the CBS television series, Hawaii Five-0 as Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. His best known earlier roles include Kevin Hiatt in The Shield and Mick St. John in Moonlight, and romantic comedy film, The Back-up Plan, where he starred alongside Jennifer Lopez, which grossed $ 77,237,270 million. He is also the current ambassador for Donate Life America.

O'Loughlin (pronounced O’Locklan, and spelled O'Lachlan until he reportedly changed it to honour his late grandfather) was born in Canberra, Australia. He is of Irish and Scottish descent. He was educated at Hawker Primary School and has a sister who is one year younger than he is. His year of birth has been given, variously, as 1975, 1976,1977, and 1978. His father is a physics and astronomy teacher in Sydney, Australia and his mother is a nurse. His parents got divorced when he was two years old and this was particularly hard on him growing up. He suffered from asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Like many small boys, he wanted to become a jet fighter pilot when he grew up, but was told by his teacher that it was an unlikely dream as he suffers from asthma. A painful memory that recently evoked the response, “Always teach children to reach for the stars.” He was a fan of heavy metal music and Monkey (TV Series). Playing dress up with items out of an old trunk was a favorite pastime for young Alex. He has fond memories of often donning a white clown suit with big red polka dots. School was a continuous struggle, caused by learning difficulties that were compounded by ADHD and OCD, and he left when he was 14, after which he held all manner of jobs in a wide range of fields.

He enrolled at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia in 1999. Despite a challenging first year, he went on to graduate from NIDA in June 2002, after completing their highly competitive three-year, full-time Bachelor of Dramatic Art program, to which only a limited number of students are accepted annually.

In 2007, it was rumored that the late AC/DC front man Bon Scott was O'Loughlin's biological father; however O'Loughlin has stated that this was not true.

Career

Acting held the biggest appeal and O'Loughlin was already working in short film and fringe theater as a teenager in Sydney. One of the first acting jobs he recalls is being an extra in a commercial, playing a marine.

After graduating from NIDA, he began his career in Australian television and film productions and some of his TV credits include roles in BlackJack: Sweet Science, Love Bytes and White Collar Blue.

His film career started off in 2004 when he landed his first lead film role in Oyster Farmer. Continuing his career O'Loughlin appeared in Man-Thing, Feed, and in the Australian mini-series The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant for which he received a nomination as the Best Lead Actor in Television from the Australian Film Institute Awards in 2005 and as Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series from the Logie Awards in 2006. O'Loughlin joined the cast of The Shield in 2007 as Detective Kevin Hiatt, the newest member of the strike team.

In 2005, he screen-tested for the movie role of James Bond. As he told one interviewer: "I met with [director] Martin Campbell here in Los Angeles at his office on the Sony [Pictures] lot and he asked me to fly to London and test and we tested at Pinewood [Studios]. It was the biggest screen test I've ever done. It was very comprehensive. I had tuxedos and suits cut for it and hair cuts." Alex also performed alongside actor Justin Chatwin in the 2007 film The Invisible. He portrayed Marcus, the boyfriend and partner in crime of Annie Newton, boosting and stealing cars.

He left The Shield after he won the lead role on the CBS series Moonlight, where he played private investigator and vampire Mick St. John. The filming of Moonlight was interrupted by the Hollywood writers strike. There was speculation that the series would be dropped but fan pressure prevailed and the show was given four additional episodes to try to regain its audience share. Despite being the highest rated show in its Friday evening slot (consistently achieving over 7 million viewers), CBS did not commission a second season. After its cancellation, a fan-based charity campaign to win a second-season renewal for Moonlight by holding blood drives proved unsuccessful.

In August 2008, it was announced that CBS had signed a talent development deal with O'Loughlin as the star of a TV series to be developed by writer Mark Gordon, but it never materialised.
However, he was subsequently cast in the lead role of the new CBS hospital drama Three Rivers, developed by producer Carol Barbee, which aired Sunday evenings in the 2009–10 season. In April 2009, he guest-starred in an episode of Criminal Minds as a serial killer who asks the BAU for help. In December 2009 CBS pulled Three Rivers from its schedule.

O'Loughlin recently starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the 2010 romantic comedy film The Back-up Plan.

In February 2010, it was announced that O'Loughlin was cast in the CBS reboot Hawaii Five-0 portraying Lieutenant Commander (LDCR) Steve McGarrett, which premiered on September 20, 2010, and has been one of CBS' most successful new shows of the 2010-11 season. Hawaii Five-0 won "Favorite New TV Drama" at the 2010-11 People's Choice Awards.

Personal life

He resides in West Hollywood, California but lives in Honolulu, Hawaii while filming Hawaii Five-0. His son, Saxon, was born when Alex was 20 years old. He and his son's mother split and Saxon resides in Australia with his mother but visits O'Loughlin frequently in the US. "I have a son. I kinda keep him out of the press. That’s how we do it. But the joy of fatherhood, it’s been the greatest gift.".

He split from long-time girlfriend, the Australian actress/singer Holly Valance in February 2009. In November 2011 at the GQ Australia Awards, he confirmed he is dating Hawaiian professional surfer and model Malia Jones. He is quoted as saying about Malia: "I am a very lucky guy and very happy at the moment. She's amazing He enjoys reading, outdoor activities, riding his motorcycles, martial arts, boxing, writing his own music, playing the guitar and enhancing his so called "mad skills" such as fly fishing, whip cracking, juggling, and cooking. He has said to TV Guide, "I’m more like one of those jacks-of-all-trades, master of nothing." He currently has six tattoos.